Main

Vipassana 1.3 (minor-edit)

Mike Leary — 2010-07-18T22:17:54Z

Seeing clearly. Effected by many practices, including: * [[Mahasi Noting]]

MCTB Swedish 1.3

Daniel M. Ingram — 2010-06-14T17:58:56Z

Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book (ATT BEMÄSTRA BUDDHAS LÄRA I GRUNDEN, En ovanligt handfast bok om Dharma) by Daniel M. Ingram, translated into Swedish by Ingrid Wennerhag, with many thanks for all her work on this. This is a work in progress. The latest version is available here: [[http://www.interactivebuddha.com/swedish.shtml | MCTB in Swedish]]

FrontPage 7.0 (minor-edit)

Daniel M. Ingram — 2010-06-14T17:49:49Z

==Welcome to the DhO Dharma Wiki== The DhO Dharma Wiki is a place where one can find detailed information regarding various meditative practices--including what they are, how to do them, and what they lead to. Below you'll find an extensive list of various meditative techniques and maps of the territory that these practices, if done correctly, will lead to. A few things worth knowing about the wiki: # Things in red are links that haven't yet had their pages created. # Authorship is restricted. If you want to be a [[Wiki Author]], let a [[Wiki Moderator]] or [[DhO Administrator]] know. We want to keep this of high quality. # If you make an entry about anything that is anything other than straight-up standard dogma or doctrine, you must state that this your take on this by the following method: you will place your full, real name before your addition to the content so that it is labeled as your take on the topic so that there is no ambiguity about who the author of that section of entry is. # As this will be a wiki with explicit authorship, adding an entry to the wiki is explicitly a claim to direct, personal understanding and attainment of whatever you are saying unless you explicitly label it as dogma, doctrine, theory or hearsay, and then you must give the reference for that or state that you don't know the reference if that is the case. Minimize the latter when possible except as something to build on or react to. # Controversy in this is inevitable and expected. This is to be a place where the debates, complexities, ambiguities and convergences can all be seen as they are as much as possible. Rather than an attempt to say, "This is absolutely how it is, end of story", this wiki is an attempt to say, "This is these peoples' takes on the thing based on their own experience and experiments," which hopefully will lead to something broad, realistic, practical, applicable, and experienced-based as much as possible that has more depth than what is typically possible based on one author or tradition or small, sectarian group. # The wiki will attempt to explore and promote personal practice, direct understanding and attainment whenever possible. All entries should attempt to keep this focus at the forefront whenever possible or say how this relates to something practical and useful that will make people's actual lives and this world somehow better. <> ---- ===DhO Basics=== *[[The History of the DhO]] *[[The Basics of the DhO]] *Some [[Goals for the DhO]]: the founder's vision of what this place can be. *[[Visions of What Makes for a Good Meditation Tradition]] ===DhO Dictionary=== [[DhO Dictionary]] ===Core Principles=== Here are some of the most core principles and teachings that are mentioned on this site. *[[Theravada Core Principles]] ===The Best of the DhO=== Here you can find links to some of the [[Best of the DhO]]. ===Types of Meditation=== Here is a list of some of the different meditative techniques that are discussed on this site, along with related instructions. Many more may be found if you look around. ====Concentration Techniques==== Concentration techniques (sometimes called [[samatha]] practices) include those techniques which lead to a stabilization of attention on a particular object, and then often the development of more subtle stages of [[concentration]], called the [[samatha jhanas]]. *[[Anapana Sati | Mindfulness of Breath]] *[[Kasina Meditation | Kasina Meditation]] *[[Mantras]] ====Insight Techniques==== Insight techniques (sometimes called [[Vipassana]] practices) are more devoted to momentary concentration, noticing object after object, and tend to be more dedicated to promoting direct insights into the fundamental nature of phenomena, awareness and the like than anything else. *[[Mahasi Noting | Mahasi Noting]] *[[Body scanning]] *[[Choiceless Awareness]] *[[Dzogchen]] *[[Zazen]] *[[Koans]] ====Energy-oriented Practices==== Energy practices is a broad category for various practices that tend to relate to discovering, cultivating and exploring our energetic systems. They may promote insight and tranquility and have other healthful effects and may be derived from a number of traditions. There is a lot of interest here around how these practices may augment or be augmented by other practices here. *[[Energy Practices Portal]] ====Non-Dual/Immediate Practices==== There are various practices and emphases that have a much less goal-oriented and object-oriented emphasis and a much more emphasis on this being it and on taking on Awareness or the Self or some other conceptualization of the Subject as the focus of practice. ---- ====Actual Freedom==== As there has been a lot of interest lately in Actual Freedom (AF for short), there is now a wiki section dedicated to its terms, practices, emphases, concepts, links, etc. *[[Actual Freedom]] ===The Maps of Meditation=== There are many maps used to describe the progress of meditation. Below you'll find a list of many of these various maps. **Theravada Maps:** * [[samatha jhanas | The Samatha Jhanas]] * [[The Progress of Insight]] * [[vipassana jhanas | The Vipassana Jhanas]] * [[The Four Path Model]] * [[The Simple Model]] **Tibetan Maps:** * [[Tibetan Five Path Model | The Tibetan Five Path Model]] * [[Tibetan Bhumi Model | The Tibetan Bhumi Model]] **Zen Maps:** * [[Tozan's Five Ranks]] * [[Zen Oxherding Pictures | The Zen Oxherding Pictures]] **Christian Maps:** * [[Ladder of Love | The Ladder of Love]] ---- ===eBooks and Resources=== One of the foundation texts that forms a basis for the spirit and some of the technology and concepts of the DhO is this book, and as such is highly recommended: *[[MCTB | Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, an Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book, by Daniel Ingram]] *[[MCTB Spanish | Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha in Spanish, translated by Andrés Coca Lopez]] *[[MCTB Swedish | Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha in Swedish, translated by Ingrid Wennerhag]] *[[http://books.google.com/books?id=M2S-7-lWzHIC&pg=PA67&lpg=PA67&dq=practical+insight+meditation+by+mahasi+sayadaw&source=bl&ots=Duo6ahyWCH&sig=GLdxY-VSmWCfC3GUupB5ludmj0o&hl=en&ei=uZW4Spv4IsSFtgfAmZj3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false | Practical Insight Meditation, by Mahasi Sayadaw]] *[[http://books.google.com/books?id=YnedD2Jj3IIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+progress+of+insight#v=onepage&q=&f=false | The Progress of Insight, by Mahasi Sayadaw]] *[[ReformedSlackersGuide|A Reformed Slacker's Guide to Stream-Entry]] ===Retreat Centers and Places to Practice=== *[[Retreat Center Review Template]] is the suggested format for submitting a review. *[[The Forest Refuge]] in Barre, MA, USA *[[The Insight Meditation Society]] in Barre, MA, USA *[[Spirit Rock Meditation Center]] in CA, USA *[[MBMC]] Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Centre in Penang, Malaysia *[[Southern Dharma Retreat Center]] in Host Springs, NC, USA *[[Cambridge Insight Meditation Center]] in Cambridge, MA, USA *[[S N Goenka Centers]] *[[Adyashanti at Asilomar retreat Center]] in Pacific Grove, CA, USA *[[Chom Tong Insight Meditation Center]] in Chaing Mai, Thailand *[[Tathagata Meditation Center]] in San Jose, CA, USA *[[Garrison Institute]] in Garrison, NY, USA *[[Bhavana Society Forest Monastery and Retreat Center]] in WV, USA *[[Cloud Mountain Retreat Center]] in Castle Rock, WA, USA *[[Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center]] in Missouri, USA *[[Dhammacari Vipassana Meditatioszentrum]] in Germany *[[Lumbini Panditarama Meditation Centre]] in Lumbini, Nepal *[[Muttodaya Forest Monastery]] in Germany

