07/21/16: “Four Personality Types,” with Diane Wilde

Have you ever wondered why there are people who, though born in poverty and deprivation, yet managed to evolve as wise and compassionate people, seemingly content with very little, while others, born with privilege and wealth, seem to require more and more “stuff” and often succumb to cruel behavior towards themselves and others. The Buddha had something to say about these “four types of people” in the Tamonata Sutta:

“There are these four types of people to be found existing in the world. Which four? One in darkness who is headed for darkness, one in darkness who is headed for light, one in light who is headed for darkness, and one in light who is headed for light.” The Buddha did not speak in riddles. His teaching is clear and well-explained. Whenever he said something that people might not understand properly, he explained it immediately. What is darkness? What is brightness? How does one keep on running from one to the other?

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07/14/16: “What is the Benefit of Living the Contemplative Life – Part II

“What is the benefit of living the contemplative life?”

This is the question put to the historical Buddha by King Ajatasattu. The dialogue that continues is one of the most comprehensive and eloquent presentations of the Buddha regarding his teachings; a comparison of his teachings to the other major spiritual and philosophical theories of the time; the original Sangha’s code of ethics; the Buddha’s own lifestyle, and more.

This talk is part of a continuing discussion of this fascinating Sutta that began during Dennis’ talk on June 9th. You might listen to that talk as a way of preparing for this evening.

The evening will explore the specifics of this sutta and how they have direct application to our practice and daily life today in an urban setting.

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07/07/16: “The Practice of Gratitude,” with Rich Howard

This evening we discussed gratitude in the context of the Highest Blessings or Causes for Happiness found in the Maha-mangala Sutta. For those interested in reading this short and original sutta, you may find it at here:

“Maha-mangala Sutta: Blessings” (Sn 2.4), translated from the Pali by Piyadassi Thera. Access to Insight (Legacy Edition), 30 November 2013, http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/snp.2.04.piya.html .

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06/30/16: “Death, Dying and…What?” with Diane Wilde

Death and dying are topics we are simultaneously fascinated with and repelled by. The fascination with death has made it a contemporary entertainment topic. Just witness the number of deaths and murders we see on TV, in the movies and in video games. On the other hand, bring up the subject of your own death to friends and loved ones and you most likely will receive a chorus of pleas to “Please change the subject!” On the other hand we are fascinated with past lives, near death experiences and the endless theories on what comes after death. Things were not so different in the Buddha’s time, and he had a lot to say about death and dying and “what comes next.” We will also look at contemporary research into the dying process and reflections on its aftermath.

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06/09/16: “The Fruits of Living a Contemplative Life,” with Dennis Warren

WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF LIVING THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE?

This is the question put to the historical Buddha by King Ajatasattu. The dialogue that continues is one of the most comprehensive and eloquent presentation of the Buddha regarding his teachings; a comparison of his teaching to the other major spiritual and philosophical theories of the time; the original Sangha’s code of ethics; the Buddha’s own lifestyle, and more.

The Samannaphala Sutta is consider one of the most useful and helpful discourses of the Buddha. The question “What is the benefit of living the contemplative life?” is as relevant to all of us today as it was in the time of King Ajatasattu. Ajatasattu was a layman who become a devoted follower of the Buddha after this encounter and sponsored the First Buddhist Council.

The evening will explore the specifics of this sutta and how they have direct application to our practice and daily life today in an urban setting. This will be the first in a series of two or three talks Dennis will give based on this sutta.

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05/19/16: “Opening the Heart,” with Heather Sundberg

Dharma Discussion with Heather Sundberg, Senior Visiting Teacher. Opening the Heart: Heather’s Recent Journey To Sri Lanka, woven together with two more favorite suttas.

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05/05/16: ” Causes and Conditions,” by Rich Howard

What do the Battle of Puebla, an allergic attack, and the Cycle of Reactivity (aka Dependent Origination) have in common? Using a lesser known teaching on Dependent Origination from the Kalahavivada Sutta (Sutta Nipata IV 11), we explore the world of causes and conditions, actions, reactions, and over-reactions. Our focus is on using awareness of reactivity to reduce suffering we cause to ourself and others in daily life.

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04/21/16: “Working with Anxiety, Fear, Pain, & other Strong Experiences,” with Dennis Warren Part 2

This second of two evening discussions is about what we all find difficult – strong experiences in daily life that threaten, or do, throw us spinning out of balance. To review Part 1 of this topic, click here. For Part 2 on this topic, we look at what the historical Buddha had to say about the roots of such strong experiences. We explore a number of important and practical questions including:

  • How do we lay a sound foundation for working with such challenging experiences?
  • How do we directly apply the Buddha’s teachings to our experience in a skillful way?
  • What is reasonable to expect regarding our ability to make real strides in dealing with strong experiences that have proven problematic for us in the past?

Dennis’ discussion references three teachings of the Buddha:

  • The Discourse Concerning Malunkyaputta
  • The Kumma Sutta: The Tortoise
  • The Sutta on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness

If you would like to download this talk, please right click and select “save as” here

Dennis also suggested to read the two Suttas he spoke of in his talk. Here are the two links: Malunkyaputta Sutta and Kumma Sutta

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04/14/16: “How to Know Someone is Enlightened,” with Diane Wilde

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04/07/16: “Working with Anxiety, Fear, Pain & Other Strong Experiences,” with Dennis Warren

This first of two evening discussions about what we all find difficult – strong experiences in daily life that threaten, or do, throw us spinning out of balance. We look at what the historical Buddha had to say about the roots of such strong experiences. We explore a number of important and practical questions including:

  • How do we lay a sound foundation for working with such challenging experiences?
  • How do we directly apply the Buddha’s teachings to our experience in a skillful way?
  • What is reasonable to expect regarding our ability to make real strides in dealing with strong experiences that have proven problematic for us in the past?

Dennis’ two discussions use three teachings of the Buddha as the initial basis for discussion: The Discourse Concerning Malunkyaputta; The Kumma Sutta: The Tortoise; and the Sutta on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness.

If you would like to download this talk, please right click and select “save as” here.

Dennis also suggested to read the two Suttas he spoke of in his talk. Here are the two links: Malunkyaputta Sutta and Kumma Sutta

To listen to Part 2 in the series, click here.

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