Karuna Buddhist Vihara
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Receiving the Heavenly Messengers

​A 5-week series on aging, sickness, death and awakening

Taught by Ayya Santussika Bhikkhuni
and Dr. William Buchholz

Picture
Tuesdays   7:00 pm – 9:00 pm  
January 10 – February 7
At the ​Health & Wellness Center
749 Brewster Avenue

Redwood City, CA
   OR
Wednesday   1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
January 11 – February 8, 2017
Insight Meditation Center
108 Birch Street

Redwood City, CA
​Raised as a prince where he was kept from seeing any suffering, one day the Buddha left the palace to see what the world was really like. He saw the plight of a sick person, an aged person and a corpse. When asked if this would happen to him he was told it would, all humans suffer this way. He then saw a wandering monk walking serenely through the street. Struck by these Heavenly Messengers he vowed to find the path to enlightenment and an end to suffering.

The natural experiences of aging, sickness and death carry a potent and liberating message, pointing the way through the fourth heavenly messenger to realization of unshakeable peace. How can we prepare on both the practical and spiritual levels to skillfully navigate these experiences and receive their message?

The sessions in this 5-week course will include Dhamma teachings, small group inquiry and discussion, meditation and other spiritual practices, homework and application of practical tools such as:
  • How to make an Advance Directive that actually works
  • How to work with your doctors to get the care you want
  • How to use self-compassion as you encounter the limits of aging and illness​
​For your convenience, this course will be presented on Tuesday evenings and then repeated on the following Wednesday afternoons. Choose the most convenient time for you.

​Commitment to attend all five sessions is essential. 

No Cost ~ Donations Welcome ~ No Registration Required

​Ayya Santussika trained and practiced as an interfaith minister before becoming a Theravadan Buddhist nun in 2005. She teaches Dhamma, provides pastoral care and spiritual guidance counseling. She is co-founder and abbess of Karuna Buddhist Vihara in Mountain View. Currently, a central theme in her personal practice is the care of her 90-year-old mother. For more information about Ayya Santussika, click here.

Dr. Bill Buchholz was educated at Harvard and Stanford, practicing oncology on the Peninsula from 1978 to 2014. He has been a Vipassana practitioner for over 40 years and a graduate of the 2-year Heavenly Messenger program at Spirit Rock. He speaks to lay and professional groups on End of Life care, preparing Advance Directives, and the California law regarding Physician Assisted Death. He is on the ethics committee at El Camino Hospital and the Santa Clara Medical Association. For more information about Dr. Buchholz and his publications, go to 
livingbeyondexpectationsblog.wordpress.com

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Click below for a downloadable flyer
hm_flyer.pdf
File Size: 305 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Homework & Resources

909 Coachella Ave, Sunnyvale CA 94085
408-354-3305
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