Karaniya Metta Sutta: How To Find Happiness With or Without Religion with Sharon Salzberg Force For Good 2016 Class Series at Tibet House US in New York City
In this short video Sharon Salzberg introducing the Force For Good Class Series and how one can find happiness with or without organized religion.
This video is an excerpt from the archive video of the January 2016 teaching on the “The Karaniya Metta Sutta: Vipassana, Loving Kindness + Real Love ” teaching by Sharon Salzberg from the Force For Good Class Series, recorded at Tibet House US in New York City.
Full Video includes a sitting meditation + guided lovingkindess practice from the Metta Sutta led by Sharon Salzberg.
When the Buddha taught 2500 years ago, the social structure in India was built on a rigid philosophical system. According to their prevailing view of the world, everything belonged to a category which had its own nature and its corresponding duty in life. The responsibility of every being was to grow into its own nature, and to conform to an ideal disposition specific to them. For example, it is the particular nature or duty of fire to burn, and of rocks to be hard, of grass to grow and to be green, and for cows to eat grass and produce milk. These characteristics were considered immutable truth.
Socially, this concept was translated into the rigidities of the caste system. People were born destined to fulfill a certain nature. It was the duty of certain classes or castes of people to rule, for Brahmans to mediate with divine forces, and for certain other people to be engaged in production of food and material goods. Within this worldview, actions conceived of as moral and appropriate for one caste or gender were considered completely immoral for another. It was proper and beneficial for the Brahman male to read and study the scriptures, while this was absolutely forbidden and considered abhorrent for someone who was an outcast.
Into this social context, the Buddha introduced his revolutionary teachings. What he taught in terms of ethics was radical then, and it is radical now. He stated that what determines whether an action is moral or immoral is the volition of the person performing it. The moral quality of an action is held in the intention that gives rise to the action. “Not by birth is one a Brahman, or an outcast,” the Buddha said, “but by deeds.” This teaching, in effect, declared the entire social structure of India, considered sacrosanct by many, to be of no spiritual significance at all
Sharon Salzberg via PBS
‘A Force For Good’ is a Tibet House US course to further the Dalai Lama’s contemporary world initiatives, from His Holiness’ American Institute of Buddhist Studies and Mind & Life Institute science dialogues (Universe in a Single Atom) and His creation of Abhidharma 2.0 through the “Science for Monks” programs, his “secular ethics” (Ethics for the New Millennium and Beyond Religion), His nonviolent approach to conflict resolution, including His Nobel Peace Laureate activities to seek dialogue and a win-win reconciliation with China in the face of the ongoing ethnicidal policies in Tibet (Freedom in Exile and Man of Peace: The Illustrated Life Story of Tibet’s Dalai Lama) & along with his emphasis on positive activism (A New Reality: Charter of Universal Responsibility).
To join the on-going #ForceForGood series please visit: www.tibethouse.us.
To watch more videos from past ‘Force for Good’ programs please visit the Tibet House US Member Archive, available to monthly supporters.
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? Music by Tenzin Choegyal, Used with Permission www.tenzinchoegyal.com.
Karaniya Metta Sutta: How To Find Happiness With or Without Religion with Sharon Salzberg Force For Good 2016 Class Series at Tibet House US in New York City by Ben Rosett from Unsplash
Sharon Salzberg is a central figure in the field of meditation, a world-renowned teacher and New York Times bestselling author. She has played a crucial role in bringing meditation and mindfulness practices to the West and into mainstream culture since 1974, when she first began teaching.
She is the co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA and the author of ten books including NY Times bestseller, Real Happiness, her seminal work, Loving Kindness and her most release by Flatiron Books, Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection.
Suggested Books + Audio by Sharon Salzberg
Real Love: The Art of Mindful Connection (Book), Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation (Book), Real Happiness at Work (Book), Voices of Insight (Book), Loving Kindness (Book), Faith (Book), Love Your Enemies (Book), Heart as Wide as the World (Book), Insight Meditation : A Step by Step Course on How To Meditate (Audio + Book), Room to Breathe: An At-Home Meditation Retreat (Audio), Loving Kindness Meditation (Audio) & Guided Meditations for Love & Wisdom (Audio).
To learn more about Sharon Salzberg please visit:
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
To learn about the Annual Dharma + Meditation retreat with Sharon Salzberg & Robert AF Thurman at Menla please visit: www.menla.us.
To watch more recordings from this & other past THUS Programs please consider becoming a monthly supporter. To learn about the benefits of Tibet House US Membership please visit: www.tibethouse.us.
