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URBAN PRACTICE:  Awakening Within Our Everyday Life Experiences

1/30/2020

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By Tuere Sala, Visiting Teacher

Often, we talk about our everyday difficulties as the problems and limitations to awakening. We wait until we are able to go on retreat to surrender and connect to a deeper stillness only to lose connection with it within days, or sometimes hours, after leaving the retreat center. In reality, we do not awaken outside of our difficulties nor in spite of them. We awaken within the difficulties and challenges of our everyday life experiences. 

What if the difficulties you go through in life had a nobler purpose?  What would your practice look like if you knew you could only find liberation within the naturally arising causes and conditions of an ordinary life?

During this evening talk, Tuere will share how the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha can capture our lives and turn a simple meditation practice into a driving force for awakening the mind and cultivating kindness in all things.

Please join Tuere for a meditation and Dharma talk on THURSDAY, February 13,  7pm. 
 
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The Buddha’s Recipe for A Strong and Gentle Heart: More on Loving Kindness

1/27/2020

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By Rebecca Bradshaw, IPV Teacher​

As the next decade begins, we are coming into a world that is manifesting huge amounts of greed, hatred, and delusion. We are going to need help navigating this coming year and beyond; we are going to need a strong and resilient heart. During a six month series of talks, we will explore the Buddha’s practices to develop this heart. Each month we will look at beautiful mind/heart states that the Buddha encourages us to nurture, including the four divine abodes (Brahmaviharas), forgiveness and gratitude.

Last month we engaged in our exploration of the beautiful heart quality of loving kindness. And there’s still so much to talk about! So we will continue this exploration at the February talk. Among other topics, we will look at how to develop metta for difficult people (or, more accurately put, people who we find difficult) and techniques to cultivate this quality in our daily lives.

Please join Rebecca for meditation and this Dharma talk on Wednesday, February 5,  7pm. 
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The Heavenly Messengers: Meeting Aging Illness and Death with a Wise Heart

1/24/2020

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​By Jean Esther, IPV Teacher

The Buddha advised that these realities should be reflected on frequently and regularly no matter what one’s age.

On a recent pilgrimage in India it was ever apparent to me how these realities are not hidden within Indian culture but are very visible. 
  • How does it impact our lives to reflect on aging, illness and death with frequency?
  • Can this influence our sense of aliveness in each moment? 
  • Can these reflections be a doorway to a mind and heart that is free?

Please join Jean for meditation, a Dharma talk, and group discussion on these Heavenly Messengers on Wednesday, January 29,  7pm.
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Accepting Human Imperfection

1/10/2020

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By Kim Weeber 

Many of us suffer with perfectionism, and we can bring that into our spiritual practice, assuming that we can use meditation to in some way become more perfect. Of course, we will be disappointed over and over again, as we fail to meet our standards. We can also hold our teachers to some standard of perfection, and be supremely disappointed when they fail us.

How can we hold spiritual practice as skillful practice? A way to practice inclining more toward what is skillful and leads to happiness, while still acknowledging our human imperfections. Can we practice forgiveness and compassion as we and other around us make mistakes?

This talk has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 19, 7pm. Let's explore this together!


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  • Home
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