Starts this Sunday!
Prajna Paramita Heart Sutra
Study and Practice
Dear Friends, Happy New Year!
This January and February, Springs Mountain Sangha will be spending some time with the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra. Perhaps the most widely used religous text in East Asia, the Heart Sutra is recited by heart by people in many different Buddhist traditions. And many, many teachings have been offered that are rooted here.
Why? As the translator Red Pine puts it, “The Heart Sutra is Buddhism in a nutshell.” In it, the Bodhisattva of Compassion teaches a way of looking deeply into the actual nature of what is right now—a way that frees us from obsession with our problems, so that we are available to respond to what happens as it happens. Could this be a definition of happiness?
The sutra can seem very obscure and remote, and this is why it’s good to take it up together and spend time with it. We’ll be doing it in several ways.
Heart Sutra Study Series starts this Sunday!
When and Where
Sundays, 3:00 to 5:00 PM: Jan. 8 and 22, Feb. 12 and 26
At Creek Bend Zendo, 7528 Jenkin Place
And with a session led by Jerry Shifrin on Feb. 5.
To register, please contact Sarah at sembender@gmail.com
This will be a five-session Sunday afternoon study group. We will be taking up readings from a number of translations and commentaries on the Heart Sutra, and each week we will bring in one companion koan for koan inquiry together. Details are at the top of this letter. Please feel free to contact me also with any questions.
Donations to support this work are gratefully received.
Suggested donation for the series is $50.
Commitment to all five sessions is not required, but encouraged.
Monday Evenings
Each Monday for a while, we’ll recite a different translation of the sutra. It’s fascinating to see how each translation can light up a different facet of this teaching, and these will be available to take home.
In addition, our Monday pre-meditation, 5:00 discussion group will be taking up the sutra one section at a time, using brief readings to stimulate discussion. We’ll also be experimenting with different ways of practicing with a sutra, between sessions. Readings are sent out ahead of the meeting each week.
If you would like to attend and want to be on the mailing list for this group, please write to me at sembender@gmail.com.
With deep thanks for your practice, your life in the Way which can meet the dramatic events of our time with dedication to transformative kindness!
Sarah Bender