Mind and Its Potential

5 week course
Thursdays 10:30am to 12:15pm
August 1-29, 2019
(Vegetarian lunch available for purchase $16+tax. Call 24hrs ahead of time to make lunch reservations @ 831-462-8383. Lunch is served buffet style at 12:30pm)

This is Discovering Buddhism (DB) for people who prefer to take classes during the day. We hope this weekday morning time slot will work for parents, seniors, self-employed and people with flexible schedule. We are starting with the 1st module - Mind and Its Potential, although in general it is not necessary to take the DB module in numerical order.

Topics covered in this course:
- Definition of Mind
- Our Experience of the World
- Continuity of Consciousness
- Our Potential for Enlightenment
- Buddhist Psychology

"There are two reasons why it is important to understand the nature of mind. One is because there is an intimate connection between mind and karma. The other is that our state of mind plays a crucial role in our experience of happiness and suffering. If understanding the mind is very important, what then is mind, and what is its nature? ... the ultimate nature of mind is essentially pure. This pristine nature is technically called “clear light.” The various afflictive emotions such as desire, hatred and jealousy are products of conditioning. They are not intrinsic qualities of the mind because the mind can be cleansed of them. When this clear light nature of mind is veiled or inhibited from expressing its true essence by the conditioning of the afflictive emotions and thoughts, the person is said to be caught in the cycle of existence, samsara. But when, by applying appropriate meditative techniques and practices, the individual is able to fully experience this clear light nature of mind free from the influence and conditioning of the afflictive states, he or she is on the way to true liberation and full enlightenment."
- HH the Dalai Lama, MindScience.