IN THE TEMPLE: Wednesdays 7 – 8:30pm

Four Meditations for Inner Freedom and Happiness

March 5 - April 9

The Four Seals are special insights that enable us to experience the liberating wisdom of Mahamudra, the true nature of things.

In general, all Buddhists assert four views:

-Everything we experience is impermanent.

-Until we attain liberation from our delusions, our experience is pervaded by suffering.

-All phenomena depend on the mind.

-Only nirvana is peace.

Because these views are irrefutable, they are called the ‘Four Seals’. In this course, we will explore profound topics such as impermanence, the nature of the mind, the source of suffering and the truth of ultimate reality—emptiness. Through teachings and guided meditations, we will gain insight into the true nature of reality and experience the peace and freedom that comes from wisdom. Everyone welcome!

Weekly Topics:

March 5: Subtle Impermanence
March 12: Tapping into Inner Strength
March 19: Healing Through Understanding
March 26: Letting Go of Things That Burden Us

April 1: Realize the Truth that Lies Beyond the Veil of Suffering
April 9: The Peace of Mental Freedom

Ending Bad Habits, Creating Inner Change

April 16 - May 21

We all want to change. We all want to become better people. 

Often our approach to ending bad habits and creating inner change doesn't work because it is based in internal conflict. When we hear the teachings of Buddha, we so desperately want to change and start to embody the beautiful ideals of universal compassion, wisdom, loving kindness, inner peace, and freedom from anger, that Buddha taught. However, in doing so we come up against our own inner negativities that weigh us down - we are like birds trying to fly that have stones tied to their legs. Therefore we feel conflicted and frustrated.

These negativities may be in the form of simple bad habits like mindless physical and verbal behavior that causes us to shoot ourselves in the foot as soon as we start to make some progress. Or they may be in the form of deeper ingrained habits of mind that really hold us back - deep ingrained anger, spiritual laziness, uncontrolled desire, self-centered patterns of thinking, or a habitually scattered, distracted, and stressed out mind.

We have within us a great inner strength and power to change. We simply need to tap into this so that our efforts for inner transformation come from this deep inner power rather than inner conflict. This quiet inner strength is a power that we can tap into everyday and is totally indomitable. When combined with a few other spiritual techniques alongside receiving blessings and the power of prayer nothing can stand in our way. We become spiritually bulletproof!

Buddha taught us how to develop this ability through cultivating the Five Forces. These are:
The force of motivation
The force of familiarity
The force of white seed
The force of destruction
The force of aspirational prayer

During this series we will explore in an extremely practical and accessible manner how we can use these techniques to bring about real change in our life whilst living in contemporary society.

No Class May 28 Due to Spring Festival or June 4 Due to Offering Our Faith Retreat

Transforming Difficult times Into Inner Strength

June 11 - July 16
We do not have to accept our old patterns of thinking. Buddhist “Training the Mind” or “Lojong” teachings have been beloved for a thousand years. They offer an elegant, potent way to shift one’s perspective and respond to the challenges of life productively and courageously.

In this series, we will explore a step-by-step method for growing our good heart, enhancing our acceptance of things we cannot control, and using life's conflicts to our advantage. Our usual coping mechanisms of dealing with stress and difficulty may provide a temporary reprieve from our discomfort, but they’re not a lasting solution. We’re left fighting a battle day after day, week after week—stuck in the same stressed-out loops.

Through training the mind, we can build real resilience. We can feel balanced in the face of adversity, and, over time, thrive in even the most unpredictable conditions. Everyone welcome!

No Class June 25 Due to The Emptiness of Change: An Ocean of Nectar Silent Retreat