Jill Shepherd: Meditation: Happiness and Contentment as Supports for Equanimity

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge)

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) A progressive release into emptiness, and a return through the four brahmaviharās

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) A talk on MN 121: Culasaññata sutta exploring the meaning and experience of emptiness in the Theravada tradition.

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) Guided meditation on noticing what isn't here, and thus becoming acquainted with emptiness.

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) Guided meditation on gladdening the mind and seeing the good.

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) Short reflection and poem on how to recognize dukkha and its capacity to grow trust in the moment.

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) The Buddha's Upanisā Sutta offers one of his most quietly radical teachings: that liberation doesn't begin with getting comfortable, but with honestly meeting what hurts. Drawing on this "proximate cause" discourse from SN 12.23, this talk traces the transcendent sequence of dependent origination — from dukkha through faith, joy, tranquility, and insight, all the way to freedom. We'll explore what it means to stop treating difficulty as an obstacle to practice and start recognizing it as the practice's first gate — on the cushion, in daily life, and in our closest relationships.

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) Guided meditation on loving all parts of ourselves and the world.

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) Guided practice for contemplating the parts of the body, leading to an attitude to nonattachment and letting go.

(Insight Meditation Society - Forest Refuge) Drawing on the wisdom of rivers, forests, and the four elements, this talk explores how the natural world mirrors our own deepest nature - and how turning toward impermanence, non-clinging, and the wildness of our own hearts can become a path to freedom.