The Three Characteristics

Sundays, December 4, 11, and 18

10-11:45 Mountain Standard Time

Led by David Bornstein

IMT Dharma Leader

“Dhamma is about nature, it’s about truth. …Really what we’re talking about is recognizing nature, recognizing ourselves as part of nature, and aligning ourselves with this truth.”

— Anoushka Fernandupoule

We all know how gravity works, and we have the good sense to stand back from the balcony’s edge. Why? Experience has taught us that falling down hurts. Living in harmony with the natural law of gravity protects us from preventable harm.  

The Buddha spoke of three equally potent truths that impact our lives every moment. He called them the Three Characteristics, or Marks of Existence. They are Anicca, Dukkha, and Anatta: The Truth of Impermanence, The Truth of Suffering, and the Truth of No Self. When we bemoan loss, resist difficulty, or cling to beliefs about ourselves, our suffering is due to living out of alignment with these universal truths. This kind of suffering is workable. When we understand the Three Characteristics more deeply, from our direct experience, our lives naturally incline towards harmony with how things really are. For anyone who has received and practiced instructions in mindfulness.

WHEN

Sundays, December 4, 11, & 18
10:00-11:45am MST

WHERE

Like all our current offerings, this class will take place via Zoom, an online meeting platform. 

 COST

$100-$25
For those of you on a limited budget pay what you can. No one will be turned away.

Sit every day and the teachings come alive!  

The Practice Support Group is designed to help you establish a consistent and nourishing daily practice.   Whether you sit 10, 20, 30 or 40 or 50 minutes daily this class will help you to find a length and frequency that works for you. When questions or challenges arise there is the opportunity to explore them in the weekly group.  

Participating in a Dharma group is one of the most supportive things we can do to help our meditation practice grow.  

David Bornstein, MSW, (he/him), is a Dharma Leader for IMT. He was introduced to Insight Meditation in 1997, and has sat one or more residential retreats most every year since 2000. David graduated from Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner Program, the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program, and was a member of Spirit Rock’s most recent Community Dharma Leader cohort, until it was cut short by COVID. David lives in Vermont with his wife and daughter, and will be moving back to Tucson in the summer of 2023.