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With Every Mistake We Must Surely Be Learning: Karma and the search for happiness
October 2 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
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With Every Mistake We Must Surely Be Learning: Karma and the search for happiness
Speaker: Robert Tomic (In Person)
Wed 2 Oct | 7-8.30pm AEST
Location: In person at Western Sydney University, Parramatta City Campus (Entry at 1 Parramatta Square), Level 3 Room PC-01.3.82; or
Online (Zoom link below)
Cost: Free
In popular culture, karma is often portrayed as something bad happening to someone in retribution for an action they have done. The truth is that everything we do, good or bad, is the karmic consequence of previous actions – actions in body, speech, and mind.
By understanding the Buddha’s teachings on cause and effect, we can begin to understand why we are the way we are. A preoccupation with external priorities misleads us into believing that other people and other things have more importance over our own personal existence. This can lead to an extreme feeling of inferiority and loss of validation on the one hand, and narcissism and self-importance on the other hand, both of which are two extremes of a single misunderstanding.
The advantage of understanding how karma operates is that it gives us an option as to what we wish to do. Clearly seeing that we are, and always have been, responsible for all our actions, we now can have control over future circumstances should they come about.
Understanding the law of cause and effect brings us happiness in that it empowers us to recognise our latent abilities and thereby not waste our life in some meaningless way. Secondly, understanding the law of cause and effect allows us to deepen our faith in the Buddha’s teachings and trust that we are following a genuine spiritual friend.
Finally, being consciously responsible for our actions will help us to master one of the most difficult practices there is: being mindful of what we say in public and being mindful of what we think in private.
In conjunction with this talk, there will be a Chenrezig purification practice to help us integrate our understanding of what has been said.
About the speaker: Robert Tomic has been practising Tibetan Buddhism for the past 30 years, wherein he has received teachings and empowerments from all four schools of Tibetan Buddhism, both in Australia and overseas. For 10 years Robert has taught (introductory level) Tibetan Buddhism to any and all, whether in people’s homes or in a classroom setting, who are genuinely interested to learn and apply the unique fundamental steps that can undo the confusion of living in a seemingly contradictory world. Tibetan Buddhism, even in its simplest form, has the ability to change us into pro-active participants who clearly understand how precious this life is and how fulfilling it can become.
Hybrid event: Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in an interactive session in person at the Metta Centre or online by clicking on this link to access the session: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/