Being Nobody
A Six-Week Buddhist Meditation Course
When: Wednesdays, 5/14/25 – 6/18/25, from 7-9pm
Where: The Flander’s House Community Room — 2926 NE Flanders St, Portland 97232
Registration: Email me at David AT pathofsincerity DOT com
Cost: Gift Economy / Donation (see below)
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One Sentence Summary:
While you will leave this course with a better understanding of the Theravāda Buddhist perspective on not-self (anatta), the overarching goal is to live from a deeper center of peaceful presence; or, more simply, to be nobody.
Longer Summary:
Through guided meditations, brief lectures, discussion, and optional between-week homework, you will internalize:
- How experiential insight into not-self can lead to deep peace, letting go, and an ability to be here now in a simple stress-free way.
- The primary wise perceptions the underly the not-self insight.
- Several classic practices, investigations, and reflections used to develop the not-self insight.
- How to balance the not-self insight with love, integrity, and being an healthy individual who cares about others & the world.
One of the real benefits of a course like this is the ongoing community aspect. It’s one thing to read a book on not-self, and it’s entirely another thing to commit to six weeks of practice with a community, where we have a chance to dive in together, get feedback, lean on each other, and do the practice day-in-and-day-out.
Note: this course is designed for folks who already understand the basics of mindfulness meditation and have a consistent meditation practice of 20 to 60+ minutes a day.
The course content will draw both upon the early Buddhist teachings found in the Pāli Canon, as well as contemporary Theravāda teachers such such as Thanissaro Bhikkhu, Sayadaw U Tejaniya, Rob Burbea, and Joseph Goldstein.
A Personal Note:
Of all the deep Buddhist meditative insights, not-self is the one that my teacher most strongly emphasized, and it has likewise been the most prominent in my own practice, allowing me to feel comfortable in my own being not as an occasional experience but as the baseline state.
My aspiration is to share these teachings in a way that’s fresh & alive, and that really comes alive in our daily life through less reactivity & stress.
I invite you into this journey of wisdom that’s been nurtured and passed down for over 2,600 years, and is as powerful now as it’s ever been 🙂
Cost & Commitment:
As with nearly everything I do, I’m offering this course on the gift economy; aka on donation, as a practice of mutual giving and receiving!
As donation-based offerings are a bit foreign in our culture, I would love for you to read over this article on how I think about the financial part of donation-based courses. I trust that whatever you donate will be the perfect amount! No one will be turned away or judged for lack of funds!
Also, just as importantly, offered-on-donation doesn’t mean “come when you feel like it” or “only participate halfway.” While of course life happens and you may have to miss a week, I’d request that you make a genuine commitment to showing up and doing the practices — that’s the only real way to turn these teachings from a good idea into something you truly live and embody; or, put it simply, to be love now.
Space is limited — email me at David AT pathofsincerity DOT com to register!!