What we’re about
The famous English historian H.G. Wells wrote “The fundamental teaching of Gautama (Buddha) is clear and simple and in the closest harmony with modern ideas. It is, beyond all dispute, the achievement of one of the most penetrating intelligence the world has ever known.” So let's learn Buddhism together!
A good teacher is necessary to walk us through the process. Join us for an informal introduction session and let's get to know each other. Feel free to send us a private message or email at bitae22@hotmail.com with your contact information if you'd like us to share with you some Dharma materials. We have about 10-20 participants in each meetup so please don't get discouraged seeing the few RSVPs on this page.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Happiness Lab for Advanced Sangha MembersLink visible for attendees
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 a newbie to Buddhism, please check out our Sundays 7 AM 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.
------ Also please note that we're going to record this zoom session for later access by our premium members on YouTube. There will be an announcement from the Zoom app when it starts.
- 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.
- Our classes are free for the first 10 sessions or so. After 10 sessions, if you see 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.
4. Your camera must be on when you come in to the zoom room until the host greets you.Last but not least– the Zoom passcode is 426646.
Stay well and let's go forward towards the light of unconditional goodness together!
We’re looking forward to meeting you!
Bita and Yuichi - Women's Group to Share & Support Each Other With Dharma & KarmaLink visible for attendees
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 a Saturday from 12 to 1 pm PST. The format will be brief self-introductions, a dharma slideshow presentation by Lori, followed by questions on the dharma. I will moderate. If you’d like to join us, please send an email to BOTH bitadharma22@gmail.com and 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!
Usually there are 10-20 women who join 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.
I’m Lori. I have been studying Buddhism with Bita and Yuichi for a few years now. I am a retired research chemist and I study French in my spare time (j’adore France). If you’re interested in learning more about mindfulness, or want to learn to meditate, I’m available to help you. I can be reached at itsadeal58@gmail.com, and Bita can be reached at bitadharma22@gmail.com for 1:1 Dharma lessons.
Also some of our premium YouTube members can't join our meetups live so we're planning to record and upload to our YouTube channel. Please consider to subscribe and join us:
https://www.youtube.com/@right-view-labOur classes are free for the first 3 sessions. After 3 sessions, if you see 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.
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Your camera needs to be on when you come into the zoom; please arrive on time to have a smooth entry into the zoom.Once you RSVP, you will see the link to the Zoom meeting room. When you click the link and you Zoom application starts, then you'll be required to type the passcode. The passcode is 426646.
- Book Club: Radical Acceptance, Embracing Your Life With the Heart of A BuddhaLink visible for attendees
Hello our Dharma friends,
Hope this message finds you well. As one of the most active Buddhism groups online, we often get so many questions such as the following:
How to be accepting of our fate specially when bad things happen?
How to surrender to our fate? Or do I need to constantly strive to change it?
I'm trying to be kind to myself but why is it not easy?
I suffer feeling I’m constantly struggling; why do we live life?
Compassion in Buddhism means removing suffering and enabling joyfulness. When Siddhartha Gautama reached the enlightenment of a Buddha, he taught us the 4 Noble Truths, the first of which is life is suffering. But he also taught the second Noble Truth, which is there is a cause to suffering. And the third Noble Truth: the cessation of suffering & the 4th Noble Truth: the way to the cessation of suffering.
To the extent we understand the root cause of our sufferings, we can gain confidence in living life and supporting others as well. That adds to our joyfulness and vitality in life!
In our meetups, we talk about the 4 Noble Truths and in this book club gathering, we'd like to go over how karmic seeds we knowingly and unknowingly plant, which cause our sufferings. Then a way to resolve those karmic entanglements come to our view: we move from a state of resistance to a state of embracement.
We're going to read Tara Brach's book Radical Acceptance, Embracing Your Life with a Heart of a Buddha and have discussions about it. From page 9, "When I touched genuine peace and openheartedness, my inner critic continued to assess my level of purity. I mistrusted myself for the ways I tried to be positive when underneath I felt lonely or afraid."
We're planning to read about 2 chapters per month. I'd like for us to share one point each how we got moved by a point or two in the book, why that point or theme is changing our lives, and how we can explain it in a way that MOVES OTHERS' HEARTS as well. My goal for all our meetups is to learn the Dharma and share with others to spread light and love in this world.
Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha https://a.co/d/7zgKXe6
How does self-judgement, fear of inadequacy, or rejection impact your experiences?
Radical Acceptance offers a pathway to inner freedom through personal stories and case histories along with a fresh interpretation of Buddhist tales.
March 2025: Pages 1-48 Awakening from the Trance of unworthiness & mindfulness practice of awakening from the tranceApril 2025: Pages 48-92 The Sacred Pause & Unconditional Friendliness
May 2025: NO BOOK CLUB GATHERING IN MAY
June 2025: Pages 93-160 Coming Home to Our Body & Radical Acceptance of Desire (discussions needed)
July 2025: Pages 161-221 Opening our Heart in the Face of Fear & Awakening Compassion for Ourselves
August 2025: Pages 221-282 Widening the Circles of Compassion
September 2025: Pages 283-330 Awakening Together: Practicing Radical Acceptance in Relationships
October 2025: NO BOOK CLUB GATHERING IN OCTOBER
Our classes are free for the first 5 sessions. After 5 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.
