“There will always be things we can’t explain. In fact, our explanations are always provisional. This isn’t a problem unless we start to confuse the explanation with reality. We have a strong tendency to do that because we like explanations so much.”

-Brad Warner

This Week’s Discussion Topic
Discuss a time when you have personally experienced the relationship between impermanence and suffering.

“The ground of renunciation is realizing that we already have exactly what we need, that what we have already is good. Every moment of time has enormous energy in it, and we could connect with that.”

-Pema Chödrön

This Week’s Discussion Topic
Discuss example(s) of how you’ve successfully “surrendered” or “let go” to some situation in your life.

“Something I have come to understand slowly over my lifetime is that nature, earth, the world—whatever you call it—is not simply something I am ‘on’ but something I ‘am.’ It is not outside of me: it is me, and I am it. There is no outside.”

-Paul Kingsnorth

This Week’s Discussion Topic
What was the biggest motivating event, person, situation, book, etc. that initially drew you to Buddhism?

“Returning again and again to the object of meditation when you find yourself distracted is the actual practice, not a problem to overcome so that one day we can engage in ‘real’ meditation.”

-Sharon Salzberg

This Week’s Discussion Topic
What are some common frustrations you’ve experienced with sitting, and how did you overcome them?

“One of the most interesting things about practice is that we get to test it out. One way or another, we will get to see what works for us and what doesn’t, what happens when we do certain practices or follow the advice of certain teachers, as well as what happens when we don’t.”

-Daniel Ingram

This Week’s Discussion Topic
What does “not-self” mean to you?