Shell Fischer's Podcast

In honor of Valentine’s Day, this talk explores the topic of love by diving into the Acrobat Sutra, a story and teaching that points to the importance of caring for yourself, which in turn transforms into an act of caring for others.

This talk explores what is considered a kind of underground Buddhist classic: the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” starring actor Bill Murray. Embedded in the story are some of the most common (and profound) of the Buddha’s teachings, including things like samsara, karma, beginner’s mind, and hope … among other teachings.

Whenever we sit down to meditate, an important question we can ask ourselves is, “why am I practicing?” Or, “What am I looking for?” We can also consider asking: “who” am I practicing for? … Are we practicing for others, but not ourselves? Are we practicing for ourselves, but not for others? This talk explores the Buddha’s thoughts on these answers from the Firebrand Sutta, and offers us fodder for even more inquiry into both our practice, and our lives.

In the Pāli canon, the Buddha asks us to practice reflecting each day on what are called “The 5 Remembrances” as they relate to the truth of annica (impermanence). Over time, and with practice, reflecting upon these 5 things can help us to more deeply recognize and accept that change, loss, and death are not unusual events, but are woven into the very fabric of existence. As we continue to reflect on these truths, the more the mind becomes imbued with peace, and equanimous in the face of difficulties. This talk will explores these 5.

The Heartwood Sutra: Often, as we search for deeper spiritual meaning in our practice, it’s easy to become stalled or stuck at certain points, and become unclear about which direction we need to take in order to continue further. Tonight’s talk will explore the famous Heartwood Sutra, which points out four things that are often mistaken for "the heart" of our practice.

In Buddhist psychology, the term “comparing mind” is considered a habit of mind that causes us a lot of unnecessary stress and suffering, as it involves evaluating how our perceived sense of “self” compares with other perceived “selves,” either as “better than,” or “less than,” or even equal. And the truth is, all of these assessments come from a vast misunderstanding, or perception. This talk investigates the suffering that arises from this mind state, as well as ways that we can use our practice to conquer it.

One of the main ways we tend to suffer is when someone insults or blames us, and we can’t seem to let go of the hurt or anger it evokes; when it lives in us, and grows bigger and more intense, maybe even overwhelming.

This talk explores how we can use the teachings and the practice to help us to better let go of our strong grip on blame and insult, and to bring some healing to our vulnerable hearts.

So often, when the word “communication” is brought up, most of us tend to automatically think of the “talking” aspect … the words that are said, the conversation itself, the dialogue … But the truth is, the most important aspect of Mindful Communication is actually the Listening aspect, since if our communication isn’t first grounded in good listening, it doesn’t tend to lead to good communication. This talk explores how we can use our practice to not only listen more closely to others, but (perhaps mostly importantly) to ourselves.

The Buddha spoke about five spiritual faculties which, if cultivated and developed, can flower into spiritual powers. The truth is that we all have these faculties within us, and when we can learn to nurture them through our practice and our lives, they can lead us to more joy, ease, and freedom. This talk explores these five, and offers ways that we can begin to harness their power more and more.

This talk explores a variety of different mindfulness methods we can use to approach and discover the peace of equanimity – or balanced awareness, the ‘fruit’ of our practice – in the face of the 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows that make up all the days and moments of our lives.