Humans evolved to look out for our own interests but also developed the capacity for completely selfless action when we closely identify with a group. When we feel as much concern for another's wellbeing as we do for our own, you might call this a sense of "kinship." The Buddha taught us to practice extending Metta, or loving-kindness – just as a mother would feel for her only child – to all living beings without discrimination. We will discuss the evolutionary psychology perspective on human altruism, ways that our sense of kinship gets activated, and the implications for the way we operate in the world.

Our teacher reads from Thich Nhat Hahn's book "Fear: Essential Wisdom for Getting Through the Storm" the conviction that transforming fear into fearlessness is possible through deeply acknowledging one's fears and their sources. Domyo invites Sangha members to openly express what they are most afraid of, and then share what ideas and practices help ground them and give them strength. A generous and courageous discussion follows.

Buddhist practice is wonderfully liberating because it empowers you to let go of your suffering regardless of your circumstances. However, we can also get stuck in the fallacy that conditions don't matter, thereby making it seem like helping beings (including ourselves) experience things like safety, health, freedom, justice, prosperity, and love are outside of the realm of Buddhist concern. Are we only interested in "spiritual" well-being, as if that can be separated entirely from conditions? Or do we work for the happiness of beings without worrying about distinctions like "material" or "spiritual?" You might also see this is a tension between "internal" and "external" practice. How do we balance internal work with working to make conditions more supportive and life-affirming for ourselves and others?