Dharma If You Dare

We're obsessed with our lives. We reference everything back to ourselves. We need to let go of this obsession in order to access that which is greater than ourselves. You can't be busy with distractions. --- "The problem is that you want to have your cake and eat it, too. So you try to do the job and career and relationship thing AND stand on the edge of the cliff, but because you're clinging to t...

Are We Our Thoughts? Part 1 of 2 The mistake we make that hinders our spiritual development is that we take things personally, which feeds experiences back into the conditioned responses that we call the self. So what is the self? Our thoughts? Our emotions? Our body? --- Wake up in the morning and set your aspiration for the day. It's fundamental for "working the bowl upstream into the more radia...

To meditate, you don't have to be "smart," says Doug Sensei. You just have to see clearly. --- In this edited talk excerpt, Sensei discusses "the Purification of View" (from the Abhidhamma) and provides a useful meditation exercise to help one come to understand nama and rupa (mind and matter), the knowledge of which constitutes the first stage of insight and leads to overcoming doubt on the Path....

What does it mean to purify one's morality? --- In this short excerpt from a talk given in Calgary, B.C., Canada, Doug Sensei discusses "the purification of virtue (sila)" as part of the traditional "seven stages of purification" and defines sila as being in a state of fundamental friendliness toward self and others. Sanskrit terms: sila: "coolness" or  "cool-headedness" kusala: skilful, virtuous...

A discussion on the seven types of meditation, includes the Sanskrit terms samatha, vipassana, and rupa/arupa jhana Full talk: Part 3 of 3 Sanskrit terminology used in this talk include: bardo and Tathagatagarbha. http://www.planetdharma.com/

A discussion on the seven types of meditation. Full talk: Part 2 of 3 --- Continuing with this discussion on the seven types of meditation, you’ll encounter the following Sanskrit terms: Tathagatagarbha, alaya-vijnana References are also made to Mahākāśyapa, the Flower sermon disciple, and Hui Neng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism. http://www.planetdharma.com/

A discussion on the seven types of meditation. Full talk: Part 1 of 3 --- In this discussion on the seven types of meditation, you'll encounter the following Sanskrit terms: samatha, vipassana, rupa/arupajhana Talks are edited lightly to remove extraneous material. For more information on the activities of Doug Sensei, please visit:  http://www.planetdharma.com/

With the purification of consciousness, you realize that you are a wave and you are an ocean. In essence you are water -- all the same water. Water is the six senses in this metaphor. --- This talk was given for a retreat in Guatemala on Feb. 26, 2004. Part 2 of 2. For more information on the activities of Doug Sensei, please visit: http://www.planetdharma.com/

Purification of the sense doors is probably the most important work you do on the path, leading to a body of radiance. --- This talk was given for a retreat in Guatemala on Feb. 26, 2004. Part 1 of 2. For more information on the activities of Doug Sensei, please visit: http://www.planetdharma.com/ podcast.clearskycenter.org

The root of the path is sila, samadhi and panna. 1. The Golden Rule works. 2. Concentration -- requires and effort that goes beyond your preference mind (you get bored). Important for right-hemisphere brain if mind is wandering around in the left brain. 3. Wisdom -- Complete View: fundamentally, reality from a Transcendent point of view is self-aware, luminescent, spacious. From that platform all...

All the objects of your mind are impermanent. Liberation from suffering/Nirvana/Christ consciousness is a right-hemisphere experience but the left hemisphere is the hemisphere that knows about it. --- This talk was given in Kyoto, Japan, in November 2008. It is Part 2 of 3. podcast.clearskycenter.org http://www.planetdharma.com/

When studying the mind, if you're busy with your thoughts, feelings and sensations, you're getting caught up with what's in the mind, not the nature of the mind itself. "M" Mind is aware, spacious, naturally luminescent and clear. --- This talk was given in Kyoto, Japan, in Nov. 2008. Part 1 of 3.