A Direct Path to Happiness, Part II
Renunciation & Wisdom
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The Buddha identified ten qualities of character that were necessary for the development of an awakened life. Today, the cultivation of these ten virtues is more important than ever as we individually and collectively seek to navigate an increasingly complex world.
This January, join Sylvia Boorstein and Sharon Salzberg for the second gathering in a series of special events exploring the ten virtues. In Part II of A Direct Path to Happiness, we focus on the qualities of renunciation and wisdom.
Renunciation is traditionally defined as freedom from craving. Today, we might think about the ways in which our senses chain us to patterns of behavior. What is attractive to the eye? Agreeable to the ear? Pleasing to the tongue? Enticing to the skin? Pleasant to the nose? In the realm of our senses and their sense objects, what do we seek, and what do we avoid?
Clear seeing allows us to monitor these and other patterns of our mind. When mindfulness and clear seeing lead to insights about this patterning, we call this phenomenon “wisdom.” Wisdom then invites us to make choices that might otherwise be governed by attachment or aversion to whatever we are encountering with our senses.
In this way, wisdom and renunciation are deeply interconnected. Together, they invite us to consider that we don’t need to react to every phenomenon; every disappointment is not a calamity, and every perceived success is not cause for a victory lap. Instead, by cultivating the qualities of appropriate renunciation and wisdom, we discern skillful action, and free ourselves from endless cycles of suffering. This becomes our most direct path to happiness.
This program will be recorded and made available for on-demand viewing after the live sessions. On-demand videos will be available for 90 days following the live event.