One of our big blocks is our addiction to comfort.

Personal and Global Responsibility

The ability to let go of the past and to forgive depends on how we hold ourselves with others. This talk explores how we affect others and how we can move to a greater connection.

Caring for the earth 10/10/10

On Religion and Politics and/or (Politics and Spirituality)

Note: This talk begins and ends with his chanting. Phagyab Rinpoche is a lama, scholar, and highly renowned practitioner in the Gelugpa order of Tibetan Buddhism. Born in Kham, Tibet, in 1966 and ordained at the age of thirteen, Rinpoche received a rigorous traditional education in Buddhist philosophy and ritual in Tibet and then at Sera Monastery in South India. While studying for his Geshe degree, the highest rank in Tibetan Buddhist scholarship, he was recognized by the Dalai Lama as the eighth reincarnation of Phagyab Rinpoche—a venerated Buddhist teacher—and was requested to return to Tibet in order to assume leadership of the Ashi and Lithang monasteries, the traditional seats of Phagyab Rinpoche. While teaching in Tibet, Rinpoche was apprehended for his religious beliefs and subsequently fled back to India before immigrating to the USA in 2003.

Bhikkhu Bodhi discusses the Five Spiritual Faculties, the ascending factors that lead toward enlightment and the Four Brahma Viharas, the descending factors that lead toward engagement in the world.

Following the dharma talk, Kim Behan, Executive Director of Buddhist Global Relief, gives a presentation on the founding, goals, and projects of the organization. Buddhist Global Relief is a Buddhist organization dedicated to providing relief from poverty and hunger among impoverished communities worldwide. Read Bhikkhu Bodhi's provocative essay that led to the founding of BGR: “A Challenge to Buddhists”

Mirka discusses her book Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra about the meditation master who first taught Dipa Ma, Joseph Goldstein, and many of our western dharma leaders. Munindra was a pivotal figure in the transmission of Dharma to the West and the resulting mindfulness movement.