This class is designed to support participants in their journey of awakening, offering guidance and the energy to engage in this challenging work. After a welcoming introduction, the bell rings to signal the start of a 30-minute silent meditation, sourced from the Zen and Vipassana traditions. Following the meditation, there’s a short break to stretch, enjoy tea, and chat with others. We then return to our seats for a Dharma Talk drawn from various major streams of the Buddhist tradition, followed by a discussion and a Q&A session. Dharma Talks offer all participants inspiration and guidance, rooted in experiential learning.
We conclude with a Dedication of Merit and Metta Chant for those who wish to join:
We dedicate the merits of our practice to everyone gathered here,
to our families, our community, and to all beings throughout the Dharma worlds.
May the light of wisdom dispel darkness and awaken compassion.
Let all karma be released, and the natural mind bloom in eternal spring.
May we see clearly into the nature of reality and live each moment with awareness.
Let us awaken together and walk the Way with love and humility.
May all beings be happy and safe from harm.
May all beings be healthy in body and in mind.
May all beings be peaceful and free from suffering.
This class is suitable for all levels of experience and is held both in person and online. All are welcome and no one is turned away for lack of funds.
Upcoming Teachers
- November 9th – Jampa Kalsang – The Sound of Compassion
In Buddhist tantra (Vajrayana), a mantra is not merely a prayer or a symbolic utterance, but a manifestation of enlightened energy in sound form. Each mantra embodies the essence (bīja, or “seed”) of a particular Buddha or bodhisattva, and reciting it is understood as invoking — or more deeply, becoming one with — that enlightened being’s qualities of body, speech, and mind. - November 16th – Franz Manfredi – Opening to the Open
Guru Yoga of the White Ah (Tib. A-kar) is one of the most profound and direct methods for realizing the nature of mind within the Dzogchen tradition. This practice is a supreme method for purifying all obscurations and dissolving the practitioner’s conceptual mind into one’s natural primordial purity (Tib. ka-dag) - November 23rd – Tim Colohan JDPSN – The Diamond Sutra
The Diamond Sutra; Reading it gives us a big “Only don’t know” mind! But little by little, “Only don’t know” gives us an understanding of the Diamond Sutra! This is kind’a funny, yeh? During practice we will focus on watching concepts come and go. We will look for how the concepts of something have nothing to do with the reality of the “thing” they represent.
On Sunday after practice we will take a look at a small part of the Diamond Sutra and see how it cuts like a diamond through illusion. Thus freeing us to let go of our suffering and showing us how we can help others let go of their suffering.
Sources: Direct experience of a human mind, Compass Of Zen by ZM Seung Sahn, Shamballa Press 1997 and “The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion” by ZM Thich Nhat Hanh, Parallax Press 1992 - November 30th – Wendy Block – Not-Self and Buddhist Teachings
When the Buddha talks about not-self, what does he mean? How is the word “self” defined in the Pali Canon? Why is this teaching so confusing? Together, let’s explore these teachings and discover the relevance for our own lived experience.
