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Dharma Talks
given at Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
Publicly available talks can be browsed here in the order indicated by
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Get the latest Dharma talks from Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley by Podcast
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2025-10-30
Instructions from My Teachers
40:12
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James Baraz
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We all have teachers who've inspired us to see life in a new way. Who have been your inspirations?
What have you learned from them? I thought I'd share some ways that instructions from two of my
teachers--Ram Dass and HWL Poonja (Papaji)-- have shaped how I see the world and how I practice.
The talk includes a recording of a significant dialogue from 1990 with Poonjaji that reconnected me
with my joy.
Here is a link to the dialogue of the Poonjaji satsang where James asked the question
https://docs.google.com/document/d/16TnL2Zev-6r_mZPrgdSxSTaYLoyzdLOg3CnJ2U3D6C8/edit?tab=t.0
Here is a link to the video on Youtube that is over an hour long
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrjspK5fHiQ. James is at 23:38
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2025-10-16
Wise Self-Soothing is Crucial
48:15
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Eve Decker
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The Buddha's teachings point to the need for clear understanding of our own minds and hearts, along with intention, compassion, and practice. As the adage goes, we must become the ones we seek while we work to change (or even consistently comfort) the world. To do that, we need to know what's going on for us internally and know how to wisely self-soothe when we are experiencing distress. The Buddha taught this, and this teaching is pretty precisely echoed in neuroscience and current psychology, including (but not limited to) Compassion Focused Therapy; Polyvagal Theory; and Internal Family Systems. The Buddha observed reality and neuroscientists are doing the same.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2025-10-09
Navigating the Truth of Suffering
44:34
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James Baraz
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Suffering is the Buddha's 1st Noble Truth. Sometimes it can feel like it's all too much, especially in these days of extreme unpredictability. Legitimate reactions of anger, confusion and discouragement can lead to feeling of hopelessness or resigned acceptance. How can we use the practice to not only skillfully hold those feelings, but to transform them into wholesome uplifting responses such as courage, trust and compassionate action?
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2025-09-25
You Are Loving Awareness
45:21
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James Baraz
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Seeing sacredness, not only around us, but focusing inside the one who is perceiving. This mind/body (YOU) that is interacting with the world around it. I use Ram Dass's practice of seeing beyond this mind/body by abiding in the perspective "I Am Loving Awareness". This is where the devotional and non-dual meet.
To aid in this exploration James shares some powerful cuts from the album Ram Dass, a collaboration of Ram Dass's voice and teachings with background music by East Forest, who will be offering a hybrid concert "Echoes of Ram Dass" at Spirit Rock October 19, 2025.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2025-09-11
Meeting Painful Mental/Emotional States with Compassion
48:33
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Eve Decker
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The Buddha said that "Hatred will never end by hatred, by love alone will it end". He also taught that we can exacerbate our suffering with the stories and beliefs we have going on in our minds. The remedies he shared to cope with suffering fall under the umbrella terms 'wisdom' and 'compassion'. Join Eve for a look at some specific teachings and practices to help us work with painful mental/emotional states.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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