The Dharma of Poetry and the Poetry of Dharma  –  Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Member, Laura Rosenthal

Dharma practice and poetry have a natural resonance. Both affect us deeply through direct, “felt experience.” Both may use words in non-literal ways to point us to the intuitive crux of experience. Both invite us to tell the truth to ourselves and to others. In this conversation with long-term SIM participant Laura Rosenthal, we will discuss some of the ways in which dharma and poetry complement each other and we will read a few poems that bring us closer to the insights of practice. Laura’s choice of topic is inspired by her own love of reading and writing poetry and by a recent daylong on poetry and dharma offered by Buddhist teacher Phillip Moffitt at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

Laura has participated in SIM since 2004. She graduated from Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP 4) in 2013 and from Spirit Rock’s Advanced Practitioners Program this spring. She continues to participate in Heather Sundberg’s Committed Students Program.