Date/Time
11/19/22 - 12/03/22
12:00 am
POSTSPONED !
PLEASE DIRECT ALL QUESTIONS TO BARRE CENTER FOR BUDDHIST STUDIES
In this course we will practice with contemplative poetry to access awareness, attention, insight, clarity and most of all to capture moments of small silences. The connection between poetry and the contemplative life go back a long way, as you will discover, when we unwrap poets of Zen, Ch’an and the Dao, of ancient and modern times in this course.
In the Christian and Sufi traditions, prophecy and poetry have long walked hand in hand, and the many songs of the Tibetan masters, spoken spontaneously, just as Rumi’s own words came, underline this voice of Silence that arises out of nowhere, but has a landing place in the hearts of those who are ready to hear it.
This course is for those seeking to make space for silence and poetry in their lives. There will be an experiential component in which you will learn how to bring breath into your poetry and writing. You will learn to hear from the place of silence and use poetry as meditation. Coleman Barks in his book Rumi: The Big Red Book, said, “Short poems have meditative properties and possibilities. They have often recorded or led into states of awareness that come with meditation.”
“Expressing one’s creativity in the service of meditation, you help create a special space where hearts can open and people can receive the many blessings. For a musician, a creator, this is ultimately fulfilling.”
— Milarepa (1052-1135)
“Listening to the wind blown through the hollow bone of an eagle, is to hear its original song.” – Zenju
“Today, it is as if I am an empty bamboo flute, filled with the breeze, playing its own tune, not mine. This, for me, is poetry.” – Andō