Donald Rothberg: Talk: The Practice of Developing Samadhi (Concentration)

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

#Buddhist #Religion #Dharma #Dhamma #Seed #Insight #Meditation #Metta #Retreat #Buddhism #Dharma Seed #Vipassana

42:18

“I used to be the largest dairy consumer on the planet. I used to eat so much dairy and meat. The more that I looked into the dairy industry, the more that I saw that it was the singular, most inhumane industry on the planet, that we've all been lied to, including myself, for years. I always believed that the picture on the milk carton, the cow standing next to her calf in the green field with the red barn in the back was true. It’s certainly the complete opposite.” – Richard (Kudo) Couto Richard (Kudo) Couto is the founder of Animal Recovery Mission (ARM), an organization solely dedicated to investigating extreme animal cruelty cases. ARM has led high-risk undercover operations that have resulted in the shutdown of illegal slaughterhouses, animal fighting rings, and horse meat trafficking networks. Recently, they released a damning investigation into two industrial dairy farms outside of Phoenix, Arizona supplying milk to Coca-Cola’s Fairlife brand. What they uncovered was systemic animal abuse, environmental violations, and a devastating betrayal of consumer trust. While Fairlife markets its products as being sourced "humanely," ARM’s footage tells a very different story—one of suffering, abuse, and corporate complicity. Despite the evidence, this story has been largely ignored by mainstream media—likely due to Coca-Cola’s massive influence and advertising dollars.…

30 days ago 1:01:45

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(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This talks focuses on one of the three areas of practice discussed a week before, on developing samadhi (or concentration), the theme of Donald's four weeks of practice in March. We begin by more generally discussing the nature of samadhi, including short account of the etymology in Pali, and the Tibetan sense of samadhi as "staying," as developing in the nine stages of the "Elephant Path." We look at the place and importance of developing samadhi in our practice and its relationship to insight practice; developing samadhi is one of the eight factors of the Noble Eightfold Path and appears in many of the Buddha's core teachings. We discuss some ways to practice developing samadhi, and then focus especially on several challenges of such practice and how to work with such challenges. The talk is followed by discussion, including further exploration of the relationship of cultivating samadhi and insight practice, the nature of skillful effort, and the joy that can arise in the development of samadhi.

906 episodes

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

Donald Rothberg: Talk: The Practice of Developing Samadhi (Concentration)

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

published 30 days ago

MP3•Episode home

906 episodes

#Buddhist #Religion #Dharma #Dhamma #Seed #Insight #Meditation #Metta #Retreat #Buddhism #Dharma Seed #Vipassana

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Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Understanding and Responding to the World on the Basis of Core Teachings and Practices 1 1:03:13

9 days ago1:03:13

1:03:13

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We first explore in general the relationship of core teachings and practices to the social and political dimensions of our lives. We see that Buddhist practice in the West has commonly emphasized meditation and inner practices, often neglecting or marginalizing the ethical training that traditionally is one of the three dimensions of training, even though the Buddha did often give social commentary (e.g., on the caste system) and at times social interpretations of the ethical precepts ("Let one not destroy life nor cause others to destroy life and, also, not approve of others’ killing. . . . Let one not cause to steal, nor approve of others’ stealing.'). We explore a vision of individual and collective awakening, inspired in part by more contemporary traditions of socially engaged Buddhism initially developed by pioneers like Thich Nhat Hanh, Sulak Sivaraksa, A.T. Ariyaratne, Dr. Ambedkar, Joanna Macy, and Robert Aitken. Then we give some attention to how to connect inner and outer practices, particularly focusing, as we did in the guided meditation, on practicing with challenging emotions and thoughts, and clarifying ways to act in the world. The talk is followed by discussion and ends with the setting of intentions.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Guided Meditation: Exploring Emotions and Thoughts Connected to Contemporary Social and Political Events 42:51

