Dharma Monday
Online: The worldly winds
Use this link - https://zoom.us/j/8179125195
to join Dharma Monday online at 7pm
Q What is a Buddhist's favourite brand of vacuum cleaner?
A Any one, so long as it doesn't come with attachments.
So the joke goes, everyone laughs because they know that being without attachment is a core Buddhist goal. What does it mean exactly?
We suffer because we want things to be other than they are. What would it mean to stop doing that? It means to welcome every life experience as it comes and allow to pass without needing to hold on to it if it is good, or push it away if it was bad. This is the teaching of the worldly winds. Life pushes us around in a multitude of ways, like a boat tossed around in a storm. We bend ourselves out of shape in even more ways trying to get what we want and avoid what we don't.
The worldly winds is a teaching that presents 4 pairs of opposites: a thing desired, and a thing undesired. As we go through life we cannot avoid experiencing both states. As much as we are intent on only getting the good, the unpleasant will surely follow. We will move through this cycle many times.
Over the next 5 weeks we will explore
- pleasure and pain
- loss and gain
- praise and blame
- fame and shame
We will explore the unique focus of each pair of opposites. We will look at how to address the changing nature of our lives by cultivating compassion and equanimity. We will look at more skillful ways to address the unpleasant aspects of life. We will practise techniques to reinforce more positive mental states so that when the worldly winds blow, we remain grounded and free.
3 August Matthew Berrigan - loss and gain
You only lose what you cling to, or so the Buddha taught. When we attach ourselves to
things, their passing becomes very painful. If we can learn to enjoy the things we have
while all the time holding them lightly then we will master the art of letting go. With letting
go comes freedom and peace. Matthew will explore the parameters of loss and gain and
how to work skillfully with these concepts.
