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The greatest gift is the
gift of the teachings
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Dharma Talks
given at Refuge of Belonging
Publicly available talks can be browsed here in the order indicated by
the "Sort Order" selection. Talk titles and discriptions can also be
searched by typing in a search word (or words) in the search box and
clicking "Search Titles and Descriptions". With multiple words, only those talks
containing all the given words are displayed.
Get the latest Dharma talks from Refuge of Belonging by Podcast
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2026-07-11
Kusala: The Mind That Leans Toward Freedom
28:39
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Nico Hase
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Kusala and akusala are usually translated as wholesome and unwholesome — but what if they're less about morality than direction? This talk explores these two categories as signposts pointing toward release or entanglement, how the body often knows the difference before the mind admits it, and how the four efforts turn that clarity into practice.
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Refuge of Belonging
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2026-06-13
Staying Power: How Patience Keeps You Honest
27:45
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Nico Hase
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In this talk, nico hase takes up the leading edge of khanti, asking what it means to train the mind beyond reactivity. Drawing on Dipa Ma and the Simile of the Saw Sutta, he explores how fierce love, ethical restraint, and the steady cultivation of wholesome states can help us meet a world on fire.
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Refuge of Belonging
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2026-06-13
Staying Inside the Friction
24:22
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Gina LaRoche
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In this talk, Gina explores *khanti*—patience, forbearance, and steadfastness—as the capacity to remain present with life as it is, without waiting politely, bypassing, or collapsing into niceness. This patience becomes a doorway into clear seeing, wise action, and the courage to stay on the wholesome path.
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Refuge of Belonging
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2026-05-09
You Are Always Finding Your Balance
24:27
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Nico Hase
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Philippe Petit, who walked a cable between the Twin Towers, said the secret was that you're never in balance — you're always finding it. nico hase takes that as the central image for viriya, exploring courageous effort that doesn't give up, the moment-by-moment refinement of balanced effort, and the countercultural discipline of rest as its own expression of energy on the path.
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Refuge of Belonging
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2026-05-09
Tranquil and Alert: Viriya and the Art of Balanced Effort
49:33
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Sharon Salzberg
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Drawing on the legend of the Buddha touching the earth and the Barre town motto that named her retreat center, Sharon Salzberg explores viriya — the pāramī of energy, effort, and courageous application. This talk examines how right effort lives in the middle way between strain and indolence, how the integration of inner and outer work makes the dharma real, and how we claim our own right to aspire to freedom.
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Refuge of Belonging
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2026-03-14
Coming Home Through Letting Go
25:27
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Nico Hase
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There is no lasting home in the conditioned world — everything changes, nothing holds. This talk explores how letting go of our reactivity to experience opens us into the unconditioned awareness that has always been here, always at peace.
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Refuge of Belonging
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2026-02-14
The Second Traveler: Karma, Perception, and the Impossible Vow
27:35
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Nico Hase
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A daylong reflection on sīla as lived dharma—how we become the kind of person whose actions embody love. Using the “two travelers” story, this talk explores karma as the slow magic of perception and relationship shifting over time, and lands in the bodhisattva vow: an impossible commitment that becomes a compass for staying upright, inclusive, and grounded in goodness—especially in a storm.
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Refuge of Belonging
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2026-02-14
Held by Integrity: Sīla as Love in Action
29:21
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Rhonda Magee
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A grounded, heart-forward exploration of sīla—ethical life as lived practice. Moving through the Eightfold Path and the five precepts as mindfulness trainings, this talk reframes integrity as wholeness: remembering we already belong, and learning to bring compassion, discernment, and non-harm into how we speak, act, relate, and consume.
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Refuge of Belonging
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