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THE ŚŪRAṄGAMA SUTRA: Being Indestructible
A ten-week sutra study course
Thursday evenings, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm (PT)
April 18 – June 20, 2024
Tuition: $300
The Śūraṅgama Sutra is a mysterious sutra found in the Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist canons, and is a foundational text for the Zen and Vajrayana traditions, where it is used as a primer for beginners. Surprisingly, significant parts of this sutra were first translated in English in 1871, followed by a translation that appeared in Dwight Goddard’s A Buddhist Bible in 1932, where it became influential among Jack Kerouac and the ‘beat spiritualists’ of the post-war era. The sutra is a long dialogue between the Buddha and Ānanda on the nature of mind and consciousness, a format reminiscent of the ‘pointing-out’ instructions of the Dzogchen tradition and the Zen practice of ‘directly pointing at the mind’. This ten-week course will explore the major chapters of this important text and provide an overview of the entire sutra and its history.
ESCAPE FROM SAMSARA: Introduction to World-Systems
A presentation on Buddhist Cosmology
Saturday May 18, 2024
9:00am – 11:00pm (Pacific)
This class by donation, suggested fee : $45
A cosmology is an understanding of where the world and the beings in it came from, what they are made of, and what happens to them when they decay. When studying Buddhism, it is helpful to be familiar with the basic tenets of traditional Indian cosmology, and some of the unique features of Buddhist cosmology that developed from them. This visual presentation uses art and iconography from a variety of traditions to create an immersive experience that explores several alternative views of creation, space and time, multiple heavenly and hellish realms, and the abodes of the gods, while laying out a Buddhist cosmological roadmap to liberation - from Samsara to Nirvana.
LUSB 2024 SUMMER RETREAT
I am in the planning stages of a multi-day, in-person sutra study retreat. The retreat will run approximately 2-3 days in length, and will most likely be held in Northern California, in mid -to -late August this Summer. I am trying to get a sense of how many people would be interested in attending so I can locate an appropriate location and lodging. The retreat would revolve around the reading and discussion of a particular sutra in structured sessions, with ‘monastery style’ days, including communal vegan/vegetarian meals, silent meditation sessions, opportunities for physical practice, and time for solitary reflection. If you are interested and would like to hear more please register at LotusUnderground.com -
Sabbāsava Sutta ('All the Taints')
Majjhima Nikāya #2
Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi
Recited by M.C. Owens, February 2024 -
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The Way to Brahmā - Tevijja Sutta ('The Three Knowledges')
Dīgha Nikāya ("Collection of Long Discourses") #13
Translated by Maurice Walshe
Recited by M.C. Owens -
Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra
(Complete Recitation)
Translated and recited by M.C. Owens, 2023 -
Welcome to another semester of the Lotus Underground School of Buddhism (LUSB). This Fall I will be offering three courses: an advanced sutra study course on one of my favorite sutras from the Ratnakūṭa (‘Heap of Jewels’) called the Universal Gateway to the Inconceivable. I will be holding a four-part meditation workshop on the Foundations of Mindfulness called Acts of Remembrance. And, there will be an opportunity for you or someone you know to take my Turning the Dharma Wheel course, the first part of the LUSB Introduction to Buddhism.
All courses are held on-line via Zoom with the recordings available to participants afterwards.
TURNING THE DHARMA WHEEL: Introduction to Buddhism
Sunday mornings, 9:00 - 10:30am (Pacific), 10 week course
October 1 – December 3, 2023
Tuition: $300
A traditional way of learning Buddhism is called Anguttara, ‘adding one’ – wherein the teachings of the Buddha are presented numerically in increasing order, such as the Three Poisons, the Four Noble Truths, and the Five Aggregates. This 10-week course uses a similar method of interlocking systems to explore fundamental Buddhist concepts and their interrelations. The ideas presented in each week’s session increase in complexity and build on previous session topics, thus 'turning the Dharma wheel.’ This course also provides an introduction to Buddhist texts, modern interpretations, and the transcendent applicability of Buddhism.
This is the first course in a three-part series that make up the LUSB Introduction to Buddhism.
Advanced Sutra Study Course: The Universal Gateway to the Inconceivable
Thursday evenings, 6:00pm - 7:30pm (Pacific), 6 week course
October 5 – November 9, 2023
Tuition: $200
The Universal Gateway is a deceptively brief sutra that is as complex as the better known Heart Sutra. This sutra is a series of short poems recited by the Buddha that describe entry into different samādhis (‘meditative absorptions’) by observing various characteristics of reality, such as sights, sounds, scents, flavors, etc., to the very characteristics of being and non-being. The poems weave together multiple elements of Mahāyana Buddhism: cosmology, samādhi, as well as the teaching of Emptiness, which is the underlying theme of the poems. The course is a deep dive into this contemplative and beautiful sutra full of big ideas, presented as a thousand-petalled lotus flower made of the seven treasures.
Meditation Workshop: Acts of Remembering
Tuesday evenings, 6:00pm - 7:30pm (Pacific), 4 week course
November 7 - 28
Tuition: $125
Smṛti is one of the earliest terms used in Buddhism for meditation. In the modern world it is commonly translated as ‘mindfulness’, however it is helpful to know that the word smṛti indicates something like ‘remembering’ or ‘recalling’, and is traditionally contrasted with the more receptive act of śruti, ‘hearing’. There are many ways to understand how the act of remembrance relates to Buddhist meditation and other aspects of psycho-physical practice.
This meditation workshop presents the traditional satipaṭṭhāna system of Buddhism, a four-step practice that gets progressively deeper as the object of focus, or mindful awareness, shifts from mindfulness of the body to bodily sensations, followed by mindfulness of mind-states themselves, and finally mindfulness of the very principles (dharmas) governing the construction of mind-states. Broken into four evenings, each session will include a guided meditation, periods of silent sitting, in addition to analytical discussion of these foundational ideas, and their numerous sub-categories. -
Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra
Chapter Three: The Disciples
Translated and recited by M.C. Owens
March 31, 2023 -
Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra
Chapter Two: Expedient Means
Translated and recited by M.C. Owens
March 8, 2023 -
Vimalakīrti Nirdeśa Sūtra
Chapter One: Buddha Lands
Translated and recited by M.C. Owens
February 17, 2023 -
Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra (The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā)
Sutra recitation by M.C. Owens
1-25-2023 - Mehr anzeigen