9 days ago42:51

42:51

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) After about 25 minutes of lightly guided practice, to settle with concentration and/or mindfulness practice, we explore in several ways some of the emotions and thoughts that have been present related to the current state of the society and world. We first relive a recent experience and then bring mindfulness to the somatic, emotional, and mental dimensions of experience. We then work with Kristen Neff's three-step self-compassion practice, leading to developing intentions for how to practice with such experiences in the future.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Talk: The Practice of Developing Samadhi (Concentration) 1:01:45

30 days ago1:01:45

1:01:45

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Guided Meditation: Developing Samadhi (Concentration) 2 40:26

30 days ago40:26

40:26

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) This guided meditation gives more detail on developing samadhi than the guided meditation from a week ago. First, after a brief overview of the nature of samadhi (usually translated as "concentration"), instructions are given for a practice session developing samadhi, including on posture, gaze, possible objects of focus, and skillful effort. Midway through the session, some further guidance is given on "intensifying," which helps both to deepen samadhi and to cut through background thinking as well as foreground thinking.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Reflections on Three Themes from a Four-Week Retreat: Listening Deeply, Developing Samadhi (Concentration) through Practicing the Jhanas, and Integrating Retreat Practice with Daily… 1:05:04

5 weeks ago1:05:04

1:05:04

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) In the talk, Donald reflects on having just completed, four days before the talk, four weeks of practice at Spirit Rock. He particularly focuses on three themes from the retreat, exploring each theme in terms of both its retreat context and its daily life context. The first is the theme of listening deeply to one's own "intuition" and what "calls." The second is the theme of developing samadhi (usually translated as "concentration"--the unified mind and heart and body) and in particular practicing the eight jhanas as taught by the Buddha. The third is the theme of bringing the retreat learning and explorations into daily life, and how in particular to cultivate the first two themes in the daily life context. The talk is followed by discussion.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Guided Meditation: Developing Samadhi (Concentration) 41:31

5 weeks ago41:31

41:31

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We begin with a brief account of the nature of samadhi (usually translated as "concentration"), and then give instructions for developing samadhi in formal meditation. (We'll come back to discuss samadhi in more depth in the talk.) There are several reminders during the meditation to return to the focus on cultivating samadhi. In the last part of the meditation, we connect the greater stability that's developed in the practice of cultivating samadhi with cultivating mindfulness.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Cultivating Wise Speech: Its Importance in the Path of Everyday Awakening 1:03:33

12 weeks ago1:03:33

1:03:33

(Insight San Diego) Wise speech is an integral part of the traditional Buddhist path of awakening and a powerful way to energize our daily life practice, but is often underdeveloped in Western Buddhist practice. We’ll look in a very practical way at three aspects of wise speech: (1) developing presence in the midst of communication; (2) working with the four guidelines for skillful speech developed by the Buddha; and (3) becoming more mindful of and skillful with thoughts and emotions occurring during communication. For each of the foundations, a number of ways of practicing are offered. The talk is followed by discussion.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Awakening in a World in Turmoil 2: Seeing the World with Dharma Eyes 1:05:07

12 weeks ago1:05:07

1:05:07

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) How do we see the world, especially and social world, from the perspective of awakening--with, we might say, "dharma eyes"? We explore this question in a time of great turmoil and concern in the world, particularly in the U.S. We start with several passages coming from an awakened mind and heart, including a passage from the Metta Sutta--how would one then look at the larger world? We explore how the Buddha himself looked at the world and social structures, particularly in terms of caste and gender. From our practice seeing greed, hatred, and delusion in ourselves, we learn how to see these qualities in others, and in the world. From our ethical training, we learn how to see when we are not following the ethical guidelines and when others are not, including on a larger social level. We also see how we can understand some of the larger social issues, particularly related to the climate crisis, racism, and gender, in terms of greed (especially), hatred, and delusion. We close, in this context, first with a pointing to ways of responding, using Joanna Macy's model of three ways that the "Great Turning" occurs, and then with a poem.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Awakening in a Time of Turmoil 1:07:08

