ONLINE – Steering From the Still, Clear Point of Balance: A Four-Part Online Meditation Workshop

At the heart of the early Buddhist dharma (teaching; wisdom), its essence-less essence, we find not some detached, otherworldly transcendence, but balance, a spiritual balance of heart and mind that steers us from suffering towards well-being and well-doing. Drawing wisely on the dharma of this ancient cultural tradition, we can learn to balance even amid the churn of our modern (busy, lonely, distracted, stressful) secular lives.

In this series of workshops, we’ll approach balance with balance, engaging the Thai forest and broader Theravada traditions in dialogue with our contemporary—multicultural, humanistic,  science-informed—outlooks. We’ll harness the clear, unadorned wisdom and heart practices of early Buddhism to the best of our contemporary selves—our questioning minds, our creativity and intelligence, our agency and our identities—to connect with the timeless and the sacred. We’ll come away with new resources to meet our personal and collective challenges and to flourish in our lives.

This four-part course is both for those new to meditation and for more experienced students interested in early Buddhist/Theravada approaches. Led by Santi, a former monk in the Ajahn Chah tradition, each of our four two-hour Sunday Zoom sessions will include meditation instruction and practice, dharma reflections, movement, and dialogue. Each will follow a similar format:

• Guided meditation (30-45 min)
• Dharma reflections (15-30 min)
• Movement/integration/informal practice (20-30 min)
• Dialogue (Q&A and group discussion; 30-40 min)

We’ll pursue a holistic approach, drawing on both traditional Pali (early Buddhist) concepts and modern vocabularies to expand our capacities for understanding and action. This course offers a firm foundation for beginning or renewing your personal practice. Join us in building this foundation for spiritual development.