Date: Every Wed from 10 Jun 2015 onwards for 10 sessions
Time: 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Venue: Buddhist Library, Level 2
Trainer: Dr. Jeffrey Po Fees: $130 BL Members, $160 Non Members
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Introduction to Buddhist Psychology
“Buddhism, like other types of spiritual and religious organisations evolve through the passage of time. Gotama the Buddha offered His spiritual path as a means to escape the clutches of Samsara (cycles of birth and death). It was originally meant to be a social, moral and ethical methodology. However, Buddhist thoughts and thinking did not remain static. Buddhist psychology or the traditionally known as Abhidhamma grew to support the fundamental teachings of Gotama the Buddha. This 10-lecture series has been designed to provide some understanding to the topic of Buddhist psychology and to look into Buddhist teaching from the psychological (mental) perspectives”
About the Course
10 Jun 2015 (Wed)
– Historical background
– What did the Gotama see & realise
– The differing realities
17 Jun 2015 (Wed)
– The classifications Abhidhamma
– Consciousness – what & where
– Relations to modern concept of consciousness
– What about the mind?
24 Jun 2015 (Wed)
– The thinking process – citta vitthi
– How thinking effects kammic potentials
– Are our sense organs and perception reliable? (understanding the 5 Aggregates)
– A peek into our central nervous system
1 Jul 2015 (Wed)
– Dvara – doors, the entrance and exit to our world
– Can we exists without “objects” (arammana)?
– Roots (hetus) – the conditioning element
– Feelings & perceptions (how we feel & “see our world” )
– Classifying citta into functions – kicca
8 Jul 2015 (Wed)
– Mental states (cetasikas) – the engine of the brain
– How they affect us in meeting daily life Challenges
15 Jul 2015 (Wed)
– Matter (rupa)
– Are we really what we are?
– The interconnectedness between mind &matter
22 Jul 2015 (Wed)
– The path and tools to Nibbana – I
– Meditation
– Jhana
– Is meditation useful in daily life?
29 Jul 2015 (Wed)
– The path and tools to Nibbana -II
– Vipassana
– Planes of existence
– Four stages of sainthood
– The personal path – alone or lonely?
5 Aug 2015 (Wed)
– Where are we heading to (after death)?
– Concept of Nibbana
– The Five Hindrances (Nivaranas)
– The 10 Fetters (Samyojana)
12 Aug 2015 (Wed)
– Life As Seen From an Evolutionary Perspective
– How life came about
– The “collective unconscious” of Jung
– Concepts & meaning of life
– Reality & actuality
– The Middle Doctrine
About the Trainer: Dr. Jeffrey Po
Dr. Jeffrey Po has designed and delivered this topic in the Buddhist Library since 2003. Originally 6-lesson, this course has expanded into the current 10-lesson programme over time. Jeffrey is a counselling-psychotherapist in private practice and has been associated with the Buddhist Library as its past secretary. He is also the founder and past president of the Association of Psychotherapists and Counsellors (Singapore) and a management member with the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association. He is also the Clinical Advisor to the Serenity Place (a counselling centre arm of the Singapore Buddhist Federation). He has presented many workshops and papers related to meditation and psychotherapy in international conferences and conventions.