13 weeks ago1:07:08

1:07:08

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We continue to explore the nature of awakening. In the first 2/3 of the talk, we examine the traditional notion of awakening, as going beyond the habitual constructions of experience in all the parts of our lives. These constructions are rooted in reactivity (grasping and pushing away aspects of our experience), and a sense of self along with a world of objects known conceptually (through "signs"). We look also at the more positive sense of awakening to the "signless, boundless, and all luminous," to what the Thai Forest teacher Ajahn Mun calls the "primal mind." Then we ask about whether there are other dimensions to awakening needed for contemporary awakening, and examine in particular what awakening means in a time of turmoil. We take Thich Nhat Hanh as an exemplar--a practitioner dedicated to awakening practicing and teaching amidst the turmoil of war and exile. We outline a number of suggestions and guidelines for those practicing and awakening amidst the current turmoil.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Guided Meditation: Exploring Some Further Ways We Construct Experience 35:51

13 weeks ago35:51

35:51

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We start with basic instructions in developing (1) concentration and stability, and (2) mindfulness, and then practice developing these two qualities. With mindfulness practice, we notice the main patterns of thoughts, emotions, and bodily experience. In the second half of the session, we work with being aware of the feeling-tone (linked with the Second Foundation of Mindfulness), noticing moderate (or somewhat greater) pleasant or unpleasant feeling-tones, and what occurs after we notice them. We also attend for a short period of two minutes to the moment-to-moment feeling tones of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral, and then go back to basic mindfulness practice for the last part of the session.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Metta Practice and the Larger World (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 42:17

16 weeks ago42:17

42:17

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) In this session, Donald gives about a 25-minute talk, followed by 15 minutes of discussion. How do we move from a week of metta practice into a time of turmoil and uncertainty in the U.S. and in the world? A number of guidelines and suggestions are given, including keeping the vision of practicing in all parts of one’s life, and keeping close the visions of awakening and of what Dr. King called the “beloved community.” In this time, staying connected with community is also crucial, as are, among many skillful intentions, practicing skillfully with difficult emotions, grounding in the body, cultivating cycles of engagement and withdrawal, and being careful about the amount of information one takes in. The talk ends by pointing to Joanna Macy’s model of three areas of transformation, and the invitation to respond to the call that each of us may hear. Discussion follows.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Metta Practice and the Life and Work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 55:59

16 weeks ago55:59

55:59

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) On the birthday of Dr. King, we explore some of the remarkable and powerful parallels between Metta practice and Buddhist teachings, on the one hand, and the life, teachings, and work of Dr. King, on the other. We explore in particular three areas: (1) the connection between Metta and the Christian tradition of acting from love that is central for King; (2) the wisdom perspective of seeing greed, hatred, and delusion, and developing understanding and manifesting non-reactivity through ethical grounding and nonviolence; and (3) the other qualities of the awakened heart--the Brahmavihara for the Buddha, and Dr. King’s way of manifesting qualities in addition to love, such as compassion, empathy, joy, and equanimity.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Guided Meditation: Radiating Metta (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 37:19

17 weeks ago37:19

37:19

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We start with naming two general contexts for metta practice: (1) metta is practiced along with the other three brahmavihara—compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity—and when mature integrates the other three; and (2) there are different ways of practicing metta. We then look at another main way of practicing, likely the way that the Buddha practiced—radiating metta. After a brief overview, we practice radiating metta first through a guided spatial expansion of radiating metta, from one’s own heart to the infinite expanse. Then we practice briefly a simple way of just letting metta radiate. After practice, there is discussion.…

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Guided Meditation: Forgiveness Practice (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 47:04

17 weeks ago47:04

47:04

(Spirit Rock Meditation Center) We begin with a short overview of the nature of forgiveness and forgiveness practice. Then there is a guided practice of forgiveness, followed by discussion.

Donald Rothberg's most recent Dharma talks (Dharma Seed)

1
Donald Rothberg: Evening Talk: The Nature and Potential of Metta Practice (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 58:47

17 weeks ago58:47