The invitation to relax, observe and allow is a wonderful meditation instruction, but it's also a way we can bring mindfulness to our everyday lives. It's a practice of equanimity, awareness and liberation - simple yet profound.Recorded July 11

Everyday Sublime

8 days ago 22m

Continuing last week's theme of experiencing liberation in this moment, Mary looks at Stephen Batchelor's teachings on embracing our existence and opening to the everyday sublime which is available to each of us at any moment.Recorded July 6,

Do Good. Avoid Bad. Purify the Mind.

15 days ago 30m 26s

In this podcast, Mary reflects on the teachings of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu and his concept of "everyday nirvana". If we can follow the Buddha's direction to not cling to anything as I or mine, we will have the freedom and liberation offered by this

How Do We Do the Dharma - The Path of Kindness.

22 days ago 33m 20s

The Paramis are 10 qualities of the heart that it is said we need to develop for awakening. Sylvia Boorstein says they are the natural inclination of the heart and are gifts that we give to each other - they are a path of kindness. These qualit

Dropping the Self and Opening to Joy

29 days ago 29m 6s

One of the heart practices - or brahma viharas - is Mudita, or appreciative joy. This challenging practice invites us to be happy for the wholesome good fortune of others, even those people we may not like. This is a challenging practice becaus

Samsara is a Mess

Jun 11th, 2024 16m 3s

Samsara is the cycle of birth and death that we experience before enlightenment and it is also considered the suffering in this world. In this brief talk, Mary reflects on the reality of our lives and how fighting against difficulties only inte

Conventional and Ultimate Reality

Jun 4th, 2024 19m 8s

In Buddhist teachings there are the ideas of conventional and ultimate reality. In Mahayana tradition they're known as the two truths of relative and absolute. These two ideas enable us to move through the world dealing with the ins and outs of

How Do We Forgive?

May 27th, 2024 20m 24s

We have all been hurt in our lives, to a greater or lesser extent. This hurt often brings up challenging emotions which we can run from or make space for. Healing happens when we become willing to turn towards the difficulty. This healing invol

An Undefended Heart

May 21st, 2024 31m 3s

The idea of an undefended heart seems counterintuitive right now especially with all the suffering in the world. We think that putting up walls will keep us safe but instead the armor just isolates us. The Buddha invited us turn towards the re

We Are All of a Nature

May 13th, 2024 26m 18s

In the Buddha's wisdom he invited us to reflect regularly on our mortality which flies in the face of a society which tells us we can be immortal if we just do it all right. The denial of reality and craving for the impossible causes so much s

Wise Speech in Challenging Times

May 6th, 2024 32m 4s

The Buddha's teaching on Wise Speech serves us well in these days of great polarization. We have our sides and spew our rhetoric, often without thinking about how we communicate can make a bad situation worse. The invitation, as always, is paus

Letting Go Again and Again

Apr 29th, 2024 15m 58s

Bhikkhu Analayo suggests that the Buddha's teachings can be summed up in two words, "Let go." Ah, but if it were only so easy. Mary reflects on how the act of letting go gets more and more subtle and challenging the deeper we go and the longer

Shining a Light on Grief

Apr 23rd, 2024 20m 15s

Grief seems to be a constant companion these days and making space for it is an important part of our practice. Grief can be scary and we're tempted to push it away instead of inviting it in. When we do acknowledge our grief, we reconnect with

Everyday Impermanence

Apr 15th, 2024 17m 50s

The teaching of impermanence is a core tenet of Buddhism and our ability to recognize the impermanence we meet each day is so important for us in order to be free. How we relate to shifting and changing experiences while staying in the present

Dropping the 2nd Arrow

Apr 8th, 2024 22m 5s

Mary discusses this famous teaching of the Buddha. When we experience pain or something uncomfortable the tendency is to react it a way that mitigates the discomfort. The reactivity often just intensifies the initial pain rather than helping us

The Four Efforts

Apr 1st, 2024 26m 59s

Building on last week's talk about overwhelm, Mary discusses how vital it is to make the effort to come back from those places and stories that are not helpful an to make the effort to stay where we are. How do we let go and how do we stay pres

Overwhelm is in the Mind

Mar 26th, 2024 16m 47s

When life gets busy, we can become overwhelmed by everything. Both our lives and the world can be too much. However, the invitation of practice is to be right where we are -- overwhelm occurs when we spend our time in the future or the past and

Grounded in Gratitude

Mar 19th, 2024 21m 43s

In this talk Mary discusses how important being grounded is in the present moment is to be open to gratitude. When we're stuck in thoughts about I, me and mine, it's a challenge to recognize how connected we are to the world and how gratitude a

Heart Practices for Our Times

Mar 12th, 2024 29m 21s

When we practice for extended periods of time we find that our hearts become tender. But often we don't have the time to practice so intensely. The question becomes how can we cultivate a loving and compassionate heart right now, and in a world

Reflections in the Moment

Mar 5th, 2024 7m 18s

There is no dharma talk this week so Mary offers a few reflections on the benefits of residential retreat and the invitation to make peace with the way things are.Recorded March 4, 2024 in the virtual worldVisit Mary's website for more info on

Taking Refuge

Feb 27th, 2024 24m 19s

Taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, The Triple Gem, is usually done on retreat or other occasions. In this talk, Mary delves into what taking refuge means and how reflecting on each of these supports our journey to liberatio

Love and a Very Loud World

Feb 19th, 2024 24m 33s

The world seems to be screaming right now - there is so much going on with violence, climate change, oppression and injustice at every turn. We also have our day-to-day issues to deal with. At times it like these it is more important than ever

It's All Real

Feb 13th, 2024 32m 45s

In this talk Mary discusses the concept of samvega which means the experience we feel when we finally see through the delusion and stories that we have believed and used to guide our lives. It can be a shocking experience and an example is when

Start Where You Are

Feb 6th, 2024 21m 8s

Mary offers the invitation to start where you are quite often but what does it mean? It's the name of a wonderful book by Pema Chödrön, but additionally it is a reminder that we cannot be anywhere other than right here. We often think we have

The Six Realms of Saṃsāra

Jan 29th, 2024 29m 32s

Buddha taught that the six realms of Saṃsāra are where we are caught in the continuing cycle of birth, death and rebirth. We only become free when we are free of craving or clinging, and see clearly into the characteristics of existence. Thes