Undefended Dharma with Mary Stancavage

One more time the moments we're living through are extremely turbulent and it can be easy to be overcome with emotions. The practice the Buddha offered us is a way to be with the world it its uglines…

With a nod to Jack Kornfield's book of the same name, Mary discusses the luminous quality of the mind before it is dulled by all of our attachments. Wisdom is training the mind to wake up to be fully…

The concept of samvega in Buddhism means that we come face to face with the realization that often we're stuck in attachment and aversion and ignorant of the true nature of existence. It can be a sho…

When we get overwhelmed or caught up in all the things going on in our lives, the Buddhist teaching of papañca, or proliferation of thought, is a wonderful way to bring ourselves back to the present.…

The great Vietnamese Zen teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh died on Jan 22. In this talk, Mary reflects on some of his teachings which had the most impact on her: Engaged Buddhism, Seeds of Consciousness, and D…

Gil Fronsdal has said that the perfection of wisdom is when the mind and heart neither cling to nor resist anything. Mary discusses this idea and the importance of both mindfulness and the heart prac…

Connection with others and with ourselves is such an important part of our lives, as vital as food and shelter. Yet, we are so often blocked from true connection without understanding why. In this ta…

As we start the new year, we're often lost in thoughts of what's to come, plans and resolutions, or we're stuck in memories of things past. However, there is only right now and much of what ensnares …

At the 2021 New Year's Eve Intention Setting we took the Refuges and Precepts. In this podcast, Mary discusses what this means and offers the invitation to participate.

Recorded Dec. 31, 2021 in the v…

To cling is to suffer and when we can fully let go, there is freedom. That freedom is the clarity to truly see reality without being hindered by our conditioning - whatever that is. In this talk Mary…

Mary discusses what it means to set an intention for the year and leads a guided meditation which invites us to uncover our own meaningful intention.

Recorded Dec. 31, 2021 in the virtual world.

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bell hooks passed away on December 15, 2021 and will be missed sorely. Well known for her activist writings, she was also a Buddhist practitioner and wrote often about practice being her foundation a…

This is the time of year people make resolutions or decide to change things in their lives. The idea of setting an intention lets us move forward in a wise and compassionate way.  Using the ten Param…

The story of Kisa Gotami is one of the most famous in the Pali Canon. It's the story of a mother who loses her only child and is so overcome with grief she cannot accept reality. Mary discusses the l…

 Based on the three defilements of greed, aversion and delusion, Buddhist Personality Types, or temperaments, are a convenient and fun way to view our habitual patterns of thinking and acting. Additi…

In this short talk Mary discusses the importance of staying with a practice even when the going gets tough. There is a tendency today to jump from one practice to another, cobbling together a pieceme…

How do we keep an open heart with the craziness of the world today? In this talk Mary invites us to consider gratitude and generosity as the heart's antidote to becoming enmeshed in the greed, anger …

One of the most accessible teachings on equanimity is the Eight Worldly Winds. These are experiences that are common to all humans: pleasure & pain, gain & loss, praise & blame, fame & disgrace. If w…

 We practice Vipassana or Insight Meditation, and we speak about insight regularly, but what is is really? Vipassana is often translated as seeing the true nature of reality and Mary discusses how th…

As used here, the Mahasanga (Great Community) refers to the breadth and width of Buddhist practitioners throughout the world. In this talk, Mary discusses the value of looking beyond the tradition yo…