THE BUDDHIST HEART
~ Loving-Kindness • Compassion • Gratitude • Altruistic Joy • Forgiveness ~
Two hour Workshop with Whit Hornsberger
The landscape of ancient India was a melting pot of spiritual aspirants and their myriad methods for the emancipation from suffering. When the newly awakened Buddha arrived upon the scene he discerned wisely, through experience, those teachings conducive to his newly discovered ‘Middle Path’ (majjihimāpatipadā) towards spiritual liberation.
One of the ancient practices the Buddha deemed pertinent, and thus incorporated into his Dhamma (teachings), was the Brahmanic practices known as the Brahmavihāras. Oft translated as the ‘Divine Abodes’, it was traditionally believed that through the development of these four immeasurable qualities of the human heart - loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative / altruistic joy and equanimity - one would be gifted an auspicious rebirth within the heavenly realms of existence.
Although the Buddha did not adhere to this model of karmic reincarnation, he empirically saw that these boundless qualities of the heart were vital ingredients towards liberation in this very life, elevating the Brahmavihāras to a primary role within his Buddhadhamma (teachings).
In this intensive, through the cultivation and integration of these boundless qualities of the heart (loving-kindness - mettā, compassion - karunā, appreciative and altruistic joy - muditā and equanimity (upekkhā), we will reawaken The Buddhist Heart that resides within each of us - a heart characterized by boundless love, compassion, gratitude, altruistic joy, forgiveness and equanimity.
Our time together will entail the intellectual discussion of suffering and causes of suffering according to Buddhist science, Western neuroscience, psychology and primatology and how the reawakening of these innate qualities of the human heart are imperative for mindfulness (satipatthāna) / insight meditation (vipassanā) to gift us what it was designed to deliver - emancipation from suffering.
Through both study and personal experience each practitioner will gain intellectual and empirical understanding into how the dualistic division of self and other and concomitant mythology of separation gives rise to insecurity (and suffering) within the mind. A mythology of separation which, under the cohesive power of loving-kindness (mettā), compassion (karunā), altruistic joy / gratitude (muditā) and forgiveness-born equanimity (upekkhā) dissolves, reuniting our hearts within themselves and with the hearts of all sentient beings with whom we share this planet. The result is a return home to our rightful place (vihāra) within the intrinsic interconnectedness of life itself.
This intensive is accessible to all levels of experience and is an essential undertaking for those practitioners interested in gaining the highest benefit from their mindfulness / vipassanā (insight) meditation practice, those dealing with physical, mental and emotional injuries, those interested in embodied and societal well-being and anyone curious about accessing the limitless potential of the human heart.
Each session includes a Dhamma (philosophy) talk/presentation and meditation practice (mettā, karunā, muditā, upekkhā).
Two hour Workshop with Whit Hornsberger
08.12.2024
16.01.2025
16.02.2025
30.03.2025
jeweils 17.00-19.00 Uhr
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~ Loving-Kindness • Compassion • Gratitude • Altruistic Joy • Forgiveness ~
Termin
08.12.2024
16.01.2025
16.02.2025
30.03.2025
jeweils von 17:00-19.00 Uhr
Entweder bist du LIVE dabei, oder die Einheit wird aufgezeichnet und gegen 20.00 Uhr hochgeladen. Du kannst sie so ganz bequem auch noch im Laufe des Tages machen.
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About Whit...
Whit Hornsberger (Vancouver Island, Canada) is a student and teacher of the wisdom traditions of Theravada Buddhism and Classical Yoga. A former athlete, Whit found the path as a result of a career ending knee injury and the subsequent emotional and mental suffering inherent in losing one’s (supposed) self-identity and self-worth.
By integrating 25 years of knowledge from his degrees in primatology, psychology and yoga therapy with 19 years of dedicated practice and 15 years of teaching, Whit has developed a unique spiritually scientific approach to the understanding of the human experience.
His daily practice and teaching methods stem from Buddhist mindfulness meditation (Mahasi Sayadaw, Ajahn Chah, Ajahn Buddhadasa), the traditional yoga practice of Vinyasa Krama (Sri T. Krishnamacharya), and Yin Yoga. He continues to pursue his insatiable passion for truth and understanding by way of retreats amongst the courageous monastics in the Buddhist monastery of Mahāsi Sayadaw in Burma (Myanmar) and solitary retreats in the Buddhist monastery in Europe.
A passionate advocate of traditional teachings, Whit expounds the ancient wisdom of these lineages in a relevant manner, making them readily accessible to students at every stage of the path.
A lover of surf and nature, Whit offers international and online classes, workshops, courses, retreats and trainings and resides at his home in the south of Portugal with his beloved wife Gracia Guerra, a respected teacher of Kundalini Yoga from Mexico City, and their soon to be born first child. Whit teaches throughout Europe, Canada, and Mexico.
“The great Burmese Master Mahasi Sayadaw’s approach to meditation is very clear, very precise and ‘to the point,’ faithfully adhering to the method of the Buddha in his own successful search for Enlightenment. Whit Hornsberger’s experiences of intensive monastic meditation in Burma, combined with his studies of Yoga and other forms of Eastern Spirituality, have given him a unique ability to communicate to Westerners a classical approach to meditation, one that is deeply rooted in the profound Burmese tradition.”
— Lama Rodney Devenish
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THE BUDDHIST HEART
An Intensive with Whit Hornsberger
(4 x 2 hour workshops)
120€
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