Pursuing happiness
Happy Course in Summerside teaches meditation, compassion and Buddhist practices
“It’s important to recognize that we really do live in a compassionate world.” Michael Gaudet, facilitator of the Happy Course
Quietly, over someone’s shoulder, Al Gandy whispers, “Focus on your breath. In… out. Focus on your breath.” Gandy is one of the helpers for the Happy Course, facilitated by Michael Gaudet and hosted by venerables from the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society.
“In Buddhist meditation, a target would be your breath. It’s with you in everything you do. It’s your beloved. But how much time during the day do you pay attention to it? But really that’s just the first stage. It’s really to concentrate your mind and practice mindfulness,” said Gandy.
Gaudet has been studying under the venerables for a number of years. One of the activities was learning more about Buddhism.
“So when the venerables wanted to be able to branch out their seminars to other Island communities, it was organized to host it at the Inspire Learning Centre. I’m conducting the classes, under the guidance of the venerables, like Ven Liu, who is one of my teachers.”
The six-week course features topics like Observe Merit Appreciate Kindness (OMAK), meditation, mindfulness, compassion, Buddha and how to incorporate those into your everyday.
“Most of the people participating in this course really reflect what I felt when I first started learning. People aren’t looking for things to add to their life or trying to determine what is missing. Rather, they’re really happy. They’re looking for ways to possibly connect with others and find ways shift perspectives.” When the program first came to Summerside, facilitators weren’t sure how many attendees they would get, but it seems that the people attend genuinely want to be there, Gaudet concluded.
One of the practices participants study is OMAK. “Observe Merit Appreciate Kindness. As human beings, our tendency can be to look for faults in people instead of making note and seeing the goodness that is out there.
“It’s important to recognize that we really do live in a compassionate world.”
Venerable Liu of the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society, says participants are very involved in their practice.
“They’re really great learners. They’re really trying to apply the teachings to their life, and really participate when they share OMAK.”
He says every session is a surprise. “The malleability of people’s minds is remarkable. With the extending of our minds, if we know more about its workings, the more we’ll be able to find the good things in our lives rather than dwelling on the bad.” Kelley Wright attends the seminars with her daughter Savannah.
“I knew a little bit about Buddhism, and Savannah is very interested too.”
“To me, it’s about the awareness of how to live a better life by practicing compassion, OMAK, and meditating,” said Wright.
Savannah added, “I think my awareness shifted after coming to the classes. I was more aware of motivation and intention and practicing mindfulness.” Savannah hopes to continue practicing mindfulness and OMAK after the courses end. “I’d like to start an OMAK journal and track things. It’s helpful. When you’re mindful of things it makes you see things in a more positive way.” While there is one more class of this six-week seminar, facilitators plan to bring back the course with six new topics in May.