[Downtown Dharma Listserve] IMCW Downtown Dharma April 21 Brunch and Discussion of Wise Intention

Greetings everyone,

 

I am writing to give further information on the Buddha Brunch I am hosting next weekend.

 

When:    Saturday, April 21, at 12:00 pm.

Where:  1827 Summit Place, NW, Apt. G4

Logistics:  My apartment is located in the Harvard Village Complex.  There are

red and white signs at the entrance to the complex.  The buildings are red brick,

and my entrance is in the center of the courtyard.  There is no buzzer, so you will

have to text me at (202) 460-1722 and I will let you in.

 

Topic:  Wise Intention

Reading:  The attached reading I selected is, "The Road to Nirvana Is Paved with Skillful

Intentions," from Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff)'s essay collection, Noble

Strategy, Essays of the Buddhist Path.   The author is a monk in the Thai Forest Tradition

of Theravada Buddhism.

 

Excerpt:  "Examining the results of our actions requires maturity as well: a

mature realization that self-esteem can't be based on always being right, and that

there's nothing demeaning or degrading in admitting a mistake. We all come

from a state of delusion—even the Buddha was coming from delusion as he

Awakening—so it's only natural that there will be mistakes. Our human dignity l

ies in our ability to recognize those mistakes, to resolve not to repeat them, and

to stick to that resolution."

Technical Note:  If you are to open the attachment containing the single essay, the "The

Road to Nirvana," it is the third essay in the collection Noble Strategy, the entirety of

which can be found at:

http://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/Writings/NobleStrategy.pdf. 

 

 

 Audiophiles and those who don't have an opportunity to complete the reading, here is a link to a 10 min Supplemental Talk on the topic from Thanissaro Bhikkhu:

 

http://www.dhammatalks.org/Archive/TheEightfoldPath/2_071122%20Right%20Resolve.mp3