Meditate Like A Buddhist: Embracing Change

Stress less and enjoy life when you stop trying to control the impermanent world around us.

What you’ll learn
Learners will be able to explain the concept of impermanence in Buddhism and its significance in the path towards reducing suffering.
Learners will be able to use various meditation techniques to cultivate a deeper understanding and acceptance of the impermanent nature of the world.
Learners will be able to apply Buddhist teachings on impermanence to real-life situations and make more grounded decisions during periods of change.
Learners will be able to develop a personal practice for coping with change, allowing them to live more peacefully in the face of life’s uncertainties.

Requirements
No experience required

Description
Life can be overwhelming, as the Buddha taught over 2,500 years ago. While the pace of modern life may be faster than ever, the problem of facing changes is nothing new.For anyone struggling to keep up all the challenges of daily life, there’s an ancient answer: anicca (impermanence). Flow is part of life.Buddhist teachings identify different types of change, and in this course we’ll focus on three: the outer world, our social world, and the inner world.As we go through this course together, you’ll experience change not just as a destabilizing force but also as the “spice of life,” keeping our lives fresh.In this course, we will explore the Buddhist teachings on change and how they can help us to live more peacefully and joyfully in a world that is constantly changing. We will begin by examining the three types of change that Buddhism identifies: change in the outer world, change in our social world, and change in our inner world. We will then explore how these changes can impact our lives and how we can respond to them in a healthy and productive way.One of the key teachings of Buddhism is that change is inevitable. Everything in the universe is constantly changing, from the smallest subatomic particles to the largest galaxies. This includes our thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The Buddha taught that we should not resist change, but rather learn to accept it and flow with it. When we resist change, we create suffering for ourselves.In this course, we will learn how to accept change and how to use it as an opportunity for growth and transformation. We will explore Buddhist practices such as mindfulness, meditation, and compassion that can help us to cope with change in a healthy way. What’s in the course? Lessons adapted from classic Buddhist teachings, accessible to everyone — no prerequisites necessary10-15 minute teachings and guided meditations offered five days per week so it’s simple to “do your homework”Lifetime access so you can refresh your change skills any timeBy the end of this course, students will be able to:Understand the Buddhist teachings on changeUse meditations to reflect on and take in the reality of impermanenceIdentify the three types of change and how they impact our livesDevelop strategies for coping with change in a healthy way

Overview
Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction

Section 2: Week 1: Change in the outer world

Lecture 2 Introduction to the themes and topics of the course

Lecture 3 Stages of change: arising, abiding, and ceasing

Lecture 4 Meditation on arising, abiding, and ceasing

Lecture 5 Change in the outer world

Lecture 6 Meditation on change in the outer world

Lecture 7 Week 1 recap

Section 3: Week 2: Change in the inner world

Lecture 8 Anicca of living beings

Lecture 9 Meditation: Has anyone not died?

Lecture 10 Reflecting on death

Lecture 11 Meditation: practicing for death, appreciating life

Lecture 12 Extra resources: death and rebirth in Buddhism

Lecture 13 Anicca in our minds

Lecture 14 Meditating on the subtle anicca of our minds

Lecture 15 Week 2 recap

Section 4: More resources for your onward journey

Lecture 16 Bonus lecture

Spiritual seekers who want to understand the fundamental Buddhist teaching of impermanence and meditate on it in order to live more fully.