Dhammacari Vipassana Meditatioszentrum 1.4 (minor-edit)

Bernardo Vasconcelos — 2010-06-11T11:49:56Z

Dhammacari it´s a very interesting option for those living in europe looking for intensive mahasi-style retreat. The Vipassana course, which you have to take if it´s your first time in the technique of Ajahn Tong, last 15 days. The normal retreat last 10 days, but they offer longer retreats some times (there´s a 25 days retreat scheduled to the end of may). * **Location:** Neufahrn in Niederbayern, Germany. * **Website:** http://www.vipassana-dhammacari.com/ * **Tradition:** Ajahn Tong * **Meditation Techniques:** Adaptation of the mahasi-style (bare insight). The exercise begins with a mindful prostration, proceeds with walking and then sitting meditation. You´ll start with 20 minutes or so, and the time will increase during the course, to up to one hour walking and one hour sitting with breaks of 20-30 minutes. You should walk and sit for the same amount of time. Depending on where you are by the end of the retreat, you may receive a strong determination exercise (see below). You can find more info about the technique in general at http://wanderingdhamma.wordpress.com * **Accommodations:** Medium size house, in which every meditator gets a private room with a toilet. There are maybe up to 8 rooms - I´m not sure anymore - so the number of meditators there is small. The house is very comfortable, and well cared for. The food is great; milk and tee are available during the whole day. * **Physical Setting:** Secluded place. * **Daily schedule:** ** 6.30 a.m. Breakfast ** 11.00 a.m. Lunch ** 6.00 p.m. Milk pudding is offered. ** 21:00 - 4:00 You may rest. Later in retreat you receive instructions as to how many hours: 5 hours, then later 4, and sometimes, no sleeping (see firm determination below). ** There is also 1 hour work meditation in the hourse or in the garden, and the report with the teacher. The time will vary for each meditator. * **Cost:** Dana-based * **Language:** German and English. * **Some extra info/comments on:** ** Setting: *** Every meditator will have a different timing and duration for the meditation. This can cause the meditation hall to be very noisy sometimes with alarm clocks going off. You´ll be encouraged by the teacher to meditate in your private room after some retreat time. Also, there will be working in the house during a part of the day. ** Rites/Rituals: ***When there is a considerable number of new students, there is an opening ceremony for the Vipassana course, which doesn´t last more than 1 hour. On the last day there is a closing talk with the teacher. *** You´ll to bow before and after each meditation and interview with the teacher. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** You must wear white or light colored cloth. * **Teaching:** Hildegard Huber and others. It is stated that the teacher received the title of Dhammacari from Ajhan Tong. ''A Dhammacari is someone who has reached knowledge through the practice of Vipassana meditation, who receives the wisdom from inside and who thus recognises all things as they really are''. * **Exercices (Firm determination):** Firm determination exercises are really something: For the 15-days Vipassana course , if you reach Equanimity or path (not sure about the criteria), you´ll receive 72h exercise of non-stop meditation (breaks will be limited for bathroom, eating - in your room - and interview with the teacher only). The teacher will be available at any time, day or night, for questions. In the 10-days retreat, the firm determination last 48h. * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** Only if you´re looking for a real hardcore mahasi-style dana-based insight-oriented meditation center. That means, if you're reading this page, you really ought to visit this center, and work really hard.

Muttodaya Forest Monastery 1.8 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T13:45:07Z

