[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.16″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_fullwidth_header _builder_version=”4.27.0″ background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” background_image=”https:\/\/thesiamsociety.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/2024-11-19-22-B-Enlightenment-in-This-Lifetime.jpg” background_size=”contain” background_repeat=”repeat” min_height=”350px” max_height=”500px” global_colors_info=”{}” background__hover_enabled=”on|desktop”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_5,2_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|tablet” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”|auto|28px|auto|false|false” custom_padding=”0px||15px|||” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ module_class=”second-on-mobile” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding_tablet=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”off|phone” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb url=”\/lectures\/” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”H||divi||400″ icon_placement=”left” image_icon_width=”24px” _builder_version=”4.16″ body_font=”|700|||||||” link_option_url=”\/lectures\/” icon_font_size=”24px” global_colors_info=”{}” body_text_color__hover_enabled=”on|hover” body_text_color__hover=”rgba(29,39,49,0.7)”]Back to Lectures[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text admin_label=”Pre-header message” _builder_version=”4.16″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||15px||false|false” custom_css_main_element=”text-align: left;” text_text_align=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfcHJlLWhlYWRlcl9tZXNzYWdlIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9uIn19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Lecture Topic Heading” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_text_color=”#8e794c” max_width_tablet=”90%” max_width_phone=”100%” max_width_last_edited=”off|desktop” module_alignment=”center” custom_margin=”||62px|||” custom_padding=”||30px||false|false” module_alignment_last_edited=”off|tablet” custom_css_main_element=”text-align: left;” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_color_bottom=”#dbd3d8″ text_text_align=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90aXRsZSIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IjxoMT4iLCJhZnRlciI6IjwvaDE+In19@[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.0″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” width=”100%” custom_margin=”||40px||false|false” custom_padding=”0px||||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”50px||||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
This special series of four afternoon talks in November aims to shed new light on Buddhism and meditation.\u00a0 Drawing on his three decades of study and practice, the speaker, Khun Bangkok Chowkwanyun, will discuss an integrative, effective and practical approach to the Buddha\u2019s message of liberation, Nibanna<\/em>.<\/p>\n Presented in celebration of The Siam Society\u2019s 120th anniversary, the talks are intended to not only introduce newcomers to Buddhist teachings and meditation but also to convey a fresh perspective to scholars and experienced meditators.<\/p>\n While exploring the relationships between Buddhist texts and the processes of meditation practice, the talks will propose that each of us can indeed discover and follow the elusive path to taste liberation, reaching Nibanna<\/em> in this lifetime.<\/p>\n The talks will illuminate methods based on scientific principles of cause and effect that are inherent and observable in the practice of meditation.\u00a0 Most importantly, this approach follows from the truth that all Sankhara <\/em>(\u201ceverything\u201d) is subject to the Three Common Characteristics. These are Anicca<\/em> (impermanence), Dukkha <\/em>(suffering) and Anatta <\/em>(non-self).\u00a0<\/p>\n Beyond situating meditation practice within key Buddhist concepts, the talks will identify the relationships between various Buddhist texts. This approach leads towards a deeper understanding of both the texts themselves and the practice of meditation. It is an integrative approach that spans both Vipassana<\/em> mindfulness and Samatha<\/em> concentration meditation, which are traditionally viewed as two separate branches of meditation practice. With a new understanding, seemingly diverse traditions can be viewed as part of a unified tapestry of practice that includes Theravada, Mahayana, Zen, Transcendental Meditation, Qigong, Yoga, and more.<\/p>\n The talks will reveal how formal meditation practice observing Paramattha <\/em>(ultimate truth) can be multiplexed with observing Pannatti <\/em>(relative truth) in everyday living thereby solving the problem faced by so many of us that we have \u201cno time\u201d to practice meditation. It opens a path into continuous mindfulness in every circumstance of daily life, approximating the mental state of an Arahat<\/em>, a fully enlightened holy one having attained the fourth and final stage of enlightenment.<\/p>\n Finally, this powerful yet practical technique of enhanced mindfulness meditation has the potential to help remedy society\u2019s rising incidence of mental illness. Meditation has already been widely proven to complement Western-style mental health care. Yet this enhanced approach can go beyond the psychotherapeutic and psychiatric application of traditional meditation methods such as mindful breathing, walking, body scanning, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n Each of the four talks will incorporate a short secular exercise in meditation that can lead toward a better understanding of Sati <\/em>mindfulness through direct experience.