Class Schedule: Fall 2005
Unless otherwise noted, all classes meet Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evenings with optional meditation from 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. Classes are listed by degree of difficulty. 100 level classes are for beginners (no prerequisite); 200 level classes are for intermediate students and may require a prerequisite; 300 level classes are for advanced students. Use the registration form to register for classes. If you have questions about a specific class, call Lama Chuck Stanford at 816-471-7073 or contact him by email. Note: Class fees are for the entire session, not just one class. |
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| Classes | |||
| Meditation Workshop | |||
| Meditation has been proven to lower blood pressure, relieve stress and help you cope with anxiety. It has also been shown to be very effective with chronic pain, insomnia and panic disorder. The wonderful thing about meditation is that it can be used anywhere, even on the way to work, and has no dangerous side effects. In this one-session class you will learn this simple technique that can change your life. This class is based on the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. | |||
| Instructor: Lama Chuck Stanford |
Dates & Times: 1 Session; Wednesday, September 21st 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: Free; Donation suggested; No text |
Pre-requisite: none |
| Basics of Buddhism | |||
| Have you always wanted to understand Buddhism? Buddhism is a 2,500-year-old tradition that teach us how to end pain and suffering in ourselves and others. This course includes meditation instruction, life of the Buddha, basic Buddhist teachings, the three schools of Buddhism and much more. Each class will begin with an optional meditation from 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. | |||
| Instructor: Lama Chuck Stanford |
Dates & Times: 12 Sessions; Wednesdays beginning September 21st 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $15 text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
| Setting Up A Buddhist Shrine | |||
| Before embarking on the Buddhist path it is recommended that a practitioner set up a shrine. A proper Buddhist shrine holds images or representations of the Buddha's enlightened body, speech and mind which serve as reminders of the goal of Buddhist practice - to develop these qualities in oneself so as to be able to fully benefit all sentient beings. This one-session course will cover the purpose of a shrine, where to place a shrine, shrine objects and what they represent. The class will begin with an optional meditation from 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. | |||
| Instructor: Lama Chuck Stanford |
Dates & Times: 1 Session; Wednesday, September 14th 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: No class fee; No text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
| Voluntary Simplicity | |||
| From the Buddhist perspective, simplifying our lives is one of the keys to happiness. This course explores aspects of simplicity and how we might apply these ideas to our daily lives. Chapters include Awakening the Soul, Spirituality and Nature, Transforming Work, Finding Meaning, and Building Community. This course will follow the text Circle of Simplicity by Cecile Andrews. Each class will begin with an optional meditation from 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. | |||
| Instructor: Marisa Stanley |
Dates & Times: 4 Sessions; Thursdays beginning September 22nd 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $13 text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
| Working With Anger | |||
| This class will present a variety of Buddhist methods for subduing and preventing anger, not by changing what is happening but by framing it differently. Learning to work with our anger is an effective practice for everyone seeking personal happiness as well as world peace. This class will use the text Working With Anger by Ven. Thupten Chodron. | |||
| Instructor: Bill Golden |
Dates & Times: 5 Sessions; Wednesdays beginning October 5th 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $14 text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
| Meeting the Buddhas | |||
| Who or what are the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Protectors, the “wrathful demons” and the “peaceful deities” of the Buddhist Tantric tradition? Are they products of an alien, even disturbed, imagination? Or are they real? What do they have to do with Buddhism and what do they have to do with us? This class will guide you into the heart of this magical realm and will introduce you to the miraculous beings who dwell there. These Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have a message for us – a message with the power to change our lives. | |||
| Instructor: Mary Stanford |
Dates & Times: 5 Sessions; Tuesdays beginning November 15th 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $28.95 text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
| The Essential Chogyam Trungpa | |||
| Chogyam Trungpa was one of the most influential figures in the development of Buddhism in America. The first Tibetan lama to teach in English, he wrote more than two dozen books on Buddhism. This course is a concise overview of Trungpa’s teachings. His great appreciation of Western culture combined with his deep understanding of the Tibetan tradition makes these teachings uniquely accessible to contemporary students. It will appeal to beginning students of meditation as well as seasoned readers of Eastern religion. The class will begin with an optional meditation from 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. | |||
| Instructor: Mike McFarland |
Dates & Times: 5 sessions; Wednesdays beginning October 5th 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $15.95 text fee |
Pre-requisite: Basics of Buddhism |
| Lam Rim Teachings | |||
| This class is designed as a follow-up to our “A Beginner’s Guide to Tibetan Buddhism” class. The Lam Rim teachings systematically lay out the path that must be traveled to reach Buddhahood. If you miss one step, the goal cannot be achieved. We will study the text, The Three Principle Aspects of the Path, by Tsongkapha, the greatest commentator in the history of Buddhism, along with a commentary by Pabongka Rinpoche, regarded as the foremost Tibetan teacher of Buddhism during the last century. The class will begin with an optional meditation from 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. | |||
