Listen to Dharma Talks – Orlando Insight Meditation Group
720 episodes - English - Latest episode: 22 days ago - ★★★★★ - 9 ratingsA Contemporary Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation Community For Central Florida
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Episodes
Right Livelihood As Right Lifestyle
April 04, 2024 18:28 - 1 hour - 63.2 MBThe traditional rendering of samma ajiva in english is Right Livelihood; during this talk, Peter revises this part of the Noble Eightfold Path as Right Lifestyle, as life is more complex and more stressful psychologically in contemporary American culture. He describes the demands of work, finances, societal conflict, physical well-being, and environmental disruption through the […]
Reviewing Right Action
March 28, 2024 20:50 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBThis talk continues a thorough review of the Four Noble Truths, focusing on the second attribute of the Fourth Truth, within the Virtue Aggregate of the Noble Eightfold Path–Right Action. During the talk, Lili describes the characteristics of the Precepts, which are the ethical guidelines to be understood and acted upon to further the path […]
Reviewing the Value of Virtue and Right Speech
March 21, 2024 17:39 - 1 hour - 56.6 MBDuring this talk, Peter provides an overview of Sila, the Buddhist Virtue Aggregate, which is found within the Noble Eightfold Path, with an emphasis on the importance of mindfully recognizing the non-virtuous elements of contemporary cultural conditioning, which create disharmony and dysfunction with significant negative consequences for social cohesion and the environment, renouncing them, and […]
Reviewing Right Intention
March 14, 2024 18:30 - 1 hour - 59.5 MBThis talk by Allie Vaknin continues an ongoing review of the Four Noble Truths, specifically focusing on a function of the Wisdom Aggregate of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Intention. Allie describes different manifestations of Right Intention: Renunciation of unwholesomeness, Kindness, and Compassion. This recording includes several comments and questions posed by those participating in […]
Reviewing Right Understanding
March 07, 2024 17:21 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBDuring this talk, April continues the ongoing review of the Noble Eightfold Path by sharing her research about the Wisdom Aggregate, specifically Samma Ditthi, translated as Right View or Right Understanding. This part of the Path provides the conceptual basis for understanding the law of Karma–cause and effect. Her presentation includes several questions and comments […]
Overview Of The Noble Eightfold Path
February 29, 2024 19:46 - 57 minutes - 52.3 MBThis talk continues an ongoing review of the Four Noble Truths, with emphasis on the Fourth Noble Truth, the Noble Eightfold Path. This overview describes the general structure of the Path categories, which represent the ways and means for realizing the spiritual aspirations developed in the first three Noble Truths. Peter describes a more contemporary […]
Guided Basic Mindfulness Of Breathing Meditation
February 29, 2024 19:31 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThis is intended to be a resource for cultivating mindfulness of breathing meditation, providing several suggestions during the experience to support developing more skill and confidence in the practice of a fundamental Buddhist training for self-awareness and self-discipline.
