Buddhist Meditation and Discussion
2024-03-03 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-03-10 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-03-17 18:00 - 19:00 (America/Chicago) | 102-112 S 2nd St, Geneva, IL, United States, Illinois 60134, 102-112 S 2nd St, Geneva, IL, United States, Illinois 60134
The Venerable Bhante Sujatha of the Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple & Meditation Center will be returning to the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva this Sunday at 6pm to lead meditation and discussion. Event is free and all are welcome!

Introduction to Meditation with Bhante Sujatha : A Workshop
2024-03-15 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple & Meditation Center, 221 Dean Street Woodstock, IL 60098
Meditation is training to bring clarity and simplicity into your daily life. It is possible for everyone.
This class with Bhante Sujatha will answer all your questions about: starting or maintaining a meditation practice; expectations or worries you may have about meditation; different styles and schools of meditation; techniques and postures, and how meditation relates to other spiritual practices.
There will be time for practice and discussion. Newcomers and long-term practitioners can benefit from fresh ideas and a personal connection to the cultivation of loving kindness and mindfulness.
This is an in-person class at the temple.

Author Reading and Guided Meditation at Brielle Public Library
2024-03-22 16:30 - 18:00 (America/Detroit) | Brielle Public Library, 610 South Street, Brielle, NJ, 08730, United States
In this program Bhante Sujatha will conduct a reading from the popular book compiling 15 of his talks: “Empty, Empty, Happy, Happy – The Essential Teachings of a Simple Monk.”
Included in this program, Bhante will conduct a guided loving-kindness meditation session, and open time for question and answers from the audience.
Each guest to this event will receive their own copy of “Empty, Empty, Happy, Happy” and following the program have an opportunity to meet Bhante and get their copy signed!
To Register Click: HERE

Healing Through Loving-Kindness : A Workshop & Guided Meditation With Bhante Sujatha
2024-03-23 11:00 - 13:00 (America/Detroit) | Beck Wellness Center, 490 Lakehurst Road, Tom's River, NJ, 08755, United States
Connect to your natural healing power with the gentle guidance of Bhante Sujatha, in this two-hour workshop and guided meditation.
For more than 25 years Bhante Sujatha has been sharing the message of Loving-Kindness and the practical application of meditation experience with people all over the world. Profound in its simplicity, the message and teachings in this workshop have been life-changing for many of its participants, regardless of religious background. The teaching is centered around the cultivation of self-love. Without a nurtured ability to practice healthy self-love, we cannot be fully present to love anyone or anything else.
To Register Click: HERE

Being Your Own Best Friend: A Mindfulness Workshop with Bhante Sujatha
2024-03-23 15:00 - 17:00 (America/Detroit) | The Atlantic Club, 1904 Atlantic Avenue, Manasquan, NJ, 08736, United States
What is the nature of friendship? Our friends are those who we depend on; who we look to in order to belong, who we wish to help in their time of need, and who we seek for comfort and counsel. We spend so much time trying to invest in our status and our relationships in order to find fulfillment, and in doing so we frequently forget our own well-being, or put our own selves at the bottom of our list.
In my experience, whether the relationship is with a family member, spouse, or friend, these still exist outside of our inner world, and no dissatisfaction can be completely resolved from the outside. To find true peace and happiness we must start working from the inside out; we must understand our true nature and work to create peace inside ourselves. It is only when we can be a noble friend to ourselves, that we can be a noble friend to another. There is no way out but in.
Join, Bhante Sujatha, in this 2-hour workshop for an open conversation about our habit of seeking outward gratification, and the path to discovering our inner value in order to learn how to authentically love ourselves and become our own best friends.

To Register Click: HERE

Living Our Values Everyday (L.O.V.E.)
2024-03-24 13:00 - 15:00 (America/Detroit) | Monmouth Beach Yoga & Wellness, 36 Beach Road, Suite 10, Monmouth Beach, NJ 07750
All the time we talk about love, we hear it in the media, we see it portrayed everywhere, and we describe all the things we “love” without thinking twice.
But what do we really mean when we talk about love? How can we use the same term for how we feel about a food to describe the way we feel about another person?
Love is an action. Love is a value. Before we can truly declare that we love something, we have to define ourselves and our own values first. Once we clearly understand these principles, we can then present our true intentions in ways that show the depth of our words, and give gravity beyond terms alone.
To truly give love, we have to understand, nurture, and love ourselves first. This is the cultivation that we will be able to share, and there will be no misunderstand when we act in alignment with our values.
Join Bhante Sujatha to reflect on understanding what “love” really means to you, and how to bring it to your life and whatever you cherish, every single day.
To Register Click: HERE

