Wildmind's 'Open Circle' launched; practical mysticism explored

Two new offerings from the FWBO’s Wildmind online meditation teaching site have recently come to FWBO News’ attention.

Their new venture, the ‘Open Circle’ aims to offer participants – who may live anywhere in the world – the opportunity to participate in an ongoing online discussion forum exploring key Buddhist teachings and applying them to everyday life. Shrijnana, the Open Circle’s full-time facilitator, describes it as “part on-line book club, part Buddhism course”. What this means in practice is that each week discussions and activities are based on sections of Vajragupta’s book Buddhism: Tools for Living Your Life; besides simply reading the text there’s wide-ranging discussions, weekly exercises; opportunities to ask questions and share experience, and of course the guidance and feedback of a resident facilitator. The Open Circle doesn't assume that you are a Buddhist or that you want to be a Buddhist, but it does assume that you wish to learn something from the Buddhist tradition.

More details of the Open Circle are available on the Wildmind website and we should add that Wildmind have a policy that noone ever is ever turned away for purely financial reasons – so if their suggested contribution is not possible for you, contact them to see what they can do.

Alongside this, Wildmind’s latest newsletter is on the theme of ‘Practical Mysticism’ with, among other delights, their guest contributor, Zen teacher and author David Brazier asking the question “Are meditative experience and engagement with the world mutually contradictory?” and examining the false dichotomy of mysticism and engagement.

Wildmind, it’s worth pointing out, is far more than simply online meditation teaching: they offer courses on pain management, anger management, basic Buddhism, host extensive archives covering topics as diverse as book reviews, celebrity Buddhists, and meditation in prisons across the US. Explore the Wildmind website at your leisure...