New Way of Seeing the World October Sydney 2022

A New Way of Seeing the World

(presented as Rigpa Sydney’s Monthly Sangha Gathering program in 2022)

In person and online

The wisdom of the Buddha reveals to us a whole new way of seeing the world and seeing ourselves within that world. The ideas put forward in the Buddhist teachings challenge our familiar ways of thinking and invite us to question our values and assumptions.

Presenting teachings given by Dominique Side, and guided practices led by Dominique and Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, this interactive course is an exploration of key Buddhist wisdom teachings. We will place these ideas under a microscope bringing the similarities and differences between Buddhist and contemporary views clearly into focus. We will be invited to re-evaluate our own ideas and clarify our outlook on life. The outcome is a surer and sounder insight into the way we see the world.

In our October session we will address: Karma: what it is, how it works, can a Buddhist do without it?

Buddhist psychology identifies dozens of ‘mental factors’ that are active in our minds. They range from emotions, some virtuous and some non-virtuous, to cognitive activities of various kinds. (We will study the mental factors in more detail later on in this course.)  Each of these factors has a specific function and a characteristic effect that define it, and they all interact with each other in different ways. Amongst these mental factors, those of relevance to us here are: attention, mindfulness, wisdom and concentration. All four are classified as ‘universal mental factors’ meaning that they are always present in all types of mind. In other words, anyone with a mind has all four but they may be weak or strong, dominant or passive.

Over the course of this year, we will investigate:

• What is wisdom?
• Mindfulness: the support of wisdom
• How things appear and how things are
• The Four Noble Truths
• Who am I? Part 1: The body
• Who am I? Part 2: The mind
• How do body and mind work together?
• The afflictions: how do they function and how can we eliminate them?    
• Karma: what it is, how it works, can a Buddhist do without it?
• The Wheel of Life
• What does enlightenment mean?
• The journey: Stages on the Buddhist path 

About Dominique Side

Dominique Side encountered Tibetan Buddhism in the mid-1970s in London. She has studied with Sogyal Rinpoche and Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche in particular, and over the years held a number of leadership roles in Rigpa UK and in Lerab Ling, Rigpa’s retreat centre in southern France.

She has completed several strict retreats and has also obtained a PhD in Madhyamaka philosophy from Bristol University, UK. She taught Buddhism in London schools for eight years and has written textbooks on the subject. Under the guidance of Dzongsar Khyentse she initiated the Milinda training programme for Dharma teachers in 2017, and she also served as vice-president of the European Buddhist Union for five years. As a senior teacher in Rigpa, she specializes in making Buddhist thought and philosophy accessible to all.

Since the Stockholm Conference in 1972, Dominique has been concerned by environmental issues and for 15 years worked professionally as a writer and editor on the interface between environment and economic development.

Dates

(Second Sunday of each month)

9.30am to 1.00pm

13 March

10 April

8 May

12 June

10 July

14 August

11 September

9 October

13 November

11 December

Cost: Adult: $20, Rigpa Subscribers (members): free

(Subscribers, if you have not received a discount code, please email sydney@rigpa.org.au.)

COVID information for attending Rigpa sessions at our centre

Rigpa Sydney follows all NSW Government health advice.

Most of our classes, events and practices are offered online.

Among our regular volunteer role holders and students are a number of people with health conditions that make them vulnerable, should they be exposed to someone infectious with COVID. We appreciate your consideration.

Please do not come to the centre if you are feeling unwell, if you are waiting on results from a COVID-19 test, or if you have recently been in close contact with someone with flu-like symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test.

If you are attending in person at our centre we encourage you to wear a face mask.

Please contact us at sydney@rigpa.org.au if you have any questions.