COURSE

Walking The Buddha's Path In A Time Of Crisis

Ordinary life is hard already, with everything we have to do, track, and take care of. Then along comes another crisis! As I’m writing this, the coronavirus pandemic is still growing in devastation around the world. People are out of work, the economy is crashing, loved ones are getting sick or dying, and many of us are confused and scared. Can meditation and spiritual practice help in a moment like this? It can, but not necessarily in the way we want. This course explores the Buddha’s radical approach to transforming despair into wisdom, hopelessness into confidence, and confusion into clarity. It’s for beginners but goes deep fast. We start with pain and end with a taste of liberation, and in the process learn how to move through life with more joy, peace of mind, and love.

Contemplation Happiness Health & Happiness Stress & Anxiety Self-Observation Traditional Buddhism Religion Buddhism Fear Mindfulness Acceptance Wisdom Love Relationships

Meet your Teacher

Sean Oakes

Sebastopol, CA, USA

Sean Feit Oakes, PhD teaches Buddhism and Haṭha Yoga with a focus on the integration of meditation, embodiment, healing, and social action. He has studied in Theravāda, Zen, and Vajrāyāna Buddhist lineages, including training as a monk in Burma, and was authorized to teach Insight Meditation by Jack Kornfield. He trained in Yoga with David Moreno and Alice Joanou, and Somatic Experiencing and Organic Intelligence with Steven Hoskinson. Dr. Oakes received his PhD from UC Davis in 2016, and teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, East Bay Meditation Center, Ashtanga Yoga Berkeley, and online with Yoga International, The Sutra Project, Insight Timer, and others.

10 Days

6.3k students

4.8 stars

17 min / day

Happiness

English

Lesson 1

This Is Hard!

We begin with the obvious: this is hard! The coronavirus crisis seems like a disruption to “business as usual” but it’s really a wake-up call to come out of denial. The path begins with an approach that is simple but profound: being with our experience just as it is, without clinging to fantasies of it being better. Only from this willingness to be present with what is can we begin to turn the heart toward peace and wisdom. In this lesson we learn a basic mindfulness practice called “orientation.

Lesson 2

Everything Is Workable

When we meet difficulty with presence, and take everything as part of the path, a powerful clarity arises in the heart. Traditionally called “faith,” in Buddhism this refers to the confidence we feel when we trust our teachers and elders, and the teachings, to guide us. We know everything is workable, and this becomes the path out of hopelessness and despair, and into the heart of practice. In this lesson we explore the Buddhist practice of “going for refuge.”

Lesson 3

Pleasure Is The Path

Now we start to engage with the nuts and bolts of practice: how we direct our attention, and how to interrupt the habits of distraction and anxiety. The inspiration that begins our practice develops here into a subtle joy and confidence, but we have to attend carefully to the hindrances. In this lesson we bring together the first two aspects of embodied meditation practice: orientation to our physical space, and allowing our attention to connect with things that are pleasurable, beautiful, interesting, or at least neutral.

Lesson 4

Enjoy Your Meditation

Do you treat meditation like a chore, or a self-care discipline, like exercise or cleaning your house? That’s ok, but like any discipline, it only really takes off when you begin to enjoy it. When you want to spend time doing it, not just for the hoped-for results like less anxiety or stress, but because it’s one of the loveliest parts of your day. Learning to make pleasure the heart of meditation practice builds embodiment, relaxation, and concentration, and helps you to both prioritize and deepen in practice. In this lesson we learn an embodied meditation style based in full body breathing.

Lesson 5

Fall In Love With Stillness

Enjoying meditation means enjoying stillness. Even if stillness doesn’t come naturally to you, or if turning inward brings up painful memories or emotions, silence and stillness can be learned. Modern cultures have lost the taste for tranquillity, but learning to rest in a state that’s peaceful, sober, and lucid is one of the most nourishing gifts we can give to the body and mind. In this lesson we work directly with the senses, and how to minimize distraction and deepen relaxation.

Lesson 6

Love & Happiness

It may seem like happiness is inappropriate in a moment of crisis, but the opposite is true! When we’re calm, resourced, and happy, it’s easy to care for ourselves and others, and happiness is one of the most powerful supports for insight and wisdom. The more we connect with our innate ability to be present and connected to goodness, the more happiness will become a part of everything we do, including how we respond in an emergency. In this lesson we learn a basic form of lovingkindness (mettā) practice.

Lesson 7

Mindfulness—Not For The Faint Of Heart!

