{"id":16242,"date":"2026-09-03T20:10:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T00:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/?page_id=16242"},"modified":"2026-09-04T08:22:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T12:22:15","slug":"buddhism-101-the-art-of-mindful-working-and-living","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/bffct.org\/bff\/buddhism-101-the-art-of-mindful-working-and-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Buddhism 101: The Art of Mindful Working and Living"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Whole of Your Life Is the Practice<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcc5 3 Sessions | March 21, April 4 & April 18 or 25 (tentative) | Live on Zoom | $195 \u26a0\ufe0f Open Enrollment Begins Late January 2027 \u26a0\ufe0f Enrollment closes March 14, 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much of your day do you actually enjoy? Not the highlight moments, but the ordinary hours \u2014 the commute, the inbox, the difficult conversation, the dishes, the exhaustion that follows you home at the end of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us move through our days waiting for the weekend, enduring the hours rather than inhabiting them. But what if every hour held within it the seed of genuine joy, meaning, and awakening? That is the quietly radical teaching at the heart of this course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABOUT THE COURSE<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Buddhism 101: The Art of Mindful Working and Living <\/em>is a warm, engaging, and deeply practical three-session live Zoom course drawing from immediately applicable Mahayana Buddhist teachings. This course goes far beyond the workplace \u2014 it is a course about the art of living fully, mindfully, and with an open and joyful heart in every dimension of daily experience: your work, your home, your relationships, your commute, and the quiet spaces in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guided by Rev. G.R. Lewis, M.A, this course brings the ancient wisdom of Buddhist mindfulness practice into direct, practical contact with the texture of your actual everyday life. Whether you are brand new to Buddhism or a longtime practitioner ready to go deeper, this course meets you exactly where you are. No prerequisites required. Open to everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT YOU WILL EXPLORE<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Over three richly engaging live sessions you will discover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udf38 The Art of Starting Your Day <\/strong>\u2014 how to set clear, compassionate intentions that carry mindfulness from the very first moment of waking into everything that follows<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83e\uddd8 Mindful Breathing and Walking at Work<\/strong> \u2014 simple, immediately applicable practices for bringing calm, clarity, and presence into even the most demanding work environments<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udfe0 Home, Family and Daily Life<\/strong> \u2014 how mindfulness transforms every domestic moment: meals, conversations, household tasks, and the sacred ordinariness of family life<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude97 Transportation and Transition<\/strong> \u2014 turning commutes, errands, and in-between moments into genuine opportunities for practice and renewal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\udcbc Right Livelihood and Ethical Work<\/strong> \u2014 the Buddha’s teaching on meaningful, compassionate work and how our livelihood choices connect to the wellbeing of all<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83d\ude24 Working with Difficult Emotions and Conflict<\/strong> \u2014 practical Buddhist tools for resolving tension, navigating difficult relationships, and transforming negative emotions at work and at home<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\ud83c\udf0d Building Mindful Community<\/strong> \u2014 how individual mindfulness practice ripples outward into families, workplaces, and communities, contributing to what Thich Nhat Hanh calls a collective awakening<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2600\ufe0f Joy as a Practice<\/strong> \u2014 the radical Buddhist teaching that joy is not a reward for getting things right but a capacity that can be cultivated and deepened in every ordinary hour of every ordinary day<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE REQUIRED TEXT<\/h3>\n\n\n
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Work: How to Find Joy and Meaning in Each Hour of the Day<\/em> by Thich Nhat Hanh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beautifully written, immediately practical, and suffused with Thich Nhat Hanh’s characteristic warmth and clarity, this is a book you will return to again and again long after the course has ended. Please obtain your copy and begin reading before the first class session on March 21, 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Purchase on Amazon \u2014 AFFILIATE LINK COMING IN JANUARY 2027]<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COURSE REQUIREMENTS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is a structured program \u2014 not a casual book club. Students are warmly asked to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Read the short book Work<\/em> and complete all Reading Guide assignments before each class. The 1st assignment is due at the 1st class.
2) Attend all three live Zoom sessions
3) If located in Connecticut \u2014 attend BFF’s Sunday Morning Meditation & Talk gatherings
4) If located outside Connecticut \u2014 connect with a local Buddhist group if one is available
5) Practice what is learned \u2014 in meditation, in daily life, at work, and in relationships<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Community practice is an essential ingredient of the Buddha’s path. We cannot do it alone \u2014 the sangha (community of practitioners) is one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism, and it will support and deepen your learning in ways that study alone cannot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PART OF THE BUDDHISM 101 SERIES<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

his course is the ideal first step in BFF’s ongoing Buddhism 101 Series<\/strong> \u2014 a carefully designed curriculum of accessible and transformative courses exploring Buddhist wisdom for modern life. Some of the other courses in the series include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n