Buddhist Wisdom from a Beloved Teacher Joanne Friday

Speaking during the runup to the 2020 election, Joanne points us to the tools to take care of our own consciousnesses during difficult times. She reminds us that we always have a choice: to contribute to the hell realms on earth, or to create heaven for ourselves and others. The talk includes the Plum Village song “The Realm of the Mind.”

Dharma talk originally given on October 13, 2020, to the Mind Tamers Sangha, Rhode Island.

Joanne takes us through the process of transforming our anger, showing ourselves nothing but lovingkindness and understanding so that we can offer that to the world. The talk begins just after a guided meditation, to which she refers.

Joanne gives an overview of the first six of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings, showing that they are guidelines for us, to help us choose our actions wisely as we go through our lives. She shows us how they can guide us to avoid causing more suffering in the world, and to transform our own.

Speaking during the Pandemic and in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, Joanne uses this time of unease as an opportunity to look deeply at our minds, in particular the suffering cause by our attachment to our own views. She focuses on "The Four Questions" as a way out of that suffering, beginning with: "Are You Sure?" The talk follows a poem and a break, in which Joanne held a silent meditation.

By going one step beyond stopping and calming our breath, we can transform our suffering and bring peace to ourselves and others. Mindfulness and concentration can help penetrate our habit energies, and ignorance of our interconnectedness with each other becomes love and understanding. (July 2013)

Joanne shares how mindfully following our breath allows us to stop, rest and calm ourselves, unifying our mind and body. This practice allows us to concentrate and truly exercise free will, we can respond skillfully when suffering arises. A guided meditation follows.