Meditation for Challenging Times
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Paramis: Nekkhamma (Renunciation/Simplifying)

Arrive from 1pm onwards for 1.30-3.30pm  Sunday 11^th November 2018

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Topic:

Living the Dhamma in the World – The Path of the Paramis 3:

Nekkhamma  Renunciation – A Practice of Simplifying

“It is wisdom that enables letting go of a lesser happiness
in pursuit of a happiness which is greater.” 

Dhammapada 290

 

• ♦ Session Starts: 1:30-3:30pm.
• ♦ Arrival Time: Come from 1pm onwards
• ♦ Venue: This month we will be @ The Shambhala Meditation Centre, (in the Yogatique building) 116/8 Soi Sukhumvit 23, Khwaeng Khlong Toei Nuea, Khet Watthana, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110
• ♦ It is free of charge.
• ♦ No need to book.

Bring snacks to share afterwards. Please try to avoid bringing food in one-use plastic, including wrappers.

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The Paramis can be understood as enduring qualities of the heart and mind that can be cultivated and practiced in everyday life. They provide a firm and essential foundation not only for meditation practice, but for developing qualities of character that enable us to live and respond to the world from a place of heartfelt wisdom.

This month we are looking at Nekkhamma. This is the third of the Paramis and is usually translated as Renunciation. It can be understood as a letting go of the patterns of grasping that bind us to suffering and ignorance. It is the ground for the development of the fourth parami of wisdom.

We will be exploring Nekkhamma not from the perspective of deprivation (which is how it is sometimes wrongly perceived) but from the viewpoint that recognises it as a profound and liberating practice. One of simplification, that fosters freedom and joy, and promotes relationships of non-harming through letting go of particular emotions, beliefs and mind states, to make space for ones that bring greater well-being for ourselves and for the world.

It is a practice that is highly relevant for today as we become increasingly aware that what we consume, and the emotions we hold, impact not just us, but the people and the world around us.

Meditation for Challenging Times is following the Path of the Paramis or ten Perfections as a way to help us build the resilience we need to meet and engage with the many challenges we face in our lives and to support us as we try to embody the Dhamma in the world. Each session stands on its own, so it does not matter if you couldn’t join us for the first two sessions.

If you would like to engage with this month’s topic beforehand here are some links:

An article giving an overview of the Paramis

Dropping the Baggage and Listening to What Is. A teaching by Stephen Fulder (Founder of TovanaIsrael – Israel’s Insight Meditation Centre) on understanding Nekkhamma from three levels:, the ordinary, the subtle and the Bodhisattva level:

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Schedule:

Arrive from 1pm onwards for a 1.30pm start.

• 1.30 pm Welcome and Introduction to the theme of the afternoon
• 1.45 pm Meditation
• 2.15 pm Questions and feedback
• 2.30 pm  Introducing Nekkhamma – Sharing and Discussion
• 3.30 pm Tea and cakes.  Please bring some to share. It’s very important we take care of ourselves at all levels. Avoid one use plastic and wrappers if possible.

 

About Meditation for Challenging Times:

This group grew out of the concerns of members of the Little Bangkok Sangha who found themselves feeling shocked, outraged, scared, overwhelmed, sad, grieving and hopeless in the face of what is happening in the world and wanted to use the Dhamma to guide their response. 

It provides an opportunity for meditators to come together and to enquire how their practice and understanding of the Dhamma can help them to respond, both internally and practically, to the many challenges of the current times – environmental, political, personal and social. Our intention is to practice with what disturbs us, so that rather than let it divide us, it becomes a bridge that unites us – with ourselves, with others, with the world and with the Dhamma.  

We don’t expect these meetings to provide instant solutions. However, we hope that by practicing together and sharing with friends, we’ll develop a trustworthy and reliable place from which we can respond to the world around us, and help lessen any contributions we might make towards the destructive forces currently being unleashed.

Participation

Everyone who has meditated before is very welcome and we look forward to exploring the Buddhadhamma with you. Meanwhile, please feel free to post any comments or reflections below.

If you have any short teachings that are relevant and that you would like to share, please bring them along. They don’t need to be Buddhist or “spiritual” – just relevant. Also if there are any topics you would like to explore or to lead, please let us know. You can email us directly at: pipesmarye@gmail.com or mindfulaarti@gmail.com

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Facilitation

Our regular facilitators are Mary and Aarti and from time to time we are also fortunate enough to host guest teachers.

Mary Pipes has worked as a counsellor, psychotherapist, supervisor and trainer for twenty years in Asia and the UK. For over half of this time, she worked in a Buddhist-based psychotherapy tradition in the UK. The BuddhaDhamma has been a guiding influence in her life for twenty years and in 2019 she is starting a 2.5 year Dharmapala training with her teachers, Kittisaro and Thanissara.

Aarti Kapoor is the managing director and lead consultant for Embode, an agency dedicated to human rights, corporate responsibility and organisational analysis. Aarti is an experienced group facilitator and a Buddhist practitioner influenced both by the Tibetan Mahayana philosophical path and Theravada practice.

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Venue: The Shambhala Meditation Centre.

It is a ten minute walk from BTS Asok and MRT Sukhumvit and is in the Yogatique building. 116/8 Soi Sukhumvit 23, Khwaeng Khlong Toei Nuea, Khet Watthana, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110

The center is in the same building as Yogatique yoga studio:

Here is the map:  Google Link