Sunday Dharma Talk

The Possibility of Letting Go

What would it be like to let go of our suffering?  What would it be like to let go of our grasping?  Can we learn to consider the possibility of letting go?  In this dharma talk, Peter Doobinin discusses the process by which, little by slowly, we open to our potential to let go ... and, in turn, to know true happiness.  The talk was given at the Eight-Day Retreat in April 2022.

Freedom From Our Stories

What would it be like to find freedom from our stories?  Most of us cling to certain stories, habitual narratives about ourselves and the world.  These stories are a prison for us; they prevent us from moving forward in life.  But, as Peter Doobinin explains in this dharma talk, we can find freedom these stories.  And when we do, life opens up for us.  The talk was given in January 2018, at a Downtown Meditation Community daylong retreat.

The Teaching on Not Self

If we develop an understanding into not self, it will lead us toward an end of suffering.  But what is the Buddha's teaching on not self?  There are all kinds of misconceptions about what the Buddha taught in this regard.  In this dharma talk, Peter Doobinin explains the Buddha's teaching on not self and how to apply this teaching in our practice.  May all beings be well and at ease.

The Freedom of Simplicity

What are the burdens we're carrying through this life?  The things of life may bring us some happiness.  However, as dharma student, Peter Doobinin explains, we come to know a greater happiness when we let go of these things.  In this talk, Peter describes how the simplicity the path asks us to develop leads to awakening, freedom, bliss.  The dharma talk was given at the Eight-Day Retreat in April 2022.

A Light Touch

In this dharma talk, Peter Doobinin describes how we develop a light touch in meditation and in life.  As dharma students, this is elemental to our practice:  we seek to move through life with ease, connected to an internal pleasure, in tune with our aliveness.  The talk was given in July 2022.

And better than a hundred years
lived apathetic & unenergetic, is
          one day
lived energetic & firm.
(Dhp 110)

Courage

Dharma practice is a process of change.  A practice of moving forward.  As such, it requires courage.  But what is courage in the context of the Buddha's teachings?  In this dharma talk, Peter Doobinin describes what courage is and how we develop it.  The talk was given in April 2022.

How the Path Develops

If we understand how the Buddha's path develops, it will serve us greatly as we make the journey toward a greater happiness.  In this dharma talk, Peter discusses three metaphors that the Buddha offers in the service of helping us understand how the path unfolds.  The talk was given in April 2022.

How the Body Feels is Important

When the body feels good, we function most effectively.  How the body feels is important.  To this end, the dharma student seeks to cultivate, in meditation, a pleasant abiding in the body; and she seeks to maintain this pleasant abiding in all postures.  In this talk Peter Doobinin explains how we develop skillful internal pleasure and why it's so important to learn to do this.  The talk was given at the Eight-Day Retreat in April 2022.

Awareness, Breath, Compassion

What does it mean to bring awareness to our experience?  Why is this skill important to develop?  In this dharma talk, Peter Doobinin explains the simple practice for bringing awareness to our experience of mind and body.  The skill is captured in the acronym ABC:  Awareness, Breath, Compassion.  The talk was given at the Eight-Day Retreat in April 2022.

Seclusion & Action

In dharma practice we develop seclusion & action.  The practice of seclusion, including meditation, enables us to take action.  Action, specfically, that is driven by compassion and love.  The path asks that we take action.  This action, supported by the qualities we develop in meditation, is in fact the fruition of the path.  The dharma talk was given by Peter Doobinin on the closing night of the April 2022 Retreat.