Browse Schedule by Category: Retreats / Online Courses
Winter Meditation Retreat: The Kasinas
Clear Sky Meditation & Study Centre 3567 Cockell Rd, Bull River, British Columbia, CanadaRegistration ends November 20, 2020 Kasiṇa meditation is a concentration meditation (samatha, jhāna) intended to settle the mind and create a foundation for liberation. Important Announcement and Change This is a two week retreat and the Teachers have added a one week option. The Teachers recognize that circumstances may make it difficult for some people to attend both weeks. Attending the full two weeks is ideal. If you choose to take the one week option it is the first week, December 4 - 12, 2020. The teachers will be offering a Chenrezi Wongkur at the beginning of the first week. This empowerment will be streamed live, enabling both online and onsite participation. (Exact time and date to be announced.)Winter Meditation Retreat: The Kasinas Settling the Mind, Cultivating Concentration (Jhāna) The ten kasina are part of the forty kammatthana: objects of meditation. They are described in detail by Buddhaghosa in the meditation section of the Visuddhimagga. Kasina meditation is a concentration meditation (variously known in different traditions as samatha, dhyana, or jhana meditations), intended to settle the mind of the practitioner and create a foundation for further practices of meditation. In the early stages of kasina meditation, a physical object is used as the object of meditation, being focused upon by the practitioner until an eidetic (after-image) image of the object forms in the practitioners mind. In more advanced levels of kasina meditation, only a mental image of the kasina is used as an object of meditation. Experience Acariya Doug Duncan […]
Office Hours Online Q&A
Clear Sky Meditation & Study Centre 3567 Cockell Rd, Bull River, British Columbia, CanadaLooking to anchor your practice during your busy day-to-day life? Consistent communication with community and the teachers both grounds and strengthens your practice.
New Year Office Hours 2021
Welcome in the New Year and 2021 with Dharma Teachers and community. Since we can't be together this year, we'll re-create our annual new year bonfire ritual online. Bring your new year resolution - reflecting on "What do I want to accomplish in 2021?"Why this New Year Celebration Office Hours?Welcome in the New Year 2021 with your Dharma Teachers and community. Since we can't be together this year, we'll re-create our annual new year bonfire ritual online. Bring your new year resolution - reflecting on "What do I want to accomplish in 2021?"The Benefits of Regular ContactWhen you're swept up in the busyness of career, family and daily pressures, Office Hours is an anchor to universal teachings and supportive community. Every second Sunday, you have an opportunity to join our global network for an online Q&A session with Dharma Teachers Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat.Coming together in question and reflection is a precious opportunity for deepened compassion and wisdom. You may discover that others share the same question as you, or better yet, learn the answers to questions you even never thought to ask. This 'triple gem' of Buddha, Dharma and Sangha is a tangible refuge to strengthen your awakening journey.Not sure what to expect? You are welcome to attend as an observer and are not required to ask a question. Although participants are encouraged to bring questions, it is not mandatory.Video recordings are available for those who cannot attend live.Office Hours is open to all experience levels. Meet the […]
A Study of Consciousness: The Abhidhamma (Online Course)
Study the Abhidhamma, to better understand the detailed nature of mental and physical processes.
Buddhist Contemplative Care for End of Life Speakers Series
Watch the RecordingLife, Death and Rebirth BardosHear Doug Qapel Duncan and Catherine Pawsarat Sensei speak on the life, death and rebirth bardos, from the point of view of Vajrayana Buddhism. This talk was hosted by Emmanuel College of Victoria University in the University of Toronto, on February 6th 2021. Link to the livestream available here: Vajrayana Buddhism and the Life, Death and Rebirth Bardos.Original Event details: Join Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat for a conversation on Buddhist views of death and dying. Focusing on perspectives unique to their lineage they will share about death related caregiving and to illuminate specific practices (e.g., rituals, key texts, etc.). Additionally, they will reflect on how the relatively recent adaptation of Buddhism to Canada and the West has created frictions and creative adaptations to this ancient tradition. This speakers series, cosponsored by Emmanuel College’s Centre for Religion and Its Contexts, the Toronto Centre for Applied Buddhism and the Buddhist Education Foundation of Canada, is a pioneering effort to provide a platform for Canadian teachers from the three main traditions of Buddhism to address contemplative end-of-life care. Over the past fifty years, Canadians from many walks of life have become interested in Buddhism, including growing numbers of committed practitioners and students, as well as those whose curiosity has been piqued about how Buddhist wisdom can be applied to life challenges. This rich spiritual and philosophical system provides unique insight into the perennial questions: What is a “good death?” How can I support myself and my loved ones during this […]
Abhidhamma Deeper Dive Study Group
Studying the Abhidhamma The Abhidhamma Pitaka is the third division of the Buddhist Tripitaka, the Three Baskets. The seven books of the Abhidhamma Pitaka give an extraordinarily detailed analysis of the basic natural principles that govern mental and physical processes. As human beings, our consciousness is built to awaken. Our awakening is supported by the universe - the Abhidhamma Pitaka gives us an understanding of the mind and body in a profoundly detailed manner. This study group with Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat Sensei follows on from the four week online course, A Study of Consciousness: The Abhidhamma. The four week course is also a pre-requisite. Recommended Reading: A Manual of Abhidhamma (pdf download) by Narada Maha Thera. The course went beyond my expectations, I feel I learned a lot of new things or new ways of seeing things. The teachers have an incredible way of presenting the themes in a way that makes it easy to understand. They also make the teachings fun and suggest exercises so that you can apply them in your life. I was expecting to get pearls of wisdom and I always get far far more. The teachings always speak directly to me. It is uncanny. It is like hearing a language that I spoke in some other life-form and suddenly it rings a bell. And bell after bell. Like a universal language that we all used to speak but have forgotten, and now as if a new pathway in the brain has opened up and […]
Enlighten-Up!
This month's topic is: The Antidote to Anxiety - How the ancient Buddhist practice of merit generation is applicable to your life more than ever. Enlighten-Up is a series of uncompromising, unflinching and kick-ass dharma classes. Join online from anywhere in the world.
Digital Dojo: Spiritual Questions, Powerful Answers
Digital Dojo is a virtual question and answer session. Asking questions to spiritual mentors is a powerful and traditional method of learning. You're invited!
Enlighten-Up!
Uncompromising, unflinching and kick-ass dharma classes. Vajrayana Teachers Doug Duncan and Catherine Pawasarat present a new topic each month. Join online from anywhere in the world.
Digital Dojo: Spiritual Questions, Powerful Answers
Digital Dojo is a virtual question and answer session. Asking questions to spiritual mentors is a powerful and traditional method of learning. You're invited!