Meditation and mindfulness are not the first steps in practice, but build on the core skills of emotional stability and orientation to the present moment. Mindfulness in Buddhism is a systematic inquiry into our human experience, and demands courage, confidence, and self-love. It is embodied, emotional, and intimate. As it matures, mindfulness flowers into wisdom, and is the doorway to a radical shift in our way of being in the world. In this lesson we learn a classic Buddhist form of moment to moment mindfulness practice.

Lesson 8

It's Like This

The heart of the Buddha’s wisdom teachings, known as Dhamma, is the invitation to understand our human experience directly, through intimate contact with life. Intimacy with life reveals three important aspects of all experience: nothing is permanent or ultimately reliable, and no experience, even of the body, heart, or mind, is stable enough to be called “me, myself, or mine.” These insights challenge the core of our identities, plans, and worldview, but they open into an extraordinary freedom. In this lesson we learn a simple practice for turning mindfulness toward clear seeing.

Lesson 9

Enlightenment Means Growing Up

The heart of liberation is a specific kind of letting go. The challenge with letting go is that we can't do it on purpose, any more than we can rush the process of becoming a mature adult. It takes life experience, and the emotional integration of that experience, to truly grow up. As we develop even very basic forms of meditation and mindfulness, we begin to understand the habit of grasping and what it feels like when grasping releases. In this lesson we explore disengaging from addictive sensory stimulation and deepening in the joy of simple presence.

Lesson 10

What Wisdom Feels Like

Because the habits we’re working to change have their roots deep in our being, it's important to recognize when they shift, even in subtle ways. Liberation is not an all or nothing experience. Every little release from grasping and fear is a little liberation, and every bit of insight builds on the last. In this lesson we practice recognizing when grasping is absent, and savoring the taste of liberation. And we set the foundations in place for a lifetime of practice, deepening in love and presence for the well-being of everyone in the world.

Ask your teacher

This course includes 105 community questions and 5 audio replies from Sean Oakes. The community classroom and teacher audio replies are only available via the app.

105

4.8 (478)

Recent Reviews

Scott

May 20, 2024

Such a well structured course; I learned a lot from Dr. Oakes.

Julie

September 20, 2023

A wonderful, exceptionally concise overview of Buddhist practices in mindfulness and meditation.

EVE

August 20, 2023

WOW! This was transformational!

Jennifer

August 1, 2023

Wonderful course. My second time. It’s so inspiring and hopeful.

Kenneth

June 10, 2023

Thank you for a nice series… I appreciate your generosity!

Helen

June 3, 2023

There can be a moment in every life when these words, ideas and practices will resonate. I believe I have found mine. Namaste 🙏

Magdalena

March 30, 2023

Nice

Vivian

March 18, 2023

Thank you for this comprehensive course on buddhism, living in the kind of pain Im living, I find Buddhism is a path towards some kind of acceptance and maybe liberation, not of the actual circumstances but of the way to learn to live with it. Thank you 🙏🏼

Danielle

January 6, 2023

Wonderful course- perfect timing, again.❤️

Todd

October 9, 2022

My practice has been made more clear and intentional as a result of this course. And I now realize that this benefits not only me but the rest of the world as well. Thank you for your wisdom.

Yvonne

August 29, 2022

Extremely thought provoking - has changed my Perspective on a few old issues

Adela

November 16, 2021

I couldn't recommend this course enough! I believe (I hope) listening to it, and practicing meditation did and will continue to change my life for the better! (As well as those around me)

suzan

October 14, 2021

Your course was well thought out and logically,clearly presented. I have gained immeasurable knowledge for which I thank you .

George

October 5, 2021

Excellent course. Truly made me think.

Nicole

August 29, 2021

Very well thought out and presented. More an intellectual exploration than a practical guide. As someone who has been a budding Buddhist for over 50 years, I believe the Buddhist path is far more accessible to men than to women. This entails an understanding of my theory of containment and expulsion and far too much to delve into now. If you’re reading this and are curious feel free to contact me: Nicole Urdang.

Lisa

June 19, 2021

Wow. This is such a rich course. I wasn’t ready for it when I first started it, a year or so ago, because I wanted to go straight into guided meditation as soon as I hit play. When I was ready and came back, this course offered me so much to deepen my practice. Wonderful. Thank you! Thank you!

Glenda

May 30, 2021

I loved this course as it continued to build in each teaching. I found Day 9 and 10 especially powerful and will look for the references provided at the end. Thank you for these beautiful lessons!

Kathinka

April 25, 2021

I have been guided through this course, in a pleasant and clear way, and have become more aware of myself as part of a holistic perspective.

March 29, 2021

Many blessings

Holley

March 24, 2021

Very clear and simple in its approach. Thank you and blessings to you too

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