Sutra Study Sunday – Self-Examination

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this Sūtra, the Buddha explains that we become attached when we view things — sights, sounds, thoughts — as permanent, pleasurable, and “self.” But when we see them for what they truly are — impermanent, suffering, non-self, and dangerous — we let go of craving and become free from suffering.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Self-Examination

Sutra Study Sunday – The Questions of Śrīvasu

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this Sūtra the Buddha is approached by the young merchant Śrīvasu, who asks how to live as a novice bodhisattva. Pleased, the Buddha offers essential guidance: take refuge in the Three Jewels, practice the six perfections, and dedicate all merit to awakening for the benefit of all beings.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Questions of Śrīvasu”

Sutra Study Sunday – Faith in Mind

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this poem it teaches that true understanding and peace come from letting go of preferences, attachments, and dualistic thinking. It emphasizes that the Great Way (the Dharma path) is accessible when the mind is free of judgment, discrimination, and clinging.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Śūraṅgama Sūtra: Faith Mind Poem

Sutra Study Sunday – Śūraṅgama Sūtra – The Six Knots

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, Pali Canon, Chinese Ta-ts’ang-ching, and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In this sūtra the Buddha uses the metaphor of six knots tied in a cloth to represent the obstacles to enlightenment. These knots represent the six senses and their entry points into the mind. Both delusion (tying) and liberation (untying) stem from the mind. Disengaging the senses and untying the knots reveals the voidness of all things.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Śūraṅgama Sūtra: The Six Knots

Sutra Study Sunday – The City Beggar Woman

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, both Pali Canon and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. This sūtra tells of a beggar woman’s modest lamp offering at a park in Śrāvastī, contrasted with King Prasenajit’s lavish lamp offerings. Despite her tiny amount of oil, her lamp burns brightly and cannot be extinguished, symbolizing her sincere desire for enlightenment. The Buddha smiles and prophesies her future rebirths and awakening as a buddha.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Nagarāvalambikā: The City Beggar Woman

Sutra Study Sunday – The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa: The Fourfold Accomplishment Part 2

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, both Pali Canon and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In the Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa, Venerable Śāriputra requests the Buddha Śākyamuni to explain the conduct of bodhisattvas.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Bodhisattva­prātimokṣa­catuṣkanirhāra – The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa

Sutra Study Sunday – Discourse on the Not-self Characteristic

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, both Pali Canon and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. The Discourse on the Not-self Characteristic was the first of the Buddha’s discourses during which his listeners became arahants.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Anatta-lakkhaṇa Sutta

Sutra Study Sunday – Gayāśīrṣa Hill – Continued

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, both Pali Canon and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. Gayāśīrṣa Hill is a pithy Buddhist scripture that describes various aspects of the Mahāyāna Buddhist path.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Gayāśīrṣa

Sutra Study Sunday – An Analysis of the Path

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, both Pali Canon and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In the An Analysis of the Path Sutta, the Buddha Śākyamuni explains and defines the Eightfold Noble Path.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: An Analysis of the Path Sutta: Magga-Vibhaṅga Sutta

Sutra Study Sunday – The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa: The Fourfold Accomplishment

Join us as we explore the rich repository of Buddhist Sutras, both Pali Canon and Tibetan Kangyur every first Sunday of the month after the Sunday Service. Sūtra (Pali. sutta) means ‘something that was heard from someone else’ and usually connotes ‘a discourse’. In the Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa, Venerable Śāriputra requests the Buddha Śākyamuni to explain the conduct of bodhisattvas.

Facilitators: Lama Matthew Rice (Lobpön Palden Gocha) and Daniel Scharpenburg
Text: Bodhisattva­prātimokṣa­catuṣkanirhāra – The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa