Over three weeks we will look into Sutras that support the Buddha’s insights into skilfully practising mindfulness.
We will discuss discourses that addressed instances where monks misunderstood the teachings and practiced the opposite way the Buddha intended. What can we learn from them?
The sessions will include practices that can bring greater contentment that we can use in our daily lives.
24th October – The Better Way to Live Alone
What does it mean to live alone? We know great peace can be found in solitude. However this does not mean we reject the world and society. How do we navigate these apparent opposites? The Buddha reminds us that dwelling peacefully in the present moment leads to stability and freedom. We may well ask “Freedom from what?”
31st October – Knowing the Better Way to Catch a Snake
The Buddha’s teachings were sometimes misunderstood by his students. The Sutra compares this to a person trying to catch a poisonous snake. Understanding the teaching in the wrong way may lead to practising the opposite of what is intended and have dangerous consequences. Using skilful means in the way we put teachings into practice is likened to a skilful way to catch a poisonous snake. The deeper meaning that the teachings are guiding means like a finger pointing to the moon, not the moon itself; that teachings are like a raft to aid us to cross to the other shore and not to carry the raft once we have crossed.
7th November – The Middle Way
The Buddha taught that there are two extremes that a person on the path should avoid. One is to indulge in sensual pleasures, the other is to practise austerities and deprive the body of its needs. The essence of the teaching is Right View; keeping an open mind (Am I Sure?), avoiding extreme perspectives (the Middle Path) and seeing the mutually created nature of all things (Interbeing or Dependent Co-arising).
John Barclay is a lay Dharma Teacher in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh. These talks are based on teachings and commentaries on the Sutras by Thich Nhat Hanh. References; Our Appointment with Life, The Buddha’s Teaching on Living in the Present Awakening of the Heart, Essential Buddhist Sutras and Commentaries
Teacher profile
John Barclay began practicing mindfulness meditation in 1995 with the Lotus Buds group on Wednesday evenings at the Buddhist Library. He received the lamp transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh in 2004. His teacher’s transmission poem encouraged him to share the dharma with young people and in 2011, after retiring from paid work, he became a volunteer SRE teacher through the NSW Buddhist Council. Today he continues to share mindfulness and Buddhist values with young people in both primary and high schools as well as facilitating Wednesday evenings at the Buddhist Library with the Lotus Bud group. He has also enjoyed a long and continued association with Unibuds, Sydney Wake Up group, the youth at Minh Quang Temple in Canley Vale and in running workshops for new Buddhist SRE Teachers through NSWBC.
All Sessions are by Donation (Dana) to the Buddhist Library. All donations to the Buddhist Library of $2 and over are tax deductible.
Dana is the traditional practice of generosity, the extending of one’s goodwill, which is fundamental to Buddhism and other spiritual traditions. The dana you give is shared equally with the teacher and the Buddhist Library. This helps to maintain the Library and supports the teacher so that they may offer more teachings on the Dhamma in the future. It is up to each person to determine the amount of dana they’d like to offer. We understand that this is a difficult time financially for many, and people will give what they can. An appropriate dana can’t be prescribed but requires sensitivity to its intent and to the individual’s own situation, as well as awareness of the cost of organising events and supporting teachers who spread the Dhamma.