Regular events

Sangha night

The six realms of the wheel of life

The animal realm

As we continue our theme of the Tibetan wheel of life, we look at another realm we can find ourselves in. You don't need to believe in re-birth to understand the relevance of the six realms of existence. They can be thought of as states in which we can reside at various times in our life, depending on the conditions we experience and our response to them.

Tonight, Suvarnadhi will share her reflections on the animal realm. One of the great advantages of being human is that we are able to alter the perspective we have on life. We are able to reflect on the factors that make us want to behave a certain way. We have what they call a "self-reflective" capability.

Animals don't have this capability on the whole. With perhaps some notable exceptions, they operate on an instinctual level. They are not capable of rational thought, and are therefore unable to reflect on their situation or practice the dharma.

While as humans we have an ability to transcend this instinctual level, it doesn't mean we always do. There will be times in our lives when we are unaware of our reactive responses to the conditions we encounter. When this happens, we can often get trapped in a series of interactions with our environment that helps neither us nor those around us.

Join us as Suvarnadhi reflects on the situations in life that can draw us into the animal realm, and how we might avoid the traps if we can, or escape them if we don't.

Wednesday nights are a place for people who have attended our foundation courses to come together and celebrate community, deepen their knowledge of Buddhism, and their understanding of how to practice it. They generally include a talk and discussion, a social cup of tea and meditation.

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