Dancing with life

Dancing with Life: The Four Noble Truths in Everyday Life

Why is life so difficult sometimes? Do I actually influence the amount of pressure, irritation, worry and (mental) pain I experience? And if so, how?

For thousands of years, people have been asking the same questions, hoping to bring order to the seemingly arbitrary division of joy and sorrow.

As human beings we want to be happy and we have to endure adversity. But what is your relationship with it? Have you taught yourself to avoid pain and sorrow if possible and to survive it if it is unavoidable? Or do you use it to enrich your life? When you are stuck, do you experience it as a failure? Or as something to be ashamed of? How much of your life is unacceptable because it contains suffering?

According to Buddhist philosophy, the way to happiness is not to be found in the avoidance of suffering, but in the conscious and embodied experience of everything you encounter on your life's path. Instead of feeling like a victim of whatever comes your way, you can free the mind in such a way that even in the midst of inevitable pain and sorrow, you can experience peace and well-being.

In this Year Group we work on a way out of stress, pressure, pain and worry through Four Noble Truths: life has moments of suffering, the reason for that suffering is clinging to desired outcomes. You can remove suffering by letting go of holding on. There is an eightfold path that teaches you how to do this. Each of the Four Noble Truths contains three insights that provide tools to better deal with life's ups and downs.

This way you can experience calm and tranquility in the midst of the hectic pace of everyday life.

DANCE WITH LIFE is a course in the Buddhist Psychology of the Four Noble Truths.

Together with a motivated group of like-minded people, you have the opportunity to immerse yourself for a year in this ancient Buddhist wisdom, which in 2023 has not lost any of its topicality, power and effectiveness.