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Programs → Featured Programs → The Six Perfections

In Partnership with Crooked River Zen Center

The Six Perfections

Exploring the Heroic Practices of the Bodhisattvas

A man climbs a mountain at sunrise

Saturday, October 10

Facilitator: Sensei Dean Williams
Location: Shadybrook

Optional Meditation

9:00 a.m. Intro to Meditation
9:30 a.m. Guided Meditation

Talk

10:00-11:30 a.m. The Six Perfections

Join us for this follow-up to An Evening with the Tibetan Monks of Gaden Shartse Monastery & School

You are welcome to join us for the optional meditation beginning at 9:00 a.m. or simply come at 10:00 a.m. for the talk.

The six paramitas or perfections are what Reb Anderson, former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center, calls “the 6 heroic practices of the bodhisattvas”.  In Buddhism, the bodhisattvas are the enlightened beings who have transcended the normal human mind.

You don’t have to be a Buddhist—or an enlightened being—to discover these practices and how they might transform your everyday life.

Come explore the 6 perfections and how you can start practicing them in your own life.

 

In this program you will:

  • Learn about the Six Perfections and their place in Buddhist practice

  • Consider the perfections as heroic practices

  • Explore concrete examples of how to practice the perfections in your own life

  • Optionally, experience an introduction to meditation and a brief guided meditation before the talk

 

The Six Perfections:

  • The Perfection of Giving: A Generous Heart

  • The Perfection of Ethics: A Virtuous Life

  • The Perfection of Patience: Radiant Presence

  • The Perfection of Enthusiasm: Joyful Effort

  • The Perfection of Concentration: The Dharma Gate of Repose and Bliss

  • The Perfection of Wisdom: Body and Mind Dropped Off

Investment: $25

Shadybrook & A.R.E. Members enjoy 20% savings on this program.

Apply coupon code MEMBER111 at checkout.
Valid for active Shadybrook and A.R.E. Members only. If applied in error, we’ll reach out to complete payment.

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Meet Sensei Dean

Sensei Dean Williams

Sensei Dean Williams

Sensei Dean Williams is the guiding teacher of the Crooked River Zen Center in Cleveland, Ohio. His interest in Zen Buddhism began in the early 70s when he was working on his BA in philosophy. He began formal zen practice in 1997. He was lay ordained in 2000, ordained as a Buddhist chaplain in 2001, and as a priest in 2003, all while studying with Sojun Diane Martin, the resident teacher at Udumbara Zen Center in Evanston, IL. In 2006 he served as shuso during the fall practice period at Udumbara.

Dean received dharma transmission in 2014 from Shoho Michael Newhall, the abbot of Jikoji Zen Center in the Santa Cruz Mountains in California, making him a dharma holder in the Kobun Chino lineage.

Learn more about Sensei Dean Williams at www.crookedriverzen.org