September 11, 2020 | 1:30:00

Dharma and Recovery

Kevin Griffin

What’s most important about karma is what I call our emotional karma. What does it feel like when you make amends? If you work the 12 Steps, it’s a really precious thing to do. Not because it fixes anything, but because it changes you. It actually gives you a feeling of strength because the burden of the past, of guilt and regret, keeps us hiding, keeps us fearful, keeps us trying not to look, not to feel. But when we can stand up, and say “Yes, this is true,” then there’s a freedom that comes with that. What “making amends” does is that it finally convinces us of the value of honesty, and of the freedom that comes when we stop protecting the ego.

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September 11, 2020 | 1:30:00

Dharma and Recovery

Kevin Griffin

What’s most important about karma is what I call our emotional karma. What does it feel like when you make amends? If you work the 12 Steps, it’s a really precious thing to do. Not because it fixes anything, but because it changes you. It actually gives you a feeling of strength because the burden of the past, of guilt and regret, keeps us hiding, keeps us fearful, keeps us trying not to look, not to feel. But when we can stand up, and say “Yes, this is true,” then there’s a freedom that comes with that. What “making amends” does is that it finally convinces us of the value of honesty, and of the freedom that comes when we stop protecting the ego.

December 29, 2018 | 33 min.

Keep Coming Back: Dharma, Recovery and Renewal

Kevin Griffin

We want to let go of negative patterns and adopt positive patterns. In Buddhism, this is called “right effort.” We’re going to abandon the negative behaviors, thought patterns, speech patterns—all that destructive behavior—and we’re going to cultivate positive patterns in our lives. It is through changing our thoughts, words, and deeds, rather than through God intervening and fixing our lives, that we are going to change our lives. By definition, we’re going to change ourselves. We’re going to become different people who operate differently because we think, speak, and act differently now.

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December 29, 2018 | 33 min.

Keep Coming Back: Dharma, Recovery and Renewal

Kevin Griffin

We want to let go of negative patterns and adopt positive patterns. In Buddhism, this is called “right effort.” We’re going to abandon the negative behaviors, thought patterns, speech patterns—all that destructive behavior—and we’re going to cultivate positive patterns in our lives. It is through changing our thoughts, words, and deeds, rather than through God intervening and fixing our lives, that we are going to change our lives. By definition, we’re going to change ourselves. We’re going to become different people who operate differently because we think, speak, and act differently now.

August 11, 2017 | 65 min.

Self Love / Self Hate

Kevin Griffin

When the Buddha tells people they should love people, what he says is, “even as a mother protects with her life, her child, her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings.” He characterizes lovingkindness as protecting. That’s what we're talking about with self-love: taking care of ourselves. So when you say “may I be happy, may I be peaceful,” you don't have to think “I don't know… I kind of screwed that up. I don't really deserve it.” It's going to something more fundamental. Mettā is bringing a sense of care and protection to yourself.

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August 11, 2017 | 65 min.

Self Love / Self Hate

Kevin Griffin

When the Buddha tells people they should love people, what he says is, “even as a mother protects with her life, her child, her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings.” He characterizes lovingkindness as protecting. That’s what we're talking about with self-love: taking care of ourselves. So when you say “may I be happy, may I be peaceful,” you don't have to think “I don't know… I kind of screwed that up. I don't really deserve it.” It's going to something more fundamental. Mettā is bringing a sense of care and protection to yourself.

February 7, 2012 | 50 min.

Awakening Joy

Kevin Griffin

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February 7, 2012 | 50 min.

Awakening Joy

Kevin Griffin

December 23, 2010 | 53 min.

Generosity for Ourselves

Kevin Griffin

A German Buddhist nun, Ayya Khema, says that generosity diminishes the ego—that diminishing the ego is the essence of the path of purification, and leads to the eventual experience of non-self. Before he teaches meditation, before he teaches the Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path, the Buddha teaches generosity because it’s such a direct way to letting go. And since the cause of suffering is not letting go, this shows a direct way to end suffering.

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December 23, 2010 | 53 min.

Generosity for Ourselves

Kevin Griffin

A German Buddhist nun, Ayya Khema, says that generosity diminishes the ego—that diminishing the ego is the essence of the path of purification, and leads to the eventual experience of non-self. Before he teaches meditation, before he teaches the Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path, the Buddha teaches generosity because it’s such a direct way to letting go. And since the cause of suffering is not letting go, this shows a direct way to end suffering.