Lotus Underground

Śrīmālādevī Siṃhanāda Sūtra (The Lion's Roar of Queen Śrīmālā)

Sutra recitation by M.C. Owens

1-25-2023

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THE WHEEL OF BECOMING

6-week introductory course on Dependent-Origination

Saturdays, 9:00am – 10:30am PT

January 21 – February 25, 2023

Tuition: $180

TATHATĀ: The Meaning of True Suchness

8-week intermediate course on the Awakening of Faith in the Mahāyāna

Sundays, 9:00am – 10:30am PST

January 22 – March 12, 2023

Tuition: $250

REVEALING THE SECRET 

An 8-week advanced study of the Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra

Thursdays, 6:00pm — 7:30pm (PST)

January 12 — March 2, 2023

Tuition: $250

For more information or to register go to:

LotusUnderground.com

Gaṅgottara Upāsikā Sutra (The Laywoman Gaṅgottara)

Recitation by M.C. Owens 12-20-2022

From the Mahāratnakūṭa collection, sutra #31

Sumatidārikā Paripṛcchā Sūtra

('Questions of Sumati')

From the Ratnakuta Sutra collection, #30

Sutra recitation by M.C. Owens

November 8, 2022

Translated from Taishō Tripiṭaka volume 12, number 336

Vipallasa Sutta ('Inversion')

Anguttara Nikaya 4.49

Introduction and sutra recitation by M.C. Owens

LUSB - FALL SEMESTER CLASSES

TURNING THE DHARMA WHEEL

10-week course on essential Buddhist teachings

Saturdays, 9:00am – 10:30am PT

October 1 – December 10, 2022

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 then the Five Aggregations. This 10-week course uses a similar method of interlocking systems to explore fundamental Buddhist concepts and their interrelations. The ideas presented in each week’s session grow in complexity and systematically build on previous session topics, thus ‘turning the wheel of Truth,’ or Dharma. This is the first of a three-part Buddhist Studies Program, designed to introduce basic Buddhist practices, philosophy, and history. Even if you are already familiar with these teachings, the intention of this course is to present them in a new way.

EIGHT SCHOOLS OF BUDDHISM

8-part series on the History of Buddhism

Tuesdays, 9:00am – 10:30am PT

September 20 – November 8, 2022

The ‘Eight Schools’ is a traditional Buddhist classification system from medieval China and Japan that categorizes different Buddhist practices and communities that arose in India during the first thousand years of Buddhist history, from approximately 400 BC to 600 AD. This course uses a similar classification system to present the origins and foundational teachings of eight major trends in Buddhism found in the world today, which are essentially remnants of the schools from this medieval system. This course is the third part of the LUSB Buddhist Studies Program, designed to show how the essential teachings and deeper philosophies presented in the first two courses have been put in to practice throughout history.

ADVANCED STUDY: MIND-ONLY BUDDHISM

8-week advanced course on Yogacara Buddhism

Thursdays, 5:30pm – 7:00pm PT

September 15 – November 3, 2022

One of the oldest philosophical questions concerns the relationship between ‘mind’ and ‘matter’ - the mental world of ideas and thought, and the physical world experienced by our senses. Are mind and consciousness simply emergent results of the physical world, or is ‘the physical world’ merely an idea entertained by a conscious mind?

This course is an introduction to the ‘mind-only’ teaching of Yogacara Buddhism, an idealistic school of Buddhism that arose around the the 4th-century AD in the Gandharan region of what is today Afghanistan. This school has come to represent the so-called ‘Third Turning’ (or phase) of the teachings of the Buddha, in which the concept of Emptiness (indicative of the ‘Second Turning’), is taken to the logical conclusion that the ‘physical world’ is merely a conscious construction, similar to, but not the same as, a dream. The focus of this course will be understanding the Yogacara model of eight consciousnesses, which includes the so-called ‘Storehouse Consciousness’ or ālaya-vijñāna.

This course in available to participants who have already taken the Turning the Dharma Wheel course and the Wheel of Becoming course on Dependent-Origination. If you have not taken the LUSB introductory courses but would still like to attend, please let me know as there is always room for exceptions.

Vajra Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra

Translation and sutra recitation by M.C. Owens

August 3, 2022

Nakulapita Sutta ('To Nakulapita')

Samyutta Nikaya 22(1)

Sutra recitation by M.C. Owens , July 1, 2022

LIGHTNING-LIKE AWARENESS

An 8-week course on the Vajra Sutra

Saturdays, July 9 - August 27

9:00-10:15 AM (Pacific Time)

Tuition: $200

All Classes are held live on Zoom with recordings of every class available for participants afterwards (for lifetime access.)

DESCRIPTION:

The Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, ‘The Sutra That Cuts Like Lightning’, is more commonly known as the Diamond Sutra, and is one of the most influential Mahayana Buddhist sutras. It is among the oldest known discourses on developing enlightened awareness and the 'perfection of wisdom'.

This course is a line-by-line reading and study of the Vajra Sutra, enabling a deep understanding of its meanings, and its significance within the broader context of Buddhism. We will trace the text's possible origins, and reflect on its contemporary use and related practices.

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Saṅgārava Sutta ('To Saṅgārava')

Samyutta Nikaya 46.55(5)

Sutra Recitation by M.C. Owens 6-1-2022