Dharma Topics

Prior to each Thursday evening gathering in Silver Spring for meditation and Dharma sharing we send out an announcement of the topic. The announcement is includes a short essay that focuses on a way of bringing mindfulness into our lives, families, work, and society. Below are topics that we've discussed in the past.

The archive goes from 2004 to the present. You can search by one or more key words, such as: Compassion Training (no quotes), or by phrases, such as: “emotional and spiritual healing” (with quotes). If you would like to receive our weekly announcement, please click on the bar to the right.

Developing Compassion Through Right Diligence

Facilitated by: Andy Katz| in: Dharma Topics

Discussion Date: Thu, Nov 14, 2019

Dear Stillwater Friends:

The Fourth Mindfulness Training on Loving Speech and Deep Listening ends with this sentence: “I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.”

Right Diligence is an essential element of The Fourth Mindfulness Training and is part of the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path. Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) has written extensively about it, and my growing understanding of Right Diligence has been beneficial to the couples communication work that I have been doing with my girlfriend this year to transform the inevitable “interference” that arises in a maturing romantic relationship.

In The Mindfulness Survival Kit, Thay explains why Right Diligence... Continued