Secrets Of The Mind by Rodney Smith

Rodney Smith spent eight years in Buddhist monastic settings, both at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Massachusetts and during several years as a Buddhist monk in Asia. He ordained with Mahasi Sayadaw in Burma, then practiced for three years with Ajahn Buddhadasa in Thailand. He disrobed as a monk in 1983 and, after returning to the West, started working in hospice care and teaching Vipassana throughout the United States.

Rodney has devoted much of his energy to serving the dying—both in direct service positions and, until 2000, within hospice management. Since then Rodney has been a full-time dharma teacher conducting meditation classes and retreats and offering spiritual consultations. He serves as a guiding teacher for IMS and is the founding and guiding teacher for the Seattle Insight Meditation Society. He is author of the books Lessons from the Dying and Stepping Out of Self-Deception. His teaching emphasis is on awakening within the forms of daily lives.



DOWNLOAD

Mudita by Norman Fischer

Zoketsu Norman Fischer (c. 1946) is a Jewish-American Soto Zen roshi, poet and Buddhist author practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. He is a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 1988. Having served as co-abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995—2000, he has published several works of poetry and books on Buddhism. Fischer founded the Everyday Zen Foundation in 2000, a network of sanghas with chapters in Canada, the United States and Mexico. He has authored several essays on interreligious dialogues, and to that end has attended gatherings such as the 1996 Gethsemani Encounter held at The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani in Kentucky (where the Trappist Thomas Merton lived). Fischer has also stayed in touch with his Jewish heritage, occasionally attending services at Beth Sholom synagogue in San Francisco, California and offering instruction in meditation to interested parties there. In addition, he has also served as mentor to teenage boys—all of which is chronicled in his book "Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up." Fischer also serves on the Board of Directors for the Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco, California.



DOWNLOAD

Taking the Refuges as Practice by Steve Armstrong

Here's a fascinating take on taking the three refuges by Steve Armstrong.



DOWNLOAD

A True Person of No Status by Stephen Batchelor

The following is another talk by Stephen Batchelor from a series on Zen meditation given at Gaia House.






DOWNLOAD

The Two Wings of the Dharma by Kamala Masters

This talk received a mixed reception. It is by Kamala Masters, she is a co-founder and guiding teacher of the Vipassana Metta Foundation on Maui in the Hawaiian islands and is currently developing Ho'omālamalama, a sanctuary-hermitage for long-term practice.



DOWNLOAD

Starting All Over Again Part One by Stephen Batchelor

The first two of this series of three talks by Stephen Batchelor are somewhat longer than is usual for Thursday evening talks but the series was so popular time was made available (we had our tea earlier!)



DOWNLOAD

Starting All Over Again Part Two by Stephen Batchelor

DOWNLOAD

Starting All Over Again Part Three by Stephen Batchelor

In this talk Stephen Batchelor examines the "middle path" of the Buddha's teaching. Taken from a Zen retreat at Gaia House.



DOWNLOAD

The Hindrances by Bhante Bodhidhamma

In the late seventies Bhante Bodhidhamma began to meditate in the Soto Zen tradition with his first Buddhist teacher, Vajira Bailey in Birmingham. In August 1979 he underwent Jukai and committed himself to Buddhism as a Zen Buddhist at Throssel Hole Priory in Northumberland.

During this period he was living in Birmingham where a Burmese monk, Ven. Dr. Rewata Dhamma, had set up a Vihara. He began to visit and out of interest joined a course of meditation in the vipassana technique with Achaan Sumedho, now the Chief Monk of the Thai Forest Tradition based at Amaravati Buddhist Centre near Hemel Hempstead. That experience convinced him that Vipassana was to be the technique that most serviced his needs.

Soon after he met his core teacher, Sayadaw U Janaka of Burma (Myanmar). He is one of the main teachers in the Mahasi Tradition. Bhante went to spend six months with him in Yangon. It had a deep and lasting effect upon him.



DOWNLOAD

The Hindrances part II

DOWNLOAD