Making Peace with the Past: A Mindfulness Workshop with Bhante Sujatha
2024-03-24 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Detroit) | Xhale Hot Yoga, 528 Arnold Avenue, Point Pleasant, NJ, 08742, United States
Memory is the faculty in which the mind stores and remembers information. Our memories are emotional imprints. Whenever a memory arises, whether good or bad, we are no longer in the present moment. A good memory can feel so good and joyful, and help influence our actions in the present moment. When we have labeled a memory as a bad one, it can feel painful and scary, which also influences our actions in the present moment.

Many of us are stuck in old memories that keep influencing the present. We often don’t know how to deal with them, how to let them move through our emotions with ease and let them go. We struggle with who to talk with, often keeping thoughts deep inside to rot like an apple at the bottom of a fruit bowl.

Join Bhante Sujatha in this workshop exploring how to heal the pain caused by the influence of memories. Bhante will guide you through specific steps to make peace with the past once and for all, and carry our memories, both good and bad, as sacred mile markers on our journey, but not as a GPS for the future.
To Register Click: HERE

Full Moon Meditation on Zoom with Bhante Sujatha
2024-03-25 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago)
With all the great responses and requests that we received after the first, full moon online meditation, we are pleased to announce a new program for the full moon day in March!
The full moon day is a very important one in Buddhist countries, particularly in Bhante’s home country, Sri Lanka.
Bhante likes to call the full moon day a spiritual day for people who are seeking to travel on an inner journey.
In this online, guided meditation, Bhante Sujatha teaches about the tradition of practing during the full moon, and the value of keeping connected to your practice by goal setting and making it sacred.
Please join Bhante and spiritual friends from wherever you to come together to make time for yourself and apply techniques that can help to eliminate your negativities and sooth the soul within you.
Activities in this program will include:

Lecture: “The Ocean and the Tides”
Guided mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation.
Time for Questions & Answers.

Benefits of this program can include:

Reduced stress, anxiety, worry, and depression.
Healing and enhancing relationships with others.
Gaining a sense of empowerment over challenging issues in life.
Awakening to the blessings of the present moment.
Developing confidence in attaining unshakable inner peace.

To Register Click: HERE

Guided Meditation at Belmar Public Library
2024-03-26 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Detroit)
Whether you are a seasoned practitioner or new to the practice, Bhante Sujatha will help you to learn and apply time tested tools for the development of mindfulness in day to day life.
This is a donation based event and Choose Loving Kindness items will be on sale to help raise funds for Bhante Sujatha’s charitable work.
Bhante has been working to help the people in the developing nation of Sri Lanka for more than 25 years by building homes, providing materials to schools and students, food for the hungry, equipment for hospitals, medicine for the sick, and so much more. Leading by example with tireless effort, Bhante Sujatha never forgets that this work cannot be done by him alone. Without the support of friends and students all over the world, these services helping those in need in Sri Lanka would not exist.
If you would like to spend some time investing in yourself, and want to feel good knowing that your investment will go even further, this event is for you.
This is the perfect opportunity to remember that by nurturing yourself, you nurture the world. We hope you will take advantage of this unique opportunity to do just that!
About Bhante:
Bhante Sujatha, a 40+ year Buddhist Monk, is singularly focused on adding more love in the world. Bhante teaches loving-kindness meditation to people around the globe for all those seeking the art of happiness and contentment. His approach to meditation is deep and simple, bringing core Buddhist teachings to everyone in a way that is practical and easy to understand. A joyful, radiant, funny, and wildly energetic monk, Bhante will help you obtain peace that can only be found in deep silence. Bhante believes his purpose is not only to teach meditation, but also, “teaching people how to be happy.”

