Engaged Nonduality: Awakened Compassion in Action

with Lama Palden, hosted by Lisa Ferguson

Recording will be emailed to participants within a week.

YouÕre welcome to join even if you canÕt attend the live session.

In this session of the Engaged Nonduality series we will be joined by Lama Palden, Buddhist teacher, spiritual counselor, and author of Love on Every Breath: An Eight Step Extraordinary Tonglen Meditation for Transforming Pain into Joy.

WeÕll explore the interwoven themes of transforming our internal response to the enormous suffering of the world and allowing a wise response from a place of deep inner peace.

As we witness or experience injustice, war, starvation, and the erosion of democracy, due process and human rights, the suffering can be overwhelming. We can lose our bearings, burn out, or turn away. The ability to access deep inner wellbeing, to transform suffering into awakened compassion, is both necessary and possible.

Lama Palden is a wise guide who can offer us a pathway to transforming suffering in this way through the ancient Tibetan practice of Tonglen (Òtaking and sendingÓ), which she calls Love on Every Breath. At its heart this practice is rooted in nondual wisdom, which also gives rise to skillful responses rooted in our natural compassion, clarity and wisdom.

ÒWhen we let everything in the taking and sending dissolve into emptiness, we let go of the doer, we let go of anyone to do anything for, and we let go of anything to be done. This is nondual wisdom. We let our minds rest right there in openness inseparable with the love and compassion that has been cultivated.Ó

ÒA path of service can also be discouraging and overwhelming at times; it can leave us feeling depleted, burned-out, or angry. It can take everything and more than we have to give. In these situations Love on Every Breath can nourish and sustain us, giving us renewed energy. It can help us to remember why we are working so hard in the first place. It can help us stay true to our values and get in touch with our heartÕs deepest truth.Ó

Lama Palden, Love on Every Breath: An Eight Step Extraordinary Tonglen Meditation for Transforming Pain into Joy

In this session we will explore:

• Nourishing our hearts as we take in the pain of the world
• Transforming suffering into awakened compassion
• Recognizing our true nature and resting in nondual wisdom
• Tonglen as a path that sustains our actions and aligns us with our values

This session will include a dialogue between Lisa and Lama Palden, and interview with Lama Palden, a Tonglen meditation, and plenty of time for participant dialogues.

Bios:

Lama Palden Drolma is the founder and Senior Lama of Sukhasiddhi Foundation, a Tibetan Buddhist center. Lama Palden transmits, trains, and mentors students and clients, passing on the teachings and practices that enable one to reach complete awakening. She has a lifelong interest in what we can do to benefit humanity and our Mother Earth, as well as Comparative Mysticism and Inter-spirituality. Lama Palden worked for years as a licensed psychotherapist, and does Spiritual Counseling at the intersection of the spirituality and psychology. Her book, Love on Every Breath, is on the practice of Extraordinary Tonglen.

Lisa Ferguson, Ph.D. is the founder of the Engaged Nonduality series and sangha, which connects the recognition of our non-separateness with our engaged response to suffering, injustice and separation. She also founded Climate Compassion, which supports the inner and outer work of attending to our world in crisis. Weaving the threads of awakening, healing and service, she offers meditative inquiry groups, 1:1 sessions, workshops and trainings that integrate spiritual inquiry, psychological healing, and leadership development as expression of our unique service offering.

Sliding Scale: $15 to $40

However, no one turned away for lack of funds.

If you canÕt pay within the sliding scale, contact us to let us know what you can contribute.

Address inquiries to web@opencircle.net

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