Episodi
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The Buddha taught us that all we have are our actions and our actions take place in this moment. But are we fully living in the moment? When we investigate the tentativeness of life - the recognition that nothing is certain - we can shift our relationship to the present and live in a way that is grounded in our core values. Mary discusses this idea and how to move towards a life that allows us to find our own way with the here and now.
Recorded Sept. 29, 2024 in the virtual world for Insight Community of the DesertSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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Oftentimes we try to get good at meditation when in reality meditation is a practice for how we move through the world. The invitation of practice is to be with each moment as it arises, without judgement or preference. When we develop this awareness during practice, we can carry it with us throughout our lives 'off the cushion'. In this talk, Mary discusses the idea of choiceless awareness, a way to simple be in the moment, grounded in equanimity and wisdom.
Recorded Sept. 22, 2024, in the virtual world for Insight Community of the DesertSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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Episodi mancanti?
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A common reminder in meditation practice is that our experience can not be different from the way it is as much as we would like it to be. The same invitation to be present with the moment applies through all aspects of our life. The root of so much dukkha is our inability to be with reality. Acknowledging the moment as it is takes us closer towards liberation.
Recorded Sept. 5, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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The Eight Worldly Winds are a teaching on equanimity. Recognizing the winds of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disgrace that blow for all of us is important in our journey towards liberation. The Buddha says each of us feel these winds and it's important to see them as part of the human condition and not personal. Letting go of the stories of attachment to some winds over others is a key to our liberation.
Recorded August 31, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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Mary reflects on 16 years of teaching the Saturday Afternoon Sit class. In looking at all the changes that can happen in 16 years. it became clear that so often we get hung up on finding a 'there'. We spend our time and energy working to achieve something that will get us where we want to be, only to find out there is always something else. As the Buddha teaches, there is only the present, and how we work with the present will lead us to or away from liberation.
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In this very personal talk Mary reflects on the Five Remembrances and how they invite us to embrace our humanity, open to vulnerability and live each day as if it were our last.
Recorded August 17, 2024 in the virtual world
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The Buddha taught that fixed views and self-view were some of the biggest obstacles to liberation. We are stuck in beliefs about others and ourselves that may or may not be true, but which have tremendous impact on how we relate and react to the world. In this talk, Mary discusses the different types of views, how they develop, and what we can do to extricate ourselves from their rigidity and move towards freedom.
Recorded August 10, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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The Eightfold Path is the Buddha's teaching on how to live in a way that ends suffering and moves us towards liberation. It is a guide for living in this world and our experiences of the human condition. Mary offers a broad overview of the path and how we can put them to use in our own lives.
Recorded August 4, 2024 for Insight Community of the Desert in the Virtual WorldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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When we can slow it down, it may be easier to navigate the complexities of life. In this reflection, Mary talks about being fully present for the uncomfortable and comfortable moments that we have throughout each day and how it may be that present time awareness is like slow-motion. It's also important that we do this with a kind and gentle gaze.
Recorded July 27, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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This is a moment where the reality of groundlessness - impermanence - is front and center in our lives. What we should realize is that the world is constantly shifting and our inability or unwillingness to be with uncertainty can cause so much stress and pain. Mary discusses how to be radically open to our lives and the world and how recognizing that the foundation is always moving is a foundation in and of itself and one we can stand with.
Recorded July 20, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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The invitation to relax, observe and allow is a wonderful meditation instruction, but it's also a way we can bring mindfulness to our everyday lives. It's a practice of equanimity, awareness and liberation - simple yet profound.
Recorded July 11, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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Continuing last week's theme of experiencing liberation in this moment, Mary looks at Stephen Batchelor's teachings on embracing our existence and opening to the everyday sublime which is available to each of us at any moment.
Recorded July 6, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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In this podcast, Mary reflects on the teachings of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu and his concept of "everyday nirvana". If we can follow the Buddha's direction to not cling to anything as I or mine, we will have the freedom and liberation offered by this path. That letting go can happen at anytime - our meditation practice creates the conditions for it - and it's important that we begin to notice our experience of everyday nirvana as we purify the mind and let go.
Recorded June 29, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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The Paramis are 10 qualities of the heart that it is said we need to develop for awakening. Sylvia Boorstein says they are the natural inclination of the heart and are gifts that we give to each other - they are a path of kindness. These qualities, which include generosity, willingness, and patience, are something we can work with in our daily lives. In this talk Mary gives an overview of these qualities of the heart that allow us to be free.
Recorded June 22, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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One of the heart practices - or brahma viharas - is Mudita, or appreciative joy. This challenging practice invites us to be happy for the wholesome good fortune of others, even those people we may not like. This is a challenging practice because we live in a competitive society that teaches us either we are a winner or a loser and if someone else is winning then we're in trouble. Mudita breaks down this false idea and reminds us of our shared humanity and our shared joy.
Recorded June 15, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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Samsara is the cycle of birth and death that we experience before enlightenment and it is also considered the suffering in this world. In this brief talk, Mary reflects on the reality of our lives and how fighting against difficulties only intensifies them. Recognizing that things are messy and finding a way to make peace with that is the beginning of our path to liberation.
Recorded June 8, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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In Buddhist teachings there are the ideas of conventional and ultimate reality. In Mahayana tradition they're known as the two truths of relative and absolute. These two ideas enable us to move through the world dealing with the ins and outs of our everyday lives (convention/relative) reality, while using the teachings of impermanence, no-self, and dukkha as a foundation as we move towards liberation (ultimate/absolute). Understanding the difference between the two is vital to avoid falling into spiritual bypass.
Recorded June 1, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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We have all been hurt in our lives, to a greater or lesser extent. This hurt often brings up challenging emotions which we can run from or make space for. Healing happens when we become willing to turn towards the difficulty. This healing involves taking care of ourselves and Lama Rod Owens suggests that this healing is necessary before we can begin to forgive others. Jumping right to forgiveness can be a spiritual bypass if we're simply going through the motions. In this talk Mary discusses how to take care of our selves and care for others.
Recorded May 25, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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The idea of an undefended heart seems counterintuitive right now especially with all the suffering in the world. We think that putting up walls will keep us safe but instead the armor just isolates us. The Buddha invited us turn towards the reality of our lives and the world and open to all. In this talk Mary discusses the need for an undefended heart, what gets in the way and how to move towards the freedom we receive by opening our hearts to each moment.
Recorded May 19, 2024 for Insight Community of the DesertSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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In the Buddha's wisdom he invited us to reflect regularly on our mortality which flies in the face of a society which tells us we can be immortal if we just do it all right. The denial of reality and craving for the impossible causes so much suffering and disconnection. When we turn to face the reality of our lives and our shared humanity, we experience a freedom and a connection with others grounded in wisdom and compassion.
Recorded May 11, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!
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