Goodwill
Tuesdays, 7 -8:30 pm
November 12 through December 17
Online through Zoom
Suggested donation: $75
Goodwill: Key to Happiness and Liberation
The attitude of goodwill opens the possibility of trusting relationships with others, of constructive conversation, of harmony and even friendship. Ill-will and fear closes those possibilities down. Goodwill is thus key to a happy social life. Goodwill pertains to how we meet everything inside us and thus is key to a happy inner life as well. This six-week course will explain the power of goodwill, how to cultivate it, and how it undoes prior negative conditioning (karma). Each class will include 30 minutes of guided meditation followed by teaching and dialogue with participants. Those who commit to daily meditation will benefit most from this class.
November 12, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark discusses goodwill vs. ill will and how easily our minds can get hijacked by anger, ill will and fear.
November 19, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark discusses the different forms benefactors take in our lives. Who are our childhood, current life, and spiritual benefactors?
Discussion - Participants discuss their experiences noticing and recording feelings of goodwill towards themselves and others.
November 26, 2024
Dharma Talk - Giving goodwill towards oneself can trigger the opposite feeling. What can we learn from this?
Discussion -Participants share recollections of childhood benefactors.
December 3, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark discusses Kleshas, the states of negative emotions that make wishing goodwill to strangers and people we deem difficult, such a challenge.
Discussion - Participants share thoughts about and experiences with benefactors.
Questions - How do we manage goodwill towards strangers with an open heart?
December 10, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark discusses "Buddha Nature", the capacity for universal love, and how acknowledging the mystery in others can make feelings of goodwill more accessible.
Discussion - Participants discuss their experiences with goodwill towards "the stranger" and "the enemy".
December 17, 2024
Dharma Talk - Mark discusses the three perceptions: 1) All beings wish to be happy. 2) We are all, at times, lost in self-centered reactivity. 3) Everyone possesses an innate capacity for goodwill.