DETAILS
Teacher: Rev. Susan Shannon, M. Div
Dates: 4-week series | Oct 2, 9, 23, 30
Time: 10am - 12pm PDT — Find Your Timezone here
Fees:
Supporter Level: $200
Teaching Level: $125
Student Level: $75
Limited income $30
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Understanding the Foundations of Basic Buddhism
Timely Tools for Complex Times
This four-week course will focus on the most basic teachings of Buddhism, and how they offer us tools and perspectives to skillfully navigate our complex world.
It is said that Buddha taught differently depending on his audience’s level of understanding. This points to why the teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path are common to all schools and traditions of Buddhism. They are the ABCs of learning how to live in a way that will make meaning of hardships and challenges, experience our interconnectedness on a visceral level, and strive to achieve spiritual growth and awakening for the sake of all beings.
Whether you are new to Buddhism, a seasoned student or just “Buddhist Curious” this is the course for you. We will introduce the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path and more as the guide rails they are, regardless of one’s background or lifestyle. As we explore the profound simplicity of these core teachings, we will also learn how to integrate them into our lives.
Week by Week
Our focus on all four sessions will be on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, but we cannot fully address these without touching on the following topics, which we will do in simple terms: Awakening, Bodhicitta, Impermanence, Karma, Dependent Arising, Lineage, Death and Dying from a Buddhist Perspective, the Six Perfections, and the Four Brahma Viharas.
Each session will begin with a simple grounding meditation adapted from the great master Padmasambhava, as well as close with suggestions of integration questions to ponder throughout the week.
Session 1: We will start with a brief overview of Buddha’s life, then move into introducing the Four Noble Truths and how to use them in our lives.
Session 2: Brief overview of the spread/traditions/schools of Buddhism, then continue with the Four Noble Truths which leads to the Eightfold Path.
Session 3: Unpacking the Eightfold Path including the guide rails of the Six Perfections and the Brahma Viharas.
Session 4: How we weave our own life’s challenges into the warp and weft of The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path towards the goal of cultivating our own Awakened hearts and mind, known as Bodhicitta, for the benefit of all beings.
Rev. Susan Shannon, M. Div
Susan Shannon, M. Div., BCC has been “married to the Dharma” since 1971, first studying Chinese Buddhism, then finding home with Tibetan Tradition. She took refuge with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1980 and in 1983 took refuge and teachings with His Eminence Kalu Rinpoche, the great master of the Karma Kagyu and Shangpa lineages.