Buddhist Anarchy

Four evenings looking at the five owl precepts from the radical perspective of The Song of The Owl-headed Dakini.

All traditions and systems of thought have some form of morality or ethics guide. In Buddhism the broad category of moral conduct has been codified since the Buddha’s time, into 5 precepts usually presented as: the avoidance of killing, the avoidance of theft, the avoidance of sexual exploitation, the avoidance of manipulative speech, and the avoidance of intoxication.

In the Dzogchen teachings from The Song of the Owl-headed Dakini (’ug gDong mKha’ ’gro sNying thig mDo) the precepts are presented as the five principles of awareness which infuse the sense-fields. They are the five elements manifesting as the space from which behaviours arise and dissolve according to Bodhicitta or compassion. Here the precepts concern the application of awareness in our daily lives – either as rules or as perceptivity. These precepts are not really concerned with the sphere of relative morality but with the sphere of non-dual awareness and the subtle dimension of all interaction. They begin with practice; and then move out from formal practice into every aspect of one’s compassionate interaction with the world.

“The essence of Buddhism is similar to anarchism. Not anarchy in the distorted popular sense in which the word is understood – in the sense of dog-eat-dog chaos – but anarchism in terms of ‘no external government’. Anarchism is the naturally manifesting inner government of awareness – unconditioned, present, direct and utterly responsible.” Ngak’chang Rinpoche

Mondays 7pm to 9pm from 25th February to 18th March inclusive. The sessions will commence with silent sitting practice, and meditation instruction will be given.