The Essence of Wisdom: The Heart Sutra

6 Consecutive Wednesdays, Sept. 18 - Oct. 23
The Essence of Wisdom: The Heart Sutra and the Five Paths with Venerable Tenzin Chogkyi

In most Mahayana traditions, the Heart Sutra is recited every day either as a daily practice or as a preliminary to teachings. Many of us may have recited this sutra for years, but have little understanding of its meaning. The Heart Sutra has two levels of meaning. Explicitly, it explains the perfection of wisdom, the teachings on emptiness, the ultimate nature of reality. On a deeper level, the sutra explains the progressive stages of spiritual development eventually culminating in the attainment of full enlightenment: the Five Paths.

Join us for an explanation of the outer and inner levels of the Heart Sutra in this six-week class which will include discourses, discussion, and meditation.

Prerequisites: this course will be taught at the intermediate level, so participants should have some familiarity with basic Buddhist philosophy in order to get the most out of the class. Suggested prerequisites are “Buddhism in a Nutshell” or courses in the Discovering Buddhism series.

Suggested reading: Essence of the Heart Sutra, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Wisdom Publications, 2002) https://www.wisdompubs.org/book/essence-heart-sutra