Sailing the Worldly Winds
Fridays 7-9.30pm | Five weeks | From Feb 6th - March 6th
Course fee: €20 (includes course book, donations welcome)
Book a place below
Quaker Meeting House
It's so often the case that life seems like it moves from one storm to the next. We manage to navigate to calm waters only for the next difficulty to arise. According to the Buddha these ups and downs are not haphazard or random, they take the form of 8 worldly winds that blow us off course in life and can often lead us to trouble. These winds are Pleasure and Pain, Gain and Loss, Praise and Blame, and Fame and Infamy.
Even though all of these winds are inevitable in life, it's not that they need to be disruptive. In fact, with sufficient training and practice, we can learn to maintain positivity even when faced with strong external circumstances. This 5 week Sailing the Worldly Winds course teaches how to meet the challenges of life head on with equanimity and courage.
Course Description
Develop equanimity and courage: At the end of the course you will have the tools to meet life's ups and downs with more balance and equanimity, dropping reactions of craving and aversion.
Shed unhelpful responses: Shedding cycles of inflation followed by despair learn how to see life’s journey in a much broader perspective where the worldly winds come and go. Develop consistency and reliability in the face of changing fortunes.
Gain insight into reality: Use the circumstances of life to develop insight into the nature of reality, turning craving and aversion into an open and vibrant vision into the provisional and conditioned nature of mundane existence.
Week 1: Introduction to the Winds: Get an understanding of the winds and how they manifest in our life. Learn more about the Buddha and his teaching, placing the teaching of the worldly winds in the overall teaching of the Buddha.
Week 2: Taking the Opportunity: Learn how to navigate the winds so that they become opportunities for growth and development. Find the middle way that transcends the opposition between desired and undesired outcomes.
Week 3: Cultivating positive mental states. Get an understanding of how meditation can train a fitter mind so we are better placed to deal with life's variations.
Week 4: Moving towards wisdom. Start relating to the circumstances of life with a much broader perspective that sees the ups and downs of life from a wiser perspective and is less caught up in the currents surrounding them.
Week 5: Winds from the West. Spot how the worldly winds manifest in the 21st century West. Learn more about various current expressions of the winds that will crop up in our day to day lives in the modern setting.
Is this course for me?
The Worldly Winds course is open to everyone, including complete newcomers, and is suitable for those starting out on the Buddhist path or those with more experience. By the end of the course you will have a basic grounding in Buddhist teaching and you will be well placed to engage with any class at the Cork Buddhist Centre.
The classes take place at the Cork Buddhist Centre, in a friendly environment. They are led by Buddhist teachers who will guide you through each week's topic, answer your questions, and help you to reflect on how the teachings are relevant in your life. There will also be opportunities to connect with others, through discussion and a tea break.
Course dates: 5 Weeks, Friday 6th Feb - Friday 6th March, 7.00 - 9.30