Saturday, April 26, 2014
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
at the
Insight Meditation Center
108 Birch St.
Redwood City, CA
An important part of understanding Dharma is understanding what is not Dharma. A great deal of American not-Dharma—what passes for Dharma but actually isn’t—comes from the thought of the early German Romantics.
Even though their names are little-known in America, their ideas have had an enormous influence on Americans attitudes about spiritual life. When approaching the Dharma, we tend to view it in light of these attitudes, which in some ways are congruent with what the Buddha taught, and in many ways run directly counter to it. This daylong course—through talks, readings, and discussions—will focus on understanding Romantic ideas about religious life and inspiration, the transmission of these ideas through American thinkers such as Emerson and James, their influence on modern American Dharma, and the ways in which this influence has seriously distorted our idea of what counts as Dharma and where Dharma practice leads.
Please see the attached Readings for the daylong.
Ajahn Thanissaro (Geoffrey DeGraff) is an American monk of the Thai forest tradition. In 1991 he traveled to the hills of San Diego County, CA,where he helped establish Metta Forest Monastery, where he is the abbot. He is a prolific writer and translator. Many of his works can be found online at www.accesstoinsight.org.
There will be a meal offering for Ajahn Thanissaro and other monastics in attendance. If you would like, please bring food to offer at that time, otherwise, please bring your own lunch.
This Class Is Offered On A Donation Basis ~ Pre-Registration Not Required.