Contemporary Buddhist Wisdom
From September 15 through December 15, 2021 (No class on November 24)
Wednesdays: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM ET
Teachers: Jane & Derek Kolleeny, Gene Bobker, and all the other WMC teachers.
Meets on Zoom
Virtual drop-ins welcome
Suggested offering: $150 for the course*.
This course explores the practical advice, wisdom, and inspiration of broad and diverse range of contemporary Buddhist teachers representative of its three major traditions—Theravadin, Zen and Tibetan—including HH the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, Thich Nhat Hanh, Ajahn Chah, Pema Chödrön, Sharon Salzberg, Norman Fischer, Sylvia Boorstein, Noah Levine, Matthieu Ricard, Judy Lief, and others. Through a facilitated group discussion, the class is invited to investigate and share their experience within a range of styles and schools of thought, so we can expand and open up to the diversity of multiple avenues of insight and challenge our notion of a fixed practice.
This course will read and discuss A Beginner's Guide to Meditation: Practical Advice and Inspiration from Contemporary Buddhist Teachers edited by Rod Meade Sperry. With contributions from a wide variety of teachers this collection provides an inspiring narrative on the fundamentals of meditation, including topics such as how to build your practice with regularity and confidence, how to build excitement and energy in your routine and keep it going, setting up a meditation space, working with and through boredom, what to look for when seeking a meditation group, and how to bring the practice “off the cushion.” The heart of the presentation is in understanding how the three main traditions of Buddhism each experience these core meditation issues as well as freshly exploring foundational Buddhist concepts from the point of view of these three traditions.
Each class will begin with 30 minutes of meditation, followed by facilitated discussion on the topics covered in the readings. Audio recordings of all classes will be available online.
*Note that WMC maintains a policy of making our programs affordable to all. Those with limited income please offer what you can afford.
Books can be ordered from Shambhala Publications or other book sellers.
