CEUs: 2

Instructor: Sensei Mui

Modern society is an amusement park for the ego — an amusement park of delusions. Awareness is a particular kind of consciousness. It is the art of being awake. Without it, nothing tangible would exist for us. Alll meaningful growth is the result of being aware, yet we are woefully unaware in most of our daily life. Knowing what awareness is one thing, being aware is another. There’s a catch: when you are unaware you are not aware that you are unaware. This is what the Buddhist psychology means by “not-seeing” [“ignorance”]. We have been tricked into believing we are aware when we are actually running on autopilot. Awareness cannot be taught or bought any more than “peace” can be taught or bought. Why would you go looking for awareness if you already think you have it? We need to appreciate how really deeply asleep we are before we will do something about it.

Buddhist psychology is counterintuitive to mainstream “disciplines” in that it is the study of man’s possible evolution. It does not address dysfunctions but rather it explores the highest degree of awareness (Bodhi or awakening) a human being may attain. This is the opposite of most mainstream psychology and self-help. It delves into the study of self-deception, especially the deception that we are already awake and aware. Being fully human requires self-study. This is an extraordinary responsibility. Lying, imagination, talking, negative emotions, distraction and criticism/judgment are signs that we are not aware and they are mechanical processes that hold us back from being awake and avoiding self-awareness.

Let’s explore this topic together.

About the Instructor
Sensei Mui has been a meditator for 51 years and has taught meditation for 48 of them. He was ordained a Theravada monk in Thailand in 1971 and in multiple Mahayana traditions, including Sōto Zen, Tibetan Buddhism, Esoteric Tendai and Pure Land Buddhism, since then. He was awarded a Doctor of Buddhist Studies (DBS) degree with a psychology specialty and PhD in literature and languages with a specialty in psycholinguistics. He is currently a teacher with Hongaku Jōdo, an organization of Buddhist teachers and clergy in the Western tradition. He also works as a Buddhist counselor and therapist utilizing cognitive and meditative therapies. Sensei Mui’s style is to clearly present the teachings found in the early Buddhist scriptures and the writings of the Mahayana traditions, thus making even the deepest concepts accessible to people in the 21st century.