About this Course

Something needs to change. We find ourselves moving through a world shaped by the projects and struggles of our ancestors, reckoning with the inheritance they left us, part beautiful, part terrible. We live in a place and time where every generation’s vision of how to live well is already obsolete by the time their children take the wheel. Each of us is one of those children, and for many of us our way has been marked by poor guidance, distorted histories, and the erosion of grounded, healthy culture.

The ancient South Asian teacher we call the Buddha established a path of community-based training in response to social upheaval and the need he saw for a new spirituality of heart, inner clarity, and accountability to the web of life. His principles, which have always moved against the stream of the prevailing culture, offer those who take them up a tested path to well-being and a vision for human flourishing. These teachings are laid out in a stunning body of oral literature called the Pāli Canon, preserved by the Buddhist community known as the Theravāda, or the “Elder Way.” 

In this 5-week course designed for beginners—the first in a series of deepening practice and study courses—we will build the foundations of a sustainable and dynamic Theravāda Buddhist training. We’ll learn the basic skills of relationship and community-tending, establish a solid meditation practice, and engage with the Pāli Canon as both a teaching source and a literature of extraordinary beauty and depth. Each week we will meditate together, read passages from the discourses, and discuss the implications of the teachings for our lives here and now. You will come away with an approach to Buddhist practice that is flexible, curious, and joyful, an earthy spirituality that honors the wise and well ancestors and the possibility of real awakening in our time.

About Sean

Sean Oakes, PhD (he/him, queer, of Spanish/Puerto Rican and Northern European ancestry living on unceded Pomo land in California), teaches Buddhism, Yoga, and somatic practice. He received teaching authorization from Jack Kornfield, wrote his dissertation on extraordinary states in Buddhist meditation and experimental dance, and focuses on the integration of philosophy, somatics, and social justice discourse with the Dharma. He teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, East Bay Meditation Center, Insight Timer, and elsewhere.

Take this Course