We begin with a review of last week's talk and exploration, on being a bodhisattva in our times. The theme was inspired by Donald's experience teaching two retreats north of Asheville, NC during Hurricane Helene and being inspired by the response of the retreat center, Southern Dharma, both locally near the center and in Asheville, combining community, inner practices, and helping others. In this session, we look first more at the traditional understanding of the bodhisattva, both in the context of the Buddha's teachings and later Theravada, and then Mahayana. We bring in images of the archetypcal bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara, Tara, Kwan Yin, and Manjushri, as well as examples of the vows of bodhisattvas, and an outline of the training of a bodhisattva in the ten paramitas (or "perfections"). We then ask about the nature of a contemporary bodhisattva, pointing to how connecting inner work and helping others can be a corrective to exclusively outer-oriented forms of activism and exclusively inner-oriented forms of Buddhist practice, in the context of a number of systemic crises that are facing us. After then looking at some of the capacities of a contemporary bodhisattva, we invite bodhisattva vows from those attending and hear from many. Discussion follows.

Exploring the wholesome aspects of our lives included in the Maha Mangala Sutta.

Death is not waiting for us at the end of a long road. Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight. She helps us to discover what matters most. We don’t have to wait until the end of our lives to realize the wisdom that death has to offer.

The whole of the path is about letting go.

Eine der täuschenden Aktivitäten unserer Wahrnehmung lässt den Eindruck eines soliden Ichs entstehen. Daraus entwickeln sich vielfältige Formen des Dünkels. Ein genauer Blick enthüllt die Wechselhaftigkeit des Ichs, so dass wir weniger in unserem Bild von uns selbst gefangen sind. Wir erleben größere Freiheit und Verbundenheit.

This talk explores the skillful view of Not Self. What we call our self is actually a conglomerate of many aspects, all of which are changing. None of the things that we identify with as ourselves have an essential "me" in them. This can be investigated in different domains of experience, from the body to emotions to the mind.