By Katharine (Kitty) White
On the evening of Friday, March 30th, I joined 5 other Sangha members (Wanda, Arthur, Rose and Lynnette) in experiencing the Last Friday Silent Supper at Judy Douglas’ home. After everyone had arrived and exchanged warm greetings, we gathered in front of Judy’s laptop to watch a video.
It featured Dr. Lilian Cheung, who co-authored the book, Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life
Stephen Batchelor’s Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
Below, individual OIMG Book Club members offer in their own words reflections on the insights they are experiencing from our weekly reviews of each chapter, starting with chapters 1-4. (more…)
In reading Stephen Batchelor’s 1997 book Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening,
Over the past couple of months, Peter has been suggesting we individually and as a sangha explore “What will (our) Buddhist community, centered here in Winter Park FL, look like in the 21st century?” The Wednesday dharma talks are offering a lot of practical tools/ways that we can bring the dharma into our day to day lives.
At a sangha steering committee meeting, in response to varied discussion about coming up with ways to answer that question further, I volunteered to help initiate some type of sangha (Oprah?) book club, starting with Batchelor’s book. (more…)
Peter Carlson writes: Wisdom Wide and Deep
What is wisdom? The Wikipedia provides this definition:
“Wisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgments and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one’s emotional reactions (the “passions”) so that universal principles, reason and knowledge prevail to determine one’s actions. Wisdom is also the comprehension of what is true or right coupled with optimum judgment as to action. Synonyms include: sagacity, discernment, or insight.”
What stands out for me in the definition is “resulting in the ability to apply…” Wisdom isn’t just about being able to use language, or quote something, but being able to act in a way that is true or right. What makes something true or right? I believe what applies value to our choices will involve a sense of ethics. My intention here is to develop an understanding of wisdom from a perspective that includes traditional Buddhist references, blended with modern scientific and psychological references, in the hope that it will be understood and applied in ways that are of benefit for our 21st century circumstances.
