March 11, Practice Day
Via Zoom ONLY! Due to the storms Main Street in Soquel is currently washed out and LMB is inaccessible.
Discovering Buddhism Module 12: Wisdom of Emptiness with Venerable Amy Miller in-person and online via Zoom. Co-hosted by Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel and Tse Chen Ling Center in San Francisco.
A unique opportunity to support your local center and rediscover an in-person Dharma community!
All the 84,000 teachings the Buddha gave were ultimately to help us attain a direct perception of emptiness. That’s how important the profound experience of emptiness is on the path to enlightenment.
In this module of Discovering Buddhism, we will delve into the methods for bringing about the realization of emptiness, which is crucial for the attainment of liberation and enlightenment.
We will explore such questions as:
What is emptiness?
What is the relationship between emptiness, liberation, and enlightenment?
What is the relationship between emptiness and dependent arising?
What are the different ways to meditate on emptiness?
How can we realize emptiness?
We will also learn how to develop calm abiding (shamata), the ability to remain focused in meditation for long periods of time without distraction and understand how best to use that to meditate on emptiness. We will also discuss the accumulation of merit and purification of obstacles, which are indispensable for generating realizations.
This is the 12th in a series of 14 modules covering the complete Buddhist path to enlightenment. Students may join at any point in the cycle yet for this module it is helpful to have some background in Buddhism. Discovering Buddhism is designed for students who wish to deepen their understanding of fundamental Buddhist concepts. Each module includes teachings, meditations, readings, assessment questions, and a short half-day retreat.
While there will be an online Zoom presence for this class, consider joining us in person to reconnect with your local Dharma community. We will be hosting three sessions at Tse Chen Ling Center and three sessions at Land of Medicine Buddha with the final 1-4pm practice period at Land of Medicine Buddha.
Tse Chen Ling Gompa: January 25, February 8 and 22
Land of Medicine Buddha Gompa: February 1, 15 and March 1
Practice Period: Online only: March 11, 1-4pm
COVID POLICY FOR IN-PERSON
Masks will be required to be worn inside for those attending (not the teacher).
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Venerable Amy J. Miller (Ven. Lobsang Chodren) first encountered Tibetan Buddhism in the spring of 1987 during a course at Kopan Monastery in Nepal. Since then, she has spent her time engaged in meditation retreats, study, teaching, and Buddhist center management throughout the world. Before meeting the Dharma, Ven. Amy was a political fundraiser in Washington, DC, and also worked for Mother Jones Magazine in San Francisco, California.
Ven. Amy also trained as an emotional support hospice counselor during the peak of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco and offers courses and retreats on death and dying and end-of-life care.
From 1992-1995, Ven. Amy managed Tse Chen Ling Center in San Francisco, California. She then served as director of Vajrapani Institute, also in California, from 1995-2004. From 1998–2002, she was also the manager of the Lawudo Retreat Fund (which supports the center in which the sacred cave of Kyabje Zopa Rinpoche is located) in the Mt. Everest region of Nepal. In 2004, after resigning as director, Ven. Amy completed a seven-month solitary retreat at Vajrapani. For most of 2005 and 2006, she organized international teaching tours for and traveled with the esteemed Tibetan Buddhist master, Ven. Kirti Tsenshab Rinpoche until Rinpoche’s death in 2006. Ven. Amy then became a touring teacher for the FPMT (the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition). From 2008-2014, Ven. Amy was the director of Milarepa Center in Barnet, Vermont.
Ven. Amy had the good fortune to visit Tibet in 1987 and again in 2001 as a pilgrimage leader for the Institute of Noetic Science in the United States. She has also led pilgrimages to India, Nepal, and Bhutan. The next pilgrimage Amy is leading is from April, 30 to May 18, 2023, to Lawudo Retreat Center in the Mount Everest region of Nepal. See Ven. Amy’s website below for more information.
Ven. Amy was ordained as a Buddhist nun in June 2000 and has been teaching extensively since 1992. Her teaching style emphasizes a practical approach to integrating Buddhist philosophy into everyday life. She is happy to help people connect with meditation and mindfulness in an effort to gain a refreshing perspective on normally stressful living. Ven. Amy’s courses and retreats focus on establishing and maintaining a meditation and mindfulness practice, death and dying, overcoming anxiety and depression, battling addiction, dealing with self-esteem issues, and cultivating compassion and loving-kindness.
Ven. Amy is the co-author of Buddhism in a Nutshell and a contributor to Living in the Path, a series of online courses produced by FPMT. Based in the United States, between Pennsylvania and Land of Medicine Buddha in California, Amy teaches and leads retreats and pilgrimages around the world. Her teaching schedule and other information can be found at www.AmyMiller.com.
ABOUT DISCOVERING BUDDHISM
This is the fifth in a series of 14 Discovering Buddhism modules covering the complete Buddhist path to enlightenment. You can do each module individually, as a stand alone course, and they do not need to be completed in succession. Discovering Buddhism is designed for students who wish to deepen their understanding of fundamental Buddhist concepts. It aims to provide an experiential taste of the Buddha’s teachings and the skills we need to make our lives most meaningful. For more information on the Discovering Buddhism program, please click here.
We recommend that students join Discovering Buddhism courses at the start of any given module and make a commitment to attend the entire module.
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN CERTIFICATION?
Certification is certainly NOT required to take this course, but it will be available for those who have interest in attaining the FPMT Discovering Buddhism Certification. Students who complete all modules and related certification requirements associated with the full Discovering Buddhism course will receive an official certification for this class from FPMT. If you plan to attend this Death & Rebirth Module with the aim of counting it towards your FPMT Discovering Buddhism Certification, please contact prior to this module’s start date, to indicate your commitment to completing all of this module’s ‘completion card’ requirements. (These requirements are likely to include full attendance of each class, completion of specific reading tasks, homework, meditation and an exam.) The FPMT Certificate program allows those who complete all 14 modules and the final retreat to apply for consideration to join the FPMT Teacher List as qualified to teach Discovering Buddhism-level courses at FPMT centers.
There will be a practice day required in order to suffice the requirements of certification. This will be held Saturday, October 15, 1:00 – 4:00pm
THE KINDNESS OF DONATIONS
Suggested donation: $25 per class, $108 for the 6-session series including the practice session, and $180 with sponsorship. For just the practice session, the suggested donation is $30.
Generosity was one of the first positive attitudes that the Buddha emphasized in his teachings. Generosity creates a healthy flow of Dharma in your life and is the cause of your own prosperity. Your donations help us offer Buddhist teachings and meditation retreats to the world, a path that can lead people out of suffering to ultimate happiness.
When you select your ticket(s) and make your offering below please consider that this registration includes all 6 classes and the practice day.
| Date(s): | Practice Day March 11, 1:00-4:00pm PT Land of Medicine Buddha |
| Times: | 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm |
| Instructor/Leader: | Discovering Buddhism, Ven. Amy Miller |
| Type of event: | Dharma Classes |
| Number of sessions: | Practice Day |
| Level: | All are welcome! |
| Participation: | Consistent attendance is most beneficial |
| Location: | Main Gompa |
| iCal Link: | iCal |
| Add to Google Calendar: |  |
Registration and Donations for Discovering Buddhism: Wisdom of Emptiness Practice Day with Ven. Amy
Online registration is now closed for this event.