Sometimes we hear a voice in our head telling us to do something that might not be so good to do. We tell it to go away, and then it surprises us by talking back. What’s worse, the voice is sometimes quite convincing.
400 years ago in Tibet there lived the First Panchen Lama, very much like the Dalai Lama. He wrote poetry, he knew dance, he was the greatest thinker of his time and also managed to stop a war single-handedly by walking out between the two armies.
But he also had his days arguing with the devil inside his own head. The Panchen Lama decided to record the conversation in a book, which he called The Devil Debates an Angel.
The Devil here is no slouch. Every time the Angel gives him a good answer, he comes back with a very persuasive reply.
What’s amazing is that—as we listen to the Devil and the Angel debating—we unexpectedly begin to get some new ideas about how the world around us works: why things happen to us the way they do, why we meet the people we do. By the end of the fight (we won’t tell you how it ends!), we have a lot of what we need to know to change our own life—to be happier, and make those around us happy.
This program is free of charge, and will include yoga classes at different levels, as well as guided meditation sessions, on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Participants will also receive a complimentary copy of an new translation of the original text.
This will be the first in a series of weekend programs throughout the year led by Geshe Michael Roach under the auspices of the Asian Classics Institute of Phoenix. Please register in advance so we can plan refreshments and enough space for yoga and other events.
Friday May 27th
7-9:30pm: First session of "The Devil debates an Angel"
Saturday May 28th
9:30-1pm: Meditation & yoga
2:30-5pm: Uma Chidun
7-9:30: Second session of "The Devil debates an Angel"
Sunday May 29th
9:30-1pm: Meditation & yoga
2:30-5pm: Third session of "The Devil debates an Angel"
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