Dharma Library

Teacher: Sylvia Boorstein
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Talks

November 1, 2023 | 1 hour 20 minutes 17 seconds

There's Nothing Left to Do but... Be Kind to Yourself and Everyone Else You Meet

Sylvia Boorstein

The only thing that makes sense is kindness. Equanimity in the mind really depends on having enough balance to know that whatever is happening now is not happening because of yesterday. It's happening because of everything that has ever happened in this whole world. Every individual is heir to their own karma. There are no enemies and no villains—this is just life unfolding, and the only thing we can do is to be kind. We can be kind to ourselves and everybody we meet so that in this whole pained world, we don't add any fuel to the fire of enmity.

Talks

April 13, 2022 | 1 hr 23 min.

Cultivating a Wonderful Mind

Sylvia Boorstein

One way of describing wisdom and compassion is to not be held captive by your own pain so that you’ll be able to be touched by the pain of others. The most significant move is to go from “our people” to “all people.” Like Paul Farmer says, “there’s only one nation—there’s only one people.” The Bodhisattva Vow says, “May all beings everywhere be peaceful and happy and come to the end of suffering.” And “beings are numberless, and suffering is endless. I vow to end it.” But I can't possibly be running around house to house in the whole world, so what does that mean? It means if my heart were a completely open heart, it would already be finished. Whatever house I’d be in front of I would meet with kindness or compassion.

Talks

June 16, 2021 | 1 hr 8 min.

Loving Well is the Best Response

Sylvia Boorstein

One of the last things the Buddha said, when he passed out of this life, was “transient are all conditions.” Everything that arises—this life, this mayfly, this flower, this mountain, and most importantly this life—anything that’s a created thing, passes. Then he said to be confident about the future. Let the future arise in confidence. I love that! I’ve said many times that there is really only one Dharma talk: Life is complex and challenging all the time from the beginning to the end. But it’s manageable, it’s doable. And it’s possible to celebrate it because it’s magnificent and awesome and interesting.

Talks

January 16, 2020 | 58 min 38 sec

When We Consider Suffering, Kindness Is the Only Response

Sylvia Boorstein

Talks

December 16, 2015 | 63 min.

Ethical Behavior or The Goal of Practice as the Expression of Wisdom

Sylvia Boorstein

Talks

August 12, 2015 | 58 min.

Liberation is the Whole of the Dharma

Sylvia Boorstein

There’s an evanescent quality to this life. It keeps on changing. And we know that—but we don't really know it. I think if we really knew it, we wouldn’t spend a moment angry. The more I go on, the more I think that the development of poise is the heart of practice: whatever is happening, that’s okay; this thought came up, that’s okay; this feeling came up, that’s okay; my back hurts a bit, that's okay. Then we do whatever we can to calm down our mind, because it’s not about armwrestling your mind to the ground, but reminding it of what’s true.

Meditations

July 15, 2015 | 9 min.

Equanimity and the Brahmavihāras

Sylvia Boorstein

Meditations

July 11, 2015 | 25 min.

Compassion for Someone Who is Suffering

Sylvia Boorstein

Talks

January 5, 2015 | 47 min.

New Years Resolutions

Sylvia Boorstein

Since it’s the beginning of the year, I’ll start with telling you one of the resolutions I made last year: I decided I would give up the word “should.” And I listened to myself! Even in the middle of a sentence, if I said “I should” or “he should have”... It doesn’t matter if he should have—he didn’t. What I really mean, and what is much sweeter for my mind to hear, is “I wish I had done that,” or “I wish he had,” and now that I say it that way. It just keeps my mind a sweeter neighborhood with less bad people in it.

Talks

October 29, 2014 | 53 min.

Poison and Weapons and Fire Won’t Harm Them

Sylvia Boorstein