Lektion 1
First Paramita: Generosity
In this session, we’ll reflect on the first Paramita, generosity. First, we’ll expand our understanding of what it means to be generous, and the many ways that generosity can present itself. We’ll examine how generosity goes beyond giving and extends into receiving as well and discuss the benefits of generous acts. Once we expand our understanding of the nature of generosity, we will conclude with a practice designed to connect you with your own innate potential to give and receive more deeply.
Lektion 2
Second Paramita: Ethical Integrity/ Virtue
In today’s lesson, we’ll explore the concepts of moral and ethical integrity, otherwise known as virtue. According to Buddhist philosophy, it is one of the three essential pillars of the practice. We will come to understand the true nature of virtue and how it supports everything we do as spiritual seekers. I will share detailed wisdom about how we can use virtue as a compass for the choices we make. We will explore what the world would be like if more of us were driven by ethical integrity. The lesson will be closed with a guided meditation to guide you toward your innate virtuousness, and invite you to spend time mindfully cultivating it.
Lektion 3
Third Paramita: Renunciation/ Letting Go
Today, I will invite you to embrace the third Paramita, Renunciation, or the act of letting go. We will discuss the variations on renunciation, as there are many ways to interpret and apply this concept to our lives and our interactions with the world. We will learn how to allow renunciation to free us, and step forward into that freedom with a full heart. At the close, I will guide us through a meditative self-inquiry to give you actionable steps toward embracing renunciation in your daily life.
Lektion 4
The Fourth Paramita: Wisdom/ Discernment
Building upon yesterday’s lesson, today’s topic of discernment will allow for richer practicing of all the other Paramitas. Today we will examine the true meaning of wisdom and how it informs our ability to engage with the world in a new and deeper way. The lesson will conclude with an insightful variation of Vipassana practice, helping activate your inner wisdom and open yourself to its teachings.
Lektion 5
Fifth Paramita: Wise Effort/ Persistence
In this lesson, I will introduce the Paramita of persistence. We will consider our personal relationships with the concept of effort, and clarify its meaning through the lens of Buddhist philosophy. In learning about persistence, we activate it within and allow it to motivate us into the next phase of our transformation. At the end of today’s discussion, I will guide us through a body scan meditation focused on nurturing persistence of relaxation.
Lektion 6
Sixth Paramita: Patience
Today, we will discuss patience, the sixth Paramita. Patience comes in many forms, and I will share with you all of its shapes and the benefits of engaging in the powerful practice of patience. With this understanding, your relationship with patience will be deepened and engaged, allowing you to easily awaken and access your innate patience for the benefit of all beings. I will share a lovely story of the Buddha on exercising patience, then I will guide you on a brief forgiveness practice, a powerful way to cultivate patience.
Lektion 7
Seventh Paramita: Truthfulness
Today, we will examine truthfulness as it relates to Buddhist philosophy and is our Seventh Perfection. In understanding truthfulness, we cannot only connect more deeply to our innate goodness, but purify ourselves and our interactions and understand the true meaning of living fully present. The lesson will close with a practice that encourages you to examine your own relationship with the truth and how you can further cultivate a more truthful tomorrow.
Lektion 8
Eighth Paramita: Determination/ Resolve
In today’s lesson, I will deepen our understanding of resolve or determination, an imperative piece to this healing path. We will learn what resolve is and how it interconnects with and informs the other 9 Paramitas. Through strengthening your motivation and finding ease in that determination, you will be able to commit to your practice more effectively and live in a state of balanced forward-momentum. The lesson will conclude with a guided meditation inviting and exercising your own determination.
Lektion 9
Ninth Paramita: Loving Kindness
Today, I will share wisdom about Loving Kindness, or Metta. This lesson will expand our awareness of what loving kindness is, and how it affects our relationship with ourselves and others. In understanding and tapping into our innate loving kindness, we elevate ourselves and our practice to be bathed in and guided by pure, benevolent love. It will infuse itself into your life - making everything you do into an extension of your spiritual practice. We will close today’s sessions with an intro to the Loving Kindness meditation practice, as Loving Kindness is not only a perfection but also a powerful meditation technique.
Lektion 10
Tenth Paramita: Equanimity
In the final lesson of this course, I will introduce the concept of equanimity, or mental equilibrium. In cultivating this Paramita, we will aspire toward a steady, balanced nature, able to ride the waves of our thoughts, feelings, and experiences without being consumed by them. We will delve into the various ways this manifests in our lives and our interactions with others and become acquainted with new ways to nurture our own innate inner poise, to keep a sense of calm within any chaos we may encounter. I will then share with a set of powerful affirmations to help you cultivate a sense of inner balance and ease to help you navigate life’s ups and downs and remind you how everything is simply passing by us, if we allow it to.