Awakening in the Midst of Life: A Mindfulness Workshop with Bhante Sujatha
2024-03-26 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Detroit) | With Intentions Holistic Studio, 1700 Main Street, Lake Como, NJ, 07719, United States
Life doesn’t take a time out for us, even when we feel like we need it. But we have the power to take our mind out of life, and can use this ability to observe it clearly. This is the way we bring our practice off of the cushion and into the midst of life. By learning to keep our mind open and aware throughout the day, we discover the true application of mindfulness practice.
In this workshop, Bhante Sujatha will guide you through techniques that help to dissolve the lines between the “beginning” and “ending” of a meditation practice, and discover that mindfulness is an ongoing process that becomes a companion in life.
In this program suitable for both new and seasoned practitioners, we will learn how to measure our responses, become more adaptive, reduce conflict, and manage emotions.
Join Bhante Sujatha in this workshop to learn that in both good times and bad, we always have the choice to step back and see what is happening.
To Register Click: HERE

Healing Your Wounded Heart: A Mindfulness Workshop at Yoga with Love
2024-03-28 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Detroit) | Yoga With Love, 417 Euclid Avenue, Loch Arbor, NJ, 07711, United States
“Working with people for more than 40 years as a monk and a friend, I have come to know we all show up to life with wounds from our past. Childhood, trauma, suffering of all shapes and sizes. We all have wounds on our heart that effect how we feel, think, and how we interact with the larger world. Healing our wounded hearts is the work of this lifetime.”
Allowing our heart to heal means we create the space to authentically feel and acknowledge the truth of suffering and the path to the end of this suffering. By putting in the right effort, we can activate our natural healing systems. Instead of trying to “get over” our pains, we learn to let go of the mental habits that reopen the wounds again and again.
In this 2-hour workshop, Bhante Sujatha will guide us through the process of approaching our wounds with gentleness and grace, and prepare you with the tools to let the healing process inside our hearts begin.
Facing our suffering is not an easy process, but we can come together in love and truth to move forward.
To Register Click: HERE

How to Empower Your Mind: An Ancient Wisdom Practice
2024-04-01 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Detroit) | Beck Wellness Center, 490 Lakehurst Road, Tom's River, NJ, 08755, United States
Rumi says, “what you seek is seeking you”… perhaps it’s true. The evidence of the power of our minds is undeniable. The ancient texts of the Buddha tell us that no external condition can be the cause of our happiness; only the mind has that ability. When people clearly understand how they are influenced, the root causes of struggle and what we can do with our minds to make things better are revealed. The result is sustainable happiness and radiant joy.
My life as a Buddhist monk has given me a front row seat to the incredible transformations that have developed within so many people as I teach them how to empower their minds. Cultivating these qualities will help you too find strength and happiness, as well as nurture in you a burning desire to add more love to the world. When we understand our mind, we begin to re-shape our behavior and feelings about so many things. It’s the most loving act of service one can do for themselves and the world.
To Register Click: HERE

Your Loss is Your Gain: A Mindfulness Workshop with Bhante Sujatha
2024-04-04 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Detroit)
“When you are able to experience gain and loss with an equal mind, you realize a rare freedom found in this world.”
We have all experienced success and failure, praise and blame, gain and loss. How do we feel after these experiences? How do we remember them? Our emotional connection to these extremes is undeniable, but we don’t always examine their long term effects, nor the middle ground between them. Recognizing and understanding the shifting of our emotions by outward influences is something we can realize both on and off the cushion, and allow us to experience and interact with the world in peaceful and purposeful ways.
Hosted by Namaste Organic Spa and held at The Unitarian Church of Ridgewood, join Bhante Sujatha in this two-hour workshop to explore how mindfulness and meditation practice can help you to clearly process the subtle reactions and patterns we develop when we experience gain and loss.
To Register Click: HERE

Finding Happiness & Contentment in the Western World: A Mindfulness Workshop
2024-04-05 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Detroit) | Jamie Surya Yoga, 222 Ash St., Piermont, NY, 10968, United States
“The pursuit of happiness” is a common bond that unites us all. Nearly everyone on the planet is actively engaged in finding sustainable happiness.
Still, regardless of our economic or social position, regardless of what we’ve acquired along the way, happiness seems to exist as a mysterious wind that comes in, fills us with joy, and then leave as unpredictably as when it arrived. We search for ways to capture it, to keep it around and within us for the long term, but inevitably it escapes us and we find ourselves searching again.
In this workshop, Bhante Sujatha teaches us that although we can’t buy or build happiness, we can cultivate a simple mindfulness practice in our daily lives that leads to a sustainable contentment which can permeate every aspect of our lives.

