Buddhist Essentials Class Series 2020-2021
Buddhist Essentials Class Series (June 2020 - February 2021)
Homework, Reading and Listening
with Lyndal Johnson and Anna Ossenfort (June 17, 2020)
The Three Characteristics are the three aspects that pervade all of conditioned phenomena: anicca, dukkha, and anatta. When we begin to see these attributes in all of experience, wisdom arises that enables us to let go of clinging.
Suggestions for reflection
- Notice the ending of things in daily life and formal practice (anicca)
- Notice the mind’s response to the endings (dukkha)
- Notice the mind’s response when things are canceled or don’t go as planned (dukkha)
- Notice how it feels to take things personally (dukkha)
- Notice the lack of control, the randomness, the impersonal nature of the stuff that comes into your mind (anatta)
Resources
Sutta Readings
Vipalassa Sutta courtesy of Access to Insight
Dharma talks
Ruth King courtesy of Dharma Seed
Anushka Fernandopulle courtesy of Dharma Seed
Gil Fronsdal courtesy of Audio Dharma
with Lauren Wilson and Jerry Harter (July 15, 2020)
It is said that theentirety of the Buddha’s teachings can be found in theFour Noble Truths. In this class we will explore these teachings:1) dukkha, 2) the origin of dukkha, 3) the cessation of dukkha, and 4) the path of practice leading to the cessation of dukkha.
- The Four Noble Truths PDF by Ajahn Sumedho
- Dancing with Life: Buddhist Insights for Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering by Phillip Moffitt
- Mindfulness: A Practice Guide to Awakening by Joseph Goldstein pp 287-323
- Part 1: Four Noble Truths as the 12 Insights by Phillip Moffitt
with Sooz Appel and Jerry Harter (August 19, 2020)
With the understanding of the truths of dukkha, the cause of dukkha and the end of dukkha, we can embark on the Eightfold Path – the path that leads to awakening and the end of suffering. In this class we will discuss the elements and practice of the Eightfold Path: panna (wisdom), sila (ethical behavior and the precepts), and samadhi (concentration).
- Bhikkhu Bodhi on The Noble Eightfold Path. Available through Access to Insight in PDF format.
- How You Live the 4 Noble Truths in Daily Life, A talk by Phillip Moffitt at a SIMS non-residential retreat 2019.
- Mindfulness, by Joseph Goldstein, pgs 225-403
- Loving, Knowing, Growing – with Rick Hanson, Tara Brach, and Joseph Goldstein. This is about the 8-fold path by another name.
- Talks on Dharmaseed-search for Eightfold Path.
- Rodney Smith talks about 4 Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
with Lyndal Johnson and Sooz Appel (September 16, 2020)
The Ten Paramis (generosity, virtue, renunciation, discernment, equanimity, patience, persistence, truth, determination, and goodwill) are beautiful qualities associated with an awakened mind. In this talk we will discuss the paramis and consider some ways in which we can encourage their development in our own practice.
Resource List
- The Paramis Chart – downloadable PDF
- How Not to be a Hot Mess, Devon and Craig Hase
- The World Could be Otherwise, Norman Fischer
- Pay Attention for Goodness Sake, Sylvia Boorstein
- Ways to Cross Life’s Floods, Ajahn Sucitto, available on PDF
- Talks Ten Paramis, Gina Sharpe, 8/23/2015
Series on Paramis, 2017, Tim Geil and Tuere Sala
with Anna Ossenfort and Susan Alotrico (October 21, 2020)
Mindful examination of the body, feeling tones, mental states, and dhammas reveals the true nature of phenomena, leading to clear seeing and liberation.- Four Foundations talk series by Gil Fronsdal
- Mindfulness by Joseph Goldstein
- The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Gunaratana
- Touching the Infinite: A New Perspective on the Buddha’s Four Foundations of Mindfulness by Rodney Smith
- How to Practice Walking Meditation by Leslie Booker
- Satipatthana Sutta, translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
with Anna Ossenfort and Steve Wilhelm (November 18, 2020)
Gaining insight into obstacles on the path can turn them into possibilities. During this evening we’ll explore the Five Hindrances (desire, ill will, sloth and torpor, restlessness, and doubt), and the Three Poisons (greed, hatred and delusion). We’ll learn how these barriers to freedom arise in our lives, and how through our mindfulness practice we can transform them into doorways.
with Sooz Appel and Lyndal Johnson (September 15, 2021)
Through discussion and practical exercises of the Seven Factors of Awakening, we will explore how awareness of these mind states helps us to let go of unwholesome tendencies and to cultivate wholesome ones, in both formal practice and our daily lives.
Audio
- Seven Factors of Awakening talk series by Rodney Smith
- Seven Factors of Awakening talk series by Gil Fronsdal
- Exploring Qualities of Mind – The Seven Factors of Enlightenment talk series by Tuere Sala and Tim Geil
Books
- Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide by Bhikkhu Analayo
- Mindfulness by Joseph Goldstein
- Satipatthana Sutta, translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Seven Factors of Awakening: Good News
| Mindfulness: Here and Now | Investigation: What’s This? | Energy: Just Right |
| Joy: Delight in Practice | Calm: Be Still | Concentration: Rock Steady |
| Equanimity: Big View | Small moments many times |
with Lauren Wilson and Steve Wilhelm (January 20, 2021)
How do we cultivate energies that encourage our capacity for caring and compassion toward ourselves and others? In this class we will explore developing in our daily lives the brahma viharas, also called the four immeasurables: loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.
The Brahma Viharas – with Lauren Wilson and Steve Wilhelm
How do we cultivate energies that encourage our capacity for caring and compassion toward ourselves and others? In this class we will explore developing in our daily lives the brahma viharas, also called the four immeasurables: loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity.
BRAHMA VIHARA PHRASES – a downloadable PDF
Resources for Brahma Viharas Class (20 January 2021)
Metta (Loving Kindness)
Loving Kindness Sharon Salzberg
Karuna (Compassion)
Self-Compassion Kristen Neff
Forgiveness & Compassion Eric Kolvig
Practicing Metta with a Difficult Person by Jeff Haozous
Mudita (Sympathetic Joy)
Upekkha (Equanimity)
with Jerry Harter and Lyndal Johnson (February 17, 2021)
The Five Aggregates (form, feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness) show how we create an illusory sense of self moment by moment. By examining them we can come to understand how we are not so much a solid self as we may have thought.
Resources
- Five Piles of Bricks: Khandas as Burden & Path by Thanissaro Bhikku
- The Five Aggregates: A Study Guide by Thanissaro Bhikku
- How your Mind Works by Gaylon Ferguson
- Five Aggregates Talk Series by Rodney Smith
BRAHMA VIHARA PHRASES (Adapted from Kamala Masters and Adrianne Ross) – downloadable PDF
A Brahma Vihara Chart – downloadable PDF
MORE RESOURCES
- 10/05/2020 # 288 Joanna Hardy on Metta
- 10/12/2020 # 290 Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams on Compassion
- 10/19/2020 # 292 Tuere Sala on Sympathetic Joy
- 10/26/2020 # 294 Roshi Joan Halifax on Equanimity Dharma
Talks by Kamala Masters on each of the Brahma Viharas
Karaniya Metta Sutta The Buddha’s Words on Loving Kindness
The Chant of Metta by Imee Ooi on YouTube
Loving Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness Sharon Salzberg
