Many of us move through life reacting to circumstances without pausing to consider what we’re truly devoted to. When we lose touch with our values and deepest intentions, it’s easy to feel scattered, disconnected, or pulled in directions that don’t reflect who we want to be.
In this talk, I explore the relationship between what we bow toward and what we vow to live by. Practice isn’t just about accepting life as it is—it’s also about intentionally cultivating what is good, true, and meaningful. Together, we’ll reflect on gratitude, refuge, impermanence, and the quiet commitments that shape who we become. What might serve you most as a vow going forward?
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Talk: Bows and Vows
Timecodes & main topics:
- 0:00 – The Two Wings of Practice: Being With and Working With
- 5:17 – What Are You Bowing Toward?
- 7:36 – Gratitude for the Everyday Miracle of a Tomato
- 10:56 – Bowing to Our Ancestors and the Web of Life
- 13:45 – The Three Things I Bow To
- 16:05 – Finding Refuge in Practice
- 19:07 – Bowing to Difficult Realities
- 21:55 – Impermanence, Interdependence, and Suffering
- 25:40 – The Meaning and Power of Vows
- 30:14 – Living Our Commitments Imperfectly
- 33:45 – What Vows Will Guide Your Future?
- 38:42 – Taking Others Into Account
- 40:19 – Expanding Compassion in a Divided World
A Meditation: Finding Contentment in the Present
In this meditation, I invited us to settle into the breath and discover the quiet well-being of contentment. Together, we explored what it feels like to let go of striving and rest, if only for a few moments, in the simple fullness of the present experience.
