Taking the Mind’s Nature as the Path
An Introduction to Mahamudra
Friday evenings, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Weekly, starting June 30 to Aug. 25
with Robert Sperry, from the Tibetan tradition
At the BIBS Center, 660 N. 9th Street
Please RSVP to boisecoder@gmail.com
BIBS is offering an eight-week book study on Fridays at 6:30 pm, working with the book Mind at Ease by Traleg Kyabgon. Attendees should have a copy of the book; selected sections are to be assigned as reading homework. There will be a meditation session at the start of each class.
“Mahamudra uses the expression ‘ordinary mind’ (thamal gyi shepa in Tibetan) to describe the nature of the mind as the mind we already have. The nature of the mind is not lurking somewhere underneath our normal empirical consciousness. Rather, we gain insight into the nature of the mind by gaining insight into this ordinary mind.”
from Mind at Ease “What is Mahamudra?”
The first evening’s class will draw from Chapter 1, the beginning of Chapter 2, and the first twelve pages of Chapter 5, so if you are preparing in advance those are the sections to have read.
Robert Sperry began his study of Buddhism in 1969 guided by a Sri Lankan scholar in the Theravada tradition. In the ensuing years he studied and practiced in the Zen and Vajrayana traditions primarily, and performed the Chenrezi sadhana of Thangtong Gyalpo for the major part of a decade, during which time he assisted Tibetan refugees in the Tibetan Resettlement Project. In 2001 he had the exceptionally good fortune of receiving instruction from the Dzogchen master Namkhai Norbu. In 2008 he began Mahamudra practice as a student of Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche and has continued that practice without interruption. He has no credentials in the Dharma but sincerely encourages others to explore how it might relate to their own lives.
Boise Institute for Buddhist Studies 