Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage

The Buddha described how a deep foundation of integrity can serve us on our path to liberation. Hiri and Otappa are the guardians of this integrity and Mary discusses what they are and how we cultivate them. Hiri safeguards our personal integrity and Otappa guides us as we interact with the world. Recorded June 1, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if y...

The eight worldly winds come and go and impact everyone. Pleasure, pain, gain, loss, praise, blame, fame and disgrace are things we're all familiar with, but our tendency is to hold on to the pleasant ones and work very hard not to experience the unpleasant. The Buddha says that the wise know how to hold each of these without getting bowled over and Mary discusses how to be with whatever aris...

Our lives move from one thing to the next so quickly sometimes and slowly at others. Being with our experience is what the Buddha's teachings are all about. In this talk, Mary talks about all the things arising in the week: Brené Brown, Nonviolence, Intuitive Awareness and the Four Noble Truths among other things. Right now, it's like this. Recorded May 23, 2019 Send me a text with any q...

People often think that desire is a dirty word in Buddhism, but the teachings point to two distinct types of desire. Tanha is the desire that leads to craving. Chanda is the wholesome desire that leads to contentment and well-being. Mary discusses the difference between the two in this dharma talk. Recorded May 11, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if...

Letting go is an important teaching because the Buddha said that clinging is suffering. Sounds simple but how do we do it? How do we identify where we cling, and what are the steps to let go? Mary discusses what that might look like in this podcast. Recorded May 2, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included a...

How do we see clearly and stay present with our direct experience? How do we know what is real and what is fabrication? How do we live as though the truth were true? Mary examines these questions and what the Buddha taught about being present for reality. Recorded April 20, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not i...

Our entire experience is lived through our senses and often we don't pay attention to what we're taking in. The Buddha advises us to guard the sense doors in order to be clear in how we interact with the world. This mindfulness leads to greater equanimity and a wise relationship to our surroundings. It's especially important in this day of influencers and subtle propaganda. Recorded...

The idea of what it means to be a Buddhist can be very rigid and not actually related to what the Buddha taught. Mary discusses letting go of this rigidity and using the Buddha's teachings to connect with our direct experience to move through the world in a wise and compassionate way. Recorded March 28, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you wou...

Recorded in February 2013, this is the first dharma talk in the Undefended Heart series. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

Each of the heart practices, lovingkindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity, have a what is called a near enemy. These are emotions or experiences that seem like they are the heart practices, but are neither beneficial or skillful. Mary discusses these and how to let these near, and far, enemies go. Recorded April 11, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your na...

The Buddha said that hatred never ceases through hatred, but only through love. But this is so much easier said than done. This talk examines what keeps us from experiencing this love for ourselves and others and how we cultivate it in a challenging world. Recorded on April 4, 2019. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's n...

The defilements are anything the clouds our mind and keeps us from being present with what actually is. Mary discusses how to work with these negative mind states. Recorded on March 16, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and tea...

Our world can seem upside down at times. In this talk Mary discusses how to hold the reality of what's going on. We can come to it both from a place of love, and a place of engagement. Recorded March 23, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more...

Mary discusses gratitude, what the Buddha has to say about it and how, perhaps, gratitude and grumbling cannot exist at the same time. Gratitude is an anchor to the present time. Recorded Nov 24, 2018 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on class...

How do we taste the freedom of letting go of craving and aversion in this moment? Recorded at Against the Stream on Dec. 23, 2015. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

Reconnecting with our bodies is an important part of our practice. The Buddha said, “Within this fathom-long body and mind is found all of the teachings" yet we are so disconnected from our physical experience that we miss out on so much. How do we reconnect? Recorded Jan. 19, 2019. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it&#3...

A discussion of the concept of Faith in Buddhist teachings and how it forms part of the the Five Spiritual Faculties. Recorded Feb 23, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

We are conditioned by our families, friends, culture and society from the moment we are born and this conditioning is the cause of much suffering. Based on the Buddha's teachings of conditioning, Mary discusses how we can see our conditioning and begin to let it go. Recorded Feb 16, 2019. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response -...

Mary discusses the 8th and final factor of the Eightfold Path. Recorded Dec 22, 2018. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

Mary discusses the Buddha's instructions that we should be kind to all beings, omitting none. Recorded at Against the Stream on Dec 27, 2017. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

A discussion  focusing on the Buddha's teaching on mindfulness: the Satipatthana Sutta. Recorded in Los Angeles on Dec 10, 2018. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

Based on the James Baraz book of the same name, Mary talks about how we can cultivate joy into our lives, regardless of our circumstances. Joy is one of the seven factors of awakening and and important part of our freedom from suffering. Recorded Jan 10, 2019 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automaticall...

Letting go of thoughts that don't serve us and cultivating beneficial ones are key pieces of finding freedom from our conditioning.  Recorded Dec 8, 2018. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

Intentions are not resolutions which often have a harsh edge and are tied to achievement. When we set intentions we need to make sure we see clearly how they will be of benefit to ourselves and others, and to hold them with kindness and compassion. Recorded Jan 3, 2018, at Against the Stream in Los Angeles. Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would lik...

This factor is foundational for how we relate to others without causing harm. Also includes a short piece on Wise Livelihood. Recorded Dec 1, 2018 Send me a text with any questions or comments! Include your name and email if you would like a response - it's not included automatically. Thanks. Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.