Gina Sharpe and Larry Yang share how the most diverse Buddhist teacher-training program in American history, now underway at Spirit Rock, came to be. In nearly every sector of public life in the West, there remains a dearth of leaders from communities of color. And despite our best intentions and all our talk of liberation, Western-convert Insight Meditation communities have [...]
Spirit Rock hosts its largest-ever people of color retreat
The event was the largest-ever gathering of practitioners of color in the history of Western-convert Insight Meditation communities. Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s twentieth annual retreat for people of color saw a record number of attendees this week. “It was quite phenomenal,” said dharma teachers Gina Sharpe and Larry Yang in an email. With about 180 attendees on [...]
The Insight Revolution
Determined to save Buddhism in Burma during colonial rule, Ledi Sayadaw popularized the teachings of the Abhidharma and introduced thousands of laypeople to the practice of insight meditation. As Erik Braun tells us, he set in motion a revolution in Buddhist practice still being felt around the globe. More than a century ago, as the British were taking over his country, a [...]
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 [...]
Three Means to Peace: Mindfulness, Compassion, and Wisdom
In this teaching from 2004, Joseph Goldstein explains how three principles of meditation can be applied to the world's conflicts. The method is mindfulness, the expression is compassion, and the essence is wisdom. A central question confronting spiritual life today is how we can best respond to the tremendous conflicts and uncertainties of these times. The war on terror, [...]
How to Do Metta
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 [...]
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 [...]
