In the beginning was the human condition: the Buddha’s new way to work with it by Winton Higgins

As mentioned previously we are alternating talks from a series on Secular Buddhism by Winton Higgins with the series of talks "Homedweller Practice" by John Daido Loori.

The series is called "Making the most of the human condition", and the first talk is.........

"In the beginning was the human condition: the Buddha’s new way to work with it."



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Homedweller Practice by John Daido Loori - Introduction

As you know most of the talks featured here are ones that I have taken along to the Newport Soto Zen group which I attend on Thursday evenings. Dave who runs and hosts the group has a large collection of talks by John Daido Loori the Zen Master who was the founder and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, New York.

We are featuring a collection of talks by Daido Loori entitled "Homedweller Practice". The series splits into four groups of talks and we will be providing a talk from another series, this time by Winton Higgins on the subject of secular Buddhism, as an interlude between the groups.

The first group of talks are a two-part introduction.

Part One


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Part Two


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Mahakaccana; Clarifying The Most Cryptic Teachings by Shaila Catherine

Shaila Catherine concludes the lecture series on the Great Disciples, with a talk about the Venerable Mahakaccana. He was a monk famous for explaining difficult and perplexing teachings.

He addressed profound topics including the construction of I-making and mine-making, craving, conceit, views, mindfulness of sense perceptions, obsession with thoughts of past and future, and overcoming desire and lust. His methods of exposition became the basis of early commentary, and Mahakaccana became known as the first Buddhist commentator.



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RETREAT TALK - Whatever Helps by Ajahn Munindo

Yesterday, here at the West Wight Sangha, we held our Winter meditation retreat. We aim to have a
retreat seasonally every quarter and we open the doors to our friends from all the other Buddhist groups on the island.

As it poured down all day we couldn't get out for our usual garden-based activities so stayed indoors for a food-based set of mindfulness exercises and a Dharma talk.

The talk was by Ajahn Munindo and is entitled "Whatever Helps".



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Ajahn Munindo is the abbot of Aruna Ratanagiri Buddhist Monastery which is a Theravada Buddhist monastery of the Thai Forest Tradition in Northumberland.

We also used a guided body scan meditation by Leigh Brasington.



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Rahula, Son Of The Buddha by Margaret Gainer

This is the fifth talk in the series on the Great Disciples, the speaker, Margaret Gainer, tells the story of the Buddha's son, Rahula.

Margaret Gainer who began Buddhist meditation practice in 1995 and teaches at several San Francisco Bay area meditation groups and churches. Margaret completed Sati Centre Buddhist Chaplaincy Training, and since 2005 has taught a weekly meditation class for women inmates at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas.

Interestingly, Margaret is a member of the First Congregational Church of San Jose and brings Buddhist teachings and understanding into the life of the church.

There's a mistake concerning mixing up two of the characters in the story, see if you can spot it.........



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Anathapindika by Ed Haertel

In this fourth talk in the lecture series on the Great Disciples, the speaker, Ed Haertel, tells the life story of Anathapindika.

He was not a monk, and he is remembered as the foremost in generosity among the Buddha's followers. He received teachings from the Buddha that consisted a comprehensive code of conduct for conscientious lay followers of the Buddha. In this way, Anathapindika has become a benefactor to all those in the future, who try to follow the path of liberation.



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TUESDAY TALK - Cultivating The Four Brahma Viharas by Martine Batchelor

This is the second of our new series of monthly talks that we are having at the West Wight Sangha.

As our meetings are shorter than those at the Newport Soto Zen group the talks are perforce also shorter.

This talk is Cultivating The Four Brahma Viharas by Martine Batchelor and is just under 26 minutes long.



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Angulimala: An Ethical Transformation by Shaila Catherine

In this third talk in the lecture series on the Great Disciples, Shaila Catherine, tells the life story of Angulimala and his transformation from notorious robber and murdered to a peaceful, compassionate, truthful, and awakened monk. It is an inspiring example of the power of restraint, and the potential for redemption. Habits and dispositions do not need to control our lives. We can stop unwholesome, unhealthy, and harmful courses of conduct. We can purify our minds.



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Ananda; The Man With The Questions by Thanissaro Bhikkhu

In this second talk in the lecture series on the Great Disciples, the speaker, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, talks about the contributions by Ananda to the Dharma. Because of his incredible memory, what we know in the Pali Canon today came mostly from Ananda's recollection of the Buddha's teachings. He described in detail who came to the Buddha, what were their question/problem, and how the Buddha addressed that particular question/problem. This is an important contribution to our understanding of how the Dharma was taught, because so much of it depended on who was asking what, and what kind of teaching was the best for them. Another debt that we owe Ananda is that he asked the Buddha questions that no one had asked. And Ananda's questions in turn sparked the Buddha to explain things or do things that he otherwise might not have explained or done.



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Kisa Gotami; Buddha's Deep Compassion Toward Women by Ayya Santussika

This talk is one of five in the lecture series the Great Disciples of the Buddha.

Ayya Santussika, in residence at Karuna Buddhist Vihara (Compassion Monastery), spent five years as an anagarika (eight-precept nun), then ordained as a samaneri (ten-precept nun) in 2010 and as a bhikkhuni (311 rules) in 2012 at Dharma Vijaya Buddhist Vihara in Los Angeles.

 Ayya Santussika was born in Illinois in 1954 and grew up on a farm in Indiana. While being a single mother, she received BS and MS degrees in computer science and moved with her two children to the San Francisco Bay Area. She worked as a software designer and developer for fifteen years. Her search for deeper meaning and ways to be of service led her to train as an interfaith minister in a four-year seminary program that culminated in an Masters of Divinity degree and a brief period of practice as a minister before ordaining as a Buddhist nun.



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