Start with Yourself

Suburban Dharma

In this Dhamma talk at the International Buddhist Meditation Center Los Angeles on June 18, 2023, Subodha reflects on his complex relationship with Father’s Day and the harmful messages from family and society that we internalize. Proposed as ways to think and act skillfully with ourselves and others are the psychological concept of reparenting, the Buddhist teachings on being an admirable friend to oneself, using the perception of not-self in determining what internal narratives are worth developing as we train our minds, and generating sincere goodwill and compassion for ourselves as a necessary component to having sincere goodwill and compassion for others.