Episodes
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Compassionate Action is Not Easy: Wise versus Idiot Compassion
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Tuesday Feb 21, 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
The Path of Practice 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
Monday Jan 09, 2023
The transformative path of practice must include three fundamental elements identified here by the teacher, Fred Eppsteiner. Mindfulness, being present Now, is the first, and this mindfulness must have established criteria including integrity, kindness, compassion, understanding, and intention. The second element is the concentrated mind: concentration which unifies the energies of the mind. Insight is the third and final element that goes beyond intellectual understanding to deep looking, acknowledging the power of the ego and how one relates to one's own suffering. A transformational mindfulness practice incorporating these three elements can produce real change which is wholesome and leads to a happier way of being. Our Life becomes our Practice.
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Beginning Anew New Years Celebration (2023)
Monday Jan 02, 2023
Monday Jan 02, 2023
In the Buddhist tradition, the passing of an old year and the beginning of a new one is celebrated in a sacred manner.
FCM's annual New Year ceremony, Beginning Anew, on Sunday, January 1 from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm, will guide practitioners through a review of the past year and then allow time to write down and let go of the past (including regrets) in a symbolic way. Aspirations and intentions for the new year will then be envisioned, written down, and strengthened by the ceremonial process.
Monday Dec 19, 2022
The Dharma of Scrooge (2022)
Monday Dec 19, 2022
Monday Dec 19, 2022
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.
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Core Values of the Florida Community of Mindfulness (2022)
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
The Florida Community of Mindfulness has a very clear vision and mission that it seeks to realize. It also has eight essential principles, or "core values," that underlie, motivate, shape and guide the community. In this talk to students of FCM, teacher Fred Eppsteiner more deeply describes the core values of Awakening and Community.
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
From What Is the World Suffering?
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Wednesday Nov 30, 2022
Teacher, Fred Eppsteiner, continues this exploration with teachings from the workshop "Responding to the Suffering of the World." Many ask, What can I – one person – do? We don’t know where to put meaningful efforts or how to begin. It is easy to fall into patterns of despair, sadness or anger. For 2600 years, Buddhist practitioners have looked deeply into causation of human and societal suffering and have brought forth many wise answers that have the capacity to alleviate both personal suffering and suffering in the world. In these teachings we will discover how the Buddhist tradition may show us a clear path to the most beneficial way to respond to the suffering of the world.
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Fred Interviews Guo Gu 11-13-22
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Tuesday Nov 15, 2022
Guo Gu, founder of the Tallahassee Chan Center and an assistant professor at Florida State University, tells a fascinating story of his life and his search for how to find a place as a Buddhist in America in a dialogue with our teacher Fred on Sunday.
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Essential Dharma for Busy People: Part 2
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Part 2 of "Essential Dharma" begins with a review of several important preliminary teachings provided in Part 1. First, the reminder that nothing is permanent. In this difficult time of practicing a spiritual path it becomes very important to preserve the "internal forms" of Buddhism constituting Mindful Living, knowing how to be present and what is necessary for emotional healing. In the next part of the review teacher Fred Epsteiner addressed two preliminaries, the foundations - the mind and care for the mind is most important, and it is this mind that distinguishes between appearances in the mind and the reality of perceived objects. Then he introduced another preliminary inviting us to the meditative exploration of the question, "What is it that is perceiving? What is awareness? What is the nature of mind?" The challenge put forward by Eppsteiner is to consider whether or not our version of the truth is based on objective reality. Would we like to live in a relaxed way, to be present, to be aware for even thirty minutes?
Sunday Oct 23, 2022
Dharma Practice In The Dharma Ending Age
Sunday Oct 23, 2022
Sunday Oct 23, 2022
This Sunday in Tampa, Dharma Teacher, Fred Eppsteiner, focused this dharma lesson on the important intention to create a fundamental change in consciousness of mind where mindfulness is a way of living grounded in a commitment to stability and moment to moment and day to day awareness. We, as co-creators of the world, are challenged to look deeply at the causes and effects of consumerism and begin to turn toward a way of life within the context of impermanence that is simple, clear, natural, ethically committed to kindness, compassion, and caring for others.
Sunday Oct 23, 2022
Essential Dharma for Busy People: Part 1
Sunday Oct 23, 2022
Sunday Oct 23, 2022
Teacher, Fred Eppsteiner, directs our study of the Dharma to two questions in our search for a happy and peaceful life. First, "What is essential, the simple essence, that is the root of all joy and sorrow?" The Dharma teaches the Mind is the Source of deeds of body, speech and mind whether wholesome or unwholesome. Is this true? The second question is, "Am I present to reality as it is?" Can I distinguish between two worlds - the world of appearances, the source of distorted reality, shaped by stories, projections, and beliefs belonging to the narrative of the Self and the world of objective reality? The happy, peaceful life is available when we have the ability to be in control of the Mind discriminating between the two worlds instead of acting as if they are the same.