The path · Laying the foundation
Foundations
Talks that speak mostly to this
- Day 2 Sila - The Foundation of the Meditation -Why do we take refuges/precepts? Excellent Talk
Delson explains why the retreat's morning ritual of three refuges, eight precepts, five recollections and a Dhammapada reading is part of the meditation practice.
- Day 3 8-Fold Path - Aug Retreat - Delson Armstrong at DSMC
Delson walks through the Noble Eightfold Path as the spine of the practice, taking each factor in turn: right view, right intention, right speech, right action and right livelihood (sila)…
- Day 1 Intro Aug 13-23 Tranquil Wisdom Insight Retreat at DSMC-Intro to Delson
Delson opens a retreat by giving his background and explaining the 6R's (Recognize, Release, Relax, Re-smile, Return, Repeat) as the method of right effort for letting go of distraction.
- Day 2 Setting in Motion the wheel of Dhamma -8 Fold Path
Delson introduces the morning refuges, precepts and recollections as a way of setting intention for practice, then reads SN 56.11, the Buddha's first sermon on the middle way and the Four…
- Day 1 July 2-12 Advanced Retreat-Orientation and Instructions
Delson gives the orientation for a ten-day advanced TWIM retreat.
- Day 5 What is Mindfulness - 4 Foundations of Mindfulness-Not McMindfulness
Delson explains the four foundations of mindfulness (satipatthana) as body, feeling, mind and mind objects, and says they are anchor points for the mind rather than stages to pass through…
- Day 3 8 Fold Path June Retreat with Delson Armstrong
Delson explains the Buddha's first sermon (SN 56.11) and walks through the Noble Eightfold Path as a foundation for meditation, starting with right view and ending in right collectedness.
- Day 2 What is Meditation - The Brahmviharas
Delson explains what meditation is for in the TWIM practice, distinguishing meditation with an object from objectless observation and framing the aim as a collected, clear mind in which…
- MN 10 Part 2 Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta-Feeling -Majjhima Series w/Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong continues his reading of the Satipatthana Sutta (MN 10), covering contemplation of feeling, mind, mind objects (the five hindrances, the aggregates, the six internal and…
- Day 3 8 Fold Path - The Journey w/Delson Armstrong
Delson retells the Buddha's life from the four sights through the years of indulgence and asceticism to the Middle Way, and presents the Noble Eightfold Path as the path the Buddha taught…
- Day 1-2 Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha- The Foundation to the Path
Delson opens a retreat by explaining the daily interviews: four simple questions about the object of meditation, the best sit, its length, and how the practitioner returns to the object.
- MN 10 Pt1 '4 Foundations of Mindfulness'-Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta - Majjhima Series with Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong opens his study of the Satipatthana Sutta (MN 10) by explaining the meaning of the word satipatthana as anchors for the mind in the present moment, with sati as…
- MN 9 Right View - Majjhima Series with Delson Armstrong
Delson walks through MN 9, the Sammaditthi Sutta (which he calls the Samadhiti Sutta), on right view.
- MN 6 Akankheyya Sutta - PRECEPTS ARE THE BASIS OF AWAKENING!
Delson reads and explains MN 6 Akankheyya Sutta, in which each "if a bhikkhu should wish" clause ends with the refrain to fulfill the precepts, develop samadhi and insight, and dwell in…
- MN 3 'Heirs in the Teaching" Sunday Sutta Series with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 3 (Dhammadayada Sutta), in which the Buddha asks his monks to be heirs in the Dhamma rather than heirs in material things, and uses the example of two monks who receive…
- The 37 Requisites to Enlightenment -Sunday with Delson
Delson reads from the Maha Parinibbana Sutta (DN 16), where the Buddha gives his final instructions, and uses it to introduce the 37 requisites for awakening.
- AN 1.306-309 Wrong View is always Unwholesome -Sunday with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads a series of Anguttara Nikaya suttas (AN 1.306-309) on wrong view and right view, explaining that wrong view leads to unwholesome states and suffering while right view…
- Austria 2025 | Introduction - Just Relax!
Delson gives the opening instructions for a retreat on the Brahmaviharas, starting with metta as friendliness based on recognising one's own innate goodness and that of other beings.
