Date/Time
Date(s) - 09/03/2016
12:00 am - 7:00 am
Location
Nagaloka Buddhist Center
Categories
From Mar 9 to Mar 30 our special guest is Bodhipaksa
7-9 PM
Transforming Suffering
We all come to Dharma practice because of dissatisfaction or suffering. We may be stressed, or prone to depression, and wish to feel more at ease. Perhaps we feel a lack of meaning in life. Or we may regret the fact that we cause suffering to people we care about.
In this four-week drop-in course, we’ll explore the Buddhist teaching of “dukkha” — a word that has meanings ranging from pain to unsatisfactoriness.
• We’ll look at suffering as the first of the Four Truths of the Noble Ones, in order to know dukkha. The Buddha’s emphasis here is on the need to understand and recognize dukkha in all its forms, rather than simply keep reacting to it unconsciously.
• We’ll explore how we create suffering for ourselves through looking at the Buddha’s detailed analysis of the psychology of dukkha, in which he showed three kinds of suffering: primary suffering, the suffering of reactivity, and the suffering of denial.
• We’ll examine dukkha as one of the three “marks” of existence, in order to see how true peace comes not from avoiding pain and pursuing pleasure, but through accepting both pleasure and pain with equanimity.
• Finally, we’ll look at dukkha as the creative force that impels us to enter the spiral path leading to awakening.
We’ll explore each week’s topic through talks, discussion, and—perhaps most importantly—through meditative explorations.
This four-week program will be led by Bodhipaksa.
Bodhipaksa is a Buddhist teacher and author, who has been a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order for 22 years. He leads events internationally, and is the founder of Wildmind (www.wildmind.org), an online meditation center.
Cost: Dana (donation) suggested $10-$5
Naga Bodhipaksa Mar Friends Night 2015