| Instructor: Alan Snyder |
Dates & Times: 6 sessions; Tuesdays beginning October 18th 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $8.95 text fee |
Pre-requisite: Basics of Buddhism |
| Myth of Freedom | |||
| Our attitudes and even our spiritual practice can often become restraints that lock us in habitual patterns of discontent and pain. Trungpa Rinpoche teaches, in this companion to “Cutting through Spiritual Materialism,” that through meditation we can understand these patterns and use them to aid us in our path to freedom. We will discuss the true meaning of freedom and the obstacles to attaining it, as well as how meditation can turn our obstacles into spiritual practice. | |||
| Instructor: Mike McFarland |
Dates & Times: 5 sessions; Wednesdays beginning November 9th 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $14.95 text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
| Pure and Simple | |||
| Upasika Kee Nanayon was the foremost woman Dharma teacher of 20th century Thailand. She was one of the best-known teachers male or female and remained a laywoman all of her life despite the fact that many of her students became nuns. Along with an uncle and an aunt, she started a retreat facility that still flourishes as a woman’s retreat center. Her primary instruction was from books, such as the Pali canon and contemporary teachers. Her wisdom emanated from a strict upholding of the precepts and experiential understanding of the Dharma. When practitioners thoroughly know the truth of the world and the Dharma, they will see clearly, right in the present, that there is something that lies beyond all suffering. They will know this without having to ask or take it on faith from anyone for the Dharma is practicing something really to be known for oneself. | |||
| Instructor: Dr. Teri Brody |
Dates & Times: 5 sessions; Tuesdays beginning September 6th 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $14 text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
| Mindfulness - Applying Eastern Teachings to Everyday Life | |||
| Mindfulness is being fully present as each moment of our lives unfold. Most of us are anywhere else – reliving the past, imaging the future, or analyzing self or others, all the while carrying on a constant internal conversation. So, we look but don’t see, listen but don’t hear, love but don’t feel. Our lives take place in the moment, so by missing the moment, we miss our lives. Mindfulness is developed by meditation – a process of disciplining the mind to pay better attention through regular practice. It benefits everyone and doesn’t require buying anything, changing your appearance, or compromising your religion. Our task in this class will be to gain exposure to the multitude of meditation techniques/mindfulness exercises so that participants can find the one most suited to themselves and thus establish the groundwork for a regular meditation practice. | |||
| Instructor: Dr. Teri Brody |
Dates & Times: 12 sessions; Wednesdays beginning September 21st 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 class fee; $14 text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
| A Beginner's Guide to Tibetan Buddhism | |||
| This class is designed as a follow-up class to our "Basics of Buddhism" and will examine and study the basics of Tibetan Buddhism. Topics include: finding a teacher, empowerments, Ngondro, Rituals and the path of liberation. The class will begin with an optional meditation from 7:00 - 7:30 p.m. | |||
| Instructor: Alan Snyder |
Dates & Times: 5 Sessions; Tuesdays beginning September 13th 7:45 - 9:00 p.m. |
Class Fee: $15 donation; $15.95 text fee |
Pre-requisite: Basics of Buddhism |
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| Vows, Ordinations, Certifications & Membership | |||
| Meditation Instructors Training and Certification | |||
| The Rime Center offers formal training in meditation instruction. Upon completion of our classes and practicum, you will become a certified meditation instructor. You will learn about different types of meditation and can assist the Rime Center by giving meditation instruction. | |||
| Officiate: Lama Chuck Stanford |
Dates & Times: 2 sessions on Wednesdays, beginning November 16th |
Fee: No class fee, no text fee |
Pre-requisite: Rime Membership Class |
| Rime Membership Class | |||
| When you become a member of the Rime Center, you not only become part of the sangha, but you demonstrate your support of the center. In addition, members receive benefits, such as discounts and invitations to special "members only" events . The four half-hour sessions cover the following topics: The Three Jewels, meditation, the Three Yanas, the organizational structure of the Rime Center, an explanation of our Sunday service, retreats and empowerments, programs and events, and service opportunities. Upon completion of the classes, students are introduced to the sangha and given a mala blessed by H.H. Dalai Lama. | |||
| Officiate: Lama Chuck Stanford |
Dates & Times: 4 sessions on Wednesdays, beginning September 14th 6:00 - 6:30 p.m. or 4 sessions on Sundays, beginning October 16th 10:00 - 10:30 a.m. |
Fee: No class fee, no text fee |
Pre-requisite: none |
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| Talks | |||
| Talk: "Why Did Bodhidharma Go To China? " | |||
| “Why Did Bodhidharma Go To China?” This question is a traditional Zen koan, a way of provoking Enlightenment, or a way of asking, “What is the essence of Zen?” In this talk Dr. Vern Barnet will explore the meaning of this ancient koan. Dr. Barnet, DMn, has been minister-in-residence at CRES, a Kansas City educational and inter-religious organization he founded in 1982. He also teaches religion courses as an adjunct professor at many area colleges. He is known to many Kansas Citians through the religion column he writes each Wednesday for The Kansas City Star “FYI” section. | |||
| Instructor: Vern Barnet |
Dates & Times: 1 Session; Wednesday, December 14th 7:30 p.m. |
Class Fee: No fees; donation suggested |
Pre-requisite: none |