Buddhism
Buddhist Wisdom for Everyday Living
What: A Curious Soul Philosophy workshop
Where: Online via Zoom
When: 3 Saturdays, new dates TBA
What Time: 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time
Workshop Description:
Born Siddhartha Gautama in the 6th century B.C.E. as a wealthy prince, the Buddha became “the enlightened one” after abandoning his life of luxury to seek spiritual fulfillment in the Hindu tradition of his time. What the Buddha found instead was the beginning of a new philosophical and spiritual tradition known today as Buddhism—a way of life that seeks to end human suffering through the achievement of deep wisdom, insight, and awareness of the present moment.
Immediately after his enlightenment, the Buddha delivered a sermon known as “The Four Noble Truths,” which contains the foundational tenants of Buddhist philosophy. Like a physician diagnosing an illness—the illness of human suffering—the Buddha describes the symptoms, states the cause, promises a cure, and then offers a prescription for how to achieve release from this suffering. His prescription, referred to as the “Noble 8-fold Path,” includes guidelines for how to live well and develop mental discipline through meditation and mindfulness practices.
In our workshop, we’ll learn and discuss these foundational philosophical ideas of Buddhism and see how they may serve us in our everyday lives. We’ll consider the complex nature of suffering, our relationship to the interconnectedness of all beings, and the path for achieving inner peace. We’ll also learn a few simple meditation and mindfulness practices that may bring a bit of peace and calm to our day-to-day living.
About Philosophy Workshops
Philosophy Workshops emphasize discussion, life experience, and practical application. They are led by philosophy professors committed to accessible language and open conversation. No prior philosophical training is necessary . . . just an open mind, a respectful approach to others, and a sense of humor!
About Your Workshop Leader:
Curious Soul is thrilled to welcome Danielle LaSusa as our guest leader for the Buddhism workshop!
Danielle LaSusa, PhD is a Philosophical Coach and Consultant, helping individuals and organizations to think clearly, choose wisely, and live purposefully. She is the co-creator of Think Hard podcast, which brings philosophical conversation to everyday issues in culture, politics, art, and society. Danielle also teaches philosophy at Portland Community College in Portland, OR. In addition to philosophy, she loves dancing, cooking, and hiking with her husband and two-year-old daughter.
The Theory and the Lab:
There are two portions of this discussion-based workshop: 1) the Theory, and 2) the Lab.
In the Theory portion of the workshop (the first half of each session) we’ll work to understand key concepts from our reading for the day and from supplementary mini-lectures given by the workshop leader. In the Lab portion of the workshop (the second half) we will reflect on the ways in which the theory applies to our own personal and political struggles. We will devise “experiments” for putting key concepts into practice in our lives, and we will discuss with each other how our experiments work out.
Calendar:
Week 1: Discussion of selections from primary and secondary texts about Noble Truth 1 and 2 (pdf provided).
Week 2: Discussion of selections from primary and secondary texts about Noble Truth 3 and 4 (pdf provided).
Week 3: Discussion of selections from primary and secondary texts about meditation and mindfulness (pdf provided).
Preparation:
Danielle will email a pdf of the reading to those who are registered. For each meeting, participants should read the selection we’ll be discussing in advance, consider some questions Danielle offers to help us focus and dig into our conversation, and come with some marked passages they’d like to talk about.
Cost per person: $200 (for three 2-hour philosophy sessions)
- The workshop has limited space. Register today to save yourself a spot!
- Deadline to register: TBA
- Register by clicking the button below and following instructions to use PayPal. If you do not have a PayPal account, PayPal still allows you to pay using a credit card.
Registration is now closed.