Location: 150 Lake Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572

In the great healing traditions of Tibetan Buddhism and psychotherapy, there is a powerful appreciation for the wish to feel well, recover from all forms of suffering, and live a full and peaceful life. Join the venerable Khenpo Pema Wangdak, a Tibetan Buddhist monk and founding teacher of the Vikramasila Foundation, and Pilar Jennings, a psychoanalyst and author of To Heal a Wounded Heart, to explore a roadmap for healing in the Bodhisattva’s Way.

Together we learn about sacred Buddhist teachings and how to apply them to spiritual and psychological healing. Through meditation, discussions, and guided exercises, we discover methods for increasing self-compassion, addressing trauma, and releasing beliefs that limit happiness and meaningful connection with others.

This retreat is open to beginning and experienced meditators, as well as clinicians who want to apply the healing arts of Buddhist spirituality in clinical work.

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Dates: Jun 12, 2020 – Jun 14, 2020
Days: Fri – Sun (2 Nights)

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Instructor: Pilar Jennings

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The Shantideva Meditation Center presents this public talk with Dr. Pilar Jennings on April 24, 2020.

As we navigate this time of polarization and strife, the healing arts of Buddhist teachings and Western psychology offer illuminating perspectives and methods. In this talk, we’ll explore a Buddhist and psychodynamic understanding of anxiety, its causes and personal symptoms. Together we will examine a contemplative response to this form of suffering as a way to cull meaning and offer support to those who experience anxiety and its many ripple effects.

With a focus on interpersonal dynamics, including the spiritual mentor/student dyad, we will learn about key relational dynamics that can generate feelings and behaviors associated with anxiety. This talk will be relevant to meditators of all experience levels and clinicians interested in the clinical applications of Buddhist meditation.

This is an online-only event that is administered using Zoom, as the center is currently closed due to COVID-19. Zoom is an interactive video-conferencing tool that allows participants to see one another and ask questions. You will need a computer, a tablet or a smartphone with the Zoom application to attend.

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Join us for Emptiness & Social Action  with Dr. Pilar Jennings

WHEN: April 16, 2020 @ 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm

WHERE: Union Theological Seminary 3041 Broadway, New York, NY 10027

COST: Free

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The Thích Nhất Hạnh Program for Engaged Buddhism invites you to join us for our monthly Dharma Talk Series: Emptiness and Social Action. Over the course of nine months, a wide array of Buddhist teachers will take us into the essential teachings of the Buddhadharma and what it looks like to move into action to address the dissatisfaction, distress, and suffering that we meet in relationship with the earth, people, and systems today, in the United States, and around the world.

How does conceptual, inferential, and experiential knowledge into emptiness of an inherent self invite for a response to circumstances that are stressful, painful, and violent? Each evening will be unique, with a combination of a dharma talk, meditation, and a question and answer period exploring these essential and vital questions within Buddhism and our lives’ for this moment in time.

Dr. Jennings is a Visiting Lecturer at Union Theological Seminary; Columbia University; and a Faculty Member of the Nalanda Institute for Contemplative Science. She is also a facilitator of a Columbia University Faculty Seminar addressing topics related to slavery and memory, with a focus on the inter-generational transmission of trauma.  She has given workshops and retreats internationally on the Buddhist and psychoanalytic approach to trauma, the relevance of spirituality in clinicians, and the unfolding conversation between Buddhist and developmental psychology.

Her publications have included “East of Ego: The Intersection of Narcissism and Buddhist Meditation Practice,” “I’ve Been Waiting for you: Reflections on Analytic Pain,” “Imagery and Trauma: The Psyche’s Push for Healing,” and Mixing Minds: The Power of Relationship in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism released through Wisdom Publications.  Her most recent book: To Heal a Wounded Heart: On the Transformative Power of Buddhism & Psychotherapy in Action, is a psychoanalytic memoir exploring her entry into clinical work as a practicing Buddhist.

Dr. Jennings is a long-term practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism in the Sakya lineage and student of Khenpo Pema Wangdak, founder and guiding teacher of the Vikramasila Foundation. Her most recent retreats at the Garrison Institute and Omega Institute have addressed the Upaya, or skillful means in response to trauma and psycho-spiritual efforts at healing.

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All are welcome — this group is for those who are curious to learn more about meditation, for both beginners and practicing Buddhists. A sangha is a community of people who come together to meditate and study the practice of Buddhism.

When: Our sangha meets monthly, generally 1:30-3:00 p.m. on the first Sunday of the month (though we meet on the second Sunday of the month on occasion due to holiday weekends). We do not sit on the floor; we sit in chairs.

Where: 1157 Lexington Avenue, between 79th and 80th Street, NYC.

Our teacher: Dr. Pilar Jennings is a psychotherapist and psychoanalyst who focuses on the clinical applications of Buddhist meditation practice. She completed a doctorate in the Psychiatry and Religion Program at Union Theological Seminary. Dr. Jennings is also the author of Mixing Minds: The Power of Relationship in Psychoanalysis and Buddhism (2010) and To Heal a Wounded Heart: The Transformative Power of Buddhism and Psychotherapy in Action.

Contact: Pamela Patton, Director of Pastoral Ministries

Recommended Resources for Sangha participants.