To learn more about this event and Jaimie Surya Yoga please visit: https://www.jamiesuryayoga.com/workshops

From the Inside Out: A Mindfulness Workshop with Bhante Sujatha
2024-04-07 16:00 - 18:00 (America/Detroit) | Flow Yoga Ho-Ho_Kus, 22 Hollywood Avenue, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ, 07423, United States
Many of us exist in an environment that endorses the metric of success as achieving fame and gaining possessions. In this context, the more we earn, the more we desire. Many people have more than humans have ever had in the past, and yet the happiness and peace we are all seeking continues to move further and further away.
This is not a rare condition; we can see the burning desire within ourselves and so many people to love more deeply, to live more fully and to find sustainable, sturdy happiness.
The remedy that many religions and wisdom teachers offer to quench this desire is the teaching of compassion and charitable actions. These teachings are of great value, but outward actions alone will not resolve a crisis of internal peace. Not yet have we seen someone find true inner peace and happiness without first loving themselves.
We cannot count on anything we find outside as a permanent solution that will sustain our happiness, but we can find the love within us to always protect ourselves. Learning to listen inwardly is how we discover joy and an unshakable peace that when fully developed can never be taken away.
To Register Click: HERE

Full Moon Meditation on Zoom
2024-07-20 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-08-19 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Online Event
Thanks to the loving responses and requests we received following the first full moon meditation, we are pleased to announce a new program for the full moon day in July!
We hope that you can join in!
WANT TO PARTICIPATE BUT CAN’T JOIN?
NOT TO WORRY!
A RECORDING OF THE EVENT IS SENT TO ALL REGISTERED GUESTS!
_________
The full moon day is a very important one in Buddhist countries, particularly in Bhante’s home country, Sri Lanka.
Bhante likes to call the full moon day, a spiritual day for people who are seeking to travel on an inner journey.
In this online, guided meditation, Bhante Sujatha teaches about the tradition of practicing during the full moon, and the value of keeping connected to your practice by goal setting and making it sacred.
To learn more and register for this event, click: HERE

Practical Sutra Study Online with Bhante Sujatha
2024-07-26 19:30 - 20:30, 2024-08-27 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Online Event
“Buddha vacana” (the Buddha’s words) are lifestyles.
I have observed and interacted with many scholars pursuing the teaching of the Buddha through academic practices. I myself have done this as part of my monk’s training, and know it is very important for our growth as monks, for the purpose of making the Dhamma accessible to people, and for the purpose of protecting the life of the Buddha Dhamma.
Studying these beautiful teachings is important, but we also have to understand that if they are not put into a daily practice, they serve as much purpose as a book collecting dust on the shelf. I do not think the Buddha intended for the teachings to simply be collected and memorized, but to be understood and applied.
As I understand at this time in my practice, there are two Dharmas:
1. Head Dharma
2. Heart Dharma
I have met practitioners and students all over the world, and many of them approach the teaching from either one of these aspects, but it is my wish for people to develop both.
Taking into consideration requests from students across the nation for more sutra studies, I have decided to create this “Practical Sutra Study Session” as a monthly program designed to give more support to those on the path of self awareness.
I hope that you can join, and come together with noble friends to deepen our practice together.
WANT TO PARTICIPATE BUT CAN’T JOIN?
NOT TO WORRY!
A RECORDING OF THE EVENT IS SENT TO ALL REGISTERED GUESTS!
To register for this event, please click: HERE

