The Five Precepts

Date: 2023-11-16 Thursday

For this Nov. 16 sit we’re very happy to welcome Sooz Appel, a person of decades of practice experience, who serves as one of the Seattle  Insight Meditation Society local  dharma leaders.

Sooz’s  talk will be:
 
Practicing with the precepts: making them your own.
 
She writes:
 
“The precepts are a powerful and often challenging part of the path. They are powerful because they offer practical guideposts for living an ethical life. They  are  challenging because often we don’t (or can’t or choose not to) follow them exactly.
 
Each of the precepts contain within it complexities and nuances. Whether it’s the challenges of gardeners facing if and how to eliminate unwanted “pests,” or lifestyle choices that may include intoxicants, or how to interpret “taking only what is given”—exploring these further is a fruitful conversation to have with ourselves and each other.”
 
Here’s some background on Sooz:
 
“Sooz Appel was introduced to Vipassana meditation in 1983 at a death and dying retreat with Stephen Levine. Later that year, she and two friends established Shanti Seattle, which offered emotional support to people who were dying. She joined SIMS when it formed and served on the board and as president from 2001-2003. Over the years, Sooz has filled nearly every volunteer position in SIMS and continues to give of her time and energy to the sangha. In addition to issues of death and dying, Sooz has offered mindfulness opportunities (classes and retreats) to teenagers through both the Seattle Teen Mindfulness Circle and Inward Bound Mindfulness Education (iBme).
 
Sooz is semi-retired having spent 25 years running a recycling company with her life partner. She now helps to manage their commercial property with its dozen small business tenants.”

Click here to listen to or download the talk on the Seattle Insight page.