We are thrilled to welcome Choden back to Gauteng and North West for a programme of Buddhist teachings related to mindfulness.

KSDJ Kensington (see below), KSD Randburg (Monday 12 and 13 Tuesday April) and Tara Rokpa Centre 16-18 April.

KSDJ – KENSINGTON Programme

MEDITATION with CHODEN Thursday 8 April 7.30 pm

A Guided Meditation, and Q&A – FREE

WEEKEND RETREAT with CHODEN Sat 10 & Sun 11 April

BUDDHIST PRACTICES TO DEEPEN YOUR EXPERIENCE OF MINDFULNESS

Choden will offer some Buddhist practices to deepen and transform our relationship to mindfulness. The focus will be on communicating a felt sense through guided practice rather than intellectual teaching.
There are 3 key issues that can undermine our practice of meditation: we see ourselves as limited and flawed; we take our problems to be solid and real; and we identify with ourselves as being the body and mind that walks around with a name!
The key understanding in Buddhism is that our essential nature is flawless and whole – like a glistening diamond – but the problem is that it lies undiscovered within our ordinary mind. Once we get a glimpse of this essential nature then our issues and problems are not such a big deal, but they are seen as an expression of this nature, and they come bearing gifts. Furthermore, we learn to inhabit a much more expansive sense of ‘me’ that can eventually encompass the whole world.
Choden will guide some Buddhist practices that open a door to these 3 key areas. This can have a big impact on our mindfulness practice because our starting point is that we are already completely okay, we see any obstacles as part of our path, and we are invited into a much bigger space of awareness than just me sitting there focusing on my breath and getting bothered by my thoughts!

Requested Donation:
R300 for the weekend, in person or on Zoom. R100 for each of the 3 session: Saturday morning, afternoon, and Sunday morning.
Members R240, Pensioners and students discounts.
These donations go towards the running of your centre, and to cover expenses related to bring Choden to Johannesburg. Please don’t let a lack of funds prevent you from attending – please speak to us on email or WhatsApp.
Dana for the teacher would be much appreciated – you can put your dana in the dana box in the foyer.

Times:
Sat 10th 10:30 to 5 pm April (bring and & share lunch)
Sun 11th 10:30 to 1 pm

Bookings & Contact:
Mandi
Johannesburg@kagyu.org.za
WhatsApp: 062  913 4436

PLEASE NOTE: ONLY REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS WILL RECEIVE THE ZOOM LINK

Banking Details :

Nedbank Bedfordview: Account number: 1925 083 373, Account name – Johannesburg Samye Dzong, Branch code: 1925 05, Swift Code: NEDSZAJJ, Reference: Your Name + Course Name

Your Facilitator:

A monk within the Karma Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, Choden (aka Sean Mc Govern) completed a three-year, three-month retreat in 1997 and has been a practising Buddhist since 1985. He is originally from South Africa where he trained as a lawyer and learned meditation under the guidance of Rob Nairn, an internationally renowned Buddhist teacher. He is now involved in developing secular mindfulness and compassion programmes drawing upon the wisdom and methods of the Buddhist tradition, as well as contemporary insights from psychology and neuroscience. He is an honorary fellow of the University of Aberdeen and teaches on their Postgraduate Study Programme in Mindfulness (MSc) that is the first of its kind to include compassion in its curriculum. He co-wrote a book with Paul Gilbert in 2013, entitled Mindful Compassion that explores the interface between Buddhist and Evolutionary approaches to compassion training. He is also the co-author of two other books: Mindfulness Based Living Course (2018) and From Mindfulness to Insight (2019). In 2016 he completed a one-year retreat focused on the foundation practices of Tibetan Buddhism.