Title
Calming the Mind/Opening to Insight – The Path of Mindfulness, Jhana and Insight
Retreat Description
Concentration and jhana are often taught as separate practices from insight meditation.
This retreat, however, will integrate concentration, mindfulness and insight into a single meditative path. Practicing in this way, the mind becomes more collected and centered, leading to deepening states of concentration, peace, clarity and calm abiding, and culminating in states of unification of mind known as jhana. At the same time, awareness will be guided to open into mindfulness of the body and states of the heart and the mind, revealing the four foundations of mindfulness.
This integration of concentration, calm, mindfulness and jhana builds a strong foundation for the arising of insight.
Teacher
Richard Shankman has been a meditator since 1970 and teaches classes and meditation retreats at dharma centers and groups nationally and internationally. Richard is the guiding teacher of the Metta Dharma Foundation, and co-founder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and of Mindful Schools. He has sat many silent, intensive meditation retreats for periods up to eleven months long. Richard is the author of The Experience of Samadhi: An In-Depth Investigation of Buddhist Meditation and The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation.
Recordings
Richard recorded the talks and has them posted to a playlist on the Metta Dharma Foundation’s YouTube channel:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGvhYLzi4ktKh9wS7dnvsJTKoHFyqfb0G