”It is crucial to understand and to gain the conviction that the laws of cause and effect govern the universe and all beings.”
— The Dalai Lama
Sat, Feb 1: Part I: The Wheel Of Life Overview
Sat, March 7: Part II: The Twelve Links That Keep the Wheel Turning
Sat, Apr 4: Part III: The Core of the Matter: Ignorance and Wisdom
Taught by: Julie Heegaard, Resident Director of Ösel Ling
The Buddha’s teachings on Interdependent Origination, based on the laws of cause and effect, reveal that all experience arises through an ever-evolving web of causes and conditions. What appears to be independent, permanent and real, actually “exists” only through dependence on what has arisen before it; and it’s appearance, in turn, will impact what arises next. The good news is that through understanding the chain of causes and conditions that traps beings in an endlessly repeating world of suffering and dissatisfaction (samsara) and altering the habitual patterns of thought and behavior that support it, this cycle can be interrupted and the suffering brought to an end.
This three-Saturday series will examine Interdependent Origination through an exploration of the Wheel of Life – a rich allegorical depiction that illustrates the causes and conditions that perpetuate the experience of samsara (the 12 nidanas). We will also look at the various forms that experience can take (the six realms), the core habitual patterns that lead to its perpetuation (the three poisons), and the path to ending the cycle.
Part I of this monthly series will provide an overview of the many teachings depicted within the Wheel of Life. Part II will focus in on the Twelve Nidhanas and Part III will explore the ignorance that “fuels” the Wheel – a fundamental misunderstanding of the true nature of self and phenomena.
Attendance at all three sessions is recommended by not required.
Schedule for Each Saturday
10:00am – 12:30pm
–Lunch Break–
2:00pm – 5pm
Group Dinner at Local Restaurant (optional)
Tuition
Entire Program: $220 /$202.50 (supporting members)
Part I, II, or III separately: $85 each / $76.50 (supporting members)
Half-day for any session: $50 each / $45 each (supporting members) *pay at the door only