Dharmakaya Study Group - Samsara, Nirvana and Buddha Nature

This group intends for Dharma friends to come together and discuss the various principles of Buddhist ideas to create a deeper understanding of our practice. We will read and discuss, Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature, volume three in the Library of Wisdom and Compassion series by His Holiness Dalai Lama and Venerable Thubten Chodron.

Knowledge of Buddha nature reveals and reconciles the paradox of how the mind can be the basis for both the dukkha of samsara (the unpurified mind) and the bliss and fulfillment of nirvana (the state of true freedom and peace). To illustrate this, Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature first take readers through Buddhist thought on the self, the four truths, and their sixteen attributes. It then explains afflictions—including how they arise and their antidotes—followed by an examination of karma and cyclic existence, and, finally, a deep and thorough elucidation of Buddha nature. Samsara, Nirvana, and Buddha Nature show us how to purify our minds and cultivate awakened qualities.