The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
 
James Baraz's Dharma Talks at Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center
James Baraz
I try to convey that the wisdom and compassion we are looking for is already inside of us. I see practice as learning how to purify our mind and heart so we can hear the Buddha inside. In doing so, we naturally embody the dharma and help awaken that understanding and love in others we meet.
2017-09-15 Introduction To Metta Practice - Self and Benefactor 50:05
Basics of Metta practice, including the first two categories of Self and Benefactor.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1
2016-01-26 Turning Suffering Into Happiness 61:57
In every moment we have a choice of planting seeds of suffering or happiness. We can understand how to meet it skillfully.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center IMS Staff Retreat 2016
2016-01-19 Being Your Own Authority 63:08
We can appreciate good guidance but ultimately we need to learn how to listen to the Buddha or Quan Yin right inside. Includes the Buddha's five strategies for dealing with distracting thoughts.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Mindfulness, Insight, Liberation: The Foundations of Mindfulness-Based Modalities and Research
2016-01-12 Awakening Joy in Practice as a Path of Happioness 1:12:16
Holding practice as more than just working with suffering but as a cultivation of wholsesome states that open the heart and create the conditions for the highest happiness.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Joy on the Path: Insight Meditation Retreat
2011-10-20 Contentment: The Peace of Not Wanting What You Don’t Have 67:04
The experience of contentment is the true happiness available through letting go and seeing our experience complete just as it is. Nothing needs to be added or taken away. This talk explores inner contentment, the state of “abundant enoughness”, while distinguishing it from complacency, laziness or just being resigned to the way things are. We can be inspired by a vision of awakening, develop our gifts and make a contribution, while we appreciate things just as they are in the moment.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1
2011-10-12 Trusting Your Buddha-Knowing 59:55
The source of our awakening is right inside us. As we learn to listen deeply to the wisdom and purity of heart that is connected to the truth, we are following the Buddha’s instructions to “be a lamp unto yourself.” This talk includes the Buddha’s five methods for dealing with distracting thoughts and how to discern the voice of wisdom from the voices of confusion and fear.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1
2011-10-06 Awakening Joy: Dharma Practice as a Path of Happiness: Part 2 62:01
This talk continues the exploration of how the practice cultivates happiness and joy. Five wholesome states that support true well-being are investigated including practices that help us access them.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1
2011-09-30 Awakening Joy: Dharma Practice as a Path of Happiness: Part 1 64:23
The Buddha was called The Happy One. With the emphasis on suffering, its cause and it’s end, we can forget that this path is really a path of cultivating true happiness. In this talk we look at three principles of the teaching that can be the foundation for true well-being and how it can be cultivated both on and off the cushion.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1
2011-09-21 The Power Of Intention 62:59
Intention is the basis of all karma. It is also a key aspect of dharma practice, both in moment to moment experience as well as our aspiration, vision that fuels our practice.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1
2011-09-14 The Comparing Mind 60:01
The tendency to compare ourselves to others or against some idealized standards is the cause of much suffering. This self-judgement is based on what the Buddha called "the conceit of I am". This talk explores how to work skillfully with the judging and comparing mind.
Insight Meditation Society - Retreat Center Three-Month Retreat - Part 1

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