Join the community at 11:00 AEST each Sunday as we check in and practice together. This week, Venerable Dr. Juewei facilitated our exploration into the Five Buddhist Precepts; no killing, no stealing, no sexual misconduct, no lying, no intoxicants, with the question, "how have you put one of the five precepts into practice? and reflect on what it takes to implement that practice."

Join here: us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/…nVkvJhjSkYrlgrqgj

Five Precepts

We are introducing a short 4-part series within the Sunday Check Ins "Intergenerational Learning" . The series will involve different generational groups presenting concerns, challenges and wisdom from their unique perspectives.

For the first session we are delighted to have our friend Stephen Hill present the generation: "Life as an Elder". He would like all of us to consider the following questions:

1. What has been your most important life lesson so far?

2. If you came across an older person who seems genuinely wise and experienced, what would you want to learn from them?

So, if you are an elder with wisdom to share, a younger person curious about the experience of a generation that seems far away, or a middle aged person reflecting on approaching the senior years, your input and ideas will be vital and gratefully received in this very conversational session.

If you are new to our check-in session, please register via: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/upIpf-CtqTouE9ALQFonVkvJhjSkYrlgrqgj

Life as an Elder

We hope you enjoyed the first part of our Intergenerational Learning series - perhaps our elders have inspired some wisdom in you! This week we’ll hear from our generous young friends as Liam, Xiaomeng and Yijun share their experience and understanding in response to Stephen’s sharing last week. 

The questions our youth team would like you to consider are:

1. What change do you want to see in the world?
2. How do you think we should go about it?

If you are new to our check-in session, please register via: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/upIpf-CtqTouE9ALQFonVkvJhjSkYrlgrqgj

On our Way

Continuing our final series of 2024 with our young presenters over the next few months presenting issues which they are concerned about, that they'd like the community to hear about, and to hear community responses to.

We are delighted to invite Tay Jing Jia. Jing Jia will be presenting on "Mindfulness- Think Before you Act". Jing Jia will investigate the following questions and would also like us to consider them in preparation for the session:

1. Recount a time you did or did not think before you act.
2. How can we help ourselves and each other to "think before you act"?

If you are new to our check-in session, please register via: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/upIpf-CtqTouE9ALQFonVkvJhjSkYrlgrqgj  

Mindfulness - Think Before you Act

We are delighted to welcome Jodi Bush to facilitate her first session with us this week!

Jodi will explore what it means to be a leader from the perspective of Buddhism, asking whether our concept of leadership needs to be challenged. 

If you are new to our check-in session, please register via: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/upIpf-CtqTouE9ALQFonVkvJhjSkYrlgrqgj  
If you have previously registered and saved the Zoom link, you may use it to enter the meeting.

Buddhism and Leadership

We are delighted to welcome back Gawaine Powell Davies to guide us at this Sunday's Check In session.

Gawaine will be speaking about "Equanimity- Can you have too much of a good thing?".  Gawaine will give a very brief account of how he understands equanimity and its virtues, and then raise some questions about its limitations and when it may be unhelpful.

The questions he would like us to consider are: 
1. Can you think of a time when equanimity helped you through a difficult situation? 
2. Can you think of a time when a focus on equanimity was unhelpful?

If you are new to our check-in session, please register via: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/upIpf-CtqTouE9ALQFonVkvJhjSkYrlgrqgj  
If you have previously registered and saved the Zoom link, you may use it to enter the meeting.

Equanimity

Bhante Sanāthāvihārī is a Mexican-American Theravāda monk at the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center in North Hollywood, a Sri Lankan center. He is a student of the late Dr. Bhante Madawela Puññaji, and the founder of Casa De Bhavana–an outreach project to bring the Dhamma to the Spanish-speaking world. He is also the co-author of Buddhism in 10 Steps.

If you are new to our check-in session, please register via: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/upIpf-CtqTouE9ALQFonVkvJhjSkYrlgrqgj  
If you have previously registered and saved the Zoom link, you may use it to enter the meeting.

Venerable Sanathavihari

We are delighted to have Venerable Juewei to guide us through an 8 week series on "Wisdom" based on her recent research and encyclopedia entry.  She will ask us to consider "“Are we really suffering or unwilling to listen to the messenger?” In a world trained to run from discomfort, Buddhist wisdom offers a radical invitation: don’t shoot the messenger. Suffering is a visitor with vital messages, shaped by personal wounds and systemic entanglements. Our experiences may invite us into a deeper, more relational way of meeting suffering. What if we could listen with curiosity instead of reacting with control?

In preparation for our discussion, we warmly invite you to reflect on the following questions:

1. What might my suffering be trying to teach me about myself, and about the systems I’m entangled in? Note that this question is not about how to get rid of suffering but what it wants me to hear. 

2. Can I trace the thread of a recent discomfort, such as fear, anxiety, shame, back to its systemic roots? Again, it is not about what may be wrong with me, but the wider conditions that this dis-ease carries. 

Are we really suffering or unwilling to listen to the messenger?

Freedom is not the end of the story. The bodhisattva turns back: not out of obligation, but from love. What happens when compassion calls us to remain in a world unravelling, rather than to escape it? What kind of strength says, “I will stay with you”?

1. A bodhisattva, in Buddhism, is someone who awakens to wisdom and compassion but chooses not to “leave the world.” Instead, they stay present with others, walking alongside them through suffering and joy. When you hear the word “bodhisattva,” what qualities or actions come to mind? Do you imagine heroic sacrifice, tireless service, or something else? 

2. In your current work or relationships, where might ‘staying present with others,’ be more softening our need to be right rather than trying to change the situation? What might that look like for you without adding to your exhaustion? 

What Moves a Bodhisattva?

We are delighted to have Ben Campbell continue a thought provoking month of September Sunday Check-Ins.
Ben has prepared a short activity for us and shared the following pre-session musings.

Last month, Venerable Juewei shared the story of the fish in water, which was a powerful story about how sometimes, the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about. 

This week, we'll be invited to explore one of these areas -- race and ethnicity -- and how it shapes our experience in profound and sometimes subtle ways. As an entry into this session, consider pondering the following questions:
1. How do you experience your racial or ethnic identity?
2. In what ways has race or ethnicity influenced your journey? 

The Water We Swim In - Race and Ethnicity

The Humanistic Buddhism Centre (HBC) is committed to the research and development of Humanistic Buddhism as well as community engagement.  The Centre identifies and undertakes innovative projects that contribute to the scholarly and teaching communities.  Besides facilitating inter-disciplinary research and course-ware development that contributes to the Nan Tien Institute’s teaching programs, the Centre also participates in outreach programmes such as podcasts, workshops, and exhibitions.  This podcast collection houses resources on Humanistic Buddhism that will be useful to students, educators and informed Buddhists.

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