The Dharma of Spiritual Abolition:
Self-Guided Course on the Heart SutraÂ
with Lama Rod Owens
Now available on demand
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“I don’t want people to be punished for the harm they cause me or others. I want people to be free from the suffering they experience and the suffering they cause others.” ~ Lama Rod Owens
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Spiritual abolitionism is more than a critique of power and how social systems work to grant and deny people resources that they need to survive. Spiritual abolitionism means that our entire ecology must be liberated. The Heart Sutra is one of the tools available to us in this work of liberation.
The Heart Sutra teaches that all phenomena are just expressions of the essence — this includes the sacred duality between form and emptiness. The Heart Sutra is nothing but a contradiction. Therefore, sacred duality is a contradiction because ultimately, there is no duality as there are no phenomena.Â
Dualities generate a tension that, through practice, we can ride back into the essence. The tension keeps us activated, which in turn keeps us from sinking into a lull or numbness from which it is difficult to break out. Using dualities like this expresses another theme of the Heart Sutra, which is the potential of liberation through contradictions.Â
Lama Rod's talks and guided practice helps us explore how we can embody and live out these contradictions in our daily lives, in service to our collective liberation for ourselves, others, and the unseen ecologies of ancestors and descendants. We have to do the labor to get ourselves free, and that is the same labor we offer to our collectives.Â
This Self-Guided Course explores how we might abolish anything that prevents us from being in direct, honest, and compassionate relationships first with ourselves and then the communities we belong to.
The Dharma of Spiritual Abolition series includes:
- A 3-Part Recorded Talk & Practice with Lama Rod
- Written Transcripts of the Recorded Talk & Practice
- Additional Spiritual Abolition resources to support your practice
- Awakened care, vulnerability, clarity, and joyÂ
This 3-Part Self-Guided Course explores:
Part 1: What is Spiritual Abolition?
Abolition is a fluid, ephemeral word that demands that I stop basing my dream of a liberated future on the preservation of the “good” qualities of present systems and enter the real struggle of imagining brand-new ways of being in relationship with myself and my communities.
Part 2: The Contradiction of the Heart Sutra
We can rest our awareness of phenomena, which is the expression of form, and then, from that resting, expand outward into space, which is an expression of emptiness. Sacred duality is a contradiction because, ultimately, there is no duality as there are no phenomena. However, until we awaken fully, duality must be skillfully used and related to in order to return to the realization of the essence.
Part 3: Activating Spiritual Abolitionism through the Tension of Contradiction
Spiritual abolition is dreaming and then beginning to live beyond the violent indoctrination of the binary that enables people to express dominance over others. We want people to be free from the suffering they experience and the suffering they cause others. In the context of spiritual abolition, the best way to ensure this is through accountability rooted in an awakened care ethic.
Registration Options
(select the tuition below that best matches your ability to pay)
All Members of Lama Rod's Learning & Practice Community receive a 20% discount!Â
Join here to access the discount code.
Course FAQs:Â
Is there a refund policy?Â
Refunds are available less a $20 admin fee within 14 days of your purchase.
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Is there financial assistance available?Â
Through the support of those who give at the Pay it Forward level, we have a limited amount of scholarships available. Email [email protected] if you are in need of financial assistance. If you are able to contribute to our ability to offer scholarships, your generosity by choosing the Pay it Forward supports our ability to offer more financial support.
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What does the registration fee support?
Registration fees support Lama Rod and his team for the extensive labor, seen and unseen, and spiritual devotion that allows his work to remain accessible and sustainable. These resources help cover ongoing operational costs, such as the online platforms and services that are used to offer digital programs, team compensation, and the legal and accounting requirements of the United States, as well as physical spaces, materials, and nourishment for events when applicable.
As Lama Rod writes in The New Saints, he seeks to make the tradition of the Buddha relevant to our experiences in the present moment. This means inviting offerings and exchanges that honor the material needs of his energetic presence and livelihood — not in a conditional nor transactional way, but reflecting a tradition of reciprocity and universal balance similar to how you might leave food upon an altar for an ancestor. Giving and receiving are practices that embody the ethic of care that grounds Lama Rod’s work.
Therefore, your registration fees are one of the ways that Lama Rod is sustained so that he can continue his free and by-donation offerings such as Free Radicals, Medicine Buddha, and partnerships with organizations and schools to support their efforts. These offerings reflect our team’s commitment that no one be excluded from the teachings based upon their financial means. Those who register at the Pay-It-Forward price further increase accessibility by making financial assistance possible for those who need scholarships. Barter offerings and work exchanges are also welcome in some instances. Lama Rod believes that we can be well resourced while practicing an anti-capitalist ethic and is deeply grateful to be in a reciprocal relationship with you.
Is this course open to all?
Yes, this course is open to all levels of experience. Those who have experienced Lama Rod's teachings in the past may find it easier to sink into the dialogue, but everyone is welcome to engage with a trust that they will get what they need as integration and understanding comes over time for all of us.
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How long will the course materials be available once I register?Â
All course modules will be available indefinitely.
Having trouble with your registration?Â
Email [email protected] and we're happy to help.Â
Registration Options
(select the tuition below that best matches your ability to pay)
All Members of Lama Rod's Learning & Practice Community receive a 20% discount!Â
Join here to access the discount code.
About the Teacher
Lama Rod Owens is a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. An international influencer with a Master of Divinity degree in Buddhist Studies from Harvard Divinity School. Author of The New Saints: From Broken Hearts to Spiritual Warriors and Love and Rage: The Path of Liberation through Anger, and co-author of Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, his teachings center on freedom, self-expression, and radical self-care.
A leading voice in a new generation of Buddhist teachers with over 11 years of experience, Lama Rod activates the intersections of his identity to create a platform that’s very natural, engaging, and inclusive. Applauded for his mastery in balancing weighty topics with a sense of lightness, the Queen has been featured by various national and international news outlets.Â
Highly sought after for talks, retreats, and workshops, his mission is showing you how to heal and free yourself.
