Regular events

Dharma Monday

Cold Mountain: poetry and teachings of a mountain sage (week 2)

Dharma night is suitable for those who would like to learn more about Buddhism. It is also a popular night for regular friends to drop in and practice together. If you are a beginner but can't get to/or have just started one of our meditation classes, you are still welcome to come and join in.

The program for the evening is a talk on some aspect of Buddhism, tea break, then group meditation to end the evening.

Ratnavyuha's second talk on "The Poetry and Teachings of Cold Mountain"

The Three-spoked Wheel is relentless
thought after thought it never stops
just when it seems you'll escape
you're dragged back down again
even if your get beyond no-thought
such karma still has its limits
unlike finding your true source
once there, you're there forever

Challenging the conventional wisdom
In the second week we'll look at the picture Han Shan paints through his poems of what most people around him valued and pursued in their lives. Have things changed that much over the years? Is this a meaningful way to live? He challenges us to stop chasing ephemeral pleasures, to stop acting out of hatred and stinginess, and to wake up to life instead. Sometimes a quite humourous challenge, and at other times with forceful clarity. And if we chose to join him on Cold Mountain, to wake up and act differently, there is no doubt about what he feels is the better choice.

The above poem was translated by Red Pine ("The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain", Copper Canyon Press, 2000)

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