Working with Mental Factors

Working with Mental Factors

First Saturday of the Month, from 9:30 to Noon 

The Dhammapada states "Mind is the forerunner of all things", the Avatamsaka Sutra states, "The Triple World is only Mind", and the Vimilakirti Sutra states, "If the mind is pure, the Buddha-land is pure". Working with, and (in the language of many sutras) purifying our minds, is foundational to Buddhist practice. Developing the teachings of the Pali cannon Abhidharma, Yogacara - the school of Buddhism founded on the principle that the world is a projection or construction of mind itself - built a list of 51 mental factors for us to work with to do just this.

In this study series, Gareth will provide context for Yogacara and the mental factors, and will work through the factors (updated to include contemporary factors) in a practical, hands-on manner, helping participants learn how to identify them when they arise, understand their attributes and how they hijack our minds and bodies, and cultivate antidotes so that we are able to restore our minds and our bodies to equanimity.

Reference materials will be provided during the classes as aids for our practice, and a variety of guided meditations and other practical instruction and guidance will be offered.

Gareth Young is a co-founder and the guiding teacher of Red Clay Sangha. He has maintained a committed meditation practice for over 25 years in the Chan/Zen and Nikaya traditions, and integrates over 10 years of interfaith engagement into his teaching.

Gareth's teaching authorization is in the Thai Forest lineage of Ajahn Chah, Jack Kornfield and Lisa Ernst.