Dharma Sunday

In this Dharma Sunday teaching we will be exploring the ways that our personalities and styles of interaction
By recognizing our own patterns of behavior and styles of manifesting in the world, we can use that awareness to go beyond judgment which keep us bound to cycles and limited perspective in our lives; and thus touch the insight of loving pervasive awareness.

In this Dharma Sunday teaching, the Second of Four teachings on "Mycelial Wisdom", Lama Willa Blythe Baker, founder of Natural Dharma Fellowship, explores the profound concept of "Anatman" (no-self).
The central teaching expands on "mycelial wisdom," drawing parallels between extensive, hidden mycelial networks (described as "the neurological network of nature") and the Buddhist principle of interdependent connection. Lama Willa explains that the Buddha's teaching of "Anatman" (no-self) challenges the deeply held belief in a solid, independent self. Instead, it posits that the self is a conceptual construction and a fluid "node in a communicative web," much like a mushroom is merely the "fruiting body" of a larger, interconnected mycelial matrix.

Natural Dharma Fellowship’s Dharma Sundays are donation-based gatherings open to all, offering a wide range of topics. Led by highly trained NDF Dharma and guest teachers, these live, interactive sessions include guided meditation, teachings, and time for questions and discussion. Please join us to settle into the support of sangha and the joy of practicing together.

In this two-part class, participants will be invited to study and reflect on a short teaching by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu entitled “The Prison of Life” (free download).
Just as prisons are rationalized as necessary containment for those whose criminal convictions make them untrustworthy or undeserving of freedom, we rationalize our self-created imprisonment as a necessary means of avoiding unforgivable mistakes on our spiritual journey. Buddhadasa asks us to look at the prisons we make for ourselves out of desire for purity and goodness, our instincts, and even our teachers. This is a subtle and challenging inquiry, but necessary when your discipline brings you to a frustrated and joyless state. Kyira, also known as Acharya Abhaya, will offer contemplative and meditative tools to support engaging with the text, developed with the insight of all that she has learned about prison journeys in her years as a correctional chaplain.

n this two-part class, participants will be invited to study and reflect on a short teaching by Buddhadasa Bhikkhu entitled “The Prison of Life” (free download).
Just as prisons are rationalized as necessary containment for those whose criminal convictions make them untrustworthy or undeserving of freedom, we rationalize our self-created imprisonment as a necessary means of avoiding unforgivable mistakes on our spiritual journey. Buddhadasa asks us to look at the prisons we make for ourselves out of desire for purity and goodness, our instincts, and even our teachers. This is a subtle and challenging inquiry, but necessary when your discipline brings you to a frustrated and joyless state. Kyira, also known as Acharya Abhaya, will offer contemplative and meditative tools to support engaging with the text, developed with the insight of all that she has learned about prison journeys in her years as a correctional chaplain.

We will explore how remembering who we really are expands us beyond the experiences of fragmentation, distress, overwhelm, and fear that may threaten to overwhelm us. What would it mean to realize that this “self” can hold the fullness of our human experience, from the most challenging encounters to the most beautiful? When we remember our innate connection to source at the same time as we stand strong in our individual manifestation of care in the world, we discover a source of resilience capable of carrying us deeper and deeper along the path.

In this Dharma Sunday teaching, the First of Four teachings on "Mycelial Wisdom", Lama Willa Blythe Baker, founder of Natural Dharma Fellowship, explores the profound concept of interdependence (Pratitya Samudpada).
Lama Willa discusses her multi-year exploration of the plant world as a source of wisdom, highlighting how mycelial networks serve as a powerful metaphor for interconnectedness. The teaching emphasizes that the idea of a separate, individual self is an illusion, and that true understanding arises from recognizing our non-separation from the world.

Instead of chasing the future, or dwelling in the past; on the Buddhist path, we are given the opportunity, through meditation, to work with what’s here right now. There is no path apart from our very own footsteps, no rhythm to strive for apart from our natural breath and heartbeat. While things might not always be going our way, the path of meditation offers us respite amidst the eye of the storm, in the sacred open space of the present moment as it is.