Sunday Dharma Talk

This dharma talk was offered by Peter Doobinin at the end of the year in December 2024. In the talk, Peter discusses how we might bring joy and faith into the year to come. May all beings find true happiness in their days!

As meditation students, as Peter Doobinin explains, we learn to see things "according to reality." Much of the time, we're enmeshed in thought worlds. Lost in thought. In our practice, we begin to see things as they are. We abandon our stories. And in the process, we come to know the truth of our goodness, the truth of the dharma inside us. The talk was given in December 2024.

The dharma student resolves to follow a spiritual path in an effort to find freedom from grasping and to free the heart of its burdens. In doing so, we come to learn that what we're grasping on to, our stories, our suffering, is not who we are. We come to learn what we are, our true nature. In this dharma talk, Peter Doobinin describes how we come to understand these truths. The ta

Spiritual practice requires that we make great effort over a period of time; at the same time, we're asked to know the present moment and find happiness in it. In this dharma talk, Peter Doobinin discusses this paradox of the spiritual path. He explains how we learn to bring skillful effort to the moment ... and how by doing so, we learn to know happiness of heart. The talk was giv

This dharma talk was given at a daylong retreat in New York In November 2024. In the talk, Peter Doobinin explains the Buddha's path, the story of his awakening, and the three knowledges he came to in his journey. These three knowledges provide for the basis of right view. The story of the Buddha's awakening offer us a way, a dharma, that we can follow; but, as Peter describes, it

We shape our lives, in the service of knowing a greater happiness, through the cultivation of skillful intention. In this talk, Peter Doobinin explains skillful intention, what it is, how we develop it. The dharma talk is the fifth in a series of five talks on "Basic Skills" that were offered in June 2024.

Heedfulness, the Buddha teaches us, is the root of skillfulness. The practice of heedfulness enables us to take action in support of the heart, action that will lead us to happiness of heart. In this talk, Peter Doobinin describes the elements of this essential skill. The talk is the fourth in a series of talks on "Basic Skills" that Peter gave in June 2024.

In developing dharma practice, we seek to maintain present moment awareness, mindfulness, and our connection to the heart in all our postures, all the activities of our lives. This is "Natural Meditation." In this talk, Peter Doobinin describes the skill of Natural Meditation and the great benefits in developing this skill. The talk is the third in a series on "Basic Skill" that Pe

In this dharma talk, Peter Doobinin describes the basic skill of walking meditation. As he explains, this key element of dharma practice enables us to make a transition from formal sitting meditation to being mindful in our lives. The talk is the second in a series of talks on "basic skills" that Peter offered in June 2024.

This is the first talk in a series of dharma talks on "Basic Skills" offered by Peter Doobinin in June 2024. In this talk, Peter discusses, in detail, the steps of breath meditation. As he notes, it's a "lifetime practice" and a practice, as the Buddha noted, that leads us to true happiness.