Sati Center

The Safety of the Island: Exploring the Nature of Nibanna
Ajahn Amaro

"The Safety of the Island: Exploring the Nature of Nibanna" was offered by Ajahn Amaro on October 31, 2009.

Beginning with an overview of the teachings on nibbana, Ajahn Amaro elaborated on definitions the teachings of 'non-self'. The afternoon addressed the essential themes of attending to the deathless, unsupported consciousness and the unconditioned and non-locality. He then discussed applications of the teachings to the Gradual Path, stream entry and the blessings of nibbana, followed by discussion.

Nibanna Course Handouts: (PDF).

Introduction to Pali
Fred Porta and Baba Norihisa

"Introduction to Pali" was offered by Fred Porta and Baba Norihisa on August 22, 2009.

This daylong class introduced the basics of Pali, the language of the Buddhist teachings in the Theravada tradition. Dr. Norihisa, a scholar of Pali and Sanskrit Buddhist texts, is on a one year term as visiting research fellow at Stanford to study Sanskrit Buddhist manuscripts and early Chinese translations. Dr. Porta is a lecturer at Stanford who, in addition to Pali language and literature, teaches Sanskrit, Greek and other classical language

Pali Course Handouts:
    Course Flyer   (PDF)
    Language Tree Words   (PDF)
    Key Words   (PDF)
    Grammer Outline   (PDF)
    Verses   (PDF)
    Metta Sutta   (PDF)
    Mangala Sutta   (PDF)

Anatta: Selves and Not-Selves
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

"Anatta: Selves and Not-Selves" was offered by Thanissaro Bhikkhu on May 2, 2009.

The Buddha refused to state that the self exists or doesn't exist, yet he frequently used perceptions of self and not-self as skillful means in his teachings. This course, through readings, discusion, and meditation, explored the many meanings of 'self' in the Buddha's self strategies and not-self strategies for gaining freedom from clinging and suffering.

Anatta Course Handouts: (Word   PDF).

Samadhi: Exploring the Range of Teachings and Controversies on Concentration & Jhana
Richard Shankman

"Samadhi: Exploring the Range of Teachings and Controversies on Concentration and Jhana" was offered by Richard Shankman on March 7, 2009.

There is a wide range of views and opinions on the various concentration practices in Buddhism, and on how they relate to insight meditation practices. We compared different views, including controversies, and considered how these views can inform and enrich our meditation practice. The day included some meditation practice periods.

Workshop Handouts:   pdf format.   Word (doc) format.

Resting in Emptiness: The Evolution and Transcendence of the Self
Rick Hanson and Rick Mendius

"Resting in Emptiness: The Evolution and Transcendence of the Self", was offered by Rick Hanson and Rick Mendius on October 4, 2008.

The Buddha taught that not-self was one of the three fundamental characteristics of existence, alongside impermanence and suffering. In this workshop, we examined self - and its release - in light of Buddhism, evolution, and modern brain science; these perspectives inform each other, and together they offer powerfully practical tools for deconstructing the apparent self.

In this workshop, we covered:

• Buddhist perspectives on the interconnectedness of all things, and thus the emptiness of any apparent thing - including the personal self
• How awareness and self evolved in animals, including humans
• The costs and benefits of me, myself, and I
• The distributed, variable, conditioned – thus “empty” – nature of creating self in the brain
• A poignant consideration of narcissistic wounds; Non-dual perspectives on the oneness of self and world
• Brain-savvy ways to relax the sense of self, take things less personally, feel more at peace with the world, and rest in the spacious awareness in which self activates and then disperses

Slides for this workshop can be downloaded here (pdf format).

More information and resources are available at www.wisebrain.org.

Radical Dharma: The Buddha's Teachings on Views and Desire - Verses from the Atthaka Vagga
Andrea Fella

"Radical Dharma: The Buddha's Teachings on Views and Desire - Verses from the Atthaka Vagga" was offered by Andrea Fella on September 13, 2008.

The Atthaka Vagga (the Octet Chapter) of the Sutta Nipata contains sixteen poems on the subject of non-clinging. These teachings offer a radical and challenging approach to the liberative teachings of the Buddha, focusing most specifically on the subject of clinging to views and desire.

These verses may well contain some of the earliest teachings of the Buddha, since there are other discourses within the Pali Canon that refer to these teachings, and the language of these verses is more arachic than that of other discouses in the Pali Canon.

During this daylong, we explored this ancient text from different perspectives: as an internally consistent teaching that proposes a radical path of non-clinging, without reference to any metaphysical belief system, and as a teaching contained within the larger body of Buddhist literature, highlighting some apparent contradictions between the two, and possible ways to reconcile them.

Several versions of the Atthaka Vagga are available freely; here is one that is easy to access:

1. A translation by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, available in“A Handful of Leaves” Book 4, or online at
   http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/snp/index.html#vagga-4
2. A translation by Bhikkhu Varado, available online at
   http://translations.awardspace.co.uk/pagehtml/download/AtthakaVagga.pdf

The Satipatthana Sutta - Four Foundations of Mindfulness
Bhante Gunaratana

The "Teachings of the Satipatthana Sutta - Four Foundations of Mindfulness" was offered by Bhante Gunaratana on July 12, 2008.

The teachings on the Satipatthana Sutta is known in English as The Four Foundations of Mindfulness. This sutta contains the Buddha's basic set of instructions for Vipassana meditation. In it we find a step-by-step guide to Buddhist meditation that is both practical and direct. While the Satipatthana is wide ranging in its scope, it is very concise in its presentation. In this daylong class, Bhante Gunaratana discussed the various aspects of The Four Foundations of Mindfulness: Meditation on the body, on feelings or sensations, on mind states, and on mental objects.

