Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Workshop: Healthy (Non)-Attachment


  • Against the Stream, Melrose
  • Day-long Workshop with George Haas*
  • Saturday, June 25
  • 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
“My job is a travel agent, taking you effortlessly between heaven and hell.”
- Joshu Sasaki Roshi

Somewhere along this Buddhist path, one may have heard that “attachment” is the cause of suffering (dukkha, disappointment), and that “non-attachment” is the way out of suffering.


If this is interpreted to mean that the best way to live life is to never become attached to anything no matter what -- that is wrong view.

People, places, things... the failure to remain attachment-free is what is making life miserable? No.

This workshop will focus on how to use the wisdom aspects of the Noble Eightfold Path (right view and right intention) and the ways we get them wrong. It is not about why we cling, but how we actually do it -- the mechanics of clinging -- and how it leads to suffering.

The workshop will use John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory as the reference point for healthy attachment in the everyday sense for practical applications to day-to-day life.

The meditation techniques offered in this workshop will be specific, simple, and easy-to-do. So whether an established practice already exists or is just beginning, all can benefit.

This class is a taste of what George Haas will be teaching in his 8-week series, "The Meaningful Life," which begins July 7, 2011.
  • Daylong cost $50 plus dana for the teacher.
  • Some scholarships and work study available.
  • No one turned away for lack of funds.
  • Call or write for more info.
  • Please pack a brown bag.
SPECIAL OFFER: Register, pay in full, and attend daylong for dana only.

*George Haas began down his path with a period of lightweight spiritual seeking (and heavy duty drug and alcohol use). In 1978, he began a serious exploration of the 11th step of the 12-Step tradition, working primarily with concentration to reduce the anxiety of living a sober life. In an effort to make sense out of, and live with, the mounting AIDS deaths of the 1980s, Mr. Haas began walking the Red Road and reading Buddhist texts. Moving to Los Angeles from Manhattan in 1992, he began sitting Vipassana at Ordinary Dharma and reading extensively. In 1998, he began studying with his current teacher, Shinzen Young at Vipassana Support International (VSI). Haas is a Senior Facilitator at VSI and teaches in an irreverent style. He has been teaching meditation in Los Angeles since 2000.

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