Sutta Study
Note: Our Existing Sutta Study Groups are currently full. To find out about future openings or new groups, check this page periodically.
For more information, or to be placed on a wait list, contact Catherine Brousseau at cbrousseau@starpower.net
Sutta Study
A sutta study group offers the opportunity to explore the discourses in the Pali Canon. The Pali Canon is the earliest recorded collection of the Buddha's teachings, and the foundation for the present-day Theravada Buddhism of South East Asia. Said to have been preserved through oral tradition from the time of the Buddha himself, the suttas (discourses) were first written down in Sri Lanka about 100 BC. Excellent modern English translations have recently become available, making these ancient teachings more accessible to us than ever.
The Canon contains a wealth of material on many different aspects of the spiritual path, from the practical to the profound, and can provide context, guidance and inspiration. By going back and looking at these ancient texts, we can understand the messages of modern spiritual teachers and our own practice more deeply.
Study groups meet once a month to read and discuss a sutta. The discussion is relaxed and informal, with an emphasis on finding the relevance of the ancient teachings for our own lives and spiritual practice. Participants are expected to have an ongoing meditation practice to serve as a foundation for study. It's not necessary to have had any previous study of the suttas to join a group, just a healthy interest and willingness to learn.
The group functions more or less like a book club, with leadership rotating for each sutta. The group reads through the sutta together, one paragraph or section at a time. In between, people may bring up questions, share impressions, offer clarification, or discuss anything else that comes to mind. Reading and discussing the suttas in a group this way is very rich and really brings them to life. People find it much more fun, engaging and effective than trying to study alone.
The basic text that we work from is:
The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Nanamoli (Translator), Bhikkhu Bodhi (Editor)
Wisdom Publications; ISBN: 086171072X; (March 1995)
List Price: $65. Available for about $45 from Amazon.com and sometimes stocked on the shelves of larger bookstores.
Many of the suttas, as well as related essays and commentary, can also be found on the wonderful "Access to Insight" web site.
For more information, or to be placed on a wait list, contact Catherine Brousseau at cbrousseau@starpower.net
Sutta Study
A sutta study group offers the opportunity to explore the discourses in the Pali Canon. The Pali Canon is the earliest recorded collection of the Buddha's teachings, and the foundation for the present-day Theravada Buddhism of South East Asia. Said to have been preserved through oral tradition from the time of the Buddha himself, the suttas (discourses) were first written down in Sri Lanka about 100 BC. Excellent modern English translations have recently become available, making these ancient teachings more accessible to us than ever.
The Canon contains a wealth of material on many different aspects of the spiritual path, from the practical to the profound, and can provide context, guidance and inspiration. By going back and looking at these ancient texts, we can understand the messages of modern spiritual teachers and our own practice more deeply.
Study groups meet once a month to read and discuss a sutta. The discussion is relaxed and informal, with an emphasis on finding the relevance of the ancient teachings for our own lives and spiritual practice. Participants are expected to have an ongoing meditation practice to serve as a foundation for study. It's not necessary to have had any previous study of the suttas to join a group, just a healthy interest and willingness to learn.
The group functions more or less like a book club, with leadership rotating for each sutta. The group reads through the sutta together, one paragraph or section at a time. In between, people may bring up questions, share impressions, offer clarification, or discuss anything else that comes to mind. Reading and discussing the suttas in a group this way is very rich and really brings them to life. People find it much more fun, engaging and effective than trying to study alone.
The basic text that we work from is:
The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (Teachings of the Buddha) by Bhikkhu Nanamoli (Translator), Bhikkhu Bodhi (Editor)
Wisdom Publications; ISBN: 086171072X; (March 1995)
List Price: $65. Available for about $45 from Amazon.com and sometimes stocked on the shelves of larger bookstores.
Many of the suttas, as well as related essays and commentary, can also be found on the wonderful "Access to Insight" web site.
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