Dāna: Embracing the Practice of Generosity in Buddhism
Requirements
- No experience needed. This course is for anyone with any open and curious heart.
Description
Welcome to this course on the profound and transformative practice of dāna or generosity.
Generosity is a very central part of Buddhism, as well as other wisdom traditions. In Buddhism, generosity is known as dāna. It was often the first practice that Buddha would give to beginning students. Generosity opens our hearts. It's the beginning of stepping beyond our individual egos, starting to think of others and making space to bring in something new. The course explores:
Classical foundations of dāna practice in Buddhism, including how dāna is traditionally practiced, and why the teachings are offered on the basis of dāna.
Dāna as an ancient principle to help with modern problems. How dāna can help us re-imagine how we relate to each other, society, and our planet, and offer a new approach to the challenges such as climate change, AI and political and social polarization.
Unpacking the cultural assumptions around generosity that many of us have growing up in capitalist consumer societies.
How to cultivate a living dāna practice, drawing from both traditional Buddhist teaching and modern Integral Spirituality approaches.
Building discernment on what to give, motivations for giving, who to give to, and the many complex questions that come up as we reflect on how to be generous.
Transforming relationships and community. How dāna can inform how we communicate, share, listen, and relate.
Benefits of the course and cultivating dāna/generosity include:
Build confidence and trust. With deeper trust in our own strength and in the abundance in the world around us, we are more empowered to progress on our spiritual path, and to connect meaningfully with others.
Heal. Dāna helps up let go of clinging to what doesn't serve us, and create space to receive healing and learning.
Be present. Learn to give undivided attention, to can be present with whatever is arising, even when it’s challenging.
Be receptive. With opening up our minds and hearts to ourselves we can train ourselves to be more receptive and increase our capacity for learning.
Pay it forward. With generous hearts we can offer energy and support to Sangha/Community, to all beings, and to the planet.
Discover true wealth. Move away from a scarcity model of extraction towards an orientation of fullness and healthy exchange of energy.
A note on the course pricing
Our wish was to offer this course with a dāna or pay from the heart model - making it available to all, and allowing all to contribute from their hearts. In the Udemy platform, this is not an option: a course is either free or has a set price. So the best we thought we could do here is offer it generously for free. However we do encourage to visit the Planet Dharma website to donate something to support our efforts.
Who this course is for:
- Spiritual seekers looking to cultivate a meaningful dāna / generosity practice
- Students of Buddhism or other wisdom traditions who want to understand what dāna is, why spiritual teachings are offered by dāna, as well as concepts like building merit.
- Those wanting to learn practical tools for growing a generous heart.
- Anyone involved in a spiritual community or center struggling with financial sustainability
Instructors
- 4.8 Instructor Rating
- 20 Reviews
- 841 Students
- 4 Courses
Planet Dharma is the virtual teaching vehicle for dharma teachers, Catherine Pawasarat Sensei and Doug Qapel Duncan.
Catherine Pawasarat Sensei is co-founder and resident teacher (with Qapel Doug Duncan) at Clear Sky Retreat Center in the British Columbia Rockies. At Clear Sky, Catherine Sensei has spearheaded an innovative and sustainability-oriented culture and organization, specializing in conscious community. Together, Qapel and Catherine Sensei teach through a virtual vehicle, Planet Dharma. In 2018 they wrote the best-selling book, Wasteland to Pureland.
Catherine Sensei is an expert in traditional Japanese culture, and the author of the first comprehensive English guidebook to Kyoto’s 1150-year-old Gion Festival, a gigantic living collection of diverse spiritual rituals. She also teaches and advocates for the unique role and experiences of Women in Buddhism.
In the 1990s, she was a student of metaphysics, Western spiritual traditions, and the ayahuasca sacraments. Living in Kyoto, Japan for 20 years, she worked as an advocacy photojournalist specializing in environmental and human rights, and edited sustainability-related publications for various United Nations bodies. She also studied traditional Japanese arts.
Since 1998 she has trained daily with Buddhist teacher Achariya Doug Duncan (Qapel) in an intensive spiritual apprenticeship that’s rare in the modern West. Transmitted from the remarkable Namgyal Rinpoche, they are both lineage holders of these teachings.
Qapel (Achariya Doug Duncan) (1949-2024)
Doug Duncan studied with the Ven. Namgyal Rinpoche from 1974 until the latter’s passing in 2003. Doug received lay ordination from Namgyal Rinpoche in 1978, and is a lineage holder in that teaching. He also received teachings from the 16th Karmapa and other Tibetan Rinpoches, as well as from the Ven. Sayadaw U Thila Wunta, and from a Master of the Western Mystery School. In addition, Doug has undertaken numerous three-month solitary meditation retreats.
Doug has been leading retreats, teaching and training in universal practices of spiritual unfoldment since 1985, helping thousands of students in numerous countries liberate themselves from suffering. His teaching also draws on contemporary psychology and science. In 2004 he co-founded Clear Sky Retreat Center in the BC Rockies where he is resident teacher along with Catherine Sensei.
Growing up in Saskatchewan was a pretty “flat” experience, so Doug caught the travel bug early. As a small child he wandered, such that the local police often had to bring him home. This desire to see the world and understand it more fully has led him ever since. He passed away in October 2024.
- 4.9 Instructor Rating
- 6 Reviews
- 105 Students
- 1 Course
Duncan Cryle is a senior student of Qapel and Sensei working closely with them for 20+ years. He is the Planet Dharma team lead, supporting Qapel and Sensei's international and online teachings. He was a founding member of Qapel and Sensei's meditation center and conscious community, Clear Sky Center, and was Board Chair from 2008 to 2014. He co-founded Awakening In Brazil, and co-taught Buddhist Dharma in Brazil since 2014. He also co-teaches programs at Clear Sky, including the 3 month residential intensive program. Outside of this, he has a senior role at a global software company where he also leads a company-wide mindfulness program, and was previously one of the pioneers of IBM’s mindfulness community that grew to over 10000 members. He also holds a Ph.D. in philosophy.