On Oct. 6, 2013, we will have a special Sunday afternoon program, “Living in the Present,” with Beth Goldring from 12:30 p.m. -2:30 p.m.

“In Buddhist practice and in Zen especially we talk a lot about living in the present moment. But what does that mean, actually, in our lives? When we are joyous, we want the present moment to continue and/or when we are in painful conditions we want them to be different.  These forms of clinging and aversion are completely spontaneous and so deeply rooted as to seem utterly natural. The Buddha teaches that this seeming naturalness is the foundation of delusion and suffering.  I would like to explore a little what the effort to be fully present for our experience means and why it is so deeply valuable to us, under any and all conditions.”

Beth Kanji Goldring, an American Zen nun in the Japanese Rinzei tradition, founded Brahmavihara/Cambodia AIDS Project in 2000. She is a former ballet dancer, university humanities teacher, and human rights worker. She began as a student of Maurine Stuart Roshi and currently studies with Gil Fronsdal. She was ordained in 1995. She is also a Reiki master through Glynn DeBrocky. Beth has received a number of awards for Brahmavihara’s work.

Location: Sarana Kuti, UUFSC, 2172 Kiernan Avenue, Modesto, CA 95356