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Bhadramāyākāra-vyākarana Sutra

The Prediction of the Magician Bhadra’s Enlightenment

Mahāratnakūṭa Sūtra (#21)

Translated and recited by M.C. Owens

Text version: https://snapdragon-fir-e8e.notion.site/21-Bhadram-y-k-ra-vy-karana-Sutra-The-Prediction-of-the-Magician-Bhadra-s-Enlightenment-b18dca2b224b403292fa6c156046e339

The Conduct and Vows of Samantabhadra

Conclusion of the Avataṃsaka Sutra

Translated from the Chinese by Dharmamitra (Kalavinka Press, 2022)

Recited by M.C Owens

www.lotusunderground.com

Turning the Dharma Wheel

Saturday mornings, 9:00-10:30am (Pacific)

September 21 – November 23, 2024

Tuition: $300 ​

All Classes are held live on Zoom with recordings of every class available to student's afterwards.

A traditional way of learning Buddhism is called Anguttara, ‘adding one’ – wherein the teachings of the Buddha are presented numerically in increasing order, such as the Three Poisons, the Four Noble Truths, and the Five Aggregations. This 10-week course uses a similar method of interlocking systems of ideas to explore fundamental Buddhist concepts and their interrelations. The ideas presented in each week’s session increase in complexity and build on previous session topics, thus 'turning the Dharma wheel.’ This course also introduces early Buddhist texts, modern interpretations of Buddhist practice, and the transcendent applicability of Buddhism.

Suguṇadeva Sutra ('Inconceivable State of Buddhahood')

Ratnakuta Sutra collection #35

Translated from the Chinese version of Bodhiruci and recited by M.C. Owens, August 2024

Text version:https://lotus-underground.super.site/resources/library/sutras/ratna-pitaka/35-suguadevaputra-stra

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Samantamukha Sūtra ('Universal Gateway')

Mahāratnakūṭa, sūtra #10

Translated and recited by M.C. Owens

THE ŚŪRAṄGAMA SUTRA: Being Indestructible

A ten-week sutra study course

Thursday evenings, 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm (PT)

April 18 – June 20, 2024

Tuition: $300

The Śūraṅgama Sutra is a mysterious sutra found in the Chinese and Tibetan Buddhist canons, and is a foundational text for the Zen and Vajrayana traditions, where it is used as a primer for beginners. Surprisingly, significant parts of this sutra were first translated in English in 1871, followed by a translation that appeared in Dwight Goddard’s A Buddhist Bible in 1932, where it became influential among Jack Kerouac and the ‘beat spiritualists’ of the post-war era. The sutra is a long dialogue between the Buddha and Ānanda on the nature of mind and consciousness, a format reminiscent of the ‘pointing-out’ instructions of the Dzogchen tradition and the Zen practice of ‘directly pointing at the mind’. This ten-week course will explore the major chapters of this important text and provide an overview of the entire sutra and its history.

ESCAPE FROM SAMSARA: Introduction to World-Systems

A presentation on Buddhist Cosmology

Saturday May 18, 2024

9:00am – 11:00pm (Pacific)

This class by donation, suggested fee : $45

A cosmology is an understanding of where the world and the beings in it came from, what they are made of, and what happens to them when they decay. When studying Buddhism, it is helpful to be familiar with the basic tenets of traditional Indian cosmology, and some of the unique features of Buddhist cosmology that developed from them. This visual presentation uses art and iconography from a variety of traditions to create an immersive experience that explores several alternative views of creation, space and time, multiple heavenly and hellish realms, and the abodes of the gods, while laying out a Buddhist cosmological roadmap to liberation - from Samsara to Nirvana.

LUSB 2024 SUMMER RETREAT

I am in the planning stages of a multi-day, in-person sutra study retreat. The retreat will run approximately 2-3 days in length, and will most likely be held in Northern California, in mid -to -late August this Summer. I am trying to get a sense of how many people would be interested in attending so I can locate an appropriate location and lodging. The retreat would revolve around the reading and discussion of a particular sutra in structured sessions, with ‘monastery style’ days, including communal vegan/vegetarian meals, silent meditation sessions, opportunities for physical practice, and time for solitary reflection. If you are interested and would like to hear more please register at LotusUnderground.com

Sabbāsava Sutta ('All the Taints')

Majjhima Nikāya #2

Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi

Recited by M.C. Owens, February 2024

The Ground of Being: Vasubandhu’s Trisvabhāva-nirdeśa,

6-week, course

Thursdays, 7:00pm - 8:30pm (Pacific)

January 25th – February 29, 2024

Tuition: $270

The concept of the Trisvabhāva (‘Three Natures’) is considered the conclusion of, what might be called, Buddhist ontology, the study of ‘being.’ In the earliest forms of Buddhism, all phenomena are momentary and, therefore, quite impermanent. In the more developed forms of Mahāyāna Buddhism, the concept of Emptiness negates there being any thing to be. In light of Emptiness, how is the perceived world to be understood? That is the essence of the ‘Ground of Being’ and the Yogacara teaching on the Three Natures, wherein all phenomena are understood to be fabricated, dependently originated, and yet completely perfect. This six-week course is based on Vasubandhu’s brief 4th Century treatise on the Three Natures, the Trisvabhāva-nirdeśa, and is part of the LUSB Dharma series on the ‘Mind-Only’ teachings of Yogacara Buddhism.

The Space of Time: Buddhist Chronology and Kairology from kṣaṇas to kalpas

9:00am – 12:00pm (Pacific)

Saturday, February 10th, 2024

Tuition: $90

‘How long is a minute?’ Why do we use spatial terms like ‘long’ and ‘short’ to speak of Time? Long before Einstein and Hawkings, Buddhist thinkers such as Dōgen and Nāgārjuna had already noted the inextricable relationships between Space and Time. This presentation is an overview of these Buddhist conceptions of Time; from kṣaṇas, the ‘nano-seconds’ used to measure the arising and passing away of mental states, to kalpas, the longest measurement of time, which is immeasurable. In this way, Time will be explored in terms of chronology, the elapsing or passage of Time, and in terms kairology, specific instances or moments of Time.