South Bay Buddhism for Beginners Meetup

Hi, our Dharma friends!
Welcome to the gateway to Buddhism 101 for all! Our Karma Lab meeting is a friendly get-together of like-minded people to learn about karma 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. To ensure a smooth entrance to my zoom room, your camera must be on when you come in.
Our classes are free for the first 5 sessions . After 5 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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To better explain the philosophy behind Karma Lab (our weekly Wednesday events, focusing on Karma):
It is not unusual for people to ask themselves;

• Why do bad things happen to me?
• Or simply, "why me?"

Often these questions come up when things are not going well, or when they fall apart. In these moments we may feel like we're confined to a small bubble, and it feels like there's no solution to our problems.
Buddhism does not state that there's some supernatural being that causes bad things to happen or some ancestral curse that shapes it. Rather Buddhism says to practice good deeds and refrain from bad. This does seem like common sense but there's a difference there.
There are two reasons why this applies to our lives.
One reason is that karma has energy. Not only is it invisible, somewhat like a virus which can't be seen, but it also has strength, and it shapes our future. This strength or power has an influence on our daily lives. Buddha said: "Bad karma creates bad consequences and good karma creates good consequences."
Also, when bad things are happening to us, it's an opportunity for us to practice self-reflection and make extra effort to practice simple good deeds such as cleaning, showing a smile to people, and giving gifts to our friends and family.
It's human nature for most people to blame others at times for our unfavorable outcomes or difficulties in life. It's harder to stop and look more closely at ourselves.
So, it is therefore important to regulate our minds because they are the parent, our speech and actions being the children. That is why the Buddha taught us about the Six Paramitas – six types of daily practices.
With patience and practice of these teachings, we will undergo a complete transformation. In addition, our lives will improve. We are all encouraged to practice kindness and compassion, the act of which is always at the top of the list.
Stay well and let's go forward towards the light of unconditional goodness together! 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!!!
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 record this zoom session on zoom for later access by our premium members. There will be an announcement from the Zoom app when recording 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.