Florida Community of Mindfulness

Easily Cleaning the Lens of Distortion - Mipham's Wheel of Analysis and Meditation (2018)

April 1, 2018 

In this talk, Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner explains that one of the common myths of Buddhism is that meditation alone will relieve us of our suffering. In fact, meditation is just one facet of the path set forth by the Buddha, and it is used not simply to calm our emotions, but to look deeply within ourselves to discover what is causing us to suffer. Another aspect of the Buddhist path is cultivating what is called Right View. When we cultivate Right View, we are retraining our minds to see life as it really is, rather than through incorrect thinking which is the cause of much of our emotional afflictions. Having Right View means we understand deeply that everything is impermanent and everything is made up of parts; that everything is the way it is because of countless causes and conditions. Deeply realizing these basic teachings of Buddhism are key to having emotional wellbeing and are really a prerequisite to developing oneself in meditation.

Stepping Out From the Confines of Our Conditioning (2018)

March 25, 2018 

In answers to questions from the audience, Dharma teacher Fred explains that our typical way of relating to life and to our minds is driven by our conditioning rather than with wisdom, clarity, or intentionality.  He shares how, by applying the teachings of Buddhism in our lives, we can see more clearly and relate to what is going on in life in an intelligent way, thus causing much less suffering for ourselves and others.

Ending the Self's War with Reality (2018)

March 4, 2018 

In this talk, Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner explains how our conditioned Self is coloring reality with thoughts, memories, opinions, and emotionality, and that because of this we do not see things clearly. In addition, the Self is constantly dissatisfied with the way it perceives things; it is constantly wanting things to be different than they are. Fred term's this as the Self being at war with reality. He explains that it is this misperceiving and rejecting of reality that are the basis of all of our Self created dramas in life.  Fred goes on to explain that transforming our fundamental view of reality so that we see things clearly is key to transforming our suffering which arises from these fundamental misperceptions.

Buddhist Ethics and Transforming One's Karma (2018)

January, 28 2018 

 

In this talk,  Dharma Teacher Fred Eppsteiner speaks about the importance of being mindful of ones actions of body speech and mind.  He explains that the state of our minds and our lives are largely the product of our past activities, so the actions we take today are shaping our future. With that understanding, it becomes clear that if we want to create a favorable future with less suffering, then we need to begin with our actions in this moment.  In order to do that, we need to cultivate mindfulness and be aware of what we are doing, saying and thinking.  Then we can have the capacity to shift our actions from ones that support suffering to ones that support well-being.  

Deconstructing the World of Self (4 of 4) (2017)

Four-day Retreat | January 2018

Members of the Florida Community of Mindfulness retreated together in January 2018 with Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner to study and practice "Deconstructing the World of Self."  In this retreat, Fred shared various teachings and practices from the Buddhist tradition to help participants see clearly the nature of self and non-self.

Deconstructing the World of Self (3 of 4) (2017)

Four-day Retreat | January 2018

Members of the Florida Community of Mindfulness retreated together in January 2018 with Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner to study and practice "Deconstructing the World of Self."  In this retreat, Fred shared various teachings and practices from the Buddhist tradition to help participants see clearly the nature of self and non-self.

Deconstructing the World of Self (2 of 4) (2017)

Four-day Retreat | January 2018

Members of the Florida Community of Mindfulness retreated together in January 2018 with Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner to study and practice "Deconstructing the World of Self."  In this retreat, Fred shared various teachings and practices from the Buddhist tradition to help participants see clearly the nature of self and non-self

Deconstructing the World of Self (1 of 4) (2018)

Four-day Retreat | January 2018

Members of the Florida Community of Mindfulness retreated together in January 2018 with Dharma teacher Fred Eppsteiner to study and practice "Deconstructing the World of Self."  In this retreat, Fred shared various teachings and practices from the Buddhist tradition to help participants see clearly the nature of self and non-self.

The Dharma of Scrooge (2017)

December 17, 2017 

In this Dharma talk, Fred Eppsteiner relates the story of the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge from Dickens', "A Christmas Carol."   Through this story, Fred explains how we can all transform the suffering we experience from living a life devoted to self into a happy, meaningful life filled with love and compassion for others.

Entering the Path of the Awakened Warrior (2017)

January -December 2017

For all of 2017, Fred will be offering various teachings on the path and practices of Bodhisattvas, those whose life is informed by the desire for liberation from self-centeredness, constricted emotionality, and underlying dissatisfaction in order to better connect to, understand, love and liberate their fellow beings.

To explain this path, Fred will primarily be teaching from "The Way of the Bodhisattva," a text written by the great 8th Century Indian Buddhist monk named Shantideva. Shantideva lays out the path of a Bodhisattva in a very personal, meaningful, and poetic way that has guided, challenged and inspired practitioners for Centuries until today.

Fred will also share teachings from other texts that elucidate this wonderful path of the the Bodhisattva, or the ‘path of the awakened and compassionate warrior’.There will be talks given at our Sunday Sangha gatherings which will be posted here, as well as talks given on retreats which will be posted on our Dharma Talks Page.