Listen to Dharma Talks – Orlando Insight Meditation Group

During this talk, Peter provides his perspective on the function of the Seven Awakening Factors, which culminate in the full realization potential of the Four Noble Truths.  He describes three categories within the seven:  Mindfulness, Investigation of Mental Phenomena, and Energy, the persistent ability to maintain a flow of attention and self-regulation that fosters Awakening,  […]

This talk continues reviewing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse, focusing on the hindrance of Skeptical Doubt.  Peter describes the difference between beneficial introspective questioning and the “analysis paralysis” experienced when afflicted by Skeptical Doubt.  He reviews the different categories of doubt that traditional Buddhist doctrine provides along with effective antidotes.  The antidote for Skeptical […]

During this talk, Peter describes how his recently completed 6 full days of self-retreat involved integrating Analayo’s excellent “Mindfulness of Breathing” book with the meditative training protocol called vedanupassana as taught by S. N. Goenka.  Part of his preparation for this retreat involved using ChatGPT to support the integrative process, and these documents are also […]

April Koester discusses the hindrance of Sloth and Torpor, how to recognize it, and some remedies.

This presentation by Lezlie Laws continues a series of talks reviewing the elements of the Satipatthana Sutta, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse.  Restlessness and Worry, commonly known as one of the Five Hindrances, has two characteristics: restlessness, a felt sense of scattered, agitated attention, and worry, the story that accompanies the agitation, seeming to […]

This talk continues an ongoing review of the Mindfulness of Breathing Discourse, focusing on the hindrance of Aversion and Ill-Will.  Allie Vaknin describes the characteristics of aversion in a way that is not only effective for spiritual development, but can be beneficial for not being hooked by anger or fear, mindfully noticing and disregarding aversive […]

During this talk, Susan Baxter continues the review by our teachers of the Satipatthana Sutta, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse.  After reviewing the overall structure of the Sutta, she focuses on the first of the Five Hindrances, Sense Desire, which investigates the distress and confusion associated with craving pleasant feelings.  She then describes how […]

During this talk, Peter responds to questions about lojong training, (A Tibetan discipline for developing compassion), and the “near and far enemy” of lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.

This talk, provided by Lezlie Laws, continues reviewing elements of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse, focusing in the Third Foundation, Mindfulness of the Mind.  Lezlie uses a Zen question to foster internal understanding of how the mind creates a self:  “What Is This?”  The question is not intended to be abstract and intellectual, but […]

During this meditation, Lezlie Laws provides suggestions that involve a useful question for exploring the nature of the mind–“What is this?”.  The question curiosity regarding how the mind creates the experience of selfing and is intended to diminish the demands of craving and clinging.  This contemplation is intended to support her comments during the Dharma talk that followed this contemplation reviewing the Third Foundation of Mindfulness, Mindfulness of the Mind.  She also suggests ways to apply this question directly to one’s subjective experience while meditating and participating in daily life experiences.

During this talk, Allie Vaknin provides a review of the second of the four foundations of mindfulness, vedanupassana, traditionally translated as mindfulness of feelings.  Her comments include references to how feelings can be understood not only as emotions, but also as craving pleasant experiences orexperiencing unpleasant feelings with aversion.  The goal of practice is to […]