I am of the Nature to Age by Anna Douglas

Anna Douglas, PhD. is a Buddhist Dharma Teacher, one of the founders of Spirit Rock Meditation Centre.

Her focus is on helping students of the Dharma mature in their practice, taking the practice off the cushion into their daily lives.

This talk examines Anicca, impermanence and the fact that we all age, grow older and die, and how realising this leads to liberation.




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The Buddha's Personality by Vishvapani

The third in a major new series of talks by Vishvapani to mark the launch of his new book: 'Gautama Buddha: The Life and Teachings of the Awakened One' (Quercus, 2011). Vishvapani is a well known figure in the Triratna Buddhist Community and is a regular contributor on the BBC's 'Thought for the Day'.

Great artists have tried and failed to grasp the essence of the Buddha's character. Beyond the narrative and the drama, what was the Buddha actually like? And what can be gleaned from the diverse sources that tell us about him? In this reflective talk Vishavapani looks behind the veils of history, legend and the texts themselves to conjure a vivid, felt image of the Buddha's personality. In a series of beautifully observed close-up drawings from the Pali Canon we are left with a portrait of spiritual genius that is both enigmatically distant and thoroughly human. Talk given at the London Buddhist Centre, February 2011. This talk is part of the series Gautama Buddha.



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The Mind is an Interpretation Machine by Grove Burnett

Grove T. Burnett is founder of the Western Environmental Law Center, a public interest environmental law firm and has had a distinguished career representing environmental organizations and Indian Tribes across the West.

Grove has litigated many of the most important environmental cases in the Southwest, including the reintroduction of the endangered Mexican Wolf (the Lobo) back into the wild. He has been named four times to The Best Lawyers in America, which lists the top 1% of the nation's lawyers, and has received national recognition and many awards for his pathbreaking work in public interest environmental law, including the prestigious Kerry Rydberg Award for Environmental Activism and the E-chievement Award from the nationally syndicated radio show E-Town. Grove is also co-founder, along with Linda Velarde, of the Vallecitos Mountain Refuge, a wilderness ranch and contemplative center for the nonprofit and activist community, located 45 miles west of Taos.

Grove has trained extensively in the Buddhist traditions for over 25 years with Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. In addition to teaching meditation retreats at Vallecitos, he teaches retreats with Steven Smith, Sharon Salzberg, and Joseph Goldstein, including meditation retreats for the Yale Law School and the Insight Meditation Society.



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