How to Empower Your Mind: A Guided Meditation and Mindfulness Workshop
2024-08-25 15:00 - 16:30 (America/Chicago) | The Home of Linda Benton, 37015 N Willow Lane, Gurnee (Unincorporated Wadsworth), IL, 60031
Rumi says, “what you seek is seeking you”… perhaps it’s true. The evidence of the power of our minds is undeniable. The ancient texts of the Buddha tell us that no external condition can be the cause of our happiness; only the mind has that ability. When people clearly understand how they are influenced, the root causes of struggle and what we can do with our minds to make things better are revealed. The result is sustainable happiness and radiant joy.
My life as a Buddhist monk has given me a front row seat to the incredible transformations that have developed within so many people as I teach them how to empower their minds. Cultivating these qualities will help you too find strength and happiness, as well as nurture in you a burning desire to add more love to the world. When we understand our mind, we begin to re-shape our behavior and feelings about so many things. It’s the most loving act of service one can do for themselves and the world.
Please join me at the beautiful estate of my good friend, Linda Benton, who has generously offered to host this event in order to support me and my charitable work adding more love to the world.
Benefits of this workshop include:
• Reduced stress, anxiety, worry and depression
• Healing and enhancing relationships with others
• Gaining a sense of empowerment over challenging issues in your life
• Insights into your life purpose
• Awakening to the blessings of the present moment
• Working towards an unshakable inner peace
Fee $30
• Advanced registration required.
• Proceeds help support Bhante’s “Pregnant Mother’s Program” and Incubator Project in Sri Lanka.
• Choose Loving-Kindness Items and Bhante’s publications will be available for purchase on site, and Bhante will be able to for book signing following the program.
To Join this event click: HERE

Heart Dharma vs. Head Dharma
2024-09-07 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago) | The Yoga Effect, 1134 E Washington St., Grayslake, Illinois, 60030, United States
Join Bhante Sujatha for an intimate conversation on how to train your mind to find the good,
how to use your practice to benefit the world, and how to find blessings in a fast-paced and
oftentimes noisy world.
At times there is the notion that meditation is a playful and fantastical space for your mind to
wander. Bhante Sujatha guides us to understand that meditation should in fact be approached
as a positive and realistic journey; one that comes with both relaxed and mindful expectations.
As an opportunity to discuss our own personal life experiences to help deepen our practice, this
workshop can be a life changing experience that will bring strength and authenticity to the
forefront of your practice.
We hope this time together will leave you feeling more mindful, centered, and ready to serve.
Activities and benefits of this workshop include:
* Reduced stress, anxiety, worry and depression
* Healing and enhancing relationships with others
* Gaining a sense of empowerment over challenging issues in your life
* Insights into your life purpose
* Awakening to the blessings of the present moment
* Attending unshakable inner peace
· Advanced registration required
· Proceeds go to Bhante’s pregnant mothers and Incubator Project in Sri Lanka
· Book signing and Choose-Loving Kindness Items are available to purchase
To register click: HERE

Mind Your Step! A Hike with Bhante Sujatha
2024-09-15 10:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | Fontenelle Forest Nature Meditation Walk, 111 Bellevue Boulevard, North Bellevue, NE, 68005, United States
“Mind Your Step!”
A Mindful Hike with Bhante Sujatha
We all get accustomed to our thinking mind’s perceptions of right and wrong: This is the right way; this is the wrong way…. Our spiritual practice however, teaches us to let go of some of these certainties, and discover new ways to experience mindful practice.
Many people are accustomed to the belief that meditation practice only happens while sitting on a cushion. Our minds can become conditioned in this way, and we forget that meditation is a practice for developing mindfulness for daily living.
Join Bhante Sujatha on a hike with mindfulness, to shake up your practice and challenge the notions that you may or may not have adopted.
In this hike, Bhante and a group of noble friends will share time skillfully with hiking, sharing meaningful conversation, practicing stillness to experience nature, and learning to watch the steps and breaths taken along the way.
Registration: For Head Count Purposes, please register on Eventbrite
Suggested Donations:
$15 per adult
$13 per senior (62+)
$9 per child (2-17)
Plus sales tax
Free for children under age 2
Free for members
All proceeds go toward Bhante Sujatha’s “Annual Pregnant Mother’s Project” and charitable work in Sri Lanka.
NOTES:
We will meet in the parking lot at the trailhead. The hike begins at 10:00 AM. Please arrive a few minutes early for the head count.
There will be a brief sitting meditation and discussion, please bring a mat or blanket if you like for sitting.

