Sangha Nights March/April: The Life and Teachings of the Buddha

Practicing Dharma and Meditation in Community, Wednesdays, 7pm to 9pm, in person

In April we continue our three month series based on the book by Vishvapani: The Life and Teachings of the Awakened One, available as a hard copy, audio or ebook.

We encourage you to read/listen to the relevant chapter each week, but the series is fully accessible to drop-ins and non-readers: we’ll start each evening with a short recap of the story and key themes so people can easily follow and take part.

March 25: Week 7

• • • Chapter 7: A Holy Man in the World, Shunyamala
      Gautama moving among villages and courts, meeting crises and requests for guidance, and showing what awakened action looks like in the middle of ordinary life.

April 1: Week 8

Last minute change – special guest Padmadharini will leave this evening.

• • • Chapter 8: Crisis, Prasadachitta
      Challenges from within and without – conflict, misunderstanding, Devadatta, and the fragility of any spiritual community – and how he responds.

April 8: Special Guest, Jnanagarbha

April 15: Week 9

• • • Chapter 9: The Final Journey, Viradhamma
      The Buddha’s last journey, final teachings and death, and what it means for a tradition when the historical teacher is no longer physically present.

April 22: Week 10

• • • Chapter 10: Gautama’s Legacy, Viradhamma
      Relics, councils, early schools, Mahayana and Vajrayana, Ashoka’s “Dharma empire,” and the many forms of Buddhism today – from Thai forests and Zen temples to Dalit conversions and Californian meditation apps. We end by returning to a few key images of Gautama (prince, forest meditator, wandering teacher, old man on his last journey) as touchstones for our own practice now.

April 29: Buddha Day (May1)

• • • A special guest this week: Dayanandi will talk about the life of Dhardo Rinpoche, and his friendship with Sangharakshita, who saw him as a Bodhisattva. Dayanandi is currently writing a book about Sangharakshita’s relationship with his teachers.

Next Series May to July: The Heart of Buddhism

In Person

Everyone is welcome to Sangha Night