Purpose of this site is educational.
This site is set up for the purpose of providing course material and information to OLLI-USF members who have enrolled in the course, "Quintessential Tibetan Buddhism: An Overview and the Nature of Mind," scheduled for the Spring 2013 at the USF Campus. Information pertaining to each session will be posted (for example, Youtube videos, PDF of PowerPoint presentations, supplemental information, and handouts) for use by such members. There will be a separate tab for each of the eight Sessions from Friday, April 5 through May 24, 2013.
Course DescriptionThis overview of Tibetan Buddhism gives you an appreciation of the diversity, complexity, and lasting teachings and practices of Buddhist precepts. We will explore the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, his key teachings, and how these teachings migrated to and evolved in Tibet, including the Tibetan diaspora and aspects of Himalayan art. In addition to exploring basic forms of meditation, “secret” techniques will be explained.
Since the practice of Buddhism deals with profound concepts, it explanatory and experiential in nature. For this reason, participants are asked to practice meditation so that they can experience what is conceptually explained. After instruction on a basic form of meditation, several meditation techniques will be explored. Class discussion on the eight session will focus on experiences and insights that occurred during the previous weeks when participants put meditation into practice and read the text by Steve Hagen, Buddhism Plain & Simple. Hagen's book is based on Zen practice (Ch'an in Chinese), the simplest approach to practicing Buddhism based that is based on sutra teachings. The overview, however, will explore the simplest approach to the nature of mind under Dzogchen tradition (i.e., The Great Perfection, with origins in "tantric" teachings. This course also inspects current scientific findings in physics and neuroscience that support, or refute, the ancient understanding of the nature of mind. As a final product, the course will end with a probe into the awakening of every person's true nature. Other tools will be explored to bring one's experience to his/her level of awareness. This course not only explores how Buddhism is practiced but also explains the final goal (fruition) of the teachings; namely, the awakening of every person's true nature. Three quotes of William Blake (18th Century English poet, painter, printmaker) can best describe certain aspects of the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (The Awakened One) that may lead you to wonder what is meant by "quintessential," the pure and essential essence of something:
These quotes may help to clarify the teachings of the Buddha on how one's perception can cause suffering or happiness; why impermanence is reality, and why attachment to self keeps us from our knowing mind. A science of the mind, Buddhism is a schematic of in-depth experiential spirituality. Hagen's book is a good example of this. The Buddha pointed out in his first teaching words, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts...hate never dispelled hate...[for] only love dispels hate." Enjoy the class. You can go as deep as you want or you can flow with the story as it is presented. As a minimum, simply allow yourself to flow. If necessary, suspend your disbelief so that you can explore unusual ideas that are not commonly held as western. Extra material that are related to the topic(s) of each session will be posted for each session. Lastly, the Buddha's teachings are simple, universal, non-sectarian, and extremely pragmatic. Note: A session will be made visible on the day of the respective session and will remain online through September 2013. Map of Tibet showing major and minor monastaries, including townships. http://worldmap.harvard.edu/maps/tibet PRAYERS OF BLESSINGS & DEDICATION - To all beings and to all those who contributed their compassionate energy of materials contained in this site.
From The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, Sogyal Rinpoche
By the power and truth of this practice, may all beings have happiness, and the causes of happiness. May all be free from sorrow, and the causes of sorrow. May all never be separated from the sacred happiness which is sorrowless. And may all live in equanimity, without too much attachment and too much aversion, And may all live believing in the equality of all that lives. May all beings be filled with joy and peace. May all beings everywhere, The strong and the weak, The great and the small, The mean and the powerful, The short and the long, the subtle and the gross: May all beings everywhere, Seen and unseen, Dwelling far off or nearby, Being or waiting to become: May all be filled with lasting joy. Let no one deceive another, Let no one anywhere despise another, Let no one out of anger or resentment Wish suffering on anyone at all. Just as a mother with her own life Protects her child, her only child, from harm, So within yourself let grow A boundless love for all creatures. Let your love flow outward through the universe, To its height, its depth, its broad extent, A limitless love, without hatred or enmity. Then as you stand or walk, Sit or lie down, As long as you are awake, Strive for this with a one-pointed mind; Your life will bring heaven to earth. May all sentient beings have equanimity, free from attachment, aggression and prejudice.
May they be happy, and have the causes for happiness. May they be free from suffering and causes for suffering. May they never be separated from the happiness that is free from suffering. (3x) By this virtue may I soon reach a Guru-Buddha-state, and lead each and every being to that state of Buddhahood. May the precious Bodhicitta not yet born, arise and grow may that born have no decline but increase forever more. In all my rebirths may I never be separated from perfect spiritual masters and enjoy the magnificent Dharma. Completing all qualities of the stages and paths, May I quickly achieve the state of Vajradhara. May anyone who merely sees or hears, remembers, touches or talks to me, be instantly freed from all sufferings and abide in happiness forever. It is only from the kindness of my Guru that I have met the peerless teachings of the Buddha. Thus, I dedicate all merit so that all sentient beings in the future may be guided by kind and holy Gurus. Until cyclic existence ends, may the beneficial teachings not be blown away by the wind of superstitions. May the entire world be filled with people who have undersdtood and found firm faith in the true teachings. Day and night, may I pass the time thinking and examining by what means these teachings can spread in the minds of myself and others. May all sentient beings - who have all been my mother and father - be completely happy, and may the lower realms be forever empty. May all the prayers of the bodhisattvas, wherever they live, be immediately fulfilled. May the glorious gurus live long, and may all beings throughout limitless space have happiness. By purifying our defilements and accumulating positive potential, may I and all others be inspired to attain Buddhahood quickly. May I never develop, even a moment, wrong views towards the deeds of my glorious Gurus. With respect and devotion, by seeing whatever actions they do as pure, may the guru's inspiration flow into my mind. In whatever way you appear, O glorious Guru, whatever your retinue, lifespan and pure-land, whatever your name, most noble and holy, may I and all others attain only these. In order to follow the excellent examples set by the wisdom of the bodhisattva Manjushri and the always sublime Samantabhadra, I dedicate all virtues to their peerless ideals. All conquerors of the three times have praised this peerless dedication as sublime. Therefore, I also surrender all roots of my activities to the sublime goals of a bodhisattva. |
PowerPoint Viewer
To view the PowerPoint Presentations of the Six Sessions, you will need to download the PowerPoint Viewer (free) from the following link.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13 If you already have the software for PowerPoint, you will not need to download the viewer. Charter of Inquiry
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