The Buddha is said to have taught, “One who sees dependent origination sees the Dhamma; one who sees the Dhamma sees dependent origination.” What is this teaching that’s so central to Buddhist understanding and what does it mean for our practice? Join longtime friend of SIM Tony Bernhard for an exploration of this question.
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Starting Over AGAIN – No blame. No shame. Let’s start again.
Frequently, we need to remind ourselves about this practice; what we are doing and why are we doing it. It is so easy to slip into the stress and demands of everyday life, and put meditation and mindfulness WAY in the background… “When I have time.” By the time we get back to it, if we ever do, we may have lost our way. Where should we start, AGAIN? What do I need to do now? Am I failure as a Buddhist practitioner? Have my previous efforts been lost?
Tonight we will discuss the basics of this practice… the Three Trainings of virtuous behavior (sila), meditation or concentration (samadhi) and discernment or wisdom (panna), which make up the map that the Buddha encourages us to follow. Whether we follow a linear path or determine an area which needs more attention, we are practicing mindfulness and meditation and we are starting over again. The wonderful thing about the Dharma is when we focus on one aspect of the path, it automatically brings in the others. Tonight, let’s start again.
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The Meaning and Practice of “Investigation” in Insight Practice – The principal purpose of Insight Practice is the creation of conditions that lead to spontaneous, intuitive Insight that liberates the mind and heart from suffering. This occurs through “Investigation.”
An exploration of the meaning of Investigation involves an examination and understanding of the most fundamental and radical viewpoints expressed in the teachings of the historical Buddha. Likewise, it involves how those viewpoints are operationalized into the Buddha’s instruction for practicing meditation and paying attention to our experience in everyday life.
Dennis’ talk explores these topics and the challenges they represent to evaluating our own individual meditation and daily life practices. The talk uses the Buddha’s teachings on the “Seven Factors of Awakening” as a jumping off point for discussion and exploration of this fascinating topic. It would be helpful to review the first 12 pages of the article by the same name by Piyadassi Thera which can be found at https://accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/piyadassi/wheel001.pdf.
This talk references the following handout: Seven Factors Chart (.pdf)
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It is said that the historical Buddha started his journey to awakening after being shaken by encountering the “heavenly messengers” old age, sickness and death. He recommended reflecting on these life experiences often. We will take this evening to reflect on and discuss our relationship to these messengers and how they might enliven our practice.
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Examining this core teaching of the historical Buddha. We’ll look, specifically, at how the past creates the present, and the present creates the future, in our daily lives. And we’ll focus on how a good hear, with clear thinking, creates a positive future.
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This talk topic is based on Chapter 24 on Craving in The Dhammapada.
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Another Piece of the Map: The Meaning and Practical Importance of “Causes and Conditions”.
This will be the third in a series of talks on the basic map of Buddhist practice.
The principle of “conditionality” is central to Buddhist practice = “Everything that happens has causes and conditions, proceeds according to causes and conditions, and leads to results in line with causes and conditions.” If you were to remove this principle from practice, the remaining teachers would no longer make sense.
Understanding causes and conditions provides us with the wisdom to see into the true nature of our suffering and the way out of suffering. They are the dynamic elements that hold the comprehensive, inter-related Buddhist teachings together in a single, living presence. Causes and conditions replace the casual agency occupied by a deity or god figure in traditional religions.
But what are causes and conditions from a Buddhist perspective? What is the difference between a cause and a condition? As a completely practice matter, why are they important to the issues of daily life and suffering? He can we use these as a central element of our practice?
Dennis’ talk will use a number of specific, familiar situations as practical illustrations in answering these questions and in responding to questions at the end of the talk.
On this evening, we will explore reconciliation, truth, and forgiveness, in our own hearts and the wider world.
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Daylong Retreat with Visiting Senior Teacher Heather Sundberg. Two audio files:
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Reconciliation is a process that has been used in areas torn by violence, from Argentina to Yugoslavia. Perhaps the best known example is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa led by Bishop Desmond Tutu. The website of the Greensboro (North Carolina) Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the first in the United States, defines the process this way: “Truth and reconciliation promotes the belief that confronting and reckoning with the past is necessary for successful transitions from conflict, resentment and tension to peace and connectedness.” Does this not sound like the process each of us needs to engage in our own meditation practice? You may prepare by reading an article by Thanissaro Bhikkhu:
“Reconciliation, Right & Wrong“. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 18 July 2011. The article states, “Reconciliation — patisaraniya-kamma — means a return to amicability, and that requires more than forgiveness. It requires the reestablishing of trust.”
On this evening, we will explore reconciliation, truth, and forgiveness, in our own hearts and the wider world.
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Tastes of Freedom: Poems from the Therīgāthā – the poems of awakening of the Buddha’s first female disciples. A central message of this canonical text is that Nibbāna – complete release – is possible for practitioners of all sorts: women or men, lay or monastic, old or young, rich or poor, from all classes of society including slaves, from many different walks of life from the queen to the prostitute, for those gifted in meditation but also for those with wild minds unable to concentrate, and for individuals lost in grief, despair, or even madness. This ancient text was the subject of Meg’s Master’s thesis, which examined how the Therīgāthā might be used by Dharma teachers today to inspire practitioners, particularly in regard to the Third Noble Truth, the truth of freedom.
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