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Nikki Mirghafori's Dharma Talks
Nikki Mirghafori
Nikki is of Persian heritage, and was introduced to contemplative practices and yoga in the early 1980's, to meditation in 1991, and to Theravada Buddhism in 2003. She has studied with various Western and Eastern teachers, with a keen interest in intensive silent retreats. She studied jhanas and detailed analytical vipassana with the renowned meditation master Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw who instructed her to teach. She is also a Spirit Rock authorized retreat teacher, a Stanford trained compassion cultivation instructor, and a UCLA certified mindfulness facilitator. She teaches Buddhist meditation and contemplation nationally, and in particular, at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, where she also serves on their Board of Directors. Nikki holds a Ph.D. in computer science from UC Berkeley and has had an active career as an Artificial Intelligence scientist in academia and industry for over two decades.
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2022-12-03 Opening Session (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 1:30:26
with Beth Sternlieb, Kodo Conlin, Nikki Mirghafori, Sayadaw U Jagara
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Befriending Mortality: Living an Awakened Life through Mindfulness of Death (Maranasati)
2022-08-17 Guided Meditation: Connect & Continue (Vitakka & Vicara) As Our Two Best Friends in Concentration Practice (Retreat at Spirit Rock) 58:55
In this guided meditation, we explore connecting with our intention, relaxing the body, and then devote ourselves to the first two jhanic factors: vitakka and vicara, initial application and sustained application, or connect and continue. The guidance ends with planting the seeds for gladness and joy by noticing the absence of the hindrances, as taught in the satipatthana sutta.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Cultivating Concentration
2022-08-16 Samadhi, the Five Jhanic Factors, and the Five Hindrances 64:58
What is samatha Practice (concentration)? Why practice samatha? What is the different between samatha (a practice), samadhi (the state), and vipassana (insight practice)? What are the five jhanic factors? And how do we work with the five hindrances, or rather, "coverings," in samatha practice as opposed to insight practice?
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Cultivating Concentration
2022-04-04 Gladening our hearts with generosity to self and others - Monday Night Dharma Talk 53:42
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
2021-04-10 Emptiness: The Womb of Love and Service 30:41
When we step out of our habitual ways of seeing the self and the world, clinging to constant self-interest lessens/drops away, and love and service become natural responses.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Practical Emptiness: The Womb of Love and Compassion with Nikki Mirghafori, PhD and Sayadaw U Jagara
2021-04-10 Guided Meditation: Freedom from the Clinging of Self (and Buddha's Instructions to Bahiya) 57:36
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Practical Emptiness: The Womb of Love and Compassion with Nikki Mirghafori, PhD and Sayadaw U Jagara
2021-04-09 Evening Reflections: Appreciation as a Way to See Our Day 13:11
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Practical Emptiness: The Womb of Love and Compassion with Nikki Mirghafori, PhD and Sayadaw U Jagara
2021-04-09 Noticing Absence, Letting Go of Self-Reference 49:18
In this guided meditation, we explore voidness/emptiness through the absence of observed phenomena. Our habitual self-referential frame of reference is also invited to be seen and examined, and momentarily let go of to notice the freedom of the way of seeing free of self-ing.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Practical Emptiness: The Womb of Love and Compassion with Nikki Mirghafori, PhD and Sayadaw U Jagara
2021-04-08 Guided Meditation: Life as A Dream 44:34
In this guided meditation, we explore emptiness as a way of seeing the dreamlike nature of what we assume to be our fixed reality. "Thus shall you think of all this fleeting world: As star at dawn, a bubble in a stream, A flash of lightning in a summer cloud, A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream."
Spirit Rock Meditation Center Practical Emptiness: The Womb of Love and Compassion with Nikki Mirghafori, PhD and Sayadaw U Jagara
2020-08-31 The Five Daily Reflections 68:25
Spirit Rock Meditation Center

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