Dharma &
Devin Maroney is a dharma teacher and psychotherapist. He has practiced Insight meditation for fifteen years, including many silent retreats and studies directly under Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. He is a teacher with the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, teaches regularly at Downtown Dharma DC, and is the founder of the Riverside Meditation Community in Brookmont, Maryland. He has read hundreds of the Buddha's discourses, and his teaching stays close to those early texts, tested against his own practice and against what he sees each day in the therapy room. A licensed clinical social worker trained in Somatic Experiencing and Internal Family Systems, he is the founder of Oaklight Counseling, a therapy practice in Bethesda, Maryland. He lives nearby with his wife and three children.
Episodes
What's the point of getting up on a Sunday morning to meet in a suburban church to meditate? Is it happiness? Happiness can be quite fickle. Contentment? Yes, though there's more to it than that. What it's really about is release. It's what the Pāli texts call cetovimutti, the release of the heart. And the Buddha's first instruction toward it isn't solitude in a cave or a forest. It's sitting down next to someone.
Recorded at the fi...
What's the difference between a complaint and a need? When the Buddha was dying, he asked Ānanda for water again and again. He was in pain, he was thirsty, he was tired, and he was dying. But he voiced his request without complaint. This talk is all about the difference between naming a need and letting the suffering do the talking.
Recorded at the River Road drop-in class, Bethesda, MD, August 2026.
Texts & references: The Buddh...
A talk on the dharma of chasing followers: fame, failure, and the fear of being nobody. The wish to be seen, to count, to leave a mark — and what happens when we meet it with awareness instead of feeding it metrics.
Recorded at Downtown Dharma DC, August 2026.
Texts & references: Khemaka Sutta (SN 22.89) — suttacentral.net/sn22.89 · The dung beetle (SN 17.5) — suttacentral.net/sn17.5 · Iti 26 on giving · D.W. Wi...
The Dharma of Waiting
This talk was given at the River Road Unitarian Church on July 29th, 2026. For more of Devin's talks and writings visit devinmaroney.substack.com. For more information about this meditation community, please visit riversidemeditation.net
Hi friends,
This talk is about how to transform blame into the wholesome quality of thoughtful, careful assessment and, beyond that, to see into the vast nature of being. I gave this talk at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Church on Wednesday, July 15th, 2026.
Upcoming Offerings
July 29th, 7:00-8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, RRUUC, 6301 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817
September 13th, 8:30-9:30 AM, First Class for the Riverside Meditation...
Hi all,
This is a talk about how to work with competitive energy and how to transform it from something destructive into something creative. I gave this talk at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Church on Wednesday, June 24th.
Upcoming Offerings
[NEW] July 15th, 7:00-8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, RRUUC, 6301 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817
July 29th, 7:00-8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, RRUUC, 6301 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817
September 13th, ...
Hi friends,
This is the fourth and final talk in a series on the Limitless Attitudes (Pali: appamaññā), which are also called the Divine Abodes (Pali: Brahmavihāra). The topic of this talk is Goodwill (Metta).
The talk was recorded at River Road Unitarian Universalist Church on June 3rd. I hope you find it helpful.
Upcoming Offerings
June 24th, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, RRUUC, 6301 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817
July 29th, 7:00 - 8...
Hi everyone,
I gave this talk last night at the River Road Unitarian Universalist Church (RRUUC) on caring, one of the four Limitless Attitudes (Pali: Apāmāṇa). Enoy!
Upcoming Offerings
June 3rd, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, RRUUC, 6301 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817
June 14th, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, Downtown Dharma @ Yoga District, 1910 14th St, NW Washington, DC
June 24th, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, RRUUC, 6301 River...
Hi everyone,
I gave this talk last night at the River Road Unitarian Church on rejoicing, one of the four Limitless Attitudes (Pali: Apāmāṇa). Enjoy!
Upcoming Offerings
May 6th, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, River Road Unitarian Universalist Church (RRUUC), 6301 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817
June 3rd, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, River Road Unitarian Universalist Church (RRUUC), 6301 River Rd, Bethesda, MD 20817
June 14th, 7:00 - ...
Hi friends,
This is the first talk in a series I’m offering on the Limitless Attitudes (Pali: Appamāṇa), which are also called the Divine Abodes (Pali: Brahmavihāra). I am working my way backward through the Limitless Attitudes, starting with equanimity, which is often taught last and is the subject of this talk.
This was recorded at Downtown Dharma on April 12th. I hope you find it beneficial.
Upcoming Offerings:
I’ll be...
Hi everyone,
This is a recording of the talk I gave on Monday night on Right View. It is the last talk in this series on the Eightfold Path. I hope you find it helpful.
Upcoming Events
March 12th - March 15th: Residential meditation retreat in the Insight tradition. Seven Oaks Retreat Center, Madison, VA. To learn more or register follow this link: https://imcw.org/event/?eventId=1678
March 25th, 7:00 - 8:30 PM, Drop-in Session, River ...
Hi everyone,
Here is the talk I gave on Right Intention at River Road Unitarian Church on February 4th. I hope you find it helpful.
Upcoming Offerings:
Retreat
March 12 - 15, Madison, VA: “The Path of the Restful Warrior” is a residential Insight meditation retreat that I’m teaching with Dechen Ellen McSweeney. Click here for more information and registration.
Drop-in Classes
Hi everyone,
This is a talk on Right Speech and its place in the Eightfold Path that I gave at Downtown Dharma on January 4th, 2026. The recording also includes the Q&A that followed the talk.
Also, I learned last night that the audio posts I have been sending out are also podcasts, published to Apple Podcasts and Spotify and elsewhere. In order to make it easier to find them across the web, I gave the podcast a title. It’...
Hi friends,
This is a recording of the talk I gave last night at River Road Unitarian as well as the Q&A that followed. The subject is Right Action and Its Place in the Eightfold Path. I hope you find it beneficial!
Upcoming Events
3-Day Meditation Retreat in the foothills of the Shenandoah Mountains
A meditation retreat is a chance to learn how your mind works, experience the peace that comes from collected mental energy, and to o...
Dharma talk on Right Livelihood given on 12-1-25 at Downtown Dharma, hosted by Yoga District on 14th street.
Get full access to Devin Maroney at devinmaroney.substack.com/subscribe
Hi friends,
Here is the talk I gave last night at the River Road Unitarian Church on Right Effort and Its Place in the Eightfold Path. It’s about how to invite the dharma into every aspect of our lives, gently, moment-by-moment. The recording also includes the Q&A that followed the talk.
Upcoming Offerings
Residential Retreat: I’m happy to let you know that registration is now open for a 3-night residential retreat tha...
Samma Sati, often translated as Right Mindfulness, is the seventh aspect of the eightfold path. Mindfulness, in some respects, is the element of the path that gets the most attention in Western culture, and yet is is a concept that is burdened with many denotations and connotations that it was never intended to carry. Last night’s talk at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill explored the simple and powerful quali...
Hi friends,
Here’s the talk I gave last night at the River Road Unitarian Church. It’s about the journey to (and from) a quiet mind.
With love and blessings,
Devin
Get full access to Devin Maroney at devinmaroney.substack.com/subscribe
Hi friends,
I gave this talk last night at River Road. I hope you enjoy it.
Upcoming Events:
I’m offering a two-day non-residential retreat in Glen Echo, MD on October 11th and 12th with my friend and colleague Ellen McSweeney. You can learn more and register here. https://www.futurevessel.art/events
My next drop in class is at Yoga District on 14th St. with Downtown Dharma on Sunday September 7th from 7:00 - 8:30 PM.
I’ll...
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by Audiochuck Media Company.
Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.