Naturally Empty
Exploring the Great Vehicle, Part Two (Cultivating Wisdom)
May 11, 2022 - July 27, 2022 (12 Classes)
Wednesdays: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
Teachers: Derek Kolleeny & Tom Pantaleoni
Intermediate Level Course
Meets on Zoom. Virtual drop-ins welcome
Suggested offering: $200
*Note that WMC maintains a policy of making our programs affordable to all. Those with limited income please offer what you can afford on our donation page.
This Spring/Summer we invite you to continue your exploration of the profound and vast tradition of Mahayana Buddhism. Last semester we focused on the cultivation of compassion with the Mind Training course. This semester we plan to focus on the cultivation of wisdom with an exploration of the famous yet extremely elusive notion of emptiness. The essence of the Buddha’s wisdom is said to be the understanding of the nature of all reality as being empty, and the key to enlightenment is said to be the direct experience of emptiness. But what is this emptiness that we hear so much reference to? What is it that all phenomena are empty of? Emptiness is highly elusive because on the one hand it lies far beyond the fabric of our conceptual structures and at the same time is staring us in the face at all times. There is a lot of talk and a huge amount written on this knotty subject. Let’s see if we can get to the very heart of the issues in this course.
In this course, we will primarily focus on a simple and straightforward presentation of the method for identifying the object that is negated when we understand emptiness in the book Introduction to Emptiness by Guy Newland. Please get this book if you want to join the course. Additionally, we will use the meditation sections of the wonderful presentation in Progressive Stages of Meditation on Emptiness by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso Rinpoche and Shenpen Hookham; additionally, we will supplement these with a few additional selected readings from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and others; both will be circulated by pdf.
The course will be presented by Derek Kolleeny and Tom Pantaleoni with support from Lee Sauerhoff. Sessions will include sitting meditation (instruction provided for those who would like that), a presentation based upon the reading, as laid out in a syllabus, and group discussion. We hope you will join us for this challenging but rewarding journey!
