Working Creatively with Negative Emotions with Karma Choden
Date/Time
Date(s) - 21/11/2020 - 22/11/2020
10:30 am - 4:30 pm
Location
Kagyu Samye Dzong Dublin
Categories
Working Creatively with Negative Emotions
Many people relentlessly battle with their emotions and end up leading conflicted and
unhappy lives. But this does not have to be the case. In Buddhism the negative emotions are
described as ‘mind poisons’, but the poison contains hidden gold.
This weekend will focus on working creatively with the negative emotions that afflict us. It
will be drawn from the Tibetan Buddhist approach of learning to recognise and express the
wisdom nature of our emotions. The perspective here is that our emotions are a source of
vitality that can enliven and enrich our lives. The key is how we relate to them: either they
can fuel an inner storm of conflict and suffering or they can fuel a path of inner abundance
and waking up.
In Tibetan Buddhism the afflictive emotions are described as anger, desire, jealousy, pride
and ignorance. These are like the primary colours of our emotional life which, when
combined, result in the rich variety of emotions we feel. Over the weekend Choden will
focus on anger and desire/craving since these are the most prevalent of the emotions that
afflict us.
The path of practice will be to recognise when these emotions are triggered and how they
feel within us. This is a mindfulness skill. Next, we turn to look at the mind that is afflicted by
anger or desire, for example, and see its empty and insubstantial nature. This is a key insight
skill. We then apply the antidote of compassion drawn from the 4 Immeasurable Qualities
(loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity). Finally we learn to rest ‘in
the midst of our experience’ and allow the wisdom energy to integrate within our being.
The weekend will involve teachings and guided practices as well as sharing and inquiry.
Saturday 21st November 11am – 4.30pm
Sunday 22nd November 11am – 4.30pm
Suggested donation €35 per day* (includes simple vegetarian lunch both days)
* About donations – the Centre relies on donations to allow us to bring teachers such as Choden to Dublin and go towards to the running costs of the Centre, if finances are a genuine obstacle please feel free to give whatever you can afford
Director and co-founder of the Mindfulness Association, Choden was born in South Africa and educated as a lawyer before practising as a Buddhist monk for 7 years, during which time he completed a traditional 3 year, 3 month retreat within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. For the last 5 years he has focused on secular mindfulness training and played a key role in setting up the first post graduate programme in the UK integrating mindfulness and compassion. This MSc programme is run through Aberdeen University and is now in its second year. He is also working with Prof Paul Gilbert in developing a training programme integrating mindfulness and elements of Mahayana Buddhist practice with Paul’s compassionate mind training programme that draws on evolutionary psychology and neuroscience. His first book (co-authored with Paul) Mindful Compassion was released in early 2013.
Details for the weekend will be announced shortly – the theme will be Mindfulness-based!
