The following talk was given at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California.

Please visit our website at audioderma.org. So, so, So that meditation we just did I feel is phenomenally important to learn.

And maybe it's not something that people who are beginners to meditation would focus on,

but sooner or later, if we really want to be free, we have to be free even when we're uncomfortable, even when things are not

what we prefer them to be.

And if we want to be able to care for the world well wisely,

we need to learn how to be comfortable with the

discomforts of the world so that we don't we're not reactive.

Our reactivity doesn't override our ability to see clearly, to think clearly, to care, clearly.

And the... the it's a phenomenal skill to learn and so maybe this

week that can be the focus. I know some of you maybe have a deep need for relief,

for relaxation, for some kind of calm in the middle of your storm and you're welcome always to practice as you see fit

but I'd like to this week help us kind of explore the, you know, the full benefit of this practice that comes when we understand, when we know how to practice with what's difficult.

And so part of the reason for this is that I want to talk about the Central Buddhist teaching on nonviolence and non-harming. An ancient teaching in Buddhism is that the

primary characteristic of the darma is non-harming.

And non-harming is non-harming is a very challenging state.

And in order to be able to live wisely with a

dedication to nonviolence it's important to be able to be wise about the challenges that our life brings us,

challenges of living this life in the world where there is so much violence.

And it begins by knowing how to be present for tremendous difficulties and not being pulled into our reactivity, pulled into our fear or anger, our distress,

our alarm, all kinds of things that we get caught in and then if we get caught in those things and

act from them then we're probably not going to act with much wisdom. We're probably not

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