Guided Meditation with Bhante Sujatha: A Fundraiser for Pregnant Mothers
2024-09-15 16:00 - 17:30 (America/Chicago) | One Tree Yoga – East Studio, 5020 Dodge Street, Omaha, 68132, United States
Guided Meditation with Bhante Sujatha: A Fundraiser for Pregnant Mothers
Sunday, September 15
Hosted by The Flatwater Collective
For more than 20 years, Bhante Sujatha has been focusing his energy toward the support of pregnant mothers. Originally inspired to undertake this service in honor of his teacher, Bhante Sujatha has expanded this project which began with baby hats and small parcels of goods into an annual, day-long event for 300 pregnant women!
These events include physician-led education sessions on nurturing a newborn, guided loving-kindness meditation practice, and gift baskets full of vital necessities for newborns provided to all the expecting mothers in attendace. In addition to the annual program, Bhante has raised funds over the years for the donation of more than 15 incubators, baby warmers, and even an ultrasound scanner to general hospitals around Sri Lanka!
Our friend Anne Savery and the Flatwater Collective have kindly opened their hearts to host a fundraising workshop to support this great effort.
In this guided meditation, we join Bhante Sujatha for an open conversation about our habit of seeking outward gratification, and the path to discovering our inner value in order to learn how to authentically love ourselves and become our own best friends.
Activities in this program will include:
– Guided mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation.
– Time for Questions & Answers.
Benefits of this beautiful workshop can include:
– Reduced stress, anxiety, worry, and depression.
– Healing and enhancing relationships with others.
– Gaining a sense of empowerment over challenging issues in life.
– Awakening to the blessings of the present moment.
– Confidence in attaining unshakable inner peace.
Cost: $40
Please note:
Advanced registration is required. All proceeds help support Bhante’s Pregnant Mother’s Program and Incubator Project
in Sri Lanka. ·
“Choose Loving-Kindness” products and Bhante’s publications will be available for purchase on-site, and Bhante will be able for book signing following the program.
Advance registration is appreciated.
TO REGISTER, CLICK HERE

September Full Moon Meditation on Zoom with Bhante Sujatha
2024-09-17 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Online Event
With all the great responses and requests that we have been receiving, we are so pleased to announce a new program for the full moon day in September!
The full moon day is a very important one in Buddhist countries, particularly in Bhante’s home country, Sri Lanka.
Bhante likes to call the full moon day a spiritual day for people who are seeking to travel on an inner journey.
In this online, guided meditation, Bhante Sujatha teaches about the tradition of practing during the full moon, and the value of keeping connected to your practice by goal setting and making it sacred.
Please join Bhante and spiritual friends from wherever you to come together to make time for yourself and apply techniques that can help to eliminate your negativities and sooth the soul within you.
Activities in this program will include:

Guided mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation.
Sharing of wisdom and experience from Bhante Sujatha.
Time for Questions & Answers.

Benefits of this program can include:

Reduced stress, anxiety, worry, and depression.
Healing and enhancing relationships with others.
Gaining a sense of empowerment over challenging issues in life.
Awakening to the blessings of the present moment.
Developing confidence in attaining unshakable inner peace.

COST: $10
A link will be sent to all registrants 1-Hour before the workshop begins.
WANT TO PARTICIPATE BUT UNABLE TO JOIN?
NOT TO WORRY!
THE EVENT WILL BE RECORDED AND SENT TO ALL REGISTERED GUESTS!
TO REGISTER, CLICK HERE

Practical Sutra Study with Bhante Sujatha Monthly on Zoom
2024-09-30 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Online Event
“Buddha vacana” (the Buddha’s words) are lifestyles.
I have observed and interacted with many scholars pursuing the teaching of the Buddha through academic practices. I myself have done this as part of my monk’s training, and know it is very important for our growth as monks, for the purpose of making the Dhamma accessible to people, and for the purpose of protecting the life of the Buddha Dhamma.
Studying these beautiful teachings is important, but we also have to understand that if they are not put into a daily practice, they serve as much purpose as a book collecting dust on the shelf. I do not think the Buddha intended for the teachings to simply be collected and memorized, but to be understood, and applied.
As I understand at this time in my practice, there are two Dharmas:
1. Head Dharma
2. Heart Dharma
I have met practitioners and students all over the world, and many of them approach the teaching from either one of these aspects, but it is my wish for people to develop both.
Taking into consideration requests from students across the world for more sutra studies, I have decided to create this “Practical Sutra Study Session” as a monthly program designed to give more support to those on the path of self awareness and mindfulness.
I hope that you can join, and come together with noble friends to deepen our practice together.
May you be well, happy, and peaceful.
WANT TO PARTICIPATE BUT UNABLE TO JOIN?
NOT TO WORRY!
THE EVENT WILL BE RECORDED AND SENT TO ALL REGISTERED GUESTS!

