Fall 2013 Shamatha And The Bodhisattva Way Of Life

Guided meditation to take stock of each person’s specific and unique reasons for coming here. Four fold vision quest to answer these four questions: What is your own unique vision of a meaningful life? Alan provides definitions of the terms hedonic pleasure and eudemonic pleasure – terms he uses frequently. Holding in mind your vision of a meaningful life, what would you like to receive from the world around you? How would you like to transform yourself? What would you like to offer the world around you? After the mediation Alan provides a brief overview of the Seven-Point Mind Training by Atisha. He provides the lineage of the text and a moving story of the individual from whom he received these teachings. First line – First train in the preliminaries The four ways of shifting your perspective starting with meditation on the preciousness and rarity of the human life. Discussion of a radical shift of perspective in science which is a one way door – no way to return to the prior perspective – Galileo, Darw