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lecture 1 (19 November 2024)<\/u><\/p>\n The Buddha\u2019s Path to Enlightenment<\/strong><\/p>\n This lecture traces the coming of the Buddha and his enlightenment through his re-discovery of the ancient path of Ariya Sacca<\/em> (the Four Noble Truths). This path integrates the Panna<\/em> (Wisdom), set forth in the Five Khandas<\/em> (the Five Aggregates), Ayatana <\/em>(the Six Senses), Paticcasamuppada <\/em>(Dependent Origination), Satipatthanna Sutta<\/em> (the Four Foundations of Mindfulness), Satisampajanna<\/em> (Clear Comprehension) and Bojjhanga<\/em> (the Seven Factors of Enlightenment). Throughout these various representations of the path, we trace one common thread, one unifying law of nature: Tilakkhana<\/em> (the Three Common Characteristics, also known as the Three Marks of Existence).\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lecture 2 (20 November 2024)<\/u><\/p>\n Meditation in Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n How should we meditate? We will explore the specific techniques of a scientific approach to meditation practice that will lead to the state of Sotapanna<\/em> (Stream Enterer), the first of the four levels of enlightenment that we can achieve in this lifetime.\u00a0<\/p>\n The key objective is sufficient embedding of the nature of Anatta <\/em>(Non-Self) attained through the repeated experience of the feeling of Anatta<\/em> through meditation practice. This powerful awareness leads towards the pinnacle of human attainment, the exit from Samsara<\/em>, the never-ending cycle of rebirths.<\/p>\n The talk will illuminate the process of knowing Sati<\/em>, (similar to Vinnana,<\/em> mindfulness and consciousness). It will clarify the distinction between Sati<\/em> \u201cexperiential-knowing\u201d and the other two forms of \u201cknowing\u201d: \u201cthinking-knowing\u201d (Vitakka<\/em> and Vicara<\/em>) and \u201cremembering-knowing\u201d (Sanna<\/em>). We will discuss how Sati<\/em> is directed to the main objects of meditation as defined in the Five<\/em> Khandas<\/em> (the Five Aggregates) and the Five<\/em> Nivarana<\/em> (the Five Hindrances). <\/em>Awareness of these is part of the technique needed to tame the \u201cmonkey mind\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lecture 3 (21 November 2024)<\/u><\/p>\n Advanced Meditation<\/strong><\/p>\n This talk will discuss the more advanced meditation practices that lead to higher levels of enlightenment. It will explore the approach cultivated by the Venerable Mahasi Sayadaw, the late Burmese Theravada monk and scholar, which goes beyond the first Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta<\/em> to focus on the Anattalakhana Sutta<\/em> and the attainment of Arahatship. The talk will present the speaker\u2019s tentative conjectures regarding the enlightenment process that he has extrapolated from knowledge gained through direct experience and through the study of the Dhamma<\/em> and physical science.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lecture 4 (22 November 2024)<\/u><\/p>\n An Integrated, Higher Understanding of Dhamma and Practice<\/strong><\/p>\n The final talk will bring together the concepts presented in the first three sessions and add important details not covered earlier.\u00a0 Whereas Magga<\/em> (the Four Noble Truths) has been referred to as the divine vehicle of the Dhamma<\/em> (for Liberation), the Satipatthana Sutta <\/em>can be considered \u201cthe owner\u2019s manual\u201d, a personal trainer for the meditation practitioner.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is hoped that this series of talks will mark for some the ending of the mystery surrounding Buddhism and for all the beginning of a better understanding of the teachings of Gautama Buddha and an enhanced meditation practice that can immediately lessen suffering and open up a clear path to final liberation, Nibbana<\/em> \u2026 in this lifetime<\/em>.<\/p>\n It is also hoped that this expanded and deepened version of meditation practice and the decoding of relevant Buddhist texts can be a useful contribution to the further development of Buddhist studies and applications in meditation, whether for spiritual development or mental health care.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTrue success is not in the learning, but in its application to the benefit of\u00a0mankind.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n HRH Prince Mahidol Adulyadej<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Background<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n This special series of talks on Buddhism is presented as part of ongoing celebrations of the 120th anniversary of the founding of The Siam Society in 1904.\u00a0 The talks also mark the 30th anniversary of the Consecration Ceremony of the Gold Footprint at the Temple of the Emerald Buddha presided over by His Majesty King Rama IX, Patron of The Siam Society, in the presence of His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara and senior members of the Sangha and members of The Siam Society on 22 June 1994. \u00a0The Gold Footprint is presently housed in the temple\u2019s scripture hall, the Hor Phra Monthian Tham.<\/p>\n The Gold Footprint of the Four Buddhas Who Have Appeared in this Bhaddakappa was created in honour of the royal 60th birthday anniversary in 1992 of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, Vice Patron of The Siam Society.