- MN 48 Kosambiya Metta Leading to Nibbana- Sunday Talk with Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong reads and comments on MN 48, the Kosambiya Sutta, in which the Buddha addresses monks in Kosambi who were quarreling and calls them to acts of loving-kindness toward their…
- July 27 AN 3.65 Kalama Sutta Sunday Sutta Series-Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on AN 3.65, the Kalama Sutta, in which the Buddha advises the Kalamas to judge teachings by what they know for themselves to lead to harm or welfare.
- Day 1 June 5 -Why are you Retreating? Orientation Talk Jun5-14th 2025
Delson gives an orientation talk for a meditation retreat, explaining right intention (nekkhama, avyapada and avihimsa) and why the precepts, samadhi and wisdom form an integrated path…
- Mumbai Retreat February 2025 | Day 3 - Mindfulness
Delson explains mindfulness (sati) as bare observation of what arises and passes away, together with clear comprehension (sampajanna) of where attention is.
- Jan 2025 Retreat: Orientation and Talk w/Delson Armstrong
Delson opens a January retreat with beginner instructions for TWIM loving-kindness practice: sit comfortably, smile, bring up an uplifting feeling in the chest, and send metta first to…
- Delson's 4th Talk on the 8 fold path: Right Mindfulness-Smrti????
Delson continues his eightfold path series with a talk on right effort and right mindfulness (sati), explaining how the 6R's express right effort and how sati means remembering to observe…
- Delson's 4th Talk on the 8 fold path-Right Mindfulness
Delson teaches right effort as the heart of the path and connects it to the 6R's, then explains right mindfulness (sati) as remembering to observe how attention moves between objects.
- Delson's 2nd talk: 8 Fold Path Series-Right Intention
Delson explains right intention (sammasankappa) as the second factor of the Noble Eightfold Path, working from the Pali and from MN 117.
- Delson Armstrong 8 Fold Path Series - Right Intention
Delson explains right intention (sammasankappa) as resolve or wholesome determination, grounded in right view and developed through renunciation, non-ill will and non-cruelty.
- Delson Armstrong 8 Fold Path Series - Right View
Delson opens a study series on the Eightfold Path with right view (samma ditthi), using MN117 (the Mahacattarisaka Sutta) as his source.
- Delson's 1st talk: 8 Fold Path Series-RIGHT VIEW
Delson opens a series on the Eightfold Path by explaining that the path is the fourth noble truth and that right effort runs through all of its factors.
- Day 7 8 Fold Path- Japan Retreat Dec 2023
Delson explains the Noble Eightfold Path as the fourth noble truth and as a practical lifestyle, going through each factor from right view to right collectedness.
- Day 8: Noble Eightfold Path Netherlands
Delson Armstrong gives a talk, recorded at the end of a retreat, on how to cultivate the Noble Eightfold Path in daily life after retreat.
- Day 9: Noble Eightfold Path
Delson closes a retreat by explaining the Noble Eightfold Path as a way of living, not only a sitting practice.
- Kalimpong Buddha Pāda 2023 Day 1 Introduction
Delson opens a 10-day Brahmavihara retreat at Kalimpong Buddha Pada with a feeling-based loving-kindness (metta) practice.
- Day 9 UK Retreat (Sept 2023) - Noble Eightfold Path
Delson walks through the Noble Eightfold Path factor by factor, from right view and right intention through right speech, action and livelihood to right effort, mindfulness and…
- Kalimpong Buddha Pāda 2023 Day 1 Introduction
Delson opens a ten-day Brahmavihara retreat at Buddha Pada by explaining the loving-kindness practice: a feeling-based meditation sent first to oneself and then to a spiritual friend.
- 37 Requisites with Delson Armstrong. MN 77
Delson Armstrong reads and explains MN 77, the Maha Sakuludayi Sutta, in which the Buddha says his disciples honor him for five qualities and then lists the 37 requisites of awakening.
- MN 10 Mindfulness Redefined-Satipatthana Sutta with Delson Armstrong-Very Good!
Delson reads through MN 10, the Satipatthana Sutta, and explains the four foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, mind and mind objects.
- MN 10 Satipatthana Sutta with Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong reads MN 10, the Satipatthana Sutta, and explains the four foundations of mindfulness (body, feelings, mind, and mind objects) as they apply to meditation practice.