==Muttodaya Forest Monastery == * **Name of Center:** Muttodaya Forest Monastery * ** Address:** Kloster Muttodaya, Herrnschrot 50, 95236 Stammbach, Germany * ** Phone Number:** +49 (0)9256 960435 * ** Website:** http://www.muttodaya.org * ** Contact Email:** muttodaya@gmail.com * ** Tradition(s):** Forest Thai Tradition (Wat Nong Pa Pong tradition of Venerable Ajahn Chah) * ** Technique(s):** ** It seem that they emphasize the order of the three Trainings, i.e. first Morality, then Concentration and finally Wisdom ** They teach not make any separation between shamatha and vipassana, though all the instructions I got were tailored towards shamadi, i.e. Jhana * ** Teacher(s):** Ajahn Cattamalo (german Monk) * ** Cost:** Dana Basis * ** Accommodations:** five stars, clean and neat are the keywords * ** Facilities:** ** The monastery is located in a house, which was re-modeled to fit the necessities of the monastery ** Male yogis sleep on shared bedrooms (actually depends on the number of yogis) ** Female yogis sleep in a cabin separated from the main building ** Nice meditation hall * ** Physical Setting:** in the middle of a quiet forest, perfect setting for meditating, very quiet * ** Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** non-vegetarian * ** Retreat Length(s):** People who have been here before or are personally known to us usually can stay two weeks or according to agreement. The monastic community reserves the right to send people away who act in a way detrimental to a harmonious community life. * ** Typical Schedule:** ** 6.00 a.m. Morning puja (only on Saturdays and Uposatha days) ** 7.00 a.m. Work meeting and simple (optional) breakfast ** 7.30 a.m. 30 minutes house cleaning and 2 hours work period ** 9.00 a.m. On some days the monks go out on alms round (pindapata) ** 11.00 a.m. The meal ** 12.00 a.m. Dhamma conversation with one of the monks ** 1.00 p.m. Quiet time for individual practice ** 6.00 p.m. Guests can take their evening drink ** 7.00 p.m. Evening puja (on Uposatha days followed by a paritta ceremony, ** on Saturdays followed by a Dhamma talk, sutta reading etc.) ** after that Quiet time for individual practice * ** Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** actually open * ** Issues of Rites/Rituals:** bowing to the Buddha statue & teacher are recommended * ** Issues of Proper Dress:** comfortable * ** Issues of Etiquette:** In the Thai tradition monks and novices are usually addressed “Tan” (rhymes with “sun”) and their Pali name. Senior monks who have been ordained for more than 10 years are addressed “Ajahn”. Alternatively you could use the Sri Lankan way of adress: “Bhante” which is appropriate in all cases. * ** Issues of Language:** German, English and Thai * ** Health Issues:** none * ** Logistical Issues:** you can get there by car or by train. If traveling with the train you will need to hire a taxi from the train station to the monatery * ** Strengths:** definitely a place to visit if you are looking for a quiet place to practice shamata * ** Weaknesses:** none * ** Other Comments:** ** I learned that Ajahn Chah tradition do not follow the Visuddhimagga (for good or for bad), i.e. all the map thing concerning the "progress of insight" (e.g. A&P, Dark night, etc) are NOT used or discussed ** Very quiet, very clean ** Practice could tend to be "laid back" since there is no "tight" schedule like in the Mahasi or Goenka Centers. This can be good for advanced mediators, but not an advantage for beginners ** You must be aware that you will invest a part of your retreat time helping with cleaning/cooking **Instruction and guidance by the monks mainly takes place in Dhamma talks and discussions on Saturdays after the evening pújá, sometimes on other evenings as well. A private conversation with a monk can usually be arranged, but please note that a monks is not allowed to sit or talk in private with one single woman without any other male person present. ** For more details on visit the [[http://muttodaya.org|website]] and have a look at their [[http://muttodaya.org/en/docs/gaestehandbuch_webversion_english.pdf|handbook]] * ** Overall Impression:** Very good, if you want to develop the Jhanas go for it! * ** Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** yes * ** Name of Person Reviewing the Center:** Guillermo Z

Spirit Rock Meditation Center 1.5 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T12:58:44Z

