Buddhist cosmology: Escape Samsara (video)

Escape from Samsara: Introduction to Buddhist Cosmology

(SF Dharma Collective, 1/31/20) A cosmology is an understanding of where the world and the beings in it came from, what they are made of, and what happens to them when they decay.

When studying Buddhism, it is helpful to be familiar with the basic tenets of traditional Indian (Vedic) cosmology and some of the unique features of Buddhist cosmology that developed from that.

This visual presentation uses art and iconography from a variety of traditions to create an immersive experience that explores several alternative views of creation, space and time, multiple heavenly and hellish realms, and the abodes of the devas, while laying out a Buddhist cosmological roadmap to liberation: from samsara to nirvana.

This one-hour slideshow is followed by a half-hour Q&A.

MC Owens is an emotive, flamboyant, and slightly off Western Buddhist teacher, translator, and author who uses a sutra-based curriculum that draws from a variety of traditions to teach the history, philosophy, and practice of Buddhism. He teaches regularly for the San Francisco Dharma Collective, and he also runs Lotus Underground (soundcloud.com/lotus-underground) – a repository of his teaching activities, audio recordings, and writings. He opens a new dharma door every Sunday night at 7:00 pm at the SF Dharma Collective.