The teachings of Buddhism, referred to as “Dharma”, come to us in many forms. The listing below includes series of talks given by monks to the Bear River Meditation Group, books, and other talks and articles that we have found helpful. More extensive listings are available on the Shasta Abbey website under teachings and publications. Some of the books and all articles are available for download as pdf files. Audio talks are available as mp3 files.
Audio Dharma Talks
Listed below are talks which have been shared at our weekly Dharma discussions. Click on the title to link to go to the original source of the audio talk.
Reverend Master Koten Benson is a disciple of RM Jiyu Kennett, and is currently the Prior at Lions Gate Buddhist Priory in British Columbia. The meditation group listened to this series of talks in January 2017. (Scroll back to talks from 2016).
How to Meditate 1 (25 mins) RM Koten Benson
How to Meditate 2 (18 mins) RM Koten Benson
How to Meditate 3 (16 mins) RM Koten Benson
How to Meditate 4 RM Koten Benson (link no longer available)
How to Meditate 5 (19 mins) RM Koten Benson
How to Meditate 6 (29 mins) RM Koten Benson
How to Meditate 7 (25 mins) RM Koten Benson
Rev. Master Daishin Morgan, Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey. Series of talks from the August 2016 sessshin.
Acceptance of the Presence of This – Talk One (34 mins) Great Master Dogen’s instruction to ‘neither try to think, nor try not to think’ is a description of acceptance. “When we practice in this way, we realize living Buddha.” File Size: 12MB
Sagara Mudra Samadhi Talk Two (22 mins) As the second talk began, everyone present was handed a pebble. It is recommended that when listening, you have your own pebble or small stone. The term coined by Dogen, Sagara Mudra Samadhi, points to our true nature. File Size: 7MB
Letting go of self-making Talk Three (22 mins) Zazen aids the understanding of not-self, and is the way to recognize the reality of existence. File Size: 8MB
Time and existence are the same thing Talk Four (19 mins) Quoting the beginning of the Shushogi scripture, Rev. Master Daishin encourages us to turn towards birth and death rather than trying to avoid them, in order to find liberation. File Size: 7MB
Fire, Fire (26 mins) by Reverend Master Mugo White
The Wave (15 mins) by Reverend MASTER HARYO YOUNG
Bubbles by Reverend Master Meian Elbert
Great Doubt, Great Faith (31 mins) by Reverend Vivian Gruenenfelder
What Is A Buddhist Contemplative? (27 mins) Reverend Vivian Gruenenfelder
Giving A Dharma Talk (26 mins) by Reverend Vivian Gruenenfelder
Lessons From The Woodpile (42 mins) by Reverend Master Haryo Young
Spacious Mind (28 mins) by Reverend Master Kinrei Bassis
Recent Dharma Talks at Shasta Abbey
Sunday Dharma talks are regularly posted on the Shasta Abbey website. This link will take you to these talks, given by the Abbess RM Meian Elbert and other senior teachers of Buddhism.
Dharma Talks by Senior Teachers of Shasta Abbey
RM Daishin was a disciple of RM Jiyu Kennett, and is currently Vice Abbot of Shasta Abbey. He is also the senior advisor and chaplain to the Bear River Meditation Group. This link will take you to the Shasta Abbey website and a list of talks given by RM Daishin.
Dharma Talks from Throssel Hole Buddhist Abbey
This links you to talks posted on the Throssel Hole website. Throssel is a sister monastery within the Order of Buddhist Contemplatives, and is located in the north of England. RM Daishin Morgan is Abbot of the temple. A number of his talks, as well as those by other senior monks are included here.
Other Resources
Annotated Bibliography on Women and the Female in Buddhism
Following our retreat in October 2011 Reverend Vivian Gruenenfelder, a senior monk from Shasta Abbey, put together this bibliography of resources to share. It is a wonderfully rich source of writings on women in Buddhism.