Amma, the Hugging Saint, in SoCal (7/13)

Amma in Los Angeles (Irvine, Orange County) - Summer 2024 | amma.org

Does hugging trees help them like it helps me?

Amma (India's Mata Amritanandamayi) is world famous for her compassion, distributing free hugs around the world. She has hugged more people than anyone else in the world. She is on a campaign wishing, "May all beings everywhere be happy," the Buddha's own sentiments of universal loving-kindness (metta).

• Joining the line: Tokens, tokens, get your free love tokens

How to join the hug line | amma.org

She is on an annual tour and is coming to Southern California to meet anyone in need of a blessing. It is good to see such beings [as have attained samadhi, which in Buddhism refers to anyone who has mastered the meditative absorptions, which would make them "saints" in most of the world's religions, including Hinduism, but very much excluding Buddhism.

A "saint" or arhat in Buddhism is anyone who has reach stream entry or beyond through insight or vipassana. Only this higher seeing uproots the defilements and liberates one, whereas the absorptions merely temporarily suppress them and make one seem saintly for the time being.

Ancient Vedic seers (rishis) inherited by Hinduism

Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen monk, uses his arm.

This distinction was one of the great contributions of the Buddha to the Dharmic religions and spirituality in ancient India.] Nevertheless, it is still good and a blessing to see beings who have gained samadhi. This may include Amma, who has done so many wonderful and selfless things that it is possible she has gained super-consciousness.

Amma in Los Angeles [actually neighboring Orange County] - Summer 2024 | amma.org

The FREE programs on July 13 and July 16 include inspirational music, meditation, spiritual discourse, and personal blessings. See us.amma.org/macla for more details or contact (310) 295-1852.

Amma is also conducting a retreat between July 14-16, 2024. It will also be held at the site of the free hugs:

• Hyatt Regency
• 17900 Jamboree Road
• Irvine, California, 92614
• Info: us.amma.org

Free to RSVP:

• 

  Kill a bird for Thanksgiving? Crazy.

  Disclosure Project: Visit to see Amma, the Hugging Hindu Saint, Irvine (FREE), Sat, Jul 13, 2024, 11:00 AM | Meetup
• Nature Center: Visit to see Amma, the Hugging Hindu Saint, Irvine (FREE), Sat, Jul 13, 2024, 11:00 AM | Meetup
• PasaDharma: Visit to see Amma, the Hugging Hindu Saint, Irvine (FREE), Sat, Jul 13, 2024, 11:00 AM | Meetup

Buddhist Geeks Conference (October 2014)

Seth Auberon, Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly; BuddhistGeeks.com/Conference

The Buddhist Geeks Conference is taking place in Boulder, Colorado next month -- October 16-19. We're excited to share the full conference schedule now.

FULL SCHEDULE

Day 1-Thursday, October 16th

4:00 pm - Event Registration - Millenium Harvest Hotel

7:00 pm Buddhist Geeks: Exploring the Convergence - Vincent Horn - Opening Talk

7:30 pm - Zen Changes: Navigating the Converging Streams - Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara - Keynote Day 2 - Friday, October 17th

8:00 am - Track #1 - Waking Up Together: Insight Meditation - David Chernikoff - Contemplative Practice

8:00 am - Track #2 - Moving Presence - TBA - Contemplative Practice

9:00AM - Mini Break

9:30 am - Building Inclusivity in Western Buddhism - JoAnna Harper - Live Talk

9:50 am - Refuge Recovery - Noah Levine - Live Talk

10:10 am - Original Oops: Mahamudra and the Mindfulness Movement - Lama Karma - Live Talk

10:30 am - Mini Break

11:00 am - The Convergence of Buddhism and … Science?...Scientism? - Charles Tart - Keynote

11:45 am - Mindful Kids: Worldview, Practice, & Community - Susan Kaiser Greenland - Keynote

12:30 pm - Lunch

2:30 pm - Track #1 - Buddhist Geeks Hangouts - Have the conversations you want to have

2:30 pm - Track #2 - Courage @ Work: Bridging Practice & Leadership - Sam Elmore & Michael Rich - Workshop

3:30 pm - Mini Break

4:00 pm - Contemplative Technology - Vincent Horn (moderator), Mikey Siegel, Jacob Redmond, & other panelists TBA

5:30 pm - Dinner

7:30 pm - Tea Ceremony - Sip some tea and chat with fellow conference goers

Day 3 - Saturday, October 18th

8:00 am - Track #1 - Guided Meditation - Dharma Ocean Practice Leader - Contemplative Practice

8:00 am - Track #2 - Hatha Yoga - Sofia Diaz - Contemplative Practice

9:00 am - Mini Break

9:30 am - A Spoonful of Sugar Helps the Meditation Go Down - Katherine MacLean - Live Talk

9:50 am - Drawing a Path to Mindfulness - John F. Simon Jr. - Live Talk

10:10 am - Imaging Buddha - Hokai Sobol - Live Talk

10:30 am - Mini Break

11:00 am - The Gathering Dharma Cloud - Susan Piver - Keynote

11:45 am - A Pragmatist's Take on The Powers - Daniel Ingram - Keynote

12:30 pm - Lunch

2:30 pm - Track #1 - Buddhist Geeks Hangouts - Have the conversations you want to have

2:30 pm - Track #2 - Contemplative Drawing Practice - John F. Simon Jr. - Workshop

3:30 pm - Mini Break

3:45 pm - Track #1 - Buddhist Geeks Hangouts - Have the conversations you want to have

3:45 pm - Track #2 - Transforming our Relationship with Technology - Eran Globen - Workshop

5:00 pm - Identity Collapse - Chris Dancy - Keynote

6:00 pm - Dinner - Day 4 - Sunday, October 19th

9:00 am - Debugging the Source Code of the Dharma - Bodhipaksa - Live Talk

9:20 am - Achieving Insight Without the Dark Night - Culadasa - Live Talk

9:40 am - Engineering Enlightenment & Applied Contemplative Science - Mikey Siegel - Live Talk

10:00am - Mini Break

10:30 am - Dead or Alive - Hokai Sobol (moderator), Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, & other panelists TBA

12:30pm - Buddhist Geeks: Conference Closing - Buddhist Geeks Team