The Four Immeasurable Minds: practising true love for the world

Presenter: Bhante Dhammadipa (in person)

Friday 10 February| 7-9pm AEDT

Location: In person at Metta Centre (Bankstown) or Online (Zoom link below)

Cost: By Donation

Love is one of the most powerful feelings we can experience; it can free us or it can bind us. True love, without attachment, can be called “Loving Kindness”, and has a central role in Buddhist practice as the first of four “Divine Abodes”. Also known as the “Four Immeasurable minds”, along with Compassion, Joy and Equanimity, we find these practices taught in the Pāli tradition in regards to living beings, while in the Bodhisattva path they are cultivated in regards to all phenomena. Practised in this way they can lead us to an understanding of suchness itself, the highest reality. In this talk Bhante Dhammadipa will guide us in a brief introduction to these vital practices for our troubled times, with reference to their contrasting development in the Pali and Sanskrit traditions.

About the Speaker: Bhante Dhammadipa (www.dhammadipa.cz) was born in Czech Republic, where he studied Chinese literature and philosophy. He later pursued his studies in Jerusalem, Berlin and Paris, before enrolling at the Nalanda University in India to study Sanskrit and Buddhist philosophy. He then lived in Japan, Sri Lanka and Burma, studying and practising as a Buddhist monk under renowned contemporary masters of Buddhism. One of his principal teachers was the Burmese meditation master Pa Auk Sayadaw, who recognised him as his first Western disciples qualified to teach meditation. Today, he is one of the foremost teachers of śamatha meditation. He has taught the Dharma extensively, in both theory and practice, and led students in meditation retreats in Europe, North and South America, India, China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.

Hybrid event: Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive session with the speaker in person at the Metta Centre (Bankstown). You are welcome to join the session in person at the Metta Centre or online by clicking on this link to access the session: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83506489824?pwd=cmpNQ1ljSmFVYURLWVN1dWllYUN1dz09 Alternatively, you can dial in from your telephone (call charges apply): +61 2 8015 6011 | Meeting ID: 835 0648 9824| Passcode: 718905