Course Requirements and Details

The emphasis in this course is on understanding the texts in the context of Early Buddhism and in terms of their meaning to our own lives and practices.

Zoom Guidelines

Please follow these guidelines while attending the course:

• Turn on your video. Keeping your screen on fosters connection to the group.
• Only unmute to speak.
• Turn your cellphone off, on airplane mode or on silent. Put it in another room if possible.

Attendance

While we hope that you will attend all group meetings during the semester, we understand that we all have busy lives and at times you may not be able to attend.

Course Length

Open-ended
The course is described as open-ended because at the pace of 1-2 suttas per month it will take a few years to carefully read through the collection.

Semesters

Since most people might not want to make such a long commitment, the course is broken into two or three semesters per year. Participants should feel free to register for any or all of the semesters as they become available.

New discourses are read each month, so one can easily enter the course, or return to it, any semester.

Text

Each participant must have their own copy of our text, The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha.

• The print version is preferred.
• The e-book version is acceptable if you are able to read from it on a separate device from the one you’re using for our online meetings, so that you are not having to switch back and forth  between screens on one device.
• The book is available in both print and ebook formats from Wisdom Publications with current prices of $75 for print and $30 for ebook. It may also be ordered from local and other online bookstores. There are also used copies available.
• Sutta Central is not workable for this course. While selected suttas from The Middle Length Discourses are available there, all of the suttas are not available in this translation. They also lack the endnotes and use a different numbering system.

Reading

Please read the month’s assigned sutta(s) on your own so you have some familiarity with the contents before the group meeting.

You might make notes about things you don’t understand or find yourself reacting towards. In this way you engage more deeply with the sutta(s) and make their study part of your personal practice. More suggestions are provided in the welcome message sent after registration.

When we gather together to read and discuss, you might share your questions and comments enriching your own understanding and that of other participants.

More About The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, translated by Bhikkhu Nānamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi

In his introduction, which is well worth reading, Bhikkhu Bodhi has written:

If the Majjhima Nikāya were to be characterized by a single phrase … this might be done by describing it as the collection that combines the richest variety of contextual settings with the deepest and most comprehensive assortment of teachings. … it contains some of the profoundest discourses … disclosing the Buddha’s radical insights into the nature of existence…
—MLD, Intro, p. 20

In the discourses the Buddha’s teachings are not presented in a systematic manner. Instead we encounter them as he orally shared them, teaching one facet here depending on the audience and the questions, teaching another there. While this may initially be frustrating to our minds, it has the advantage of exposing us repeatedly over time to different teachings and practices.  This gives us the opportunity to gradually deepen our understanding in a way that will also deepen our practices.

Further Questions?
If you have questions about the course feel free to contact Phil at comodharma@gmail.com