Meditation and the Path of Contentment
with Patrick Knisely & Jenny Hannah
Meditation and the Path of Contentment offers an exploration of genuine contentment through the foundational views of the Buddhist and Shambhala teachings.
What is contentment? Generally, we think it's having enough money, enough love, enough sustenance, and security. And yet, somehow, it's never enough. "Contentment," in this sense, remains elusive.
In the Shambhala teachings, we regard "contentment" as simply resting in the moment, acknowledging and being with "what is," a state of simplicity. This course provides an opportunity to strengthen one's practice of meditation and explore the foundational Buddhist and Shambhala teachings, with a focus on how we can find contentment amid our daily life experiences. With meditation practice, we learn to meet difficult emotions and life's challenges with gentleness, steadiness, and humor. We begin to appreciate ourselves and the simple human experience.
In understanding the gentle precision of meditation practice, we can grow to appreciate ourselves and our human experiences, free from self-aggression. We learn how difficult emotions and the challenges of life can be met with gentleness, steadiness and humor.
This five-part course offers instruction on the following topics:
Class 1: Introducing Contentment: "Friendly to Oneself"
Class 2: Contemplating Contentment: "Nowness"
Class 3: Suffering & The Four Noble Truths: "Meeting Suffering with Gentleness"
Class 4: Working with Emotions & Buddhist Psychology
Class 5: The Confidence of Contentment
This course provides a good introduction for beginning meditators and is appropriate for seasoned meditators as well. Through guided meditation instruction and practice, talks, contemplation, and group discussion, we gain an understanding of unconditional contentment and start to appreciate life as it is.
Attendees have the option of in-person or online attendance (Hybrid). In-person attendance will be at our Burbank Center - Main Shrine Room. Online participants will attend via Zoom.Way of Shambhala Curriculum
Way of Shambhala is an extensive path of training in authentic meditation practices and wisdom teachings for anyone interested in pursuing such training. This program of courses and weekend retreats offers an experiential overview of practices, teachings, contemplative arts, and physical disciplines rooted in the ancient traditions of Shambhala and Vajrayana Buddhism. The program is open to people of all religious backgrounds or no religious background. It is recommended for new and experienced meditators as well as those looking to enrich their personal spiritual path and social action.
Spirituality doesn't exist on another level different from ordinary life.
~ Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
TEACHERS
Jenny Hannah has been a student and practitioner of Shambhala Buddhism for 17 years. She has served the L.A. sangha through several roles, including teaching yoga and meditation classes. As a council member, she has held positions in Communications, Membership, Care and Conduct, and Societal Health and Wellbeing. By day, she is a licensed psychotherapist whose approach integrates depth psychology, art therapy, Buddhist psychology, Tibetan/Himalayan typology, and somatic-based practices. She engages in ongoing creative work—recent explorations include dream incubation and mixed media.
Patrick Knisely has been meditating since 2017, when he first saw Pema Chodron’s interview with Bill Moyers on television. He has been a photographer, teacher, and speech-language pathologist. He lives in Los Angeles, but is also grateful for his Nebraska roots.