- May 2023 Retreat -Day 8- MN 117 The 8 fold Path - How it all works together
Delson reads and explains MN 117, the Maha Cattarisaka Sutta (the Great Forty), to show how the Noble Eightfold Path works as a set of mutually supporting factors.
- Delson Armstrong MN 117 The 8 Fold Path - How all the folds come together
Delson reads and comments on MN 117, the Maha Chattarisaka Sutta (the Great Forty), and explains the eightfold path as a set of factors that support one another and lead to right…
- Deerpark Retreat Day 4 Noble Truths w/Delson Armstrong
Delson Armstrong reads the Four Noble Truths section of the Maha Satipatthana Sutta (DN 22) and explains it as a practical diagnosis: suffering, its origin in craving, its cessation, and…
- First Discourse of the Buddha at Deerpark - Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
Delson reads and comments on SN 56.11, the Buddha's first discourse at Isipatana (Deer Park) near Varanasi.
- First Discourse at Deerpark - Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
Delson visits Deer Park (Isipatana) and reads through the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta (SN 56.11), the Buddha's first teaching to the group of five.
- Deerpark Retreat Day 5 'Right View' w/Delson Armstrong
Delson reads from the Sammaditthi Sutta (MN 9) on right view and explains its list of wrong and right views, wholesome and unwholesome conduct, and the links of dependent origination.
- Deerpark Retreat Day 1 Orientation w/Delson Armstrong
Delson gives orientation for a 10-day retreat, covering the metta practice with a smile, the choice of a spiritual friend, and the six R's for handling distractions and hindrances.
- Day 7 The Steadfast State & The Eightfold Path
The talk, given on a retreat, reads MN 106 (Anenjasappaya Sutta) on ways to the steadfast state, the arupa states beyond the fourth jhana, and how to sit longer to reach them.
- Day 1 Orientation
Delson opens a retreat with an orientation to a feeling-based loving-kindness (metta) meditation.
- Day 9- Retreat June 2022 MN 117 Eight Fold Path with Delson Armstrong
Delson walks through MN 117, the Great Forty discourse, explaining the eight factors of the noble path as supports for right collectedness.
- Day 8 2022 MN 77 37 Requisites -July Retreat - -with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 77, the Maha Sakuludayi Sutta, in which the Buddha explains why his disciples respect him, and uses it to introduce the 37 requisites for awakening.
- Day 4 2022 MN 10 Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta -July Retreat - -with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads through MN10, the Satipatthana Sutta, and explains the four foundations of mindfulness (body, feeling, mind, and mind objects) as different ways the mind becomes mindful, not…
- Day 1 -2022 June 10 Day Retreat with Delson Armstrong-Instructions
Delson gives the opening instructions for a ten-day silent retreat, beginning with a loving-kindness (metta) practice built on a smile and the feeling of warmth in the heart.
- June 4, 2022 - Questions and Answers with Delson Armstrong
The transcript supplied for this June 4, 2022 question and answer session contains only one fragment of speech, a brief opening remark that does not state a topic.
- Day 4 Apr Retreat DN 22 (5)- The Foundations of Mindfulness - 4 Noble Truths - D. Armstrong
Delson reads section 5 of DN 22, the Maha Satipatthana Sutta, which defines each of the Four Noble Truths.
- Day 1 2022 April Retreat 26 May5 - Orientation / Instructions
Delson gives the opening meditation instructions for a TWIM retreat.
- 14 Dec 2021 Online Retreat. Intro on how to practice and Q & A with Delson Armstrong
Delson gives the opening instructions for an online retreat: a metta practice that begins with oneself and then a living spiritual friend, with sitting and walking alternated and the six…
- MN 9 Samma Ditthi Sutta with Delson Armstrong at DSMC
Delson Armstrong works through MN 9, the Sammaditthi Sutta on right view, in which Sariputta explains right view as understanding the unwholesome and the wholesome and the Four Noble Truths.
- Samma Ditthi Sutta MN 9 with Delson Armstrong - The Personality Oct 20, 2021
Delson Armstrong works through the Samma Ditthi Sutta (MN 9), in which Sariputta explains right view by taking up the wholesome and unwholesome, the four noble truths and each link of…
- Jan 17 2021 - MN 3 - Heirs in Dhamma - The Noble Eightfold Path is the Inheritance
Delson reads MN 3, the Dhammadayada Sutta (Heirs in the Dhamma), from Bhikkhu Bodhi's translation and comments on it as he goes.
