Thursday, September 28, 2017

The Beautiful Way of Life: A Meditation on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva Path

Confession: Part 1

Each evening we end our meditation service by reciting the Four Bodhisattva Vows. Yet, what does it actually mean to walk the path of a Bodhisattva? How do we practice in a way that creates conditions for peace, joy, and freedom from suffering? How do we live an awakened life?

Over the next few months, we will explore answers to these questions in The Bodhicaryavatara by 8th century Indian monk Shantideva. The teachings captured in Shantideva’s verses, though hundreds of years old, are relevant and timely as we work to navigate the challenges in our world today. While we will pull from several translations of Shantideva’s text, we will use Rene Feusi’s rendering of Shantideva’s work, The Beautiful Way of Life: A Meditation on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva Path, as our primary text. This evening’s discussion will be an introduction to Chapter 2: Confession. On October 12th we will revisit this chapter after people have had the opportunity to use these verses in practice.

Rene Feusi’s book, The Beautiful Way of Life is available for purchase online. You can also access several other versions of Shantideva’s text online for free, including Stephen Batchelor’s translation here.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

The Beautiful Way of Life: A Meditation on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva Path

The Excellence of Bodhichitta: Part 2

Each evening we end our meditation service by reciting the Four Bodhisattva Vows. Yet, what does it actually mean to walk the path of a Bodhisattva? How do we practice in a way that creates conditions for peace, joy, and freedom from suffering? How do we live an awakened life?

Over the next few months, we will explore answers to these questions in The Bodhicaryavatara by 8th century Indian monk Shantideva. The teachings captured in Shantideva’s verses, though hundreds of years old, are relevant and timely as we work to navigate the challenges in our world today. While we will pull from several translations of Shantideva’s text, we will use Rene Feusi’s rendering of Shantideva’s work, The Beautiful Way of Life: A Meditation on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva Path, as our primary text. This evening’s conversation will focus on our experiences with Chapter 1: The Excellence of Bodhichitta.

Rene Feusi’s book, The Beautiful Way of Life is available for purchase online. You can also access several other versions of Shantideva’s text online for free, including Stephen Batchelor’s translation here.

Thursday, September 14, 2017

TBD

Thursday, September 7, 2017

The Beautiful Way of Life: A Meditation on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva Path

The Excellence of Bodhichitta: Part 1

Each evening we end our meditation service by reciting the Four Bodhisattva Vows. Yet, what does it actually mean to walk the path of a Bodhisattva? How do we practice in a way that creates conditions for peace, joy, and freedom from suffering? How do we live an awakened life?

Over the next few months, we will explore answers to these questions in The Bodhicaryavatara by 8th century Indian monk Shantideva. The teachings captured in Shantideva’s verses, though hundreds of years old, are relevant and timely as we work to navigate the challenges in our world today. While we will pull from several translations of Shantideva’s text, we will use Rene Feusi’s rendering of Shantideva’s work, The Beautiful Way of Life: A Meditation on Shantideva’s Bodhisattva Path, as our primary text. This evening’s discussion will be an introduction to Chapter 1: The Excellence of Bodhichitta. On September 21st we will revisit this chapter after people have had the opportunity to use the verses in practice.

Rene Feusi’s book, The Beautiful Way of Life is available for purchase online. You can also access several other versions of Shantideva’s text online for free, including Stephen Batchelor’s translation here.