Bangkok Zen Club meets. Topic: Enlightenment

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1-3pm at the little Bangkok Meditation Center, Ekkamai, Sunday 13 Nov

There is no charge for this event, and no need to book in advance.

You do not need to take anything along. We’re all ready for you!

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Zen Club #6: Enlightenment Guaranteed? After sitting for six years, the Buddha realized enlightenment.  What did he realize? What is enlightenment?  “Buddha” literally means “the awakened one.”  What is an awakened person? And what is the relevance of this for people today engaging in Buddhist meditation and practices?  Is it necessary to make enlightenment the goal of Buddhist practice?  In the next Zen group meeting, we will explore these questions and more in light of the Zen tradition and modern Zen teachers, including the ideas of Dogen and Shunryu Suzuki.  We will also discuss the different views of enlightenment in Zen, and how they compare with the Theravada view.  Does enlightenment come gradually or suddenly? How is it relevant to the lives of everyday people?  These and other ideas will be presented and discussed together as a group.  We will engage in a personal and in-depth consideration of enlightenment for all of us

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About Zen Club:

The Zen Study club will be a beginners Zen Buddhism study group based around the teachings of historical Zen masters as well as contemporary Zen teachers, including the founder of San Francisco Zen Center, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and teachers from this lineage in America.

Zen is a branch of Mahayana Buddhism that started in India, then was brought to China about 1500 years ago, where it developed into a distinct school. It then spread to other Asian countries, especially Japan, before arriving in the West in the 20th century.

The club will informally explore Zen thought, practice and teachings from the perspectives of Zen sutras, stories, poems, koans (riddles), and teachings from contemporary teachers, that will be taken selectively from a large body of Zen literature. Besides an informal and fun exploration of Zen philosophy, we will incorporate some guidance on the Zen method of meditation, which is the heart of the practice.

In addition, we might show videos of dharma talks from the San Francisco Zen Center and other American Zen teachers.

Joe and Reggie will lead the session – both are long time Zen students, and although not formally trained as Buddhist teachers, have had many years of Zen practice and study. They have a strong interest in developing their own Zen Buddhist practice and sharing it with others in Thailand who might not know about Zen and its practical and ancient wisdom. There will be more focus on interaction and group discussion than lectures.

They always put in a lot of effort for these meetings – which is well appreciated!

The group is open to all who seek a beginners mind approach to an ancient and revitalized Buddhist practice as it applies to contemporary life.

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Location:

‘APARTMENTS’ Little Bangkok Meditation Centre is a 4 minute walk from Ekkamai BTS Station.

Enter Ekkamai (Sukhumvit Soi 63). Turn left into the second soi (lane). Bourbon street restaurant is on the corner. We’re the third building on the right, in the ‘APARTMENTS’ building. Go up to the top floor.

Follow the excellent map – it is very precise!