Pema Chödrön to teach Buddhism class in Sonoma

Pema Chödrön is one of the most prominent women teachers of Buddhism. For many years she was the abbess of Gampo Abbey, the first Tibetan Buddhist monastery in North America established for westerners. Her books, including “The Wisdom of No Escape,” “Start Where You Are” and “When Things Fall Apart,” have helped make Buddhism accessible to a broad Western audience. Her most recent book, “Practicing Peace in Times of War,” was published last year. Pema will be teaching in the Bay Area this June and July, and the Sonoma Shambhala Center is participating in the presentation of her six-class program. Pema will teach from Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche’s classic text, “The Myth of Freedom.” Ani Pema will present many core Buddhist teachings and lead participants through the stages of the path of meditation. Ani Pema will be teaching this class in person in Berkeley. Sonoma students will be watching DVDs of her talks approximately a week later. Discussion will be led by senior students. This is the last year that Ani Pema will teach this type of “city retreat” in the Bay Area. On July 5, Ani Pema will personally visit with the class to answer questions about the material. This meeting will not be open to those who are not registered for the entire six-week series. There are no other prerequisites for this program. Pema describes these teachings as “a profound distillation of Buddhist truths. . . Its power lies in how directly it addresses the extremely unhabitual process of dissolving the barriers we put up between ourselves and the rest of the world.” All classes will be held on Sunday, starting June 24 and ending August 5 and will meet at the Sonoma Shambhala Center. The series will include a personal visit class on Thursday, July 5, at 7:30 p.m. at the Sonoma Community Center. The cost for participation in the program is $100 for the entire series. Since space is limited, pre-registration is available by sending a check for the course fee made out to the “Sonoma Shambhala Center,” 255 W Napa St., Ste. G, Sonoma, CA 95476. Pre-registrants should also include their name and phone number or email address so that their advance registration may be acknowledged. If space is available, registration will also take place at the start of the first class. For more information, email Kay Folks at sonomashambhalacenter@yahoo.com or leave a message at the Sonoma Shambhala Center at 707.935.6333.