AWAKENING AS A HOUSEHOLDER:
THE DHARMA PATH OF VIMILAKIRTI II
For a second year, Fred will teach and comment on The Vimilakirti Sutra, the preeminent Buddhist text for any layperson who aspires to lead an awakened and altruistically purposeful life. This sutra has inspired and guided Buddhist lay practitioners throughout Asia for over a thousand years. Vimilakirti, an enlightened disciple of the Buddha, was a family man, businessman, community leader, and friend to all in need. He was also known for his profound wisdom and for his creativity in manifesting compassionate activity in all circumstances. He was both respected and somewhat feared by the Buddha's monastic disciples and the bodhisattvas. This beloved sutra is both great drama and profound instruction, as it succinctly and pragmatically shows laypeople how to practice highest wisdom and compassion in their daily lives.
While teaching this sutra to retreat participants, Fred will draw on his meditative experience in the Zen, Dzogchen (Great Perfection), and other mindfulness-based traditions, as well as his many years as a professional psychotherapist. The silent retreat will include formal periods of sitting and walking meditation, guided meditations, daily Dharma talks, private interviews with Fred, and opportunities for solitary practice and enjoyment of the natural beauty and peacefulness of Southern Dharma.
For those who weren't able to attend Fred's retreat last year at SRDC, his 2009 teachings at SDRC are available on the website of Florida Community of Mindfulness. While familiarity with these 2009 teachings will be beneficial, neither attendance at Fred's 2009 retreat nor review of Fred's 2009 teachings at SDRC is a prerequisite for attending this 2010 retreat
Fred Eppsteiner is the Dharma Teacher of the Florida Community of Mindfulness with students in Florida and North Carolina. A practicing Buddhist for over forty years, and a psychotherapist for more than thirty years, Fred has trained extensively in both Zen and Vajrayana/Dzogchen lineages. He received Dharma Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh in 1994 and is the editor of two books: The Path of Compassion and Interbeing. For more information on Fred and his community, access www.floridamindfulness.org.
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