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Blooming Wisdom: CULTIVATING INTERDEPENDENCE & JOY WITH THE FLOWER GARLAND SUTRA

WEDNESDAYS, SEPT. 13TH – DEC. 2OTH, 2023 | 4:15 –7:15 PM

An Online Course Offering with Guest Teacher Ben Connelly

The Flower Garland (Avatamsaka or Huayan) Sutra provides a comprehensive and mind-altering dive into the Dharma. Its emphasis on interdependence, celebration of the sensual world, and diverse methods of liberation has a profound impact on East Asian and Western Buddhisms and provides inspiration for what Thich Nhat Hanh calls “engaged Buddhism”.

 

In this class we will use dialogue, teachings, meditations, and ritual engagement with the text to bring forth the joyfulness and energy of the Bodhisattva path — the vow to liberate all beings from suffering. We will deepen our ability to read, enjoy, and be inspired by classic Buddhist literature and to bring its teachings into our daily lives. 

 

Together, we will explore:

  • Multiple modes of reading Buddhist text: as ritual, as a meditative practice, to understand content, and to locate gems
  • Relationship of Flower Garland to earlier Buddhist traditions, later ones, and contemporary practice and culture
  • Relationship of the sutra to contemporary ecological movements, and movements for liberation from systemic harms: feminism, Black liberation, queer liberation, and the like

 

Throughout this course, you will develop:

  • a deeper awareness of interdependence
  • a deeper awareness of diversity of practices, needs, and teachers
  • a deeper daily engagement with practices to bring forth the above
  • a deeper knowledge of the differences and commonalities in a broad sweep of Buddhist traditions

 

This class is open to all and is especially suitable for students with an established Buddhist practice. Join us as we learn to live more deeply from awareness of interdependence and cultivate an ability to be in relationship with all things in a way that is beneficial to all beings.

Course Details:

  • Class dates: Sept 13th | Sept 20th | Sept 27th | Oct 4th | Oct 11th | (No class Oct 18th) | Oct 25th | Nov 1st | Nov 8th | Nov 15th | Nov 22nd | (No class Nov 29th) | Dec 6th | Dec 13th | Dec 20th
  • Class components include: Weekly live classes consisting of teaching, discussion, and breakout groups; an online learning platform and discussion forum with fellow students; participation in NYZC’s weekly evening meditation on Wednesdays.

 

About the teacher

Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen priest. He also teaches mindfulness in secular contexts including police training and addiction recovery groups, and works with multifaith groups focused on intersectional liberation and climate justice. Ben serves the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center and travels to teach across the United States. He is also the author for Wisdom Publications of Inside the Grass Hut, Inside Vasubandhu’s Yogacara, and the Vasubandhu’s “Three Natures.” He is currently working on a book on the Huayan tradition, derived from the Flower Garland Sutra, which is due for publication in 2025. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Details

Date:
September 13, 2023
Time:
12:00 am
Event Categories:
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