Satsang Coordinators Curriculum for The Noblest Life

Week One

Introduce this month's curriculum:

"This month we will be drawing inspiration from the Compassionate Buddha to deepen our practice of meditation and to enhance the time we spend reading the mystics. In the videotaped talk we'll watch [or for the reading we will do], we will hear Sri Easwaran narrate the climactic episode of the Buddha's life, in which he resolved to meditate with every ounce of his concentrated will until he reached his Goal. In our discussions we will explore how we can draw upon that example to improve our own meditation."

Then, ask a member of the group to read this excerpt from the practical exercise in the video study guide:

Sitting under the Bodhi tree, the Buddha says, "Come what may -- I will not get up from here until I have entered nirvana." For Easwaran this critical moment in the Buddha's spiritual striving is a model for the determination we too can summon in our more mundane, seemingly endless efforts on the path to sit down daily for meditation, to bring the mind back to the words of the inspirational passage, to follow the Eight Point Program during the day.

Ask the group:

"The Buddha's immense will power is beyond what most of us can imagine, but with practice we can add just a little every day to the determination we bring to our meditation. In your own life, what is a strong motivation for making progress in meditation? How could you strengthen that motivation? How might you remember it and feel it more vividly when you sit down and meditate?"

When it's time for inspiration, read the introduction from the video study guide and watch the first talk on the video tape, "The Life of the Buddha, Part One." (This talk is 33 minutes long.) Before starting the tape please suggest to the group: "Listen carefully to the story to discern the main motivations that brought the Buddha such great determination, and see if they can suggest new ways for you to deepen your own motivation." If your group is not using the videos, please read the introduction from Sri Easwaran's translation of the Dhammapada, pages 18-29, which covers the same period in the Buddha's life.

End the session with thirty minutes of meditation.

Week Two

Introduce this week's topic:

"This week we will be reading about the Buddha's experience on the night of his enlightenment. This is a breathtaking and very lofty account, far from our ordinary realm of experience. We will be studying it for two purposes: First, to whet our appetite for improving our concentration and determination in meditation; second, to help us see that we already have experienced a tiny part of the Buddha's transformation of perspective, which we can build upon with daily effort. In our discussion, we will reflect on the ways in which that's already happened."

Then ask the following questions for discussion:

"Since you started meditating, how has your perspective changed? In what ways do you see your life differently? Your relationships? Your occupation? Your leisure? Looking back at your life before meditation, do you see ways in which you were limited by your perspective?"

When it's time for inspiration, please read from Sri Easwaran's introduction to the Dhammapada, the section called "The Stages of Enlightenment," pp. 46-58.

End the session with thirty minutes of meditation.

Week Three

Introduction: "The talk [or reading] that we will watch [or read] this week continues the story of the Buddha's life, recounting the years of his teaching. It is an ideal example of the power contained in the life stories of great spiritual figures. For our discussion this evening, let's reflect together on how reading the life stories of the mystics has deepened our commitment to meditation. Looking back over the time you've been meditating, how have those stories inspired you, or encouraged you, or roused you to make greater efforts? In what ways might you enhance that effect?"

When it's time for inspiration, read the introduction from the video study guide and watch "The Life of the Buddha, Part Two," the second talk on the video tape, which lasts 33 minutes. For groups that are not watching the video, please read from Sri Easwaran's introduction to the Dhammapada, starting with page 33, "The Years of Teaching," and ending (if you have time) on page 46.

End the session with thirty minutes of meditation.

Week Four

Introduction: "Tonight we will be continuing with the theme of reading the mystics."

Then, you can choose one of the following topics for discussion. The first one will work well if the group has been consistently present all month and everyone present at this meeting has been to at least one other meeting on this curriculum. The second one will work well even if there are several people attending who were not there for other sessions.

1. "How has this month's focus on the Buddha's determination benefitted your meditation? Have you found that you can draw support from his example? Among the other figures Sri Easwaran mentions in his books, which of them have that kind of beneficial effect (or a greater one) on you?"

2. "Among those whom Sri Easwaran mentions in his books, which mystic or great spiritual figure most inspires you? In what way has their example helped shape your life? How might that force go on to help you more in the future?"

When it's time for inspiration, read from Chapter Eight, "Reading the Mystics," in Meditation, by Eknath Easwaran.

End the session with thirty minutes of meditation.


How to Use This Curriculum

The BMCM monthly video series presents a special opportunity for BMCM Satsangs to enrich the content of their meetings and coordinate their program with the Center and with other Satsangs. Each month many of our Satsangs will be following this program, which has been created by workshop presenters at the BMCM, based on programs at our Tuesday night Satsangs in Petaluma and Berkeley.

This video curriculum is not required. The choice of which of our approved formats to follow is up to you and your Satsang. We understand that not all groups have access to a TV and VCR for showing video tapes. While the videos are a great aid in using this curriculum, it is also possible to follow it without the videos, using the questions for reflection and readings that are contained in this curriculum.

We do recommend this curriculum (and especially the videos) as an ideal way for a new group (or a "Satsang of One") to get well grounded in Sri Easwaran's core teachings and to feel more "in touch" with the Center. If you would like assistance in deciding on a format, please feel free to contact us at the address below.

The choice of when to start using the curriculum is also up to you. Week One, therefore, may end up being the second or third week of the month. That's fine. But we do suggest that you follow the order of the weekly curricula as they appear here. For groups that meet monthly, you may want to use only the weekly sections that include videos, or to cover two weekly sections if your meeting is longer.

We have tried to make this Satsang curriculum flexible enough that it can be used completely within the Eight Point Format, as outlined in the Satsang Guidelines. For your "Eight Point Focus" you can continue to cycle through the Eight Points weekly or monthly as it suits your group, and use this curriculum to deepen your study of Sri Easwaran's teachings.

For those of you who distribute messages via email to your Satsang, feel free to forward parts of this email to members as a preview of the coming month's program.

We are eager to hear about your experiences with this curriculum, and welcome your feedback. Please send it to:

robbie@nilgiri.org
Robbie Nichols
Blue Mountain Center of Meditation
P O Box 256
Tomales, CA 94971
Copyright (c) 2003, Blue Mountain Center of Meditation