As members of the Awakened Heart Sangha we’re studying Lama Shenpen’s Living the Awakened Heart Training – a distance learning/home study course in Tibetan Buddhist meditation, reflection and insight.
At our weekly Wednesday evening Tibetan Buddhist meditation sessions in Worcester, we’re now going through the training that starts with the Discovering the Heart of Buddhism course, from the first book ‘Indestructible Heart Essence’.
The training is designed especially for Westerners and is based on learning from your own experience, rather than academic learning or having to remember lots of Sanskrit or Tibetan terminology, yet it gets to the heart of the most profound Tibetan Buddhist teachings in Mahamudra and Dzogchen. It’s flexible and designed to fit around busy modern lifestyles, so you can set your own pace.
“The training is a search for truth, a process of exploring our experience and coming to understand and relax into our true nature. In the midst of all the pain, doubt, hesitation, stress and confusion of our lives, there is something that keeps us going. We talk of losing heart and yet, somehow, there is something deep inside us that spurs us on, restores us and gives us hope.” from http://www.ahs.org.uk/training
The approach to the training is spiral learning, so the core themes of the course are ones we keep coming back to, so it is equally suitable for those who have practised meditation for some time and for those who are completely new to it.
Some of our members have been through the course materials several times already, going deeper and more profoundly into the themes each time; others are just starting.
Our sessions in Worcester include meditation, reading, reflection and discussion, as well as tea and biscuits.
It’s really helpful to have a community of practitioners around you to support your meditation practice and study, and discussing our experiences, practice and thoughts each week as we go through the training course books, is beneficial and can be really inspiring!
If you’re interested in the Living the Awakened Heart Training you can find out much more and sign up at http://www.ahs.org.uk/training.
If you join the course and would like to meet up with fellow meditation and Buddhist practitioners in Worcester, just get in touch!
