Upasika Day: Daily Life Practice: Sakkayaditthi

Location: Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery

Description: We hope you can join us at Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery for the Upasika Day on Sunday, December 7, a day of community, Dhamma study, meditation, and renewal. Our theme for the day will be "Daily Life Practice: Sakkayaditthi -- Identity View." Ajahn Karunadhammo and other members of the Abhayagiri community have graciously agreed to lead us in an exploration of how we generate and cling to perception of identity, leading to suffering for ourselves and others, and how we can skillfully direct attention to this process to let it go. The readings for the day are Majjhima Nikaya 2, "The Sabbasava Sutta," and Majjhima Nikaya 44, "The Culavedalla Sutta." You can find translations by Thanissaro Bhikkhu online at Access to Insight using these links: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.002.than.html http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.044.than.html Bhikkhu Bodhi's translations can be found in Bhikkhu Nanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi (trans.), The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, 1995, Somerville: Wisdom Publications For additional reading, please see Selves and Not-Self: The Buddhist Teachings on Anatta, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu, available as a free download ftrom Access To Insight here: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/selvesnotself.html We hope you will also join us for the daily meal, beginning at 10:45 a.m. It's customary to bring a dish to offer to the monastics and to share with others. Our material support of the monastery community is an important aspect of our role as upasikas (literally, "those who sit close by"), and our generous offerings of food are a tangible means of extending this support. Attendance at Upasika Days is open both to those who wish to make a formal commitment to the program and to those who may simply wish to attend for the day. All are welcome. Please spread the word among those who may be interested. The schedule for the day is as follows: 10:30 a.m. Refuges and Precepts. 10:45 a.m. (sharp) Meal Offering (please bring a dish to share) 1-4:30 p.m. Study/Practice Session 4:30 p.m. Tea with the monastics (optional) This is the last Upasika Day for 2014. Our next Upasika Day will be in April, 2015.