TO REGISTER, CLICK HERE

Mindfulness Workshop at Crow's Nest Farm in Barrington with Bhante Sujatha
2024-10-05 17:00 - 18:30 (America/Chicago) | Crow’s Nest Farm, 85 Honeycutt Road, PT BARRINGTON, IL, 60010, United States
Look deeply into nature, and you will understand everything better.
Crow’s Nest Farm is a tranquil oasis located in the heart of Barrington Hills that was created by its owners as a sanctuary for native wildlife and themselves. The property consists of a series of connected gardens, restored oak and hickory savannah, woodland trails, and adjoining horse pastures. There are areas to relax throughout the property, including a small Japanese Zen garden with an inviting sitting arbor for meditation.
The woodland trails take you through the restored oak savannah with its multiple ravines and a small bridge, and a newly created pond contains lily pads and native vegetation. In addition, the pond attracts numerous frogs and has a thriving group of fish, (goldfish and minnows).
Ever a work in progress, the gardens of the property have been evolving over the last twenty years and consist of a variety of unique trees, perennials, and native vegetation.
Among this splendor, Bhante Sujatha will lead a guided meditation and give a Dharma Talk with time for questions and answers.
Tickets for this event are $40 and all proceeds go to Bhante Sujatha and to support his charitable work in Sri Lanka including the annual “Pregnant Mother’s Retreat” that serves 300 expecting women each year.
Please bring a folding chair, or something to sit on, for the outdoor meditation, as well as something to keep you warm.
TO REGISTER, CLICK HERE
For assistance, please call or write to Barbara Skan:
ph: 847-340-1795 / @: blskan@gmail.com

Suffering is Optional – A Mindfulness Workshop with Bhante Sujatha
2024-10-10 12:45 - 14:15 (America/Chicago) | Lifetime Fitness, Skokie, 5300 Old Orchard Rd., Skokie, IL, 60077, United States
“We can’t change the nature of life, but we can change our attitude towards it.”
Join Bhante Sujatha for an intimate conversation on how to train your mind to find the good, how to use your practice to benefit the world, and how to find blessings in a fast-paced and oftentimes noisy world.
At times there is the notion that meditation is a playful and fantastical space for your mind to wander. Bhante Sujatha guides us to understand that meditation should in fact be approached as a positive and realistic journey; one that comes with both relaxed and mindful expectations.
Activities and benefits of this workshop include:
* Reduced stress, anxiety, worry and depression
* Healing and enhancing relationships with others
* Gaining a sense of empowerment over challenging issues in your life
* Insights into your life purpose
* Awakening to the blessings of the present moment
* Attending unshakable inner peace

• Proceeds support Bhante’s annual pregnant mothers retreat and charitable projects in Sri Lanka
• Book signing and Choose-Loving Kindness Items are available to purchase

October Full Moon Meditation on Zoom with Bhante Sujatha
2024-10-17 19:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | Online Event
With all the great responses and requests that we have been receiving, we are so pleased to announce a new program for the full moon day in October!
The full moon day is a very important one in Buddhist countries, particularly in Bhante’s home country, Sri Lanka.
Bhante likes to call the full moon day a spiritual day for people who are seeking to travel on an inner journey.
In this online, guided meditation, Bhante Sujatha teaches about the tradition of practing during the full moon, and the value of keeping connected to your practice by goal setting and making it sacred.
Please join Bhante and spiritual friends from wherever you to come together to make time for yourself and apply techniques that can help to eliminate your negativities and sooth the soul within you.
Activities in this program will include:

Guided mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation.
Sharing of wisdom and experience from Bhante Sujatha.
Time for Questions & Answers.

Benefits of this program can include:

Reduced stress, anxiety, worry, and depression.
Healing and enhancing relationships with others.
Gaining a sense of empowerment over challenging issues in life.
Awakening to the blessings of the present moment.
Developing confidence in attaining unshakable inner peace.

A link will be sent to all registrants 2 hours before the workshop begins.
WANT TO PARTICIPATE BUT UNABLE TO JOIN?
NOT TO WORRY!
THE EVENT WILL BE RECORDED AND SENT TO ALL REGISTERED GUESTS!
