To mark its 120th anniversary, Siam Society is holding a special series of four afternoon talks, "Enlightenment In This Lifetime: Liberation Through The Practice Of The Buddha's Teaching", to shed new light on Buddhism and meditation, from Nov 19-22 from 2pm to 4pm.
Conducted by Bangkok Chowkwanyunm who has studied and practised dhamma for three decades, the talks will introduce newcomers to Buddhist teachings and meditation, while scholars and experienced meditators will receive a fresh perspective.
While exploring the relationships between Buddhist texts and the processes of meditation practice, the talks will propose that each of us can indeed discover and follow the elusive path to taste liberation, reaching nirvana in this lifetime.
The talks will illuminate methods based on scientific principles of cause and effect that are inherent and observable in the practice of meditation. The speaker will identify the relationships between various Buddhist texts, leading towards a deeper understanding of both the texts themselves and the practice of meditation.
It is an integrative approach that spans both Vipassana mindfulness and Samatha concentration meditation, which are traditionally viewed as two separate branches of meditation practice. With a new understanding, seemingly diverse traditions can be viewed as part of a unified tapestry of practice that includes Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, transcendental meditation, qigong, yoga and more.
The talks will reveal how formal meditation practice observing Paramattha (ultimate truth) can be multiplexed with observing Pannatti (relative truth) in everyday living thereby solving the problem faced by so many of us that we have "no time" to practise meditation.
This opens a path into continuous mindfulness in every circumstance of daily life, approximating the mental state of an arahat, a fully enlightened holy one having attained the fourth and final stage of enlightenment.
The fee is 400 baht per lecture and 1,400 baht for four (200 and 700 baht for members). Siam Society is on Asok Road.
Email pinthip@thesiamsociety.org or call 02-661-6470--3 ext 203.