==Spirit Rock Mediation Center== * **Name of the Center:** Spirit Rock Meditation Center * **Address:** 5000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd Woodacre, CA 94973 * **Website:** www.spiritrock.org * **Phone Number:** (415) 488-0164 * **Tradition(s):** Insight Meditation / Theravada * **Technique(s):** Insight Meditation, metta, concentration practice, more formless practices, and occasional yoga and qi-gong in addition to the above. * **Teacher(s):** Over 20 core teachers at Spirit Rock, led most notably by Jack Kornfield. Many more than 20 teachers teach there throughout the year. On long retreat, a month or more, you are assigned to two teachers. You will meet for about 15 minutes with one, then two days later the other one, they alternate. They take notes and discuss your practice as a team. I don't know how they do it on shorter retreats. * **Orientation:** They have a process for when you first get there, to check-in and sign up for a work task or bell ringing. There is an assigned time to all meet in the eating hall where they fill you in on all the details of being there, i.e. lining up for meals, answer any questions, etc. They have already thought through many issues, this place runs like a well oiled machine. * **Cost:** on the pricier side of insight meditation centers, with a week-long retreat costing between $75 - $120 / night. Cost is on a sliding scale and many scholarships are available. * **Housing:** Housing is in one of 4 residential dormitories (each one named after one of the brahma viharas...), with a mix of single dorms and double bedrooms. Although they have a plan to work toward having only single rooms for everyone in the coming years.The beds are single mattress on a wooden platform. The rooms have carpet, and usually a sink in each room. If you are not doing the entire two month retreat you may have to share a room. They have excellent handicapped accessibility. The bathrooms are large and tiled. I never had to wait to use the shower, before the dharma talk in the evening there would be a line for the womens toilets next to the hall. All of the facilities are very clean and nice. * **Schedule:** There is a full year-round schedule here consisting of many day-long activities, many 5-9 day retreats, and the longer 2-month retreat which is taught each spring (February thru March). * **Entrance Requirements:** Most all of the retreats and events don't have any entrance requirements, except the 2-month course which requires that you have done a minimum of two seven day retreats. * **Food:** Food is all vegetarian, and generally includes a variety of international dishes. Three meals are served, but the 3rd meal is fairly light with soup and salad. They have a filtered water system so you can refill your water bottle. The meals are prepared on the blander side so all can enjoy even if they have sensitive stomache or palate. They have a condiments tray for you to add spices to suit your own palate. For those with food allergies, they have a separate refrigerator so you can store any special dietary needs. For gluten free, they set aside an area and offer gluten free alternatives, and simple dishes. All of the food was served hot and very fresh. There is a toaster oven if you need to warm something. There is a filtered hot water system for making your own tea or hot drinks. After eating you just bus your dishes, and can leave the eating hall. * **Setting:** Spirit Rock is a 45 minute drive north of San Francisco in Marin County and is in a fairly secluded plot of land in the rolling hills of Marin County. It is very quiet there. In March, 2009 cost for a taxi from downtown San Fran was $70.00. They have an active carpooling system that is also an option. At the end of the retreat, they do facilitate carpooling and sharing taxis to the airport(s). * **Facilities:** As well as the 4 housing dorms, there is also a large meditation building, that includes the meditation hall (big enough to fit around 100 meditators), 2 walking rooms, and a large foyer with space for shoes. There is also a dining hall at the bottom of the hill, and outside the silent retreat space is a large bookstore and community meditation hall where on-going events are conducted. * **Size:** Spirit Rock is fairly large and can accommodate a large retreat of 80 or more people as well as a smaller retreat (in the community meditation hall) at the same time. * **Clothing Restrictions:** None * **Openness around sitting:** They have about a dozen backjacks available for use. They have comfortable chairs without arms for sitting in the back area of the hall. They have a lot of cushions for sitting. You can take your sit or walking meditation outside. There are benches outside in various places along paths or trails that you can use for sitting.Some folks need to do reclining when they meditate, and there is space for them to do this. Also, you can meditate in your room if you like. It is best to try and be at the 8:15 sit with the group in case there are any announcements from the teachers at the end of the sit. * **Etiquette:** Etiquette is based on the 5-precepts and noble silence. * **Issues of Rites and Rituals:** There is some bowing that goes on here, but it's much more loose than most retreat centers. Jack Kornfield, the head teacher, intentionally doesn't bow and wants people to feel comfortable without any particular rites or rituals. * **Openness of Discussion:** While I was there I found the discussion with many of the teachers to be very open during interview periods. Several of my teacher spoke openly about the progress of insight and the stages of enlightenment. What I found is that the teachers will accept you where you are at, they are versatile. If you are practicing a certain way, they will accept that and gently move with you along that path. They respond to what you bring to them and work with what you are doing. So, it is also important to be assertive and let them know what you really want. * **Conduciveness to Practice:** Spirit Rock, if you can afford it, is one of the best places I've found to practice insight meditation in the United States, and has some of the most well-rounded, flexible, and developed teachers I've encountered. * **Openness about Hardcore Practice:** ** From Vince: The teachers I spoke with were extremely open to talking about Hardcore practice. These included Guy Armstrong, Howie Cohn, John Travis, and Jack Kornfield. ** From CCasey: I worked with Trudy Goodman, Gil Fronsdale, and John Travis, all excellent. * **Problems?:** The only problem I would mention, when sitting with Jack, is that he has a bit of a groupie following that can be kind of annoying. This was more apparent at a shorter retreat (9 days) where people were coming up to him after the dharma talk to have him sign their books (wtf guys!?). There is also a super-strong boomer mentality at these retreats, that fortunately because it is silent doesn't become to irritating. There was also an interesting phenomena where with the more loose teachers people would be a little bit more sloppy in their discipline and sometimes a lot more noisy and occasionally annoying. This wasn't a big problem for me, but could be for people that are into a more strict mode of practice where they expect everyone around them to be in a similar mode. * **Schedule for the long retreats:** ** 5:00 Wake-up Bell ** 5:30 Sitting Meditation or Qigong/sit in upper meditation hall ** 6:30 Breakfast ** 7:15 Work/Walking Meditation ** 8:15 Sitting Meditation (sometimes with instructions) ** 9:15 Walking Meditation ** 10:00 Sitting Meditation ** 10:45 Walking Meditation ** 11:30 Sitting Meditation ** 12:15 Lunch ** 2:00 Sitting