Practice Support Group
To study the Buddha way is to study the self.
To study the self is to forget the self.
To forget the self is to be intimate with all things.
Dogen Zenji
Life is full of pleasure and pain, gain and loss, ups and downs. When things go our way, we think life is as it should be, and when they don’t, we want them to change. This is an endless cycle of pushing and pulling on life, a hunger that can never be fully satisfied. At the center of it all is a sense of self, of I me, and mine: “I like that smell; how could he say that to me; I hope my favorite cup never breaks.”
The Buddha discovered that this sense of self is an illusion. When we look deeper, we see that our whole life is an ever-changing field of experiences, and there is no solid, intrinsic self we can hold onto. The Buddha’s teaching on the Five Aggregates of Clinging is a practical way of understanding where we suffer, and points us toward true happiness. When we experience impermanence intimately, in the heart of our lived experience, the endless drive to achieve and acquire begins to melt away. We taste freedom.
In this Practice Support Group, we will explore the Five Aggregates of Clinging: Rupa (body), Vedana (feeling tone), Samjna (perception), Sankharas (mental formations), and Vijnana (consciousness). Each session will consist of practice discussion, guided meditation, dharma talk, inquiry, and practice instructions for the week.
For anyone who has received and practiced instructions in mindfulness.
WHEN (please note: 5 sessions)
Sundays, February 12, 19, 26, March 5, & 12
10:00-11:45am MST
WHERE
Like all our current offerings, this class will take place over Zoom.
COST
$125-$30
For those of you on a limited budget pay what you can. No one will be turned away.
CONTACT
For any questions contact David by email at insightmeditationtucson@gmail.com or leave a voice message at 520-477-1897.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Registration is required. Once you register you will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours. Please click below to register and make your donation.
Sit every day and the teachings come alive!
The Practice Support Group is designed to help you establish a consistent and nourishing daily practice. Whether you sit 10, 20, 30 or 40 or 50 minutes daily this class will help you to find a length and frequency that works for you. When questions or challenges arise there is the opportunity to explore them in the weekly group.
Participating in a Dharma group is one of the most supportive things we can do to help our meditation practice grow.
ABOUT THE TEACHER
David Bornstein, MSW, (he/him), is a Dharma Leader for IMT. He was introduced to Insight Meditation in 1997, and has sat one or more residential retreats most every year since 2000. David graduated from Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner Program, the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, and was a member of Spirit Rock’s most recent Community Dharma Leader cohort, until it was cut short by COVID. David lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter, and will be moving back to Tucson in the summer of 2023.