All the enlightened ones of the past have formed awakening minds and engaged themselves progressively in the bodhisattvas’ training. In the same way, for the sake of all that lives, I now form an awakening mind and will apply myself in stages to the training of the bodhisattvas.
— Shantideva
Begins Feb 8 and meets every OTHER Thursday:
Feb 8 and 22
March 7 and 21
April 4 and 18
NOTE: No class May 2
May 16 and 30
June 13 and 27
July 11 and 25
This Study Group is a prerequisite for the August 14 Class: Understanding the Commitments of the Bodhisattva Vow, and the August 17 Vow Ceremony: Receiving the Bodhisattva Vow.
Tuition covers the entire class.
6:30 – 8:30 PM PT
In late January, we’ll send those of you who have registered a unique link to the class and information on the text we’ll use. Get out your calendar and SAVE the DATE! The registration link will be on our home page by New Year.
For more than a thousand years, the path of the Bodhisattva has been one of Buddhism’s most beloved practice frameworks. It is documented in a revered text called A Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life, written in the eighth century by Shantideva, a renowned scholar-monk at Nalanda University in India. These extraordinary teachings guide us through the understanding and practices that create extraordinary wisdom and compassion—the very fruit of enlightenment.
The Dalai Lama said, “If I have any understanding of compassion and the practice of the bodhisattva path, it is entirely on the basis of this text that I possess it.” This practice/study group will be an enjoyable and practical dive into the transformation of suffering into awakening—an alchemical approach of “showing up, growing up and waking up.”
The path includes illumination and advice on
- The benefits of bodhicitta
- Working with mistakes
- Embracing bodhicitta (the mind of awakening)
- Carefulness – as the basis of practice
- Guarding awareness – as the essence of discipline
- Transcendent patience and overcoming anger
- Diligence & enthusiasm for practice
- Meditation as the cultivation of bodhicitta
- Transcendent wisdom – understanding how things are
- Dedication of the practice
In this group, we’ll follow our usual format of familiarizing ourselves with a short section of the book, and then suggestions for how to deepen understanding through bringing the practice to daily life in the weeks between classes.