Kuan Yin, bodhisattva of compassion. Photo by Liza Matthews. Jack Kornfield on beginning this time-honored, heart-opening practice. In our culture, people find it difficult to direct loving-kindness to themselves. We may feel that we are unworthy, or that it’s egotistical, or that we shouldn’t be happy when other people are suffering. So rather than start loving-kindness [...]
Generosity’s Perfection
Giving up, giving in, just plain giving—Sharon Salzberg says that’s the truly transformative experience. Generosity opens our heart, frees us from attachment and is the basis of all good qualities. It’s the foundation of the Buddhist path. The cultivation of generosity is the beginning of spiritual awakening. Generosity has tremendous force because it arises from an inner [...]
Getting Started with Meditation
Sharon Salzberg explains the ins and outs of a core technique—meditating on the breath. This classic meditation practice is designed to deepen concentration by teaching us to focus on the in-breath and out-breath. Sit comfortably on a cushion or a chair. Keep your back erect, but without straining or overarching. (If you can’t sit, lie on your back, on a yoga mat or folded [...]
How to Practice Vipassana Insight Meditation
Step-by-step instructions on how to do this important practice — the foundation of all Buddhist meditations — from the late Vipassana master Sayadaw U Pandita. What is Vipassana? Vipassana, or insight meditation, is the practice of continued close attention to sensation, through which one ultimately sees the true nature of existence. It is believed to be the form of [...]
How Jhana Quells the Five Hindrances
If you think you’re seeing things as they really are, think again, says Ajahn Brahm. Unless you’ve had the deep experience of letting go known as the jhana states, there is only a myriad of illusions. Meditation is the way of letting go. First you let go of all perceptions of time to enter the timeless present moment. Then you let go of inner speech to rest peacefully in [...]
Inner Victory: How to do Insight meditation and walking meditation
While concentrating or settling the mind is common to many spiritual traditions, the special practice of Buddhism is applying that concentrated mind to develop insight: examining our experience closely and precisely in order to understand the true nature of mind and its objects. This is the famed practice of vipassana, taught to us here by the renowned Burmese master Sayadaw U [...]
Insight Meditation: Present, Open & Aware
Emily Horn on how to discover the peace and awakening in every moment. We all long for deeper connection with ourselves and others, less stress, and a better understanding of what is really happening in our lives. Through the practice of Vipassana, or Insight Meditation, we find that peace and awakening are found right here in the present. Insight Meditation is a way to hack [...]
See Things Clear Through
In this practical and pointed meditation instruction, Upasika Kee Nanayon, the foremost woman dhamma teacher in twentieth-century Thailand, shows us how to combine concentration and clear-seeing to penetrate the "mass of deceit" that is the mind. It’s important that we discuss the steps of the practice in training the mind, for the mind has all sorts of deceptions by which [...]
Learn the “BASICS” of Insight Meditation
The term “insight meditation” comes from the Pali word Vipassana. It is the ability to see clearly and deeply into what is unfolding in our lives. Insight practice reveals what has created our present conditions and allows us to more fully live in the present moment. This is so valuable for our ability to make conscious choices to better our lives. It is why the Buddha said [...]
Spirit Rock to open new Community Meditation Center
Spirit Rock Meditation Center in West Marin County, California will open its new Community Meditation Center (CMC) on Friday, June 3. According to the Spirit Rock website, the new CMC building provides an 11,851 square foot environment for meditation practice and community engagement. Spirit Rock is a self-described "escape from everyday life," situated on a 411-acre campus [...]