Online Daylong Teaching with Ajaan Geoff
Topic: Self-Making & Not-Self
Wednesday Dec 30 2020
10 am - noon; 2pm - 3:30pm PST
The Aranya Refuge Project welcomes you to participate in a day of teachings from Ajaan Geoff, also known as Thanissaro Bhikkhu, abbot of Metta Forest Monastery in San Diego county.
Description
The Buddha refused to answer the question of whether there is or is not a self. So what are we to make of the not-self teaching? And what of his statements to the effect that the self is its own mainstay? This daylong will explore these issues, showing that the Buddha used both the perceptions of self and not-self as strategies for happiness and as aids on the path to not-clinging, and that both perceptions should be put aside at the end of the path. We will also look into when and what kinds of self perceptions are useful on the path, and when and what kinds of not-self perceptions are more useful.
Reading Materials
Reading materials provided by Ajaan Geoff for the online retreat can be found here.
Schedule
10 am - 10:15 am Join the Zoom room
10:15 am - noon Guided meditation, teachings and Q&A
2 pm - 3:30 pm Teachings and Q&A
Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) has been a Theravada Buddhist monk since 1976. After studying in Thailand with Ajaan Fuang Jotiko, he returned to the US in 1990 to help found the Metta Forest Monastery in the mountains north of San Diego. In 1993, Ajaan Geoff was asked to be the abbot and has continued to train monastics and offer teachings to lay people in North America, South America, Asia and Europe. Ajaan Geoff is a highly respected scholar and practitioner of the Buddha's teachings. His many recorded talks and writings can be found here https://www.dhammatalks.org
The teachings of the Buddha are offered freely.
Offering Dana
For those who are inspired to offer support to Metta Forest Monastery:
Mail a cheque to:
Metta Forest Monastery
P.O. Box 1409
Valley Center, CA 92082 - 1409
Or Send by PayPal
https://www.dhammatalks.org/donations.html
For those who are inspired to offer support to the Aranya Refuge Project
https://www.aranyarefuge.ca/offer-support
Your support of Aranya Refuge will make it possible for monks of Wat Metta to train and practice on Vancouver Island. When travel restrictions are lifted, our intention is to host two monks for one month or longer. The longer term goal is to support Ajaan Geoff's vision of a hermitage on Vancouver Island.
With gratitude for the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha.
Sincerely,
Aranya Refuge Project Organizers
Brock Brown, Russ Callaghan, Jacqui Balfour, John Jordan, June Fukushima