Buddhist Art as Buddhist Practice
Joan DePaoli

"Buddhist Art as Buddhist Practice: Dharma Wheels, Mudras and Pop Art" was offered by Joan DePaoli on January 12, 2008.

Everyone is familiar with the image of the Buddha sitting in meditation. It is an icon which takes on the aesthetic of the culture which gave rise to it: from India to Tibet; from Japan to Southeast Asia. Most recently, we can see the influence of the Dharma in the art of the west.

The earliest Dharma images were of a wheel, an empty chair, a lotus. Later, images of the Buddha portrayed him most commonly as sitting in meditation. In Japan the dharma was inherent to the design of the tea house and in the practice of inkbrush painting. By the mid 20th century, the growing Western interest in the spirituality of the East began to influence American artists for whom pop art and abstract expressionism became a means of displaying both their understanding and practice of the dharma.

Joan DePaoli is an artist, art historian, author and lecturer, and is also a curator who, since 1970, has presented exhibitions of Buddhist art in both Thailand and the United States. The day was be devoted to reviewing how visual art has been used both to commemorate the Dharma and to facilitate its practice since the time of the Buddha. There was special attention given to the Dharma's substantial influence in contemporary modern art. In describing his own practice, 20th century artist Philip Guston said: "When you go into your studio to work, everyone is there, your friends, parents, teachers, then one by one they all leave. And when you're lucky, you do!"

The Neurology of Awakening
Rick Hanson, Ph. D. and Rick Mendius, M. D.

"The Neurology of Awakening - Using New Brain Research to Deepen Your Practice" was offered by Rick Hanson and Rick Mendius on December 1, 2007.

The latest brain research has begun to confirm the centrail insights of the Buddha. And it's suggesting ways you can help your brain to enter deeper states of mindfulness, quiet, and concentration. Suffering, joy, and freedom all depend on what happens within your nervous system. Skillful meditation practice thus means being skillful with your own brain.

This experiential workshop — led by a psychologist and a neurologist — offered user-friendly information about your brain and many practical methods to apply it to meditation practice. No prior background with meditaiton or brain science is necessary.

Awareness is Not Enough
Steve Armstrong

"Awareness is Not Enough" was offered by Steve Armstrong on September 9, 2007

Steve Armstrong presents the teachings of Sayadaw U Tejaniya, who teaches that simply being aware of our experience is not sufficient for wisdom to arise. First we must understand how to practice correctly with the right attitude. Only then will wisdom and understanding arise out of practice.

The practice itself is an awareness of mind, inquiring into our experience with such questions as: What is the attitude I am practicing with? Is there a subtle defilement operating at the moment? What do I understand about my experience? Discovering the answers to these questions allows peace and happiness to arise in your heart.

Refined Knowledge, Subtle Wisdom
Steve Armstrong

"Refined Knowledge, Subtle Wisdom" was offered by Steve Armstrong on September 8, 2007

How we approach insight practice conditions what we discover. Coming to it for stress management brings one kind of result; seeking emotional intelligence and balance brings another. Buddhist insight (vipassana) practice was originally designed as a vehicle for liberation. To fulfill this potential, it helps to understand how it works as a practice of liberation.

One of the most profound teachers of insight practice in modern times was the Burmese teacher Mahasi Sayadaw. Most insight meditation taught in the world is derived from his teachings. This daylong class presented his teachings on the 'absolute view of reality' which is helpful for attaining liberation and as well as finding happiness in our busy lives. With refined knowledge of this view, we can realize for ourselves the subtle wisdom of the Buddha's liberation.

Not Two, Not Even "One": Non-Duality in Theravada and Zen Buddhism
Ajahn Amaro and Joseph Bobrow

"Not Two, Not Even "One": Non-Duality in Theravada & Zen Buddhism" was offered by Ajahn Amaro & Joseph Bobrow Roshi on June 23, 2007

Two teachers from the Thai Forest and Zen traditions explore the experience of non-duality in Buddhist practice and everyday life. Buddhist schools have diverse perspectives on non-duality: overlapping, complementing, and sometimes, through a playful exploration of differences, cross-fertilizing one another. A day of Dharma talks, meditation practice and dialogue.

Scouting the Terrain: Exploring Dependent Co-arising as a Guide to the Path
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

It stands to reason that a knowledge of the Buddha's map of the causes of suffering would give practical guidance in how to follow the path to the end of suffering. Among his most important teachings providing such guidance is that of Dependent Co-arising. By describing the conditions which give rise to suffering, Dependent Co-arising shows the way to the end of suffering. Through teachings, readings, discussion and meditation this day-long course focused on the important connections highlighted in Dependent Co-arising and their role in shaping the path of virtue, concentration, and discernment.

Sutta Text (pdf file)     Audio Index (pdf file)

Introduction to Buddhist Spiritual Care
Steve Stuckey, Jaku Kinst, and Gayle Madison

The Life and Teachings of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu
Santikaro

Buddhadasa Bhikkhu was one of the most influential Buddhist teachers in Thai history. As a forest monk he taught Buddhism as a practice of close alignment with the natural world. In this commemoration of his 100th birthday, we review his most significant contributions, the controversies that sometimes surrounded him, and how his teachings and social activism are relevant in today's West.

The Breath: A Vehicle for Liberation
Thanissaro Bhikkhu

Seeing the Path: The Buddha's Teachings on Right View
Leigh Brasington

As Large as Life: Zen Koans for Everyday Practice
Zoketsu Norman Fischer

Iddhipada: The Bases for Success
Thanissaro Bhikkhu