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Dharma Talks
given at Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2021-01-28
Anatta and Self-Forgiveness
49:00
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James Baraz
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Do you ever give yourself a hard time if you've made an embarrassing mistake or have done something you regret? This talk explores how we can truly forgive ourselves with a thorough understanding of the Buddha's teaching on the selfless nature of who we are, otherwise known as Anatta, the selfless nature of experience.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2020-12-03
Three Pillars of Dharma
52:14
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James Baraz
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This is a continuation of the theme of the process of purification that leads to awakening. An exploration of what Joseph Goldstein calls "Three Pillars of Dharma." These are three spheres that we can cultivate which lead to supportive conditions for us to practice and then realize the fruits of practice. Includes Eve Decker offers a song on the theme.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2020-11-19
Transformation is Possible
50:20
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James Baraz
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When we start the spiritual journey we see that our mind is filled with unskillful habits of thought, colored by attachment, aversion and confusion. The Buddha described the process of purification that enables us to purify and transform first our outward conduct, then our thoughts and finally our subtle spiritual aspirations. This purification process leads ultimately to full awakening. The talk includes the Buddha's teaching of how this process works through the simile of the "Refinement of Mind."
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2020-11-12
Across the Great Divide: What the Dharma Can Offer for Healing Our Country
52:09
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James Baraz
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However you feel about the outcome, the presidential election has underscored the polarization that currently exists in our country. As long as each side mistrusts and fears the other, we cannot truly have peace and work together to make this a better society.
What does the Dharma offer to help heal this divide? How can our practice support us individually and collectively to open our hearts with compassion and bridge the gulf with those who seem so different from us? How can we create better understanding and cut through "othering" so that each of us can contribute to greater healing rather than more divisiveness?
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2020-11-05
Letting Go of Knowing
50:00
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James Baraz
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The election and its aftermath has been quite a roller coaster ride. Can we find balance and patience with all feelings that arise while allowing the unfolding to happen in its own time? We explore this theme and offer some practices going through these uncertain times.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2020-10-29
A Time For Equanimity
60:45
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James Baraz
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We are in a unique moment in time for the United States and the world. How can we stay centered and even cultivate equanimity? Is it possible to hold a positive vision without getting caught in extra anxiety about the outcome? Can we allow for things to unfold as they will while having a clear focus of what we want to help create? Equanimity includes surrendering attachment while being inspired by gratitude, awe and possibility.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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2020-10-15
Choosing Earth Pt. 1 with Duane Elgin and Friends
62:34
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James Baraz
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The second of two talks with wisdom teacher Duane Elgin and friends sharing Elgin's realistic, sobering but ultimately hopeful vision of where we could be heading the next fifty years. His book Choosing Earth: Humanity's Great Transformation to a Mature Planetary Civilization discusses the possibilities that lie ahead and the vision for how we can use this time to wake up as a species. A brief recap of previous talk with additional comments, Then an exploration of how to hold the unfolding from a psychological and Dharma perspective.
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Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley
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