The Path to Liberation: Exploring the Buddha's Discourses on the "Gradual Training"

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The discourses of the Buddha, called suttas, are one of the world’s most majestic collections of spiritual teaching. They include inspiring poetry, psychological guidance, social theory, and philosophical masterpieces that address the deepest human fears, hopes, and potential.

In this series, we’ll read discourses where the Buddha lays out the path to liberation. We’ll see him in conversation with monks and nuns, laypeople, believers and skeptics, and feel the skill and compassion he brought to every encounter. And we’ll explore how generosity and ethics become the foundation for meditation, insight, and liberation, as well as the social structures that support a radically egalitarian community.

While beginners are welcome, this class will be most relevant for practitioners with some experience in meditation. With extensive supplementary material, this class aims to make the discourses of the Buddha an accessible, inspiring support for practice.

Teacher: Sean Feit Oakes, PhD

Program Dates: 5 Thursdays:
September 15, 22, 29, October 6, 13

Time: 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. PT

Schedule: (All times in Pacific Time)

1:00 pm | Opening invocation & meditation
1:20 pm | Talk
2:00 pm | Discussion Groups (4-5 people)
2:20 pm | Full Group Discussion, Q & A

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Sean Feit Oakes, PhD (he/him, queer, Puerto Rican & English ancestry, living on unceded Pomo land in Northern California), teaches Buddhism and somatic practice focusing on the integration of meditation, trauma resolution, and social justice. He has studied in Theravāda, Zen, and Vajrāyāna Buddhist lineages, including training as a monk in Burma, and was authorized to teach by Jack Kornfield. Website: SeanFeitOakes.com

What We’ll Read

Class 1 (9.15.22): The Mettā Sutta (Snp 1.8)

Class 2 (9.22.22): With Kandaraka (MN 51)

Class 3 (9.29.22): A Trainee (MN 53)

Class 4 (10.6.22): Analysis [of the Eightfold Path] (SN 45.8)

Class 5 (10.13.22): Vital Conditions (SN 12.23)

Pāli Canon abbreviations

Sutta Nipāta (Snp): Anthology of Discourses, an early text that is part of the Khuddaka Nikāya
Majjhima Nikāya (MN): The Middle-Length Discourses
Saṁyutta Nikāya (SN): The Connected Discourses
Aṅguttara Nikāya (AN): The Numbered Discourses
Dīgha Nikāya (DN): The Long Discourses