Dharma Talks and Sangha Shares

People come to meditation for many different reasons, but the destination is often left unclear. What does this practice actually lead to?

In this talk, Travis Hicks traces the arc of a deepening practice — from the small early benefits of slowing down and feeling a little more at ease, through the gradual clearing of the mind's clutter, to the flashes of insight that begin to change how we see reality.

Using a few simple image...

Wisdom and compassion are sometimes called the two wings of awakening — and a practice built on only one of them will eventually veer off course.

In this talk, Travis Hicks introduces the four heart practices — loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity — and makes the case for weaving them into a meditation practice that might otherwise lean heavily toward insight and awareness.

Travis walks throu...

Whether you're new to meditation or have been practicing for years, coming back to the basics is always worthwhile.

In this introductory talk, Travis Hicks lays out the essential qualities of mindfulness — presence, non-judgment, awareness, acceptance, and returning — and explains simply what we're actually doing when we sit down to practice.

The talk covers why the body is such a reliable anchor for presence, what it mea...

Dependent origination is one of the deepest teachings in Buddhism — and also one of the most misunderstood.

In this talk, Travis Hicks works through the Buddha's teaching on dependent co-arising, the framework that answers a question the Four Noble Truths point to but don't fully explain: how exactly does suffering arise, and where can we actually intervene?

Moving through the chain — from aging and death back through bir...

The four elements practice — earth, water, fire, and air — is one of the less commonly taught objects of mindfulness, but for some practitioners it opens something that sitting practice alone doesn't.

In this talk, Travis Hicks shares why he finds the elements practice particularly valuable, especially when taken outside, and walks through what it actually feels like when it's working well.

Rather than experiencing the bo...

Even a dedicated meditation practice can quietly become a routine — and that's exactly when renewal matters most.

In this talk, Rafi Rahman reflects on what it means to bring freshness back to practice, not by starting over, but by loosening the grip of what we think we already know.

About Rafi Rahman

Rafi was born and raised in Bangladesh and has been practicing Insight meditation since 2015. He has been part of the Insight Med...

What would it mean to move through daily life with genuine generosity — not as a transaction, but as a way of being?

In this talk, Ginger Clarkson reflects on the Zen precept "Do not be stingy," exploring generosity through small moments of kindness, unexpected gestures, and the simple act of paying attention to others.

Drawing on Buddhist teachings on dana, a Zen meal chant, the image of Indra's net, and a vivid poem by Rumi, ...

Most of us sit down to meditate and jump straight into watching the breath — but what if a few minutes of preparation made the whole practice easier? In this talk, Travis Hicks explores the idea of preliminary practices, drawing on Mahasi Sayadaw's recommendation of six things worth doing before formal meditation begins.

The six include reflecting on your own virtuous conduct, recalling the benefits of practice, cultivating co...

Every year on the full moon of May, Buddhists around the world celebrate Vesak — the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha, all said to have occurred on the same day. In this talk, Travis Hicks marks the occasion with a walk through the life of Siddhartha Gautama, from his sheltered upbringing in a noble household to his eventual enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.

Travis traces the familiar arc — the Four Heaven...

Joy isn't a distraction from the spiritual path — according to the Buddha, it's an essential part of it. In this talk, Ginger Clarkson guides the group through mudita, or sympathetic joy, the third of the four brahmaviharas, exploring why it may be the most challenging of the heart practices to cultivate.

Ginger reflects honestly on how easy it is to feel genuine warmth toward strangers while still harboring judgment toward ot...

Alexander technique is a body awareness and reeducation method from the 19th century that embodies many principles that overlap with mindfulness meditation and insight through observation. In this talk Tom connects to define practical application while sitting walking and standing as well as meditating.

About Tom Lev

Tom Lev is a teacher and community builder who has evolved from air traffic control to dance to meditation, guided by ...

In this second talk on mindfulness of the body, Travis Hicks picks up where he left off, covering three more practices from the Satipatthana Sutta: working with postures and energy, mindfulness of the four elements, and contemplation of the body's decay.

Travis explores how the choice of posture — sitting, standing, walking, or lying down — relates directly to the energy of the mind, and offers practical ways to bring aw...

The body is always here which makes it one of the most reliable anchors for meditation practice.

In this first of two talks on mindfulness of the body, Travis Hicks introduces the first of the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and walks through several of its core practices: mindfulness of the breath, awareness of postures, and the body scan.

Drawing on the Satipatthana Sutta, Travis explores how the breath makes impermanence tangible,...

Our phones are designed to capture our attention and they're very good at it.

In this talk, Travis Hicks reflects on his annual Lenten practice of giving up social media, and what it reveals about how digital habits shape the mind.

Drawing on his own experience with Reddit, a remote monastery retreat, and some statistics about phone use, Travis connects the pull of apps and notifications directly to what we're trying to cultivate in ...

Travis Hicks explores how the Buddha's teachings on reincarnation and samsara show up throughout the suttas, and what they ask of us in daily life.

Drawing on vivid similes from the Pali Canon, Travis looks at how these teachings are meant to spark samvega — a sense of spiritual urgency — alongside a deep recognition that in an endless cycle of rebirth, every being has at some point been our mother, our child, our closes...

Is there actual evidence for reincarnation — or is it just a matter of belief?

In this second of two talks, Mark Ryan picks up where he left off, moving from past life regression therapy to what many consider more compelling ground: children who spontaneously remember previous lives.

The centerpiece of this talk is the work of University of Virginia psychiatrist Ian Stevenson, who spent four decades systematically investigating...

The Noble Eightfold Path is one of Buddhism's most essential teachings — but what does it actually look like in daily life?

In this talk, Travis Hicks walks through the Eightfold Path in a practical, grounded way, drawing on his year of Upasaka training with Birken Forest Monastery and two books he has returned to again and again: Bhikkhu Bodhi's The Noble Eightfold Path and Bhante Gunaratana's Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness...

Do our lives continue after death — and is there any real evidence for it?

In this first of a two-part sangha share, Mark Ryan takes look at reincarnation, tracing its presence across cultures from ancient Greek philosophy and early Christianity to Hinduism, Buddhism, and indigenous traditions worldwide.

Drawing on his background facilitating Holotropic Breathwork, Mark shares compelling case stories — including one man w...