202604 佛學美語會話

報名連結：https://forms.gle/MGUy74Wur4vo8HrBA

課程主旨

為僧伽設計的十週英語課程，每週兩小時，用英語反思出家修行的心情、心境。從初發心、戒律實踐到無我觀，透過短文研讀與對話，提升外語表達力；同時發掘內在智慧。在僧眾相互砥礪的環境中，讓英語成為您分享佛法、深化生命洞見的利器。誠邀您參與、共學、共修！（10Weeks English Conversation Course for Monastics
Reflections on the Monastic Path: Understanding the Inner Journey 2 hours per week — contemplative, reflective, community based.）

◎主        講：John Smith (約翰史密斯) 

◎日        期：6/15-8/17（週一），共10次課程。

◎時        間：晚上7:00-9:00

◎上課地點：ZOOM視訊(全程英文教學）

◎參加對象：出家僧眾(報名時，需承諾參加完全梯次，即10次的課程)。

◎名額限定：15名，備取3名；先面談再決定錄取與否。

◎報名時間：即日起至額滿為止

◎主辦單位：台灣佛教僧伽終身教育學會

◎學會官網：https://www.absle.org

◎連絡電話：02-2747-8687 、0979-500-600

◎費        用：本會贊助，歡迎隨喜護持

◎護持學會資訊：

        郵           局：台北延壽郵局（代碼：700）
        戶           名：社團法人台灣佛教僧伽終身教育學會
        郵 局 帳 號：0001561-0579136

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10 Week English Conversation Course for Monastics
Reflections on the Monastic Path: Understanding the Inner Journey 2 hours per week — contemplative, reflective, community based
WEEK 1 — The Initial Spark: Why We Ordain
Reading (15–20 min)
A short passage on initial aspiration from a monastic biography or a simple excerpt on “Going Forth.”
Discussion (1 hour)
• What first inspired you to ordain
• What you imagined monastic life would be
• What you understood correctly
• What you misunderstood
• How your aspiration has changed over time
Reflection (40 min)
• Write 5–7 sentences: “My first understanding of the monastic path.”
• Share one insight with the group.
• Set a personal intention for the course.
WEEK 2 — Self, Non Self, and Identity
Reading
A simple explanation of the Five Aggregates or a short teaching on anattā.
Discussion
• How ordination reshaped your sense of “I”
• How identity softens or shifts over decades
• How community life challenges the sense of self
Reflection
• Write: “How my sense of self has changed since ordination.”
• Identify one area where “self” still appears strongly.
WEEK 3 — Renunciation and Joy
Reading
A short text on contentment (santutthi) or the joy of simplicity.
Discussion
• What renunciation meant to you at the beginning
• What renunciation means to you now
• The unexpected joys of letting go
• The emotional challenges of restraint
Reflection
• Write: “One joy I discovered through renunciation.”
• Set a small renunciation related intention for the week.
WEEK 4 — Right Mind: Working with Thoughts
Reading
A short teaching on mindfulness of mind (cittānupassanā).
Discussion
• How you observe the mind
• How you work with unwholesome states
• How decades of practice have changed your relationship to thought
Reflection
• Write: “A pattern of mind I am learning to understand.”
• Share one insight with a partner.
WEEK 5 — Right Speech: Harmony in Community
Reading
A short text on Right Speech or the four kinds of wholesome speech.
Discussion
• How speech supports harmony
• When silence is wisdom vs. avoidance
• How to speak truthfully with compassion
• How community life tests speech
Reflection
• Write: “A moment when Right Speech changed a situation.”
• Set a speech related intention for the week.
WEEK 6 — Right Action: Living the Precepts
Reading
A short explanation of the precepts or a story illustrating moral discipline.
Discussion
• How precepts shape daily life
• How discipline becomes freedom
• How precepts support community trust
• How you relate to the precepts now vs. decades ago
Reflection
• Write: “How the precepts protect my mind.”
• Identify one precept you want to explore more deeply.
WEEK 7 — Daily Discipline and the Rhythm of Practice
Reading
A short passage on the value of routine or mindfulness in daily tasks.
Discussion
• How chanting, meditation, and work stabilize the mind
• How routine becomes a container for insight
• How discipline changes over decades
Reflection
• Write: “A daily practice that supports my inner stability.”
• Share one small change you want to try.
WEEK 8 — Encountering Challenges: The Path of Growth
Reading
A short teaching on hindrances or overcoming difficulties.
Discussion
• Emotional challenges
• Interpersonal challenges
• Doctrinal or practice related challenges
• How challenges become teachers
Reflection
• Write: “A challenge that helped me grow.”
• Identify one challenge you want to understand more deeply.
WEEK 9 — Kalyāṇamitta: The Role of Spiritual Friendship
Reading
A short text on spiritual friendship (e.g., “Admirable friendship is the whole of the holy life”).
Discussion
• How the sangha supports practice
• How friendship appears in monastic life
• How community reveals blind spots
• How to support others skillfully
Reflection
• Write: “A kalyāṇamitta who shaped my practice.”
• Share one quality of admirable friendship you value.
WEEK 10 — Integration and Lifelong Reflection
Reading
A short passage on continuity of practice or the long arc of the path.
Discussion
• How your understanding of the path has matured
• What remains mysterious
• What continues to inspire you
• How to sustain practice for the next decade
Reflection
• Write: “My evolving understanding of the monastic path.”
• Set a long term intention for your practice and English learning.