Dharma Talk – Interdependence: Embracing Life’s Ups and Downs with Equanimity


Rebecca Li will talk about Interdependence: Embracing Life’s Ups and Downs with Equanimity February 13th at 7pm at Yardley Friends Meeting 65 N Main Street.

As on other Mondays with visiting teachers, the Buddhist Sangha will meet from 7 pm to 9 pm, in the main hall. Please arrive on time out of respect for the teacher and one another. We look forward to seeing you all there to welcome another wonderful Dharma teacher to the Buddhist Sangha of Bucks County!

Rebecca was recently published in Lions Roar magazine. Here is an excerpt and the gist of her talk on the 13th.
lionsroar.com/everything-is-interdependent

When 14 Buddhist teachers were asked “What is the most important teaching to proclaim in today’s troubled world?” Here’s what Rebecca Li — a teacher in the Dharma Drum lineage established by Chan master Sheng Yen — had to say.
I think the most important teaching people need to hear today is that everything happening in the present moment is a manifestation of innumerable causes and conditions coming together and constantly changing.

This understanding motivates us to cultivate clear awareness of every emerging moment and to appreciate how each moment is entirely new. When things are going well, we are thankful for how numerous positive conditions have come together, including our own actions and those of many other people, to make it possible. When things are not going so well, we are less likely to fall into despair when we recognize that despite our best efforts, the causes and conditions needed to bring about the desired outcome were not fully present.

About Rebecca Li, PhD

Rebecca, a Dharma heir in the lineage of the Chan Master Sheng Yen, started practicing meditation in 1995. She attended her first intensive retreat with Chan Master Sheng Yen in 1996 and began serving as his interpreter in 1998. She started her teacher’s training with Master Sheng Yen in 1999 and started teaching as Dharma and meditation instructor in 2002. Later on, she trained with John Crook and then Simon Child, both Dharma heirs of Master Sheng Yen, to lead intensive retreats and received full Dharma transmission from Simon Child in 2016. Currently, she teaches meditation and Dharma classes, gives public lectures and leads retreats at Dharma Drum centers, university meditation groups and Dharma practice groups mostly in northeastern United States. Some of her talks and writings can be found at www.rebeccali.org. Rebecca is also a professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at The College of New Jersey.

Chan started in China in the 6th century CE, and spread south to Vietnam, and to Korea, and reached Japan in the 13th century CE, where it became known as Zen.

The Chan Meditation Center: http://www.chancenter.org/
The Dharma Drum Retreat Center: http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/
See Rebecca’s talk about why we meditate here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZrcxVnufyw
Hear her recording from last visit: http://buddhistsangha.com/2016/08/28/visiting-teacher-september-19th-rebecca-li-phd/

About Our Sangha

The Buddhist Sangha of Bucks County is a community(sangha) that practices Buddhism, provides meditation instruction and community service in a manner consistent with the teachings of the Buddha.

Our sangha is open to everyone who wishes to learn about and practice meditation and/or Buddhism in general.

Monday nights our service consists of selected reading from the service booklet compiled by our members, following by a 20 minute meditation period and a 25 minute optional walking meditation. We close service with selected reading from the service booklet following by tea, snacks and a discussion period in the social hall on various topics (check our newsletter and/or facebook for the latest topics).

The sangha members hold periodical meditation retreats, welcomes special guests teachers, and provides community service.

This entry was posted in Home and tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.