Bodhisattva Training

November 15, 2014

Date and Time Details: Sat Nov 15th, 8:00 am

In the Buddhist vision of life, each one of us are called to uplift the world, to help others and to be the agent of good on the scene. This course focuses on cultivating awakened leadership, a mind-set where the ends and means are both equally valued, where we can offer our work in the world as loving service that comes from a sense of wholeness and presence rather than from a sense of hectic tension or unconsciousness busy-ness. Pema Khandro offers this ground breaking class for leaders, teachers, practitioners, business people, artists, health educators who want to bring that potent ingredient of Buddhist wisdom to the work that they do. It is as practical as it is inspirational, consisting of short lectures, question and answer sessions and heart-felt advise from one of the few female Buddhist leaders and teachers in Tibetan Buddhist history. Visit our Calendar for upcoming classes!

Pre-requisites: Open to all participating in the Vajrayana Training course or for Vajra Sangha members.
Click here to apply for Bodhisattva Training or for more information

Its time for a story of a new kind of hero and heroine. The story of the hero who conquers through aggression and is doomed to be isolated from the people he loves the most – that is outdated. The story of the successful CEO that dies of a stress induced heart-attack at a young age is outdated. Its time for a new hero story to emerge – a time for a story of a new leadership to emerge. It is a new story based courage based on compassion and connection. It is based on service and vision. It is based on another kind of strength besides aggression – the power of communication and the strength that comes from love and humor.

There are some legends like this in Buddhism, stories of dharma heroes and heroines, who conquered the cause of war altogether by finding impeccable awareness. In these legends the key was always magic. A secret we have to realize is that this magic isn’t about super-powers – it is the magic of having unrelenting enlightened intent. This doesn’t have to remain the stuff of legends. This can be the story of a new leadership, a new hero, a new heroine who shows up from the world with a clarity of being that is transformative of itself. The telling of that story is up to us – we must live it and be it in a world that has largely lost sight of skillful means as a possibility.

Every person should do what we can to bring whatever rays of sanity we can to dark times. We can’t wait until we are perfect or have more time. We have to act on our most enlightened intentions in a our daily life now.

There are no small acts. It all adds up. So this way of being is a matter of discipline. It is a discipline of  bringing constant vigilance to our actions. This is the message behind Buddhist teachings on karma, we have to question our motivations and mindsets. Because aggression and compulsive busy-ness that has no vision behind it permeates our cultural mind-set, we must be vigilant.

We must also be prepared. Our training must be thorough, in-depth and constant, interwoven with our daily lives. We are called to a way of being that is beyond brute force – the path of skillful engagement on the uneasy ground of real life circumstances. Showing up with the mind bent on awakening to our every day opens up a kind of epic space where we can be heroic.
~ Pema Khandro
www.PemaKhandro.org