- Dec 6 MN 28 The Greater Discourse on the Simile of the Elephant's Footprint - The Four Noble Truths
Delson reads MN 28 and explains how Sariputta's discourse analyses the Four Noble Truths, with the five aggregates affected by clinging as suffering.
- Day-1 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-17) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers questions from the first day of an online 10-day retreat.
- Nov 1 2020 - MN 141 The Analysis of the Truths - Applying the Four Noble Truths
Delson reads MN 141, the Analysis of the Truths, in which Sariputta explains the four noble truths, including suffering in the five aggregates and the eightfold path ending in right…
- Oct 4 MN 117 - The Great Forty - The Effect of Precepts in Meditation
Delson reads MN 117 (the Great Forty) and explains the eightfold path as the Buddha describes it, with right view coming first and each factor supported by right effort and right…
- Oct 4 2020 - MN 117 - The Great Forty - The Effect of Precepts in Meditation #2
Delson reads and comments on MN 117, the Great Forty, which presents right view as the first factor of the Noble Eightfold Path and shows each factor being developed with right effort and…
- Day 5 Foundations of Mindfulness - Discussing the Satipatthana Sutta -What is Mindfulness?
Delson explains right effort in the context of the Satipatthana teaching, describing it as abandoning unwholesome states and cultivating wholesome ones.
Talks that also touch on it
- 8 fold Path as the Path to Stream Entry- The Buddha's Path Laid Out to Awakening
Delson presents the Eightfold Path as the spine of the Dhamma and walks through its eight factors in order, from right view through right collectedness.
- Day 4 Foundations of Mindfulness and the Hindrances -Retreat Talk
Delson explains that hindrances should be released and relaxed rather than pushed away, using the six R's as the practical method.
- Delson Armstrong on questioning dogma
Delson Armstrong answers a question about how Buddhist traditions can move forward in the West, and he warns against dogmatic attachment to scripture, institutions and gurus.
- Austria 2025 | The Awakened Lifestyle
Delson explains the Eightfold Path as a practical, non-religious lifestyle and walks through each factor in turn, grouping them under sila, samadhi and panna.
- Day 9 Last Day -Ending Samsara
Delson closes his final retreat talk by asking listeners how they will carry the practice back into ordinary life, with its pain, difficult people and habitual reactions.
- Day 8 What is Karma? Delson Armstrong
Delson explains karma as the Buddha taught it: intention (chetana) is karma, expressed through body, speech and mind, while vipaka is the result that is experienced.
- Day 6 DN 16 'Take Care of the Dhamma... Delson Armstrong
Delson reads from the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN16) the "mirror of Dhamma," in which the Buddha describes how a noble disciple can know for themselves that they are a stream-winner.
- Day 8 Upanisa Sutta - The Path to NIbbana- Japan Retreat Dec 2023
Delson walks through the transcendental links of dependent origination from the Upanisa Sutta (SN 12.23), asking how suffering leads to a path out and to the total cessation of suffering.
- Final Day Q&A Day 3/3 Bandra, Mumbai Sept 2023 w/Delson Armstrong Sept 7-9, 2023
Delson explains that practice after retreat is a lifelong commitment built on sila, samadhi and panna, and he walks through the Noble Eightfold Path factor by factor, from right view to…
- Day 1: Introduction and Meditation Instructions
Delson opens a retreat by explaining the basic practice: there is no goal, the aim is a light heart and mind, and a smile.
- Day 8: Transcendental Dependant Liberation
Delson explains the links of transcendental dependent origination, which he also calls the links of transcendental dependent liberation.
- Day 1: Introduction and Meditation Instructions
Delson gives day-one instructions for a noble silence retreat built around metta.
- Bonhays Day 9 Noble Eight-fold Path Last Day of Retreat
Delson Armstrong gives the last-day talk of a nine-day retreat on the Noble Eightfold Path, presenting it as the practice to continue off the cushion.
- Zoom: Process of Dependent Origination Explained Quickly.
Delson explains how mental proliferation (papancha) grows out of contact, feeling and perception, and how craving turns into clinging (upadana).
