Toward Light: Practical Buddhism for the Modern World

Sometimes we want to make a behavior change but we need to start by looking at our intention. In this episode I explore how to use aspects of the Wise Intention path factor to set intentions. Here is a blog post about this topic.

These teachings and this path point to freedom from craving, to liberation. How do we get in touch with that feeling? How can we live and feel the Dharma? This episode includes a jataka tale, many quotes, and two poems from The First Free Women: Poems of The Early Buddhist Nuns

Concluding the series on the Satipatthana Sutta, the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, I explore the "refrain" a verse that occurs in the sutta over 20 times. I look at how the aspects of the refrain support us in developing the four foundations, as well as support us in dismantling white supremacy and cultivating antiracism. Here is a blog post about some antiracist books I recommend.

Continuing the series on the satipatthana sutta, I give an overview of the fourth foundation of mindfulness which includes several of the Buddha's core teachings. The categories of phenomena are: The Five Hindrances, The Five Aggregates, The Six Sense-Spheres, The Seven Factors of Awakening, and The Four Noble Truths. I refer to Bhikkhu Analayo's book Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization and Joseph Goldstein's book Mindfulness 

Continuing the series on the satipatthana sutta I unpack the third foundation of mindfulness, mindfulness of mind. I explore how understanding our thinking mind can help us to change our behaviors and make a more harmonious world. I reference a book on practicing the four foundations of mindfulness by Bhikkhu Analayo.

Continuing the series on the four foundations of mindfulness I look at the second foundation: mindfulness of feeling tone (vedana). I share quotes from Mindfulness by Joseph Goldstein, Perspectives on the Satipatthana by Analayo, and Let Go by Martine Batchelor. I also recommend reading this blog post on investigation to enhance understanding of this important topic.

This episode begins a series on the four foundations of mindfulness. I explore the word mindfulness and then talk about the first foundation - mindfulness of the body. I discuss how embodied awareness can help us become antiracist. The link for the sutta is here. I read quotes from: My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem and Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out by Ruth King.

The second noble truth is the truth that craving (tanha) creates and compounds our suffering. How do we understand the difference between unwholesome craving and wholesome desire? How can our experiences with the pandemic and white supremacy help us to understand these energies? I explore these questions and more and also read a poem from Matty Weingast's adaptation of the Therigatha: The First Free Women: Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns

This week I introduce the four brahmaviharas, the four heart qualities we can cultivate to create more harmony in our lives and the world. I share ways we can connect with the feeling of these qualities and actions we can take to cultivate these qualities.

Here is the link to the Metta Sutta in English and here is a book I recommend on the brahmaviharas: Lovingkindness by Sharon Salzberg

In this episode I share the path factor of Wise Speech and explore types of speech we are asked to refrain from and types of speech we are asked to cultivate. I then use examples from daily life to try on this teaching. Here is a written rundown of the principles of wise speech.