Classes

If you'd like to receive invites to classes or practice sessions, get updates, or have questions, please write Robert Walker directly, ngejungzoo@gmail.com   Anyone is welcome to attend our Saturday practice sessions, which happen about once per month, and include sitting and walking meditation and tonglen for those who have received instruction in tonglen.

We have been meeting Thursday evenings for sitting practice (6:30 pm - 7:05 pm Eastern time) and class meetings (7:05-8:45 pm approximately) for some years now. We follow the standard "Hearing - Contemplating - Meditating" approach to studying together. That is, in studying the teachings, our first intention is to listen to and understand what was said as intended by the author / speaker, then to think about that, see if this makes sense (or not) in terms of our experience, and then to mix our practice on the cushion and in life with whatever understanding we have in order to ripen that understanding within our being. So, our class discussions, which nearly always follow listening to a talk by Trungpa Rinpoche or his Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin, then discuss what we heard with the intention of understanding and making sense of what we heard in terms of our lives, having a conversation with those teachings. That's it. Classes often begin with a short introduction by the instructor, which are intended to be helpful in this process. We're not particularly trying to "modernize" the teachings to make them more palatable to current sensibilities. Participants have been and will be treated like students and colleagues, not customers.

We have been and will be at this for some time, if the house doesn't fall down. This certainly applies to the upcoming new Thursday evening class. Dharma Study Group Kalamazoo does not so much provide classes as it provides an ongoing study and practice situation. If you stick around, people tend to get to know each other, even in this online format. People are welcome to check us out for a week or two or three or four, and may come and go. Regulars make contributions. For many, $30/month is about right, but that could vary with respect to circumstances. No one will be turned away for financial reasons.

Tibetan Book of the Dead:
The Great Liberation Through Hearing
Beginning Saturday Sept. 28, 2024 and subsequent Thursday evenings

Details about this class can be found here on this website: Tibetan Book of the Dead Class - Dharma Study Group Kazoo (dsgroupkazoo.com)

 

Also beginning late Sept '24 early October:
Ongoing Class on the Shambhala Teachings
For those who have completed Shambhala Training Level 5 teachings
Saturdays 10:30-12:45 Eastern Time

If you haven't been studying with us but would like to join in, please contact me. This class will meet most Saturdays, except when we have Saturday practice days, which usually happen once per month.