- Dependent Origination Pt 1 with Delson Armstrong-July Retreat
Delson explains dependent origination as an elaboration of the First and Second Noble Truths, working backward through its links from suffering to birth, becoming, clinging and craving.
- Day 1 Metta Lovingkindness Meditation Instructions with Delson Armstrong
Delson gives beginner instructions for metta (loving-kindness) meditation on the first day of a retreat.
- June 25, 2023 MN 9 Right View and Dependent Origination - We are going deep.
Delson reads and comments on MN 9, the Samma Ditthi Sutta, in which Sariputta explains right view through the wholesome and unwholesome, the four noble truths, and each link of dependent…
- June MN 48 Kosambyia Sutta with Delson Armstrong-Last Day
Delson reads MN 48, the Kosambiya Sutta, in which the Buddha rebukes quarrelling monks and gives six principles of cordiality: bodily, verbal and mental loving-kindness, shared virtue…
- MN 48 Kosambyia Sutta - Last Talk of Retreat! w/Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 48, the Kosambiya Sutta, about monks at Kosambi who quarrelled until the Buddha intervened, and uses it to teach the six principles of cordiality: bodily, verbal and mental…
- Generosity (DANA) Stories from Delson-Heartwarming!
Delson talks to retreatants about what to carry off the retreat, presenting sila, dana and bhavana as a way of living the path alongside the five precepts.
- Deerpark Retreat Day 2 MN 107 Hindrances -2nd day blues w/Delson Armstrong
Delson reads MN 107, the Ganakamoggallana Sutta, as a summary of the gradual path, and uses it to explain how to deal with the five hindrances during a retreat.
- 2022 Aug Retreat Sn 12.23 Upanisa 8-12-22
Delson reads and comments on the Upanisa Sutta (SN 12.23) during an August retreat.
- Day 4 2022 MN 139 Exposition of Non-Conflict - What is Beneficial
Delson reads MN 139, the Exposition of Non-Conflict, and explains it as a guide to avoiding conflict through the middle way and the Eightfold Path.
- Day 9 2022 MN 44 Cullavedalla Sutta -July Retreat - -with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads through MN 44, the Culavedalla (Shorter Questions and Answers) Sutta, in which the layman Visakha questions the nun Dhammadinna about identity, its origin and cessation, the…
- Day 7 2022 MN 74 Dighanakha Sutta -July Retreat - -with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on MN 74, the Dighanakha Sutta, in which the wanderer Dighanakha holds that nothing is acceptable to him and is led to see that clinging even to a view of no…
- Day 1 -2022 First July 10 Day Retreat - with Delson Armstrong-Instructions
Delson gives opening instructions for a ten-day silent retreat: keep noble silence, start each day with a smile, and practise a feeling-based loving-kindness meditation held in the chest.
- Day 2 June 2022 Day DN 2 Distractions -Retreat with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads and comments on DN2, the Samaññaphala Sutta, in which King Ajatasattu asks about the visible fruits of the homeless life and the Buddha answers by starting with morality.
- Day 6 May Retreat Talk AN6.63 & SN 36.21 Penetrative Discourse with Delson Armstrong
Delson reads AN 6.63, the Nibbedhika (Penetrative) Sutta, which lists a set of things to be understood: sensual pleasures, feelings, the taints, karma and suffering.
- Interview#4: Mindfulness Re-defined and the Jhanas Re-defined - Conversations with Delson
Delson explains that mindfulness (sati, from smriti, meaning to remember) is best understood as observing how the mind's attention moves, rather than focusing narrowly on an object such as…
- Introductory Talk on TWIM to Zen Community in Netherlands
Delson introduces TWIM, the meditation practice he teaches, and explains the brahmaviharas as a way to uplift the mind and let go of hindrances, especially ill-will.
- Mar 7 2021 - SN 22.86 - With Anuradha - Self and Not-Self and the Four Noble Truths
Delson reads and explains SN 22.86 (the Anuradha Sutta), in which Anuradha answers wanderers' questions about the Tathagata after death.
- Day-6 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-17) with Delson Armstrong
In this question-and-answer session from an online retreat, Delson Armstrong explains continued existence as a cycle in which consciousness, conditioned by craving and clinging, produces…
- Day-4 QA - Online 10-day Retreat (Nov-3) with Delson Armstrong
Delson answers questions from a day-4 online retreat Q&A.