Acceptance by Rev. Master Daishin Morgan

Reverend Master Daishin Morgan is a disciple of Jiyu-Kennett and has been a Zen monk for thirty-six years and abbot of Throssel Hole since 1982. (At Throssel Hole Abbey, all ranks and both sexes are addressed as 'Reverend' and are referred to as monks and priests.) The Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, of which Throssel Hole is a member, describe themselves as being in the Serene Reflection Meditation tradition (Ts'ao-Tung Ch'an in China and Sōtō Zen in Japan) and Buddha Recognizes Buddha is firmly in that tradition, drawing heavily on the teachings of Sōtō founder, Dōgen Zenji (1200 – 1253).






DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Afflictive Emotions; Parts 1 and 2 by Joseph Goldstein

Having noticed that we had had only one previous talk from our last speaker, Jack Kornfield, it came as an equal surprise to find that we'd also only had one talk from our current speaker Joseph Goldstein.

Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and loving-kindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where he is one of the organization’s guiding teachers. In 1989, together with several other teachers and students of insight meditation, he helped establish the Barre Centre for Buddhist Studies.

Joseph first became interested in Buddhism as a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand in 1965. Since 1967 he has studied and practised different forms of Buddhist meditation under eminent teachers from India, Burma and Tibet. He is the author of Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma: The Emerging Western Buddhism, Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom, The Experience of Insight, and co-author of Seeking the Heart of Wisdom and Insight Meditation: A Correspondence Course.

Part One



DOWNLOAD

Part Two



DOWNLOAD

The Way Buddha Answered Questions by Jack Kornfield

This is an old Dharma talk by Jack Kornfield from 1984.

The ways that the Buddha answered questions are "an inspiration to connect us with the ancient and timeless endeavour of practice and awakening, and the ways human beings over the centuries have worked with the development of their understanding."



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Generosity by Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal is the primary teacher for the Insight Meditation Centre in Redwood City, California; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practised Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975. He was a Theravada monk in Burma in 1985, and in 1989 began training with Jack Kornfield to be a Vipassana teacher. Gil teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Centre where he is part of its Teachers Council. Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Centre in 1982, and in 1995 received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Centre. He is currently serving on the SF Zen Centre Elders’ Council.




DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Image, Mythos, Dharma by Rob Burbea

The first talk in this two-part series provoked a lot of reaction within the group on Thursday, most of
it inclining to the negative.

I have therefore decided to post both the first talk and the second talk together with a view to people being able to hear the second part here without it being presented at the next meeting.

I must urge everyone to listen to BOTH parts of the talk as the second part really brings everything together and definitely connects the first talk to the  Dharma and the Buddha's teachings (a perceived lack for those who have only heard the first part of Rob's talk).


Image, Mythos, Dharma (Part One) 



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")


Image, Mythos, Dharma (Part Two) 



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

04 Mazu's Heart Sutra by John Daido Loori

This is next in our series "The True Dharma Eye" by John Daido Loori.






DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

The Final Great Adventure 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 the fact that we all age, grow older and die, and how realising this leads to liberation.






DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

True Dharma Eye by John Daido Loori, Roshi

This is the first of a series of fifty Dharma talks by John Daido Loori Roshi based on his translation of "The True Dharma Eye, Zen Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans".

It is a collection of three hundred koans compiled by Eihei Dogen, the thirteenth-century founder of Soto Zen in Japan, this book presents readers with a uniquely contemporary perspective on his profound teachings and their relevance for modern Western practitioners of Zen.

Following the traditional format for koan collections, John Daido Loori Roshi, an American Zen master, has added his own commentary and accompanying verse for each of Dogen’s koans. Zen students and scholars will find The True Dharma Eye to be a source of deep insight into the mind of one of the world’s greatest religious thinkers, as well as the practice of koan study itself.

01 Qingyuan's Whisk



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")


02 Baizhang Remains Seated



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Many Kinds Of Thoughts by Shaila Catherine

In this Dharma talk, Shaila Catherine discusses a range of thoughts and mental objects that arise in meditation.

Unwholesome mental patterns can reinforce obsessive desires, identification, rigid opinions, and attachment to belief systems. What patterns are most common for you—planning, rumination, fantasy, rehearsing, daydreaming, judging, comparing, fixing, instructing?



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Knowing Oneself, Knowing Enlightenment by Reverend Master Daishin

Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey is under the spiritual direction of the Abbot, Rev. Master Daishin Morgan, a senior disciple of the late Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett.





DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

What Are We Waiting For by Catherine McGee

The talk which I took along for last night's meeting of the Newport Soto Zen group was by Catherine McGee and entitled "What Are We Waiting For".

Catherine McGee has practised and studied Buddhist meditation since 1992. She has been teaching insight meditation at Gaia House and internationally since 1997. She is a member of the Gaia House teacher council. She is particularly interested in the integration and embodiment of insight into our personal lives, and the opening of our personal lives for a depth of insight.



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

This talk prompted the following thoughtful response from Sylvia.............

Kamma Revisited by Bhante Bodhidhamma

In this talk, Bhante Bodhidhamma examins the true meaning and intricacies of Kamma (Kharma).

Bhante is the Spiritual Director of Satipanya Buddhist Trust which runs retreats devoted to developing contemplative living and vipassana insight meditation in the tradition of Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma. (He also happens to be the brother of one of our Sangha members.)

