During the evening, Ven. Tenzin Michael will explain how people usually look for happiness in worldly, material possessions, but how happiness is a state of mind that can be cultivated independently of any circumstances outside the mind. Buddhist doctrine teaches that happiness comes from giving up on everything that leads to suffering. The more our mind becomes peaceful and calm, the more we will experience freedom from disturbing thoughts, and the more we’ll achieve a pleasurable life.
When thinking about renunciation, we usually picture a person giving up on
everything that gives us pleasure, and maybe even on some renunciate
striving to live a miserable life in order to achieve future happiness: This
mistaken view will be debunked during the teachings.– Ven. Tenzin Michael
Contentment is understood as satisfaction with what we have, and Venerable will teach us about Lojong, Buddhist Mind Training, in order for us to appreciate what we have: Our health and our current situation, while being able to rejoice in others’ happiness.
The event includes a talk, a guided meditation and time for questions and discussion.
Ven. Tenzin Michael is a Buddhist monk, born in Switzerland. At the age of 24, he visited Asia for the first time and learned Buddhism hands-on in the monasteries of Himalaya. In the years to follow, he travelled Asia and his interest in Buddhism kept growing. He spent many years in the Tibetan Buddhist Drepung Monastery in South India and is currently studying Buddhism in the Nalanda Monastery in southern France. 