About this Event
All are welcome! Join Gus for a deep dive and lively discussion about philosophy and Buddhism! Each seminar meets on Thursday evenings from 6-7:30p for 4 consecutive weeks and the last week includes a wrap-up pizza party!
Each seminar has a one-time fee of $40 (non-refundable) and all proceeds are donated to the Blue Lotus Temple.
2026 SEMINAR SCHEDULE
October 29th, November 5th, 12th, & 19th. 6 pm – 7:30 pm.
Schopenhauer, Nietzsche & the Buddha on Suffering:
Let’s face it. Suffering is ubiquitous. However, philosophers and the dharma both address suffering from varying perspectives: what it is and how to deal with it. This seminar will explore suffering in the thought of Arthur Schopenhauer and his influence on Friedrich Nietzsche, and compare that with the Buddha’s profound insight.
2027 SEMINAR SCHEDULE
February 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th. 6 pm—7:30 pm.
The Life of the Mind—Hannah Arendt & the Buddha:
If mind is the forerunner of all states then such mental states in a world of appearances prompts the question “Where are we when we think?” Where is this experience that we call the inner journey if it is a hidden activity that does not appear in an outer world? Does the mind have a foothold in space and time or are space and time irrelevant to mind? This seminar will offer some tentative answers to these questions according to Arendt and the Buddha.
May 6th, 13th, 20th, & 27th. 6 pm – 7:30 pm.
Lack & Transcendence—the Problem of Death and Life in Psychotherapy, Existentialism and Buddhism: This seminar will be based on the thought of David R. Loy regarding the problem of death and life. The ideas of Sigmund Freud and Rollo May, Nietzsche and Sartre, and the teachings of Buddhism will be compared; discussion will be based on excerpts from Loy’ book mentioned above. Excerpts and notes will be provided to the participants.
August 5th, 12th, 19th, & 26th. 6 pm – 7:30 pm.
Realism, Idealism, or Neither—Spinoza, Hegel & the Buddha:
The philosophical tradition in the West, and the consequent debates which have ensued in academic circles ever since trying to resolve the apparent contradiction between objectivity and “mere” subjectivism, is not foreign to everyday thinking by everyday people. When people say that the truth is based on facts what exactly do they mean? Furthermore, do they “know” what they mean?
October 28th, November 4th, 11th, & 18th. 6 pm – 7:30 pm.
Sartre’s Freedom & the Buddha’s Liberation—A Comparison:
We know what freedom and liberation are until someone asks us what they are. We know when we experience liberation or freedom but words “escape” us as we try to “pin them down.” Jean-Paul Sartre’s Nothingness and the Buddha’s Emptiness are the subjects of this seminar.
About the Instructor:
Following his service in the U.S. Army as a drill sergeant, Gus Santo became a Benedictine monk for six years and studied philosophy, monastic history & theology.
After graduating summa cum laude from St. John’s University he was appointed an instructor as a member of the philosophy faculty at St. John’s. Later, Gus left the monastic life and worked as a job analyst at City Hall in Chicago for the Department of Human Resources. When he retired from the City of Chicago he became an MHP (Mental Health Professional) at Pioneer Center in McHenry, Illinois. He became a dharmic practitioner in 2020.
Gus has taught a variety of adult education philosophy classes at Unitarian Universalist Churches in Hartland, Wisconsin, and McHenry, and has led a number of seminars on Western Philosophy and Buddhism here at the Blue Lotus Temple in Woodstock.
Event venue & nearby stays
Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple and Meditation Center, 221 Dean Street, Woodstock, United States
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