Satipanya is located in Powys, Wales, south of Shrewsbury and near the Shropshire border, it is grounded in the Theravada Tradition as practised in South-East Asia.

“Satipanya is a combination of two words: sati means awareness, mindfulness and panya intuitive intelligence. These are the faculties of the Enlightened Mind," 

Bhante Bodhidhamma



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Realm Of Practice And Realm Of Abiding By Rodney Smith

Another challenging talk from Rodney Smith in which he discusses moving from our usual practise of adjusting to the hindrances to the paradigm of Abiding..................




DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

"Making the most of the human condition"; "Ask Not Whether It’s True But Whether It Works" by Winton Higgins

This is the final talk in the series on Secular Buddhism by Winton Higgins which we are alternating with the series on "Homedweller Practice" by John Daido Loori.

The series is called "Making the most of the human condition", and this talk is.........

"Ask Not Whether It’s True But Whether It Works."



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Homedweller Practice by John Daido Loori - Precepts

These two talks are the next portion of John Daido Loori's series on Homedweller practise.

Precepts part 1



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Precepts part 2



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

"Making the most of the human condition"; "Tradition And Culture." by Winton Higgins

This is the third talk in the series on Secular Buddhism by Winton Higgins which we are alternating with the series on "Homedweller Practice" by John Daido Loori.

The series is called "Making the most of the human condition", and this talk is.........

"Tradition And Culture."



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Making the Most of the Human Condition, "Updating The Practice On The Basis Of The First Principles"

This is the next in the series of talks on Secular Buddhism by Winton Higgins which we are alternating with the series on "Homedweller Practice" by John Daido Loori.

The series is called "Making the most of the human condition", and this talk is.........

"Updating The Practice On The Basis Of The First Principles."



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Homedweller Practice by John Daido Loori - Right Livelihood

These three talks are the next portion of John Daido Loori's series on Homedweller practise.

Right Livelihood, Part 1



DOWNLOAD   (Right click and "Save link as....")

Right Livelihood, Part 2



DOWNLOAD   (Right click and "Save link as....")

Right Livelihood, Part 3



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Q & A For Meditation In A Nutshell by Ajahn Brahm

This Q & A session with Ajahn Brahm is the latest in our, so far, occasional series of short talks from our West Wight Sangha meetings. We are hoping to make this a regular feature for the second meeting of each month with our first meeting being a meditation "special".



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

In the beginning was the human condition: the Buddha’s new way to work with it by Winton Higgins

As mentioned previously we are alternating talks from a series on Secular Buddhism by Winton Higgins with the series of talks "Homedweller Practice" by John Daido Loori.

The series is called "Making the most of the human condition", and the first talk is.........

"In the beginning was the human condition: the Buddha’s new way to work with it."



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Homedweller Practice by John Daido Loori - Introduction

As you know most of the talks featured here are ones that I have taken along to the Newport Soto Zen group which I attend on Thursday evenings. Dave who runs and hosts the group has a large collection of talks by John Daido Loori the Zen Master who was the founder and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, New York.

We are featuring a collection of talks by Daido Loori entitled "Homedweller Practice". The series splits into four groups of talks and we will be providing a talk from another series, this time by Winton Higgins on the subject of secular Buddhism, as an interlude between the groups.

The first group of talks are a two-part introduction.

Part One


DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Part Two


DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Mahakaccana; Clarifying The Most Cryptic Teachings by Shaila Catherine

Shaila Catherine concludes the lecture series on the Great Disciples, with a talk about the Venerable Mahakaccana. He was a monk famous for explaining difficult and perplexing teachings.

He addressed profound topics including the construction of I-making and mine-making, craving, conceit, views, mindfulness of sense perceptions, obsession with thoughts of past and future, and overcoming desire and lust. His methods of exposition became the basis of early commentary, and Mahakaccana became known as the first Buddhist commentator.



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

RETREAT TALK - Whatever Helps by Ajahn Munindo

Yesterday, here at the West Wight Sangha, we held our Winter meditation retreat. We aim to have a
retreat seasonally every quarter and we open the doors to our friends from all the other Buddhist groups on the island.

As it poured down all day we couldn't get out for our usual garden-based activities so stayed indoors for a food-based set of mindfulness exercises and a Dharma talk.

The talk was by Ajahn Munindo and is entitled "Whatever Helps".



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Ajahn Munindo is the abbot of Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery which is a Theravada Buddhist monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition in Northumberland.

We also used a guided body scan meditation by Leigh Brasington.



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")

Rahula, Son Of The Buddha by Margaret Gainer

This is the fifth talk in the series on the Great Disciples, the speaker, Margaret Gainer, tells the story of the Buddha's son, Rahula.

Margaret Gainer who began Buddhist meditation practice in 1995 and teaches at several San Francisco Bay area meditation groups and churches. Margaret completed Sati Centre Buddhist Chaplaincy Training, and since 2005 has taught a weekly meditation class for women inmates at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas.

Interestingly, Margaret is a member of the First Congregational Church of San Jose and brings Buddhist teachings and understanding into the life of the church.

There's a mistake concerning mixing up two of the characters in the story, see if you can spot it.........



DOWNLOAD        (Right click and "Save link as....")