Spacious Program

Yesterday, we began a series of meditation workshops based on the teachings contained in the Mongolian translation of Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo's Stabilizing the Mind, with a little help also from Karma Chagmed's 17th c. text, A Spacious Path to Freedom, and Chapter 8 of Shatideva's indispensable Way of the Bodhisattva, the classic since the 8th c. Jetsunma's book was supposed to be ready for the session yesterday, but a cover error forced a reprint; it'll be published today. The meditation technique we began with is called shamatha in Sanskrit, in which one cultivates single-pointed concentration and mental tranquility. I droned on a while, let the group have a break, then taught the physical posture and gave instruction in non-attachment to the mind's inevitable conceptual proliferation (as if anyone who reads this blog believes I know anything about that). Then everyone settled in and got down to it:

Another stream of teaching will start this Thursday, as we begin a weekly exploration of the crucial subject of bodhicitta, the compassionate attitude with which one most effectively approaches the path to enlightenment. If you're reading this in UB, the class will be at 7pm at Ikh Khuree Khiid's small, southern temple, just a couple hundred meters from Gandan's southern entrance. It's free and open to the public.