FROM CAUSE TO EFFECT:
Exploring the Buddhist View of Karma
A VINTAGE DHARMAÂ COURSE
with DAVID NICHTERN &
LARRY MERMELSTEIN
Wednesdays, November 8th – December 13th, 2023 | 7pm – 9pm ET
Karma is a central notion in the Buddhist worldview. The word itself means action or activity and implies the interdependence of cause and effect - how situations manifest and evolve - in continuity and discontinuity. How we get ourselves into trouble, and how we can extricate ourselves.
This course will explore how karma contributes to our challenges and offers pathways for liberation. During the course we will delve into two seminal works to deepen our understanding of karma:Â
The first by Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, The Future Is Open: Good Karma, Bad Karma, and Beyond Karma.
In it, he challenges popular misconceptions of the Buddhist doctrines of karma and rebirth, in the process showing how to step beyond karma on the path to awakening. His unique approach to presenting the Buddhist teachings lends itself to an insightful and profound view of karma, its cause and effects, and how to cut the root of karma itself.
We will also be working from David's book, Awakening from the Daydream: Reimagining the Buddha's Wheel of Life, which offers an in-depth look at the ancient Wheel of Life, an illustrated guide that navigates us through the complex universe of karma.
This course will feature a mix of readings, lectures, and discussions led by David and Larry. The course will also incorporate practices drawn from their training with Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche.
PROGRAM REGISTRATION
TEACHERS
David Nichtern
David Nichtern is a senior teacher in the lineage of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche. This tradition combines a contemporary, secular approach to meditation with the ancient practices and philosophies of Tibetan Buddhism.
David is also a four-time Emmy winner and two-time Grammy nominee, and a successful entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience integrating spiritual practice and everyday living. He is the author of Awakening From The Daydream: Reimagining The Buddha’s Wheel of Life and Creativity Spirituality and Making A Buck on Wisdom Publications.
Larry Mermelstein
Beginning in 1971, Larry Mermelstein became a close student of the Venerable Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and scholar. He has been a senior teacher in the Vajradhatu/Shambhala community for many years. He is a founding member and the executive director of the Nalanda Translation Committee for over forty years and is a long-time consulting editor for Shambhala Publications.
ABOUT THE BOOKS
The Future is Open: Good Karma, Bad Karma, and Beyond Karma
Karma has become a popular term in the West, often connected with somewhat naive or deterministic ideas of rebirth and reincarnation. It is also often equated with views of morality and guilt. In The Future Is Open, Chögyam Trungpa unpacks this intriguing but misunderstood topic. He viewed an understanding of karma as good news, showing us that liberation is possible and that the future is never predetermined. His unique approach to presenting the Buddhist teachings lends itself to an insightful and profound view of karma, its cause and effects, and how to cut the root of karma itself.
Awakening from the Daydream: Reimagining the Buddha's Wheel of Life
In this classic text, David Nichtern reimagines the ancient Buddhist allegory of the Wheel of Life. Famously painted at the entryway to Buddhist monasteries, the Wheel of Life encapsulates the entirety of the human situation. In the image of the Wheel we find a teaching about how to make sense of life and how to find peace within an uncertain world. Nichtern writes with clarity and humor, speaking to our contemporary society and its concerns and providing simple practical steps for building a mindful, compassionate, and liberating approach to living.