\u00a0 His Majesty King Rama X, Patron of The Siam Society, then HRH Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn and Vice Patron of The Siam Society, casted the gold cakka for the centre of the Footprint at the Gold-Casting Ceremony at Wat Bowonniwet Wiharn Ratchaworawiharn on 25 December 1992.<\/p>\n The Gold Footprint project was inspired serendipitously by an exhibition of Buddha footprints at The Siam Society in December 1990 arranged by Dr Waldemar C. Sailer, a leading expert on this topic. The exhibition included a life-size wax replica of a Buddha footprint crafted by Mr Charoen Pattanaggoonn during the reign of Rama V.\u00a0 To realise the project, The Siam Society under the presidency of Dr Piriya Krairiksh set up an Organising Committee chaired by Chairman of the Privy Council His Excellency Dr Sanya Dharmasakti and an Ecclesiastical Committee chaired by His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara.\u00a0 Key members of The Siam Society directing the project were Thanpuying Maneerat Bunnag and Thanpuying Putrie Viravaidya.<\/p>\n The artisan who made the Gold Footprint was Mr Surapun Atichatanan, the great grandson of Mr Charoen Pattanaggoonn.\u00a0 The Gold Footprint incorporates 108 symbols, each of which was separately cast in relief on a gold mould weighing in total some 30 kilograms of gold.\u00a0 The Gold Footprint rests on a brass base 65 cm high and 170 cm long made from a single mould weighing approximately 500 kg.<\/p>\n The success of the Gold Footprint project helped inspire The Siam Society and its supporters to expand and upgrade facilities by constructing its second building, \u201cThe Chalerm Phra Kiat Building\u201d, under the chairmanship of His Excellency MR Kukrit Pramoj to prepare The Siam Society for its second century. Thanpuying Putrie spearheaded the project to completion by Cristiani & Nielson, the contractor that built The Society\u2019s first building.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Proceeds will go towards the funding of other activities to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of The Siam Society<\/strong> which promote the study and knowledge-sharing about the cultures, history, arts, and heritage conservation of Thailand and Southeast Asia<\/strong><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_blurb title=”About the speaker” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Formerly a Council Member and President of The Siam Society, Khun Bangkok<\/strong> Chowkwanyun<\/strong> <\/span>was educated at University of Cambridge, UK and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US. He worked as a corporate executive from 1974 through 1996 before redirecting his energy to NGO work in education reform and rural village development.<\/p>\n He began his exploration of Buddhism and meditation in 1992 and started teaching meditation in 2006.\u00a0 He read extensively and, importantly, was advised by many teachers in meditation centres in Thailand and Myanmar, to all of whom he is deeply grateful.\u00a0 His most recent teachers are Than Mae Khru Narawan Kulthornchutipas who founded Vipassana Meditation Place for Mind Development in Trang Province, Thailand, and Venerable Than Phra Kru Prasert Thanangkaro, who made precise the practice of locating and observing mental phenomenon mind objects (nama)<\/em> in addition to physical phenomenon body objects (rupa)<\/em>.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ module_class=”first-on-mobile” _builder_version=”4.16″ background_color=”#4e4e4d” custom_padding=”40px|40px|40px|40px|true|true” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”|40px||40px|true|true” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_css_main_element=”margin-bottom: 50px;” border_width_top=”4px” border_color_top=”#8e794c” border_width_bottom=”2px” border_color_bottom=”#8e794c” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”When” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n 19, 20, 21, and 22 November 2024 at 14.00 – 16.00<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”Where” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfbGVjdHVyZV9sb2NhdGlvbiIsInNldHRpbmdzIjp7ImJlZm9yZSI6IiIsImFmdGVyIjoiIiwiZW5hYmxlX2h0bWwiOiJvbiJ9fQ==@[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”Admission” icon_placement=”left” _builder_version=”4.27.0″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfYWRtaXNzaW9uIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJlbmFibGVfaHRtbCI6Im9uIn19@[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”For more information, please contact” icon_placement=”left” module_class=”contact-on-dark” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ _dynamic_attributes=”content” header_level=”h3″ header_font=”||||||||” background_layout=”dark” custom_padding=”||10px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}” body_link_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” body_link_text_color__hover=”#81bbc3″]@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoiY3VzdG9tX21ldGFfbGVjdHVyZV9lbnF1aXJ5X2NvbnRhY3QiLCJzZXR0aW5ncyI6eyJiZWZvcmUiOiIiLCJhZnRlciI6IiIsImVuYWJsZV9odG1sIjoib24ifX0=@[\/et_pb_blurb][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Section” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ background_color=”#eff1f3″ custom_margin=”||-27px||false|false” custom_margin_tablet=”” custom_margin_phone=”” custom_margin_last_edited=”on|phone” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”2″ disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”More Upcoming Trips” _builder_version=”4.25.1″ custom_padding=”23px||31px||false|” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.25.1″ text_font=”||||||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.25.1″ global_colors_info=”{}”]More upcoming lectures<\/h2>\n