Third Noble Truth Review
February 22, 2024 21:10 - 56 minutes - 52 MBDuring this talk, Allie Vaknin provides insights regarding the four stages of Nirvana experience: Stream Entry, Once-Returner, Non-returner, and Arahant. The recording includes comments from various participants in the meeting. Next week’s talk will provide an overview of the Fourth Noble Truth, The Noble Eightfold Path; subsequent talks will address each element of the Noble […]
How To Change Your Karma
February 15, 2024 19:58 - 1 hour - 63 MBThis is the second presentation regarding the processes that create dukkha. The talk recorded on February 14, 2024 reviewed the characteristics of craving and clinging. This talk provides a review of a key concept of Buddhist psychology, paticca samuppada, translated as dependent origination. Peter explains how ignorance and unwholesome karmic influences generate craving and clinging […]
Guided Dependent Origination Contemplation
February 15, 2024 19:41 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThis guided meditation is intended to accompany the Dharma talk of February 14, 2024 that focuses on the important Buddhist concept of paticca samuppada, dependent origination. During the meditation, it is suggested the meditator investigate how the mind is drawn away from the neutral feeling tone associated with breath sensations by craving and clinging, creating […]
The Second Noble Truth, Part 1, Craving and Clinging
February 08, 2024 20:10 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBThis talk focuses on the factors that produce dukkha–craving and clinging. Peter describes the traditional Buddhist terms for craving and clinging, along with how contemporary neurological research supports the validity of this understanding of the human condition. After his descriptions, participants in the group asked questions and shared observations about the topic. Here are the […]
Mindful Parenting and Dukkha
February 01, 2024 19:37 - 58 minutes - 53.6 MBDuring this talk, Lili, the mother of two young boys, reviews her Buddhist studies and practices for addressing the dukkha–distress and confusion–that occurs while parenting, along with effective ways of cultivating mindfulness, kindness, compassion, and patience during daily interactions with her boys. She describes the three different types of dukkha and the importance of compassionate […]
Dukkha, The First Noble Truth
January 25, 2024 17:14 - 57 minutes - 52.5 MBThis presentation by April Koester, one of our cadre of teachers, begins an extensive review of the Four Noble Truths, focusing on the inevitability of dukkha, the physical and mental suffering that comes with being alive. During the talk, several participants share their questions and observations regarding this important and basic point of study and […]
Overview of the Four Noble Truths
January 18, 2024 19:08 - 1 hour - 30.3 MBThis talk presents a broad review of a core concept within all the Buddhist traditions, the Four Noble Truths. Peter talks about how the concepts of dukkha, craving and clinging, freedom from dukkha and the Noble Eightfold Path provide an an integrated way to understand the human condition, along with the ways and means to […]
Peter’s Jhana Retreat Report
November 09, 2023 19:15 - 1 hour - 60.2 MBAfter a significant retreat experience, participants have the opportunity to review what they learned during one of our meetings. Peter describes the retreat he just completed as one of the most significant of the more than 40 residential retreats he has attended. Shaila Catherine, the teacher, is internationally known and respected for her knowledge regarding […]
Cultivating Jhana
October 19, 2023 17:56 - 1 hour - 60.3 MBPeter Carlson will be participating in a 10-day retreat soon that focuses on concentrating the mind to the level of experiencing jhana, an extraordinarily focused level of attention that is frequently described in the earliest Buddhist teachings. He talks about previous jhana experience, the characteristics of jhana states and his preparation for this immersive experience. […]
Dependent Origination And Emptiness
October 12, 2023 16:53 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBDuring this talk, Peter Carlson reviews the key Buddhist teaching on dependent origination as it is associated with another important concept, emptiness, which has frequently been misunderstood. During the discussion, contemporary scientific and psychological information that fosters more clarity about the topics are presented. Here are the notes prepared for this talk, which provide a […]
Realizing The Four Noble Truths
October 05, 2023 18:23 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBThis talk by Peter Carlson thoroughly summarizes the last verse of the Satipatthana Sutta, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse, which describes how the Four Noble Truths are transformed by the effective coordinated functioning of the Seven Awakening Factors from a conceptual understanding to direct knowledge of the transient and impersonal nature of subjective experience. […]
Reviewing The Equanimity Awakening Factor
September 28, 2023 18:24 - 1 hour - 59.6 MBDuring this talk, Lezlie Laws reviews the seventh Awakening Factor, Equanimity, beginning with a very well-written essay by her describing the poise and dedication of a hawk living in New York City and raising chicks in the middle of the busy metropolis. She speaks of how viewing a video about this hawk stirred her emotionally […]
Retreat Review By Andy Quinn
September 21, 2023 18:51 - 50 minutes - 45.9 MBIt is customary for our Sangha meetings to provide an opportunity for someone who has participated in a recent residential retreat to “think out loud” about their experience. Much of the benefit of a retreat occurs outside of awareness, and an opportunity to talk about what happened during the retreat can bring new insights to […]
Reviewing the Joy Awakening Factor
September 15, 2023 20:08 - 1 hour - 56.7 MBAllie Vaknin provides a review of the Joy Awakening Factor during this talk, clarifying the various ways that joy can arise as an internally generated phenomena, not dependent upon external circumstances.
