The "Wake Up to Your Life” (or WUTYL, pronounced woo til) group of Columbus, Ohio is a small, nonsectarian Buddhist group that meets weekly to meditate and to study the Buddhist teachings of Ken McLeod, Stephen Batchelor, Reggie Ray, Larry Rosenberg, Martine Batchelor, and other western teachers.

We learn to apply practical Buddhist tools to our daily lives in order to become increasingly open to the mystery of the present moment. Though we view regular meditation practice as one key element to becoming more fully awake and alive, we seek to develop a type of practice that we can recall throughout the day, whether on or off the cushion. We don't just try to fit a meditation practice into our lives. We bring our lives into our practice.

This Ning group is for active members of the group who desire to communicate with one another outside of meetings.You must attend a meeting to join. You will be removed if we haven't seen you or heard from you in three months.
WEEKLY MEDITATION SCHEDULE:
WEDNESDAYS: 7-9:00 PM. "Wednesday Evening Practice Group" 60 minutes of sitting and walking meditation practice, followed by 60 minutes for study and discussion. Currently the group is studying the Four Immeasurables of chapter seven from the Wake Up to Your Life book.

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Mike Rouse and Jim Ellsworth are now friends Dec 21, 2011
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Mike Rouse updated their profile Dec 21, 2011
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Mike Rouse is now a member of Wake Up to Your Life in Columbus Ohio Dec 21, 2011
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To Self or not to Self

Two More Citations from Batchelor's "Source Texts for Secular Buddhism" from the Pali Canon (work in progress).  One is called "The Mark of Not Self."  In the second, the Buddha remains silent when asked about the existence or non-existence of the self.  What's the importance?  For me, it points to the importance of the experience of life itself over and above our various theories about live.  As someone who's spent so much time deep within his own thoughts (and those inherited from the culture…See More
Discussion posted by Jim Ellsworth Nov 9, 2011
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Jim Ellsworth replied to Jim Ellsworth's discussion 'Source Texts for Secular Buddhism from the Pali Canon...compiled by Stephen Batchelor'
OK.  What do I personally get out of this, the Buddha's first teaching on the Four "Enobling" Truths (as Batchelor calls the Four Noble Truths).    First, the importance of "fully knowing dukkha."  I…
Nov 9, 2011
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Jim Ellsworth replied to Jim Ellsworth's discussion 'Source Texts for Secular Buddhism from the Pali Canon...compiled by Stephen Batchelor'
TURNING THE WHEEL OF DHAMMA:   This is what I heard.  He was staying at Baranasi in the Deer Park at Isipatana.  He addressed the group of five:   "One gone forth does not pursue two dead ends.  Which two? …
Nov 9, 2011
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Jim Ellsworth replied to Jim Ellsworth's discussion 'Source Texts for Secular Buddhism from the Pali Canon...compiled by Stephen Batchelor'
My first is on karma.  I choose this because I've encountered so many people who take very simplistic beliefs about karma to explain really extraordinary events.  Was my dog born a dog because he had a problem with pride in a past…
Nov 8, 2011
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Source Texts for Secular Buddhism from the Pali Canon...compiled by Stephen Batchelor

I've been listening to an electronic version of a Word Document that Stephen Batchelor shared with retreatants in Toronto last summer.   Stephen has dedicated the past few years of his life to investigating source texts to make a theological (buddhological) argument for what is distinctive about the Buddha's teachings from those that existed before his birth and those that emerged after his life.  It's been pretty fascinating to listen to the methods that he uses and encouraging to see that…See More
Discussion posted by Jim Ellsworth Nov 8, 2011

Forum

Jim Ellsworth

To Self or not to Self

Started by Jim Ellsworth in Sample Title Nov 9, 2011. 0 Replies

Narnia Breathes

Jesse's art show this weekend

Started by Narnia Breathes in Sample Title Aug 18, 2011. 0 Replies

Keira

Weekend Retreat at the Red Bird Center

Started by Keira in Sample Title. Last reply by Jim Ellsworth Apr 26, 2011. 2 Replies

Jim Ellsworth

Practice Day with Janaki

Started by Jim Ellsworth in Sample Title. Last reply by Jim Ellsworth Mar 11, 2011. 1 Reply

Blog Posts

Jim Ellsworth

The heart of struggling...

Posted by Jim Ellsworth on March 22, 2011 at 9:30pm 0 Comments

from Ngakapa Chogyam's "Journey into Vastness: A Handbook of Tibetan Meditation Techniques"



"We started out earlier in this chapter with the idea that we mistrust the Nature of what we are, and that we seem to need continual confirmation that we are actually here.  The continual activity of seeking assurances of our existence is our penchant for unnecessarily clothing our Naked Awareness in concepts.  But our conceptual apparel has something of… Continue
Jim Ellsworth

For Steve

Posted by Jim Ellsworth on March 15, 2011 at 2:37pm 0 Comments

It's been a couple of years since I've practiced Aikido regularly.  I used to go several times a week for about  3 or 4 years.  I never got very good at it but I did move from someone who was a "slave of fear," as Sensei Paul once remarked, to someone who could more or less stay present in my own bodyheartmind as people were trying to kill me.  There was a brown belt named Steve who liked a very energetic form of practice.  He often encouraged me to stay after class for extra practice time.  I… Continue
Jim Ellsworth

Not getting my way

Posted by Jim Ellsworth on March 12, 2011 at 6:04pm 2 Comments

We worked hard on Wednesday night learning the four part method to disrupt habitual patterns.  I took some time on Thursday and Friday morning writing down which reactive patterns I want to break and coming up with a practice to cut them with. 



I spoke with Janaki on Friday.  We spoke about various topics and then I touched on the Four Part Method with all my elaborate plans to "recognize, disidentify, develop a practice, and to cut with the practice."  She pointed me back toward… Continue
Jim Ellsworth

Prison

Posted by Jim Ellsworth on March 8, 2011 at 9:34pm 0 Comments

This weeks theme seems to be prison.  


Last Wednesday night, we went through Meditation 9 of the WUTYL book.  Habituation and Enslavement.  We explored how our perceptions of the world and our lives would change if performing a harmful action (like stealing, killing, lying, slandering, or speaking offensively) or a helpful action (being generous, courteous, complimenting someone, helping a person in need, speaking truthfully, or healing).  I'd worked on the meditation…
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