Council Process 2024 Monday evenings, 7:15 - 8:30 pm July 29 with Margaret Pfeffer October 28 with Keido Jeromy Thotland No registration needed. This event is offered in person only.
July 29: Taking Refuge Many of us come to Buddhist practice because we are troubled and seeking refuge. We are encouraged to take refuge in Buddha, Dharma, Sangha as a way to understand our suffering and experience liberation. In our current world with so much chaos, suffering and rapid change, we may be challenged to practice taking refuge and to seeing it as a path to liberation. We may even feel conflicted with that language when what we want to do is launch ourselves into that world and fight for change.
Let’s come to together in Council Practice and spend an evening sharing what it means to take refuge. What does it look like? How do we experience it? Where does it fit in when, now more than ever, we are called to confront suffering, deal with change and create loving kindness in this world? How do we take refuge without spiritual by passing? We invite you to join this opportunity to practice deep listening and wholehearted speech, to build community and connection. Council process is a way of deep sharing in which participants speak, one at a time, from the heart. The intentions of council are speaking from the heart, listening from the heart, lean expression, speaking out, spontaneity, and confidentiality. The tenets of council are not knowing, bearing witness, and appropriate action.
Participants are encouraged to be present for one or both periods of zazen (5:50 and 6:30 pm) prior to council. Please be on time for council, since, out of respect for the process, it is not possible to join council once it has begun. With apologies to our Zoom community, Council Process is on site only because by nature it is intended to promote safe sharing and confidentiality.