Reviewing Tranquility and Concentration
September 15, 2023 19:57 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBThis talk provides a review of two of seven Awakening Factors, Tranquility and Concentration, which are so integrated in their functioning that their manifestation is called samatha (syah-mah-tah) in Pali. Peter Carlson provides a review of each of the two, including skillful means for cultivating them, both while meditating and in the context of lifestyle […]
Guided Tranquility And Concentration Contemplation
September 15, 2023 19:43 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThis guided meditation combines the functions of Tranquility and Concentration, two of the seven Awakening Factors. This contemplation is intended to supplement the talk ” Tranquility and Insight”, presented the same evening and posted in the archives.
Reviewing The Investigation of Mental Phenomena
September 15, 2023 19:25 - 57 minutes - 52.8 MBDuring this talk, Peter Carlson reviews Dhamma Vicaya Bojjhanga, the Investigation of Mental Phenomena Awakening Factor. This quality of investigative curiosity, in coordination with the Mindfulness and Energy Awakening Factors, provides a primary support for the development of the other four Awakening Factors. Peter describes how investigation builds from the simple practice of aiming attention […]
Reviewing The Seven Awakening Factors, Part 2
October 13, 2022 20:49 - 59 minutes - 54.8 MBThis talk reviews the Awakening Factors Joy and Tranquility. The understanding of the review is that the first three Awakening Factors, Mindfulness, Investigation Of Mental Phenomena and Energy/Effort/Persistence, which were reviewed during the talk of October 5, 2022, support the development of the remaining Awakening Factors. The traditional understanding of these two factors is reviewed, […]
Reviewing The Seven Awakening Factors, Part 1
October 06, 2022 20:45 - 1 hour - 57.3 MBOnce the mind has settled because the Five Hindrances have been conditionally disabled, the full realization of Awakening becomes possible because of the effect of the Seven Awakening Factors: Mindfulness, Investigation of Mental Phenomena, Energy/Effort/ Persistence, Joy/Engaged Interest, Tranquility, Concentration/Unification and Equanimity/Balance. This talk focuses on a review of the first three of the factors, […]
Six Beautiful Pairs of Wholesome Mind Conditioners
September 22, 2022 17:00 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBThe Six Beautiful Pairs of Wholesome Cetasikas represent the fulfillment of wholesomeness in the mind. The integrated and unified functions of the Universal, Particular and seven Wholesome mind conditioning factors manifests as 12 integrated characteristics–six factors being among various aggregations of the wholesome factors and six representing their beneficial effects on consciousness. The value of […]
Reviewing The Wholesome Mind Conditioners, Part 1
September 15, 2022 17:54 - 1 hour - 55.3 MBThere are 25 wholesome mind conditioners described in Buddhist psychology; this talk reviews the first 7 of these functions. They are present in each moment of consciousness, operating to free the mind from distress and confusion. The value in reviewing them comes from first being able to identify them conceptually, then to recognize their operation […]
Reviewing The Mind Conditioners–Part 2
September 08, 2022 16:30 - 1 hour - 60.1 MBThis talk reviews the 14 Unwholesome Cetasikas, categories of mind conditioning functions that create dukkha, the distress and confusion that constitute the “default mode” of one’s personality. The core functions are ignorance regarding karma, desire for pleasurable experience and aversion to unpleasant experience. The talk begins with a quick review of the Universal and Particular […]
Reviewing The Mind Conditioners–Part 1
September 01, 2022 13:25 - 58 minutes - 53.2 MBThis is a first of a series of talks that review the cetasikas, “Those factors that condition the mind”. There are 52 mind conditioners in Theravada Buddhist doctrine, and this review focuses on the first two subsections, the Universal and Particular cetasikas. The remaining subsections, the Unwholesome and Wholesome cetasikas will be covered in future […]
Reviewing Dependent Origination
August 25, 2022 17:53 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBThis talk provides a view of a core Buddhist concept that describes how karma is formed that differs from the traditional Theravaden understanding–instead of the terminology of Dependent Origination, a case is made for an alternative rendering, Contingent Provisional Emergence, which includes more contemporary concepts and research regarding the formative drives that create our personality […]
Contemplating the Five Aggregates of Clinging
August 19, 2022 13:05 - 1 hour - 60.8 MBThis talk continues an extensive review of the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, focusing on a Buddhist theory of personality, the Five Aggregates of Clinging. This concept provides a way to investigate the impersonal nature of one’s subjective experience, leading to insight regarding anatta, the absence of an enduring and autonomous self. The concept does not […]
Guided Five Aggregates Contemplation
August 19, 2022 12:47 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThis guided meditation provides an experiential review of the characteristic elements found in the section of the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness dedicated to contemplating what is regarded as a Buddhist theory of personality. it is intended to supplement the talk of October 18, 2022 titled “Reviewing the Five Aggregates of Clinging”.
The Fourth Foundation–Reviewing the Five Hindrances
August 11, 2022 15:07 - 1 hour - 61.8 MBThis talk begins an extensive review of Dhammanupassana, the Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness, first with an analysis of Mindfulness of Mental Phenomena, followed by a review of the Five Hindrances. Cultivating insight into the way these factors condition the mind is a core practice that fosters the process of Awakening. Future talks will review the […]
Reviewing Mindfulness of the Mind
August 04, 2022 14:13 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MBThe Third Foundation of Mindfulness, cittanupassana, is a contemplation of the various ways consciousness reflects subjective experience; the goal of this contemplation is to realize that the mind is impersonal, not a self. This review also includes discussion of contemporary scientific concepts such as complexity theory, which validate the concepts about how the mind operates […]
Reviewing Mindfulness of Feelings
July 28, 2022 15:22 - 1 hour - 59.7 MBMindfulness of Feelings is the second area of focus within the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse. During this review, the importance of understanding the way pleasant or unpleasant feelings drive thoughts and behaviors through direct observation is emphasized. Contemporary psychological research uses the terms affect approach to describe pleasant feeling and affect avoidance in describing […]
Reviewing Mindfulness of the Body
July 21, 2022 19:38 - 1 hour - 59.2 MBIn the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse, Mindfulness of the Body is the first of the four foundations. This talk reviews important elements of this teaching, including mindfulness of breathing meditation, mindfulness while involved in everyday activities and mindfulness of breathing integrated with whole body awareness. The fundamental value of cultivating mindfulness of the body […]
What Is Satipatthana?
July 14, 2022 19:37 - 1 hour - 56.8 MBThis talk provides an overview of what most Buddhist practitioners consider to be the most comprehensive teaching, the Satipatthana Sutta, typically translated as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse. During the talk, the history of this discourse is reviewed, along with various key conceptual elements that are embedded within the context of the sutta. It […]
Guided Satipatthana Contemplation
July 14, 2022 19:24 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThe Satipatthana Sutta, often translated as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness Discourse, is a key teaching in the various forms of Buddhism around the world. This guided meditation is intended to provide a contemplative review of the four categories: mindfulness of the body, of feelings, of the mind and of mind conditioning factors. It is […]
What Is Mindfulness?
July 07, 2022 18:23 - 44 minutes - 40.5 MBSati, the Pali word we translate as mindfulness, functions as a composite–present moment awareness combined with investigation and Right Effort. This interactive process is reviewed during this talk. Additionally, there is an interesting quote included in the talk that was downloaded from Wikipedia describing the contemporary term metacognition in ways that are strikingly similar in […]
Lezlie Laws’ Retreat Review
June 30, 2022 17:45 - 1 hour - 62 MBIt is customary for our Sangha to provide the opportunity for those members who recently completed a residential retreat to talk about their experience. It fosters the integration of the meditative experience through “thinking out loud” and responding to questions and comments from those participating in the meeting. Lezlie recently participated in a one-week residential […]
Reviewing Right Effort
June 24, 2022 13:20 - 53 minutes - 48.8 MBThis talk is part of a series reviewing the Four Noble Truths. Right Effort is an important element of the Noble Eightfold Path and can be understood as a process of channeling the energy of attention away from unwholesome self-states towards wholesome self-states. The cooperation among the first three of the Seven Awakening Factors–Mindfulness, Investigation […]
Guided Channeling Right Effort Meditation
June 24, 2022 13:08 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThis guided meditation offers a different approach to cultivating Right Effort by suggesting that, while meditating, we can view the flow of experience as metabolic energy derived from food and oxygen, that feeds the brain’s activities. Rather than trying to “stop” unwholesome self-states, we can redirect the energy of attention away from the “weeds” (the […]
Reviewing Right Livelihood
June 16, 2022 17:05 - 1 hour - 55.2 MBThis talk reviews the third attribute of the Virtue aggregate in the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Livelihood. in addition to traditional renderings of this topic, contemporary considerations of “Right Lifestyle” are described, including the importance of physical and financial balance in one’s life to support meditative development and integration of the Dharma into daily living […]
Reviewing Right Speech In These Trying Times
May 26, 2022 18:45 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBThis talk continues a review of the Four Noble Truths with a focus on the first of the Virtue Aggregates contained within the Fourth Noble Truth, Right Speech. In addition to the traditional rendering of Right Speech, Peter adds his insights as a psychotherapist regarding how our internal “selfing story” has a defining function in […]
Reviewing the Cultivation of Wisdom
May 19, 2022 17:40 - 51 minutes - 47.6 MBThis talk continues a series of reviews of the Four Noble Truths and specifically addresses the first two elements of the Fourth Noble Truth, known as the Noble Eightfold Path–Right Understanding and Right Intention. Each of these elements are reviewed, emphasizing how they are coordinated as “two sides of the same coin”. In their functioning, […]
Guided Cultivating Wisdom Contemplation
May 19, 2022 17:22 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThis guided meditation reviews the characteristics and development of the Wisdom Aggregate of the Noble Eightfold Path, which includes Right Understanding and Right Intention. It is intended to complement the recorded Dharma talk entitled “Reviewing the Cultivation of Wisdom” presented during the same meeting on May 18, 2022
Reviewing the Third Noble Truth
May 12, 2022 19:35 - 1 hour - 56.4 MBThis talk continues a review of the Four Noble Truths, with a focus on how the mind is liberated from dukkha through dissolving the potency of craving and clinging, the topic of the Second Noble Truth. Various views relevant to the Third Noble Truth are described, such as sunnata, translated as emptiness, and anatta, the […]
Reviewing the Second Noble Truth
May 05, 2022 18:29 - 1 hour - 58.2 MBThis talk continues a review of the Four Noble Truths, perhaps the most fundamental and universally accepted Buddhist teaching. The characteristics of the Second Noble Truth, craving (tanha) and clinging (upadana) are reviewed regarding traditional understandings as well as more contemporary Buddhist scholarship and neuropsychological research which supports the traditional teaching. Here are the notes […]
Guided Second Noble Truth Contemplation
May 05, 2022 18:14 - 44 minutes - 41.1 MBThis guided meditation brings mindful investigation to the experience of craving and clinging. During the meditation you are invited to also mindfully investigate the absence of craving and clinging, as well as the transitory nature of all subjective experience. This contemplation is intended to complement the Dharma talk entitled “Reviewing the Second Noble Truth”, which […]