Monthly Buddhist Teachings | with Venerable Robina Courtin | June

Co-hosted with the Shantideva Center Wednesday, June 10 6:30 - 8:00 PM ET In-person & Online | $25 These monthly Buddhist teachings with Ven Robina Courtin include a 90-minute dharma talk on a variety of subjects, including a question and answer period at the end of the lecture. This month, the lecture featured is: TOOLS FOR HAPPINESS We all want to be happy, but why is it that no matter how hard we try, we are so often thwarted in our efforts? According to Buddhism it is because we are literally looking in the wrong place. Although it seems that the world out there – things, people, events – are the cause of our happiness, this is a misconception. For Buddha, what goes in our mind is the main cause of our happiness, and one way of presenting all of Buddha’s teachings is as a series of tools for accomplishing it. The key to success is to become intimately familiar with our mind – the whole spectrum of our thoughts, feelings, and emotions – and to learn how to unravel and deconstruct them and, finally, change them. As Lama Zopa Rinpoche says, “We can mold our mind into any shape we like.” In this workshop, we will explore in depth the workings of the human mind, how to become vividly aware of our emotions and feelings, and how to gradually develop the astonishing potential within each one of us, for our own sake and the sake of others. BIO Venerable Robina Courtin has worked full-time for Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s organization, the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, since her ordination in the late 1970s. Over the years she has served as editorial director of Wisdom Publications, editor of Mandala Magazine, executive director of Liberation Prison Project, and as a touring teacher of Buddhism. Her life and work with prisoners have been featured in the documentary films Chasing Buddha and Key to Freedom. Venerable Robina is known for her straightforward and energetic teaching style, helping people discover the potential of their own minds with clear explanations about Tibetan Buddhism and how to apply it to their lives. Visit her website at http://www.robinacourtin.com.