Dharma &

Part IV in a Series on the Five Conditions for ReleaseA few weeks ago I got stuck in an elevator with my kids — the thing I've feared most of my life. My vision wobbled. And then something steadied. This week's talk is about the fourth condition for the release of the heart — vīriya, rousing the energy to practice — and why it's worth doing. It's a strange kind of energy. Instead of tensing up, it's the energy to relax, over and over. Plus: what a Spanish doctor taught me about how hard to work.The talk was recorded at the Riverside Meditation Community. We meet again this coming Sunday at 9 AM at the Brookmont Church, 4000 Virginia Place, Brookmont, MD.Texts & references: The five conditions that ripen the release of the heart — Meghiya Sutta (Udāna 4.1, suttacentral.net/ud4.1; also AN 9.3) · Faith as the ground of energy — the five spiritual faculties (SN 48.50, suttacentral.net/sn48.50) · Soṇa and the tuning of the lute (AN 6.55, suttacentral.net/an6.55) · Crossing the flood without halting or straining (SN 1.1, suttacentral.net/sn1.1)This week's practice: Try one for a week — a body scan in bed before you get up, a few minutes of walking meditation, or a light awareness of the breath all day. Then notice what you find.Photo by sendi gibran on Unsplash

Part III in a Series on the Five Conditions for ReleaseWhen the business of the fall gets loud, I step outside and let the cold air blow the nonsense out of my head. If the moon is out, even better. It provides quiet, simple company. This week's dharma talk is about the kind of talk that is like the cold wind and the steady moon.The Buddha named ten kinds of good talk, from wanting little to staying out of drama, and I share about the people who've offered it to me — from my dad's sermons on the simplicity of Hondas to my uncle, Jack Kornfield, and the day his teacher Ajahn Chah pointed at a boulder and asked if it was heavy.This was recorded at the Riverside Meditation Community. We meet again this coming Sunday at 9 AM at the Brookmont Church, 4000 Virginia Place, Brookmont, MD.Texts & references: The ten kinds of talk that ripen the release of the heart — Meghiya Sutta (Udāna 4.1, suttacentral.net/ud4.1; also AN 9.3) · Brahmā Sahampati urges the Buddha to teach — Āyācana Sutta (SN 6.1, suttacentral.net/sn6.1) · "Enough, let that be" — the actor Talapuṭa's question (SN 42.2, suttacentral.net/sn42.2) · Teaching in the listener's own language — Araṇavibhaṅga Sutta (MN 139, suttacentral.net/mn139) · Jack Kornfield on studying with Wing-tsit Chan and Ajahn Chah · Ajahn Chah and the boulder · Ledi Sayadaw, Sayagyi U Ba Khin, Mahasi Sayadaw, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Tara BrachThis week's practice: Notice a boulder you've picked up that isn't yours to carry. Then notice who in your life offers the kind of talk that helps you set it down.Photo by Alexis Antonio on Unsplash

Growing up, there was a piece of advice that circulated in my family: hold your head up and act like you know what you're doing. It didn't leave me feeling ahead. It left me feeling permanently behind. This is a talk about sīla — ethical conduct — and why the Buddha named it the second condition for the release of the heart. This is not a list of rules or finger wagging. It's about seeing that life gets easier when we live in a way we don't have to hide.Recorded at the Riverside Meditation Community, Brookmont Church, Brookmont, MD, September 2026. Second in a series of five on the conditions for release of the heart.Texts & references: Texts & references: The five conditions for the ripening of release of heart — Meghiya Sutta (Udāna 4.1, suttacentral.net/ud4.1; also AN 9.3) · Visārada, the confidence of one who has nothing to hide, and its opposite — Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16, suttacentral.net/dn16) and Saṅgīti Sutta (DN 33) · Sīlabbata-parāmāsa, clinging to rules and observances, as a fetter abandoned on the path · The five precepts · Reflecting on action before, during, and after — Advice to Rāhula (MN 61, suttacentral.net/mn61) · The Good Place, season 3This week's practice: When you're unsure what the right action is, notice whether you're rushing. Most harm comes out of hurry. Slow down and when in doubt, do without.Cover Art by Geranimo on Unsplash

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 first gathering of the Riverside Meditation Community, Brookmont Church, Brookmont, MD, September 2026.Texts & references: The Meghiya Sutta — the monk, the mango grove, and the five things that ripen release of heart (Udāna 4.1, suttacentral.net/ud4.1; also AN 9.3) · The Upaḍḍha Sutta — Ānanda on admirable friendship, and the Buddha's correction (SN 45.2, suttacentral.net/sn45.2) · D.W. Winnicott, "there is no such thing as a baby" · Wendell Berry, "Health Is Membership" — community as the smallest unit of health · the Roseto effect · Tara BrachPhoto by Federico Enni on Unsplash

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 Buddha's request for water — Mahāparinibbāna Sutta (DN 16), suttacentral.net/dn16 · Parideva(lamentation) in the first noble truth's expansion of dukkha · D.W. Winnicott on early attention and mirroring · Wei Wu Wei on worshipping the teapotPhoto by Santiago Lacarta on Unsplash