Is it OK to have a healthy ego? What part of “me” am I trying to give up? And who am I, anyway?

Everyone has a natural tendency to focus on “me” – my body, my feelings, and my thoughts. This focus has played a critical role in keeping each of us safe, alive and fed… and in developing our ego construct – the story we tell ourselves about who we are. But there comes a time when this prioritization of “me” and limited view of “who I think I am” actually gets in the way of our personal and spiritual growth.

The Buddha taught that all our suffering comes from a misunderstanding of the way that things exist -- the way things exist and the way they appear is discordant for us. And this is especially true in terms of our view of ourselves. These wrong conceptions obscure our ability to understand ultimate reality. These same erroneous notions make us miserable in everyday life too.

Join us for an exploration of what the Buddha said about this fundamental misunderstanding, and what he said about the way we actually do exist! This session will include a guided meditation and time for discussion.

Join us in person at 2929 24th street
OR online via Zoom: https://tinyurl.com/SFDharma (password: 108108)
or 301-715-8592 to join by phone. Meeting ID: 545 039 806

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Tenzin Chogkyi (she/her/hers) is a teacher of workshops and programs that bridge the worlds of Buddhist thought, contemplative practice, mental and emotional cultivation, and the latest research in the field of positive psychology.

Tenzin is especially interested in bringing the wisdom of Buddhism into modern culture and into alignment with modern cultural values such as racial and gender justice and environmental awareness. She feels strongly that a genuine and meaningful spiritual path includes not only personal transformation, but social and cultural transformation as well. She has been exploring the presentation of traditional teachings using modern pedagogical methods such as experiential exercises, dialogue and small group interaction.

Tenzin first became interested in meditation in the early 1970s and then started practicing Tibetan Buddhism in early 1991 during a year she spent studying in India and Nepal. She worked in administrative positions in several Buddhist centers in the 1990's, and also completed several long meditation retreats over a six-year period. Tenzin took monastic ordination in 2004 with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and practiced as a monastic for nearly 20 years. Since 2006 she has been teaching in Buddhist centers around the world and taught in prisons for 15 years.

Tenzin is a certified teacher of Compassion Cultivation Training, a secular compassion training program developed at Stanford University. She also teaches the Cultivating Emotional Balance program, a secular program using contemplative techniques drawn from Buddhism for managing emotions, developed at His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s request. She is also a training and curriculum specialist for the Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz. County and is on the Sustainable Caring teaching team.

Classes are archived on the SFDC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/sfdharmacollective

Suggested donation $10 - $30