
AWAKE IN THE WORLD
Buddhist principles and practices are not just for the cushion. In the Awake in the World series, Reverend Susan Shannon leads a supportive and kind discussion on how we live the principles of Buddhism and bring dharma into our everyday lives.
WINTER 2025 DATES & DETAILS
Course One
Topic:
Steady on the Path: Walking Truth to Spiritual Power
Dates:
Sundays | March 2, 9, 16, 2025
Location:
Online via Zoom only
Time:
10 AM - 12 PM PT
We enter the Eightfold Path through the Fourth Noble Truth, the Truth of the Path out of Suffering. In the framework of the Buddha being the Physician, the Eightfold Path is the Medicine which prevents us from suffering in the endless sea of samsara. This Eightfold Path is our map to Awakening.
These eight guidelines show us areas in our lives we can implement to refine our attunement toward the cultivation of Bodhicitta. These guidelines are expansive, not restrictive, and when practiced, enable a life that both gives and receives love, awareness, and compassionate understanding in the greatest ways possible to us. It is within the Eightfold Path where we meet the Paramitas-because this path leads from the shore of an egoic, samsaric entrapment to the shore of immeasurable freedom of a life of interconnection and awakening.
As we build or rebuild our moment-to-moment awareness, our mindfulness expands and engages the transformation of our spirit, aligning our horizontal engagement in the world and our communities, with the vertical alignment with our own Buddha nature.
Fees:
$120 (series fee)
$150 (series fee + support)
$90 (Sukhasiddhi Members)
The deadline to register is Friday, February 28 at 12 PM (Pacific).
Course Two
Topic:
Spiritual Friendship for the Long Haul: Through the Lens of the 37 Practices of Bodhisattvas
Dates:
Sundays | March 23, 30 & April 6
Location:
Online via Zoom only
Time:
10 AM - 12 PM PT
Now that I have this great ship, a precious human life, so hard to obtain, I must carry myself and others across the ocean of samsara.
To that end, to listen, reflect, and meditate
Day and night, without distraction, is the practice of a bodhisattva.
(verse 1, 37 Practices, Padmakara trns.)
The Bodhisattva Vow, the vow to be of benefit to all sentient beings, has the potential of ripening in all our every one of us in many ways, at our own timing of awakening. To think of this from an ultimate perspective is a beautiful, aspirational ideal, yet from a relative perspective it can be daunting, especially considering climate change, pandemics, political upheaval and all else we are dealing with in the here and now!
This study and practice course will utilize the solid, simple yet profound teachings of Gyelsay Togmay Sangpo’s Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisattvas. This text was inspired by Shantideva’s Bodhicaryavatara, so in studying one, we are studying both. We will focus on the many ways we can apply these teachings into our daily practices of ‘self-care for the long-haul’- for ourselves and for all sentient beings. We will discuss how to achieve benefit beyond just helping ourselves and others, to the goal of serving the unfolding and awakening of all sentient beings. This goal is a great example of the goal of becoming a Kalyanamitra - a true spiritual friend - even and especially to those people and situations we have an aversion to.
Fees:
$120 (series fee)
$150 (series fee + support)
$90 (Sukhasiddhi Members)
The deadline to register is Friday, March 21 at 12 PM (Pacific).
PLEASE NOTE:
For Those on Zoom
We request you be fully present with Zoom video on for classes and trainings. This is an opportunity for the lamas and teachers to connect with you. If this is not possible, please let the registrar or teacher know.
MEET THE TEACHER
Susan Shannon, M. Div. is a seeker, teacher, earth and animal steward, and devotee of the heart. She has worked in the fields of Emotional Literacy and Restorative Justice for over 20 years, incorporating over 45 years of Buddhist practice and study from the Tibetan tradition. She’s worked with various diverse populations all her life including inmates, Tibetan refugees, the homeless, the differently-abled, at-risk youth, and has served as the Buddhist Chaplain to the men in San Quentin State Prison and Death Row. She currently resides in the San Juan Islands where she writes, provides spiritual coaching and tends her land.