Compassion, Creative Connection and Courage: Living the Pāramīs
Before he became the Buddha, he was an ordinary man devoted to perfecting heart qualities such as generosity, patience, truthfulness, and lovingkindness. Living in a complex world of differences, delusion, and destruction, how do we bring these abstract ideals into our own lives, not as perfections, but as aspirations? How do we honor our own identities and make space for other ways of being to practice locally and globally?
Through embodied practice, sharing diverse experiences from all the ways you may or may not identify, writing/art process reflection, and community connection, we’ll learn together how to bring the pāramīs into our everyday experience—at home and work, in relationships, and in all the 10,000 joys and sorrows of experience. Please note that this is not limited to self-identified Buddhists, but all those who resonate with the theme of purifying the heart. All spiritualties are welcome!
Each month, we’ll meet for 2 hours to practice a guided meditation weaving mindfulness, compassion, image, and poetry based on the month’s theme (see dates and themes below). We’ll then move directly into reflective journaling/art process, and end with large group sharing/witnessing. We’ll begin each meeting with a brief check-in based on the previous month’s theme.
We’ll explore the pāramīs not as ideas to memorize but as practices to embody—testing them in the real flow of life. Between sessions there will be an opportunity to share through email to help you stay connected, supported, and real. I will encourage you to share any videos, poems, songs, experiences, etc. that inspire you to stay true to the month’s theme. This is not about self-improvement; it’s about self-trust. It’s about remembering what’s already beautiful within you.
Dates and Monthly Themes (all times from 2-4pm PST)
1. Generosity (Dāna) – the joy of giving - Jan 4
2. Ethics (Sīla) – living in harmony with others – Feb 1
3. Renunciation (Nekkhamma) – letting go for the sake of peace – March 1
4. Wisdom (Paññā) – seeing clearly – Apr 4
5. Energy (Viriya) – showing up with courage – May 3
6. Patience (Khanti) – staying steady through change – June 7
7. Truthfulness (Sacca) – living from what’s real – July 5
8. Resolve (Adhiṭṭhāna) – aligning intention and action – Aug 2
9. Lovingkindness (Mettā) – the boundless heart – Sept 6
10. Equanimity (Upekkhā) – balance amidst life’s storms – Oct 4
Where: on Zoom (link provided before first meeting)
This offering is full. Please contact me here to be added to the wait list.