For episode 280 of the Metta Hour, we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Insight Meditation Society, which opened doors on Valentine’s Day in 1976.

Today, IMS is one of the Western world’s oldest and most respected meditation retreat centers, dedicated to providing a spiritual refuge for all who seek freedom of mind and heart. The Retreat Center offers a range of silent meditation courses, ranging from a weekend to three months. IMS Online offers retreats, sanghas, dharma talks, courses, and other programming to support your practice from our virtual meditation hall. IMS also has two adjacent retreat facilities – the Retreat Center and the Forest Refuge – that are set among almost 400 secluded wooded acres in the quiet country of central Massachusetts.

In this episode, Sharon presents a special episode from the archives of IMS history featuring her teacher Dipa Ma. Originally recorded in October of 1984, when Dipa Ma was visiting IMS, this dharma talk was given as part of the 1984 three-month retreat. Through an interpreter, Dipa Ma shares the story of how we came to meditation following tremendous loss. She reflects on her early years of practice under the tutelage of Anagarika Munindra and how she gradually began teaching meditation. She also takes questions from the audience about her practice from the attending three-month retreatants.

Resources

A full transcript of this episode is available right here.

To learn more about the Insight Mediation Society, click here.

To learn more about Dipa Ma, click here.

To learn more about the Dharma Seed archive, click here.

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For episode 279, Jack Kornfield returns to the Metta Hour to talk about his new book, “All in This Together: Stories and Teachings for Loving Each Other and Our World.”

Jack trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India and has taught worldwide since 1974. He is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practices to the West. He is the cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society and of Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California. He holds a PhD in clinical psychology and has written more than fifteen books, including The Wise Heart, A Path with Heart, and more.

In this conversation, Sharon and Jack speak about:

• The impetus for Jack’s new book
• The universe is made of stories
• Beginner’s Mind as the goal of practice
• Ajahn Chah’s squirrel story
• How repetition factors into storytelling
• Trusting the gifts of interconnectedness
• Ram Dass as the great public neurotic
• The glance of mercy
• The Bodhisattva Vow
• Envisioning generosity to change the world
• Working with our expectations
• Despair is not the end of the story
• Mindful Service as a source of happiness
• The Insight Meditation Society's 50th anniversary
• The founding of IMS told by Jack
• How the Dharma evolves across cultures

This episode closes with a guided meditation from Jack. Learn more about Jack’s many offerings right here and get yourself a copy of his new book All in This Together.

Join the IMS 50th anniversary online celebration on February 14th, 2026! Learn more and register right here.

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For episode 278, Sharon sits down with author and friend, Parvati Markus, the editor of the new Ram Dass book, “There is No Other: The Way to Harmony and Wholeness.”

Parvati is a developmental editor who has been midwifing non-fiction books and memoirs since her first efforts with Ram Dass’s classic Be Here Now. She serves on the Board of Advisors for the Love Serve Remember Foundation and has helped with many other spiritual organizations and events. Parvati is also the author of numerous books, including Whisper in the Heart and Love Everyone. This is Parvati’s first appearance on the Metta Hour.

In this conversation, Parvati and Sharon speak about:

• How Parvati found her path
• Meeting Neem Karoli Baba
• Ram Dass and Parvati’s friendship
• Parvati’s contribution to “Be Here Now”
• The inspiration for “There is No Other”
• Moving past “us” and “them”
• Balancing real life & spiritual life
• Substituting noticing for judging
• Neem Karoli Baba’s directive of service
• Ram Dass learning to accept help
• Moving from Role to Soul
• How to be here now in times of difficulty
• Community as the future Buddha
• Joseph Goldstein’s fateful meeting with Ram Dass
• What is Loving Awareness
• Ram Dass’s final public appearance

This episode closes with a guided meditation from Ram Dass that invites us to let go of the heaviness of confusion and our rigid models of who we are and how it is.

Learn more about Parvati’s many book projects right here and get yourself a copy of Ram Dass’s new book “There is No Other” right here in hardcover, ebook and audiobook formats.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.