Atlanta Buddhism Meetup Group for Beginners

Hi, our Dharma friends!
Welcome to the gateway to Buddhism 101 for all! Our Purpose Lab meeting is a friendly get-together of like-minded people to learn about “What is our life’s purpose and meaning?” in Buddhism.
Our weekly “intro to Buddhism” meetup group is open to all! No experience in Buddhism is necessary. Each week we prepare a Dharma presentation for you all on that week’s Buddhism topic, followed by Q&A. We kick off each meeting with some introductions and short ice-breaking so that you get to know the other members of our sangha community! We have a good mix of regulars and newbies each meeting.
The first 20 minutes I'd like to get to know who is joining our zoom session so please have your camera on. After that, we will record our presentation and Q&A and upload to YouTube for access by our premium members. Thank you for your understanding.
Our classes are free for the first 3 sessions. After 3 sessions, if you see the value in joining, please consider offering a contribution.
Our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you!
Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted on Venmo @Bita-Enayati If you don't have Venmo, please email me at bitadharma22@gmail.com
so you can offer your contribution through PayPal or Zelle
Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.
Check out our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@right-view-lab!
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To better explain the philosophy behind Purpose Lab (our weekly Friday events, focusing on our life’s purpose and meaning):
In Buddhism, our life’s purpose is a long-term mission.

1. We all have our purpose in life, which energizes us to move on.
2. Our ultimate goal is different from our short-term goals or mid-term goals in life, such as marriage, landing a job, forming a family, or retirement.
3. If we think about our mortality and impermanence of life, minor issues become less important, and we feel an urgency to accomplish our real purpose.
4. It is helpful to have friends and family members who can support us as we travel through this Saha world of suffering toward our destination.
5. Practicing compassion and kindness to such good people is important.
6. We all have shared imperfections, and sometimes we hurt each other because we are human and are fallible. Self-reflection can help us move through such troubled times. Remember, we’re all in this together, we are all struggling, and we are all suffering.
7. Buddha said the purpose of this journey is to find genuine happiness that overcomes life’s sufferings.
8. The eight universal sufferings taught by the Buddha are: birth ( life), aging, sickness, death, separation from the beloved, encountering the despised, and being of the flesh (our body). This last suffering contains all the other sufferings.
9. When we practice Six Paramitas (our daily practices), our good efforts will be rewarded. Good people will be drawn to us and be a source of support. It might take some time but no effort is wasted. Some seeds take time to bear fruit.
10. When we know our purpose – self transcendence – we can overcome our limitations, the obstacles in our way, and the pain we suffer on our journey.
11. Self transcendence is to forget the desire for instant gratification and remember those people who will benefit from our effort, and to be grateful for the people who have been supporting us.
12. If you don’t have such people please make an effort to find at least one such person. And of course, by coming to this meet-up you will be a part of our sangha community!

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If you're interested in learning Buddhism but have a schedule conflict, please write to me for a one on one session.

1. Also please note that we're going to livestream this zoom session on YouTube for later access by our premium members. There will be an announcement from the Zoom app when it starts.
2. We would appreciate it if you use the same name as your Meetup account so that the host of the meeting will easily recognize the participants.
3. Please make sure you RSVP 30 minutes prior to the start of the meeting.
4. Our classes are free for the first 3 sessions. After 3 sessions, if you see the value in joining, please consider offering a contribution.

Our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you!
Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted on Venmo @Bita-Enayati If you don't have Venmo, please email me at bitadharma22@gmail.com
so you can offer your contribution through PayPal or Zelle
Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.
The Zoom meeting passcode is 426646. We have about 10-20 people join us each week, including the regulars, so hope you don't get discouraged by seeing the few RSVPs here on this page. See you soon too!!!
We are looking forward to meeting fellow truth-seekers such as yourself, interested in the path to discovering their life’s purpose and meaning!
Bita and Yuichi Asakura

Hi our Dharma friends!
Welcome to Buddhism for our advanced members! Our Happiness Lab meeting is a friendly get-together of like-minded people to learn about happiness in Buddhism.
If you're new to Buddhism, please check out our Sundays 10 AM Eastern time class for beginners to Buddhism.
Our weekly “Advanced” meetup group is open to those who have completed our basic course and are a contributing, sustaining member of our Sangha community. Each week we prepare a Dharma presentation for you on that week’s Buddhism topic, followed by Q&A. We kick off each meeting with some introductions and short ice-breaking to encourage one another to take our Dharma practice to the next level!
Check our our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/@right-view-lab !
To better explain the philosophy behind Happiness Lab (our weekly Saturday events, focusing on happiness):
The ultimate goal of Buddhism is experiencing true happiness. But if we don't know what it is, we won't know how to go about it. There's a goal, or the finishing point of experiencing happiness that does not abandon us, Buddha teaches us. That is lasting peace of mind and satisfaction.
Buddha teaches us what lasting happiness is in contrast to our fleeting sense of it.
A great master of Buddhism expressed his own experience of attaining such happiness as follows:
"Swiftly receiving the wisdom of Buddha, gaining perfect and flawless satisfaction."
Just visualize the beautiful image of a full moon in the night sky. The full moon has a perfectly circular shape, which is symbolic of something perfect in Buddhism.
How can we experience perfect happiness? It's when darkness of mind or avidya in Sanskrit will get lifted. It takes no time. When the light comes, our dark mind will be instantly gone. That's the moment we achieve true happiness.
Dark mind is like a spiritual illness of not knowing why we suffer, why we're born, why we live. It's the ignorance about our true self as well.
Why do we feel pain when we say goodbye to our loved ones? Why is separation always painful? A popular Japanese singer once said, "Human beings are immersed in pain from the beginning but while we have our loved ones around us, we can forget about our pain. But when we say goodbye to them, the pain comes to the surface. In a sense, our loved ones work like a painkiller." There are all these forms of “painkillers.” – social media, playing games on your phone, drinking, binging Netflix, etc.
Why do we lack energy to move forward? Is it because we feel we're stuck in a circular marathon? When do I reach the finishing line? How long should I continue doing this?
The following are the lines from a popular song of Japan.
Over this hill, happiness lies waiting:
Clinging to that hope,
seven hills have I crossed so far,
this my fiftieth year.
We want to reach a point of completion. Seeking is tiring, you know.
Artists seek perfection in their artwork. But it's difficult to find a point of perfection. One popular singer said this:
"I always focus really hard on an album or a tour, and at the time I'll think, “This is the greatest!" But when it's over, somehow I’m always like “Nope, I still have a long way to go.”
Don't we look for lasting joy through our work/hobbies/relationships? But each time, we feel disillusioned.
The original pain comes from our dark minds. Listening to the Dharma illuminates this pain and eliminates it.
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1. Also please note that we're going to record this zoom session on YouTube for later access by our premium members. There will be an announcement from the Zoom app when it starts.
2. We would appreciate it if you use the same name as your Meetup account so that the host of the meeting will easily recognize the contributing, sustaining participants. Your camera must be on when you enter the zoom just to greet the hosts.
3. Our classes are free for the first 3 sessions. After 3 sessions, if you see the value in joining, please consider offering a contribution.
   Our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you!
   Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted on Venmo @Bita-Enayati
   If you don't have Venmo, please email me at bitadharma22@gmail.com
   so you can offer your contribution through PayPal or Zelle
   Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.
   For one on one sessions by offering a contribution, please email me a bit about your spiritual journey so far at bitadharma22@gmail.com
   One on one sessions help us understand our karmic entanglements and move past the hurt of traumas. It does take time to see the big picture but good things come to people who wait.

Our zoom password is 426646

Also please be ON TIME and have YOUR CAMERA ON as soon as you enter my zoom room so you don't experience difficulty being admitted to the group. This group is about practicing the Dharma and not just learning theories. If you can't have your camera on or you are going to be late, it's better for you to make appointment for one on one sessions by offering a contribution.

Thank you for reading until the end and hope to see you soon! Please don't be discouraged by the few RSVPs on this page as friends join us from other venues as well. Stay kind.

Hope this message finds you well our friends.
We have had women request a women’s Dharma Workshop, so we’ve decided to try it. We will meet once a month on the second Saturday 3 pm EST. The format will be brief self-introductions, a Dharma talk by Bita or Lori, followed by questions on the Dharma. If you’d like to join us, please send an email to BOTH bitadharma22@gmail.comand itsadeal58@gmail.com. One email, two recipients is what we’re looking for. In your email, please tell us the following: (1) the names of the Dharma Lab meetups you usually attend, (2) about how many Buddhism meetups you have attended, and (3) where you consider yourself to be along your Buddhist path (e.g. I meditate 3 times a week; I have read extensively about Tibetan Buddhism; I chant twice a day every day; I tried Zen Buddhism, I clean my space every day, I join one of Bita and Yuichi’s meetups each week, etc.); (4) if you’re a contributing member, please let us know. Be sure to sign it with your whole name, especially if you have an email like “itsadeal58”! I don’t want to address you as Ms It Sadeal, that would be rude. Please join us, I think we can make it a good experience for everyone. I’m looking forward to it!
Feel free to write to us what you'd like to hear more of.
Last month we had about 10 women who joined us. You won't see all the RSVPs on this page so don't be discouraged by the few RSVPs here! See you soon.This event is about women's empowerment and moving on from a place of hurt to a place of leadership all thanks to the healing power of the Dharma.
Our classes are free for the first 3 sessions. After 3 sessions, if you see the value in joining, please consider offering a contribution.
Our classes & sangha are sustained completely by the dana gratitude contributions of people like you!

Dana gratitude donations for our classes are gratefully accepted on Venmo @Bita-Enayati If you don't have Venmo, please email me at bitadharma22@gmail.com
so you can offer your contribution through PayPal or Zelle
Suggested donation for the event is $5 - $20.

To ensure a smooth entry into our zoom room, please make sure your camera is ON as soon as you come in and that you arrive ON TIME. I appreciate your effort and understanding.

Our zoom password is: 426646