x

75% of people globally want unbiased news (Pew Research) but are concerned they're not getting that.

Get balanced coverage with Symby. See how stories are covered across diverse outlets and spot when one side covers a story the other skips.

PODCAST

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage

Mary Stancavage

Dharma talks from meditation teacher Mary Stancavage. These focus primarily on the pragmatic aspects of Buddhist teachings and philosophy drawing strongly on wisdom and heart practices. All are viewed through the lens of learning to live with an Undefended Heart. (photo by @kimanhuynh)

religion & spirituality buddhism

All Episodes

23:00

Grief, Anger and All the Feels

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2025/01/14

Sitting with the freshness of the destructive Los Angeles fires, Mary talks about how grief, anger and so many other emotions come and go and when they're challenging we push them away or ignore them, but that is perhaps the worst thing we can do. Our practice invites us to open to everything. To be with the grief and sadness can be frightening but we turn with gentleness and compassion towards these emotions and make space for what is already here. Find your way to holding the difficulties a...

en-us

32:34

Supporting Our Intentions

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2025/01/07

We often make intentions at the beginning of a new year, but it's also important that our intentions have a solid foundation. In this talk Mary discusses what intentions are and how we support them with the precepts, the paramis or other core values that allow us to see clearly and move with wisdom and compassion. There is a short meditation at the end to reflect on your intentions.Recorded Jan 5, 2025 at Insight Community of the Desert in Palm SpringsThe Noble Eightfold Path by Bhikkhu Bodhi...

en-us

18:39

So Many Rules

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/12/31

Left to its own devices our minds will latch on to something and create whole scenarios and worlds that we then think are real. Often we create rules for behavior, either ours or others. When these rules clash with reality, we experience dukkha. When we practice mindfulness we develop the clarity needed to see these stories and rules for what they are and let them go, moving us toward liberation from craving and aversion. Recorded Dec. 28, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any...

en-us

17:49

Greet the Moment with Peace

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/12/24

How many times during the day or week do we experience situations that we find uncomfortable or unpleasant? We often react with annoyance or impatience which can tend to make it worse, even if only in our mind. In this talk Mary invites us to greet each moment with peace which is a way to be with whatever is going on with ease. We're not denying the unpleasant, but we're relating to it in an entirely different way which is where our freedom lies.Recorded Dec. 21, 2024 in the virtual worldPeac...

en-us

26:16

Finding Your Way

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/12/17

Oftentimes when faced with issues or problems in our lives, we ask what would the Buddhist response be. In the teachings however, the Buddha asked us to find our own way - to see for ourselves which actions are wise or unwise. The Buddha gave us a framework and foundation and invites us to cultivate our own wisdom in walking the path to liberation. In this talk Mary discusses how we do this and what it might look like for each of us.Recorded Dec. 12, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text wi...

en-us

25:00

Let Go Let Be

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/12/10

Plans go sideways all the time, things happen. How do we greet those moments? And how do we learn to recognize all the places we're stuck? Once we can begin to let go, then we can let things be without getting caught up in the first place. This is the freedom the Buddha promised, "liberation through not clinging."Recorded Dec. 7, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

en-us

25:17

Opening Ourselves

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/12/02

The topic of gratitude is quite common at this time of year and Mary discusses the idea of gratitude as a heart practice which also encompasses love and connection. Using the writing bell hooks as a starting point she invites us to let gratitude allow us to love and let our hearts be opened. The Buddha points out that "gratitude and contentment are the highest blessings" - definitely worth pursuing.Recorded Nov. 30, 2024 in the virtual world.Books mentioned: All About Love by bell hooks, See ...

en-us

24:12

Suffering and Joy

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/11/26

Suffering and Joy seem incompatible, but in this talk Mary shows how they are not mutually exclusive. Joy is not dependent on outside circumstances. As teacher Larry Ward has said, "Joy is possible in the midst of suffering and without ignoring the suffering." Using the wisdom of several authors, Mary talks about how we can access joy without waiting for everything to be okay. With our practice we create the conditions for joy to arise at any time.Recorded Nov. 23, 2024 in the virtual worldBo...

en-us

22:46

Finding Our Foundation

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/11/19

In this talk Mary discusses two seemingly different ideas of what a foundation can be in our practice. There is the stillness and grounding of meditation practice and the foundation offered by the Eightfold Path. They are not mutually exclusive and in fact, work together on the path to liberation.Recorded Nov. 16, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

en-us

26:32

November 2024

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/11/12

The results of the 2024 presidential election in the United States have brought up several levels of grief, fear, anger, despair and many more emotions for several of us. In this talk Mary reflects on where we are right now, how to hold our experience, and how to move forward. Connection, community, practice and finding hope in the words and experiences of those who have walked this path before are vital in these challenging days. Stay connected, and don't miss the joy.Recorded Nov. 9, 2024 i...

en-us

24:11

Seeing Our Goodness

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/11/05

The Buddha said that the beautiful qualities of loving kindness, compassion, appreciative joy and equanimity are a natural arising of our insight practice. It's important to know that these qualities are present for each of us, especially in these moments of great challenges to our world. Learning to access them, whether through the traditional heart practices, or in other ways, helps us to take care of ourselves. Mary talks about finding this inner wellspring to support our journey.Recorded ...

en-us

19:15

Holding It Together

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/10/29

There is a lot of stress in our lives today. As the Buddha said, there is always dukkha. How do we take care of ourselves in these moments? Of course practice is always a resource but how do we take care of ourselves in other ways. In this talk Mary discusses various ideas for resourcing ourselves in these challenging times.Recorded Oct. 24, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

en-us

24:45

The Path of Wisdom

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/10/22

The Buddha was remarkable in offering the teachings in many different ways. In this talk, Mary reflects on the Five Spiritual Faculties, sometimes called the Path of Wisdom. Faith, Energy, Mindfulness, Concentration and Wisdom support us in our daily lives on our path from delusion to clarity and awakening. The beauty of the teachings are that they are accessible to each of us and we can put them to use throughout our daily lives.Recorded October 19, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text wi...

en-us

21:57

Tea with Demons

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/10/15

In this talk Mary reflects on the story of Milarepa and the Demons and invites us to imagine a spiritual path that has us befriend all parts of us, even the challenging bits. Although not part of the original tale, we're asked to invite our demons in for tea and shift our relationship with the present - no matter what it is.Recorded October 12, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!Visit Mary's website for more info on classes and teachings.

en-us

21:25

Sati - Being With

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/10/08

The Pali word Sati is generally translated as mindfulness, but it can mean so much more. In this talk Mary reflects on all the different, yet similar meanings of the word, emphasizing how close it is to the idea of equanimity - being with the present moment, without preference or needing it to be different. Drawing from Bhante Gunaratana's classic, Mindfulness in Plain English, Mary offers ways to make this core teaching meaningful for each of us. Mary also reflects on the power of Sati durin...

en-us

24:12

Tentativenss of Life

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/10/01

The Buddha taught us that all we have are our actions and our actions take place in this moment. But are we fully living in the moment? When we investigate the tentativeness of life - the recognition that nothing is certain - we can shift our relationship to the present and live in a way that is grounded in our core values. Mary discusses this idea and how to move towards a life that allows us to find our own way with the here and now.Recorded Sept. 29, 2024 in the virtual world for Insight C...

en-us

34:23

Choiceless Awareness

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/09/24

Oftentimes we try to get good at meditation when in reality meditation is a practice for how we move through the world. The invitation of practice is to be with each moment as it arises, without judgement or preference. When we develop this awareness during practice, we can carry it with us throughout our lives 'off the cushion'. In this talk, Mary discusses the idea of choiceless awareness, a way to simple be in the moment, grounded in equanimity and wisdom.Recorded Sept. 22, 2024, in the vi...

en-us

19:01

It Can't Be Different from the Way It Is

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/09/10

A common reminder in meditation practice is that our experience can not be different from the way it is as much as we would like it to be. The same invitation to be present with the moment applies through all aspects of our life. The root of so much dukkha is our inability to be with reality. Acknowledging the moment as it is takes us closer towards liberation.Recorded Sept. 5, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text with any questions or comments!Visit Mary's website for more info on classes...

en-us

23:15

The Eight Worldly Winds

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/09/03

The Eight Worldly Winds are a teaching on equanimity. Recognizing the winds of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and disgrace that blow for all of us is important in our journey towards liberation. The Buddha says each of us feel these winds and it's important to see them as part of the human condition and not personal. Letting go of the stories of attachment to some winds over others is a key to our liberation.Recorded August 31, 2024 in the virtual worldSend me a text...

en-us

18:27

There is No There There

Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage ·

2024/08/28

Mary reflects on 16 years of teaching the Saturday Afternoon Sit class. In looking at all the changes that can happen in 16 years. it became clear that so often we get hung up on finding a 'there'. We spend our time and energy working to achieve something that will get us where we want to be, only to find out there is always something else. As the Buddha teaches, there is only the present, and how we work with the present will lead us to or away from liberation.Send me a text with any questio...

en-us

348 results

Similar Podcasts

Jeff Haygood, Pastor

PodPoint

PASTOR ALVARO VALENCIA

Pastor Alvaro Valencia

Grace Life Church CT.

PodPoint

Pleasant View Church

Ted Nance

Christian Heritage Church"s Podcast

PodPoint