Training Our Minds, Changing Our Lives: With Jon Landaw
In the Mahayana Dharma it is often stressed that all beings have the same potential to achieve full spiritual awakening that Shakyamuni Buddha himself had. Put another way, we all possess Buddha Nature, and we are told that there is no one, no matter how many faults he or she may exhibit at present, who is incapable of experiencing the complete awakening of Full Enlightenment, Buddhahood.
That sounds like a truly miraculous transformation, doesn’t it? Perhaps it seems too amazing to be believed! After all, how does one stop being an ordinary person in whom such suffering-causing delusions as hatred, greed and jealousy arise over and over again? And how do we arise instead as an Awakened Being who is forever free of such crippling mental and emotional delusions, becoming thereby a blissful source of guidance for others? How do we accomplish such an astounding transformation?
The short answer is that it takes time and practice. Shakyamuni himself said that it took him countless lifetimes from the time he first set his sights on achieving Enlightenment until he finally achieved his goal of Full Awakening. For lifetimes he followed the training of a Bodhisattva—a compassionate Enlightenment-bound Being—and if we are serious about fulfilling our highest potential, we must be prepared to train ourselves in a similar way.
But even though the complete training of a Bodhisattva is a long and demanding one, the good news is that we can begin reaping the benefits of such training—for both ourselves and others—right from the beginning. The aim of these first two series of Thursday-morning sessions, in March and May, is to discover for ourselves practical ways we can begin experiencing meaningful transformation in our lives. As a student of the Buddha Dharma for over forty years, I have often felt that, while I have increased my intellectual knowledge of the Dharma, I have been lax about putting this knowledge into practice in my life. I am therefore looking forward to the challenge of joining with you in making these sessions as personally meaningful as we can. I feel confident that by working together we can derive much practical benefit from these series. That is my hope. Come join me.
Note: this course continues in May- May 7-28.
About the Instructor
Jon Landaw, the author of Buddhism for Dummies, was born in New Jersey in 1944 and graduated from Dartmouth College in 1965. After spending three years in the Peace Corps in Iran, Jon worked as an English editor for the Translation Bureau of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India from 1972 to 1977, producing numerous texts under the guidance of Geshe Ngawang Dhargyey.
As a student of Lama Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche since 1973, Jon has edited numerous works for Wisdom Publications, including Wisdom
Energy and Introduction to Tantra. He is also the author of Prince Siddhartha, a biography of Buddha for children, and Images of Enlightenment: Tibetan Art in Practice, published by Snow Lion in 1993. As an instructor of Buddhist meditation, he has taught in numerous Dharma centers throughout the United States, Mexico, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. He currently lives with his wife in Capitola, California.
| Date(s): | 4 Consecutive Thursdays, Mar 5-Mar 26 |
| Times: | 10:30 am - 12:15 pm |
| Instructor/Leader: | Jon Landaw |
| Type of event: | |
| Number of sessions: | 4 |
| Level: | Open to All |
| Participation: | Drop Ins Ok |
| Location: | Main Gompa |
| iCal Link: | iCal |
| Add to Google Calendar: |  |
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