Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: A Mind of Clear Comprehension

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: A Mind of Clear Comprehension

In this episode, spiritual director John Bruna gives his final Dharma talk of 2024 and concludes his commentary on the book Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron. John expands on the Buddhist teaching that our ultimate nature is pure and how that purity is covered over…

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Is Liberation Possible?

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Is Liberation Possible?

In this episode, spiritual director John Bruna gives guidance and a powerful perspective on how liberation is possible through understanding the clear light nature of the mind. He discusses how the afflictions of our mind can be removed and how they don’t taint the nature of the mind which is always pure and virtuous.

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Gradual Liberation by way of Wisdom

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Gradual Liberation by way of Wisdom

In this episode, spiritual director John Bruna teaches how we can engage with the teachings on Emptiness in a practical and transformative way. He describes various strategies for focusing on reality-based living that will lead to less suffering in our experience. John’s guidance is rooted in the buddhist teachings on Nirvana by way of the…

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: The 5 Pathways of the Mind

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: The 5 Pathways of the Mind

In this session, spiritual director John Bruna gives commentary on the stages of practice leading to liberation with a focus on mindfully engaging in wholesome actions in our daily lives. He talks about the essential practices of cultivating merit and purifying negativities which both clarify our minds and nurture the conditions for realizations to arise…

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: The Gradual Process of Freedom

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: The Gradual Process of Freedom

In this session, spiritual director John Bruna highlights a variety of ways that we create our own suffering through our misperceived reality. He offers valuable suggestions of behaviors and ways of engaging with reality that can act as antidotes to samsara and lead us on a journey of gradual Enlightenment.

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Seeking Genuine Peace and Happiness

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Seeking Genuine Peace and Happiness

In this session, spiritual director John Bruna hosts an engaging teaching and discussion on seeking genuine peace and happiness. He expands on the three higher trainings that are the path to liberation and encourages us to mindfully experience when we do things we feel good about in order to create a positive feedback loop for…

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Antidotes to Self-Criticism and Discouragement

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Antidotes to Self-Criticism and Discouragement

In this session, spiritual director John Bruna offers a powerful talk on cultivating the antidotes to a form of laziness that manifests as discouragement and self-criticism. He suggests finding a balanced perspective where we continually develop a sense of self-worth but avoid a self-centered attitude that thinks about “me” as more important than others.

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Invigorating a Dry Dharma Practice

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Invigorating a Dry Dharma Practice

In this Session, spiritual director John Bruna offers commentary on invigorating a dry dharma practice by maintaining a balance of being responsible for our practice but not pushing too hard. John describes and offers a way forward through integrating our dharma practice into our daily activities and engaging in accurate evaluation by observing changes in…

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Relating With Our Feelings

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: Relating With Our Feelings

In this session, John gives a dharma talk on the Buddhist notion of feelings which are the pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral feelings that occur in relation with physical stimulus or mental phenomena. Different than our modern understanding of emotions, this mode of feeling is an important link in the 12 links of dependent origination.

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: The 12 Links of Dependent Origination

Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature: The 12 Links of Dependent Origination

In this session, the Way of Compassion Dharma Center director John Bruna gives a Dharma talk about the 12 links of origination. These 12 links describe the how cycle of suffering, known as Samsara, comes into existence, and John describes how the path of Buddhist Dharma can break the link of ignorance setting us free…