The Bodhisattva Vows and the Brahmaviharas: A five-week online class with Ryushin Paul Haller

This class is offered by donation. Contact info@bmzcbelfast.org to register. Class dates are: July 18, July 25, August 1, August 8, August 15.  All classes start at 7 pm local Belfast time. You can participate live every Monday or watch the recordings at your own pace.

The Bodhisattva vows are the foundation of the all-inclusive aspiration of the Buddha Way in the Mahayana tradition. The virtues of the Brahmaviharas – benevolence, compassion, empathetic joy and equanimity – are both the cultivation and expression of those vows.

Together they offer a perennial guidance to addressing a contemporary challenge. In this age of the internet we’re frequently informed of suffering and hardships that are afflicted on peoples throughout the world and the injustices and violence that give rise to that suffering. The assertion of the first two Bodhisattva vows, “Beings are numberless” and “Delusions are inexhaustible,” seems thoroughly accurate in these times and the vow to practice with them seems compellingly appropriate. The other pair of vows, “Teachings are numberless” and “Following the Path of Awakening,” offers us the guidance and encouragement to courageously and compassionately engage the issues of our times. The Brahmaviharas guide us with teachings on the inner work that creates the capacity to take on these challenges and the disposition of benevolence with which we engage each other and all beings.

In this class we will examine the source teachings of the Bodhisattva vows and how they can inform the interactions of everyday life. Also, we will explore how to uphold the virtues of the Brahmaviharas as we navigate the complications of self and society.

Each class will offer some suggested practices and the option of being part of a small group that will meet weekly to discuss those practices.