By Laura Bennett Lately, I’ve been on a journey to be more compassionate towards myself. For me, this has meant learning to offer more compassion towards the thoughts, sensations, emotions, perceptions, and habitual patterns that arise. This journey has also naturally lent itself toward learning how to truly receive compassion. When I say compassion here,…
Tag: mindfulness
A Prayer in Every Breath (It’s ok to suck at meditation)
By Kelly Branan I want to begin with something very simple:the sound of breathing. Let’s start by listening to a few of our own breaths. What do you notice? What parts of your body feel loud right now?Which parts feel quiet? Before we do anything else, before we try to understand anything, before we try…
Embracing Impermanence – Mono No Aware –
In Chapter 32 of the Diamond Sutra, the Buddha teaches impermanence through poetry, likening our conditioned existence to dew, lightning, and dreams. This dharma talk reflects on impermanence (anicca), grief, and gratitude, inviting us to embody—not merely understand—the fleeting nature of life and to meet it with tenderness and presence.
The Dharma of Creativity
By Rio Branham I want to talk about an idea expressed in this quote from Rev. Gyomay Kubose, Living in oneness with [the] Buddha’s teachings is a creative life in which everything becomes meaningful. I’ve been coming across this idea in lots of different places, that a spiritual life, awakening, enlightenment, is related to creativity…
Is not impermanence the very fragrance of our days?
Good morning. So the title of this dharma talk is actually a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke: “Is not impermanence the very fragrance of our days?” I love this quote because it reminds me that our impermanence is what gives life meaning. The fleeting, unknowable, ephemeral, impermanent nature of being alive can bring heartbreak and…
Ordinary Awakening
In Ordinary Awakening, Christopher Kakuyo Leibow reflects on the freedom of being who we already are. Drawing on Shin Buddhist teachings, he reminds us that awakening isn’t escape but clarity—the humble seeing of our interdependence, where even the most ordinary moments shine with luminous truth.
The Truly Settled State: Resting in Amida’s Boundless Compassion
by Gwen Juvenal The phrase Namu Amida Butsu, or the nembutsu, is central to our practice at the Buddhist Fellowship. We translate it as “Come as you are.” This simple invitation holds immense depth. It encourages us to set down the weight of who we think we are, or who we must be, and rest in infinite…
Making Offerings to the Buddha
By Laura Bennett Welcome to another gathering of the Salt Lake Buddhist Fellowship. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Laura, and I’m one of the new practice leaders of our fellowship. I’ve been a member of the Sangha for a few years now, and I am grateful for the opportunity…
Face to Face Here And Now
By Kelly Branan When we say together, Namu Amida Butsu, we are not reciting a password. We’re not trying to pass some hidden test. We’re responding to an invitation—simple, yet profound: “Come as you are.” That’s it. No prerequisites. No spiritual résumé. No checklist of virtues. Just you, here, now, with all your baggage, all your…
Hide Self View
By Kimmy Dojinyo Sensei Hi, welcome, and thank you for being here with us in community. Today, I want to share how much I have been thinking about myself—specifically, my delusion of self. This Dharma Talk idea first came about during a Zoom meeting several years back, shortly after the COVID lockdowns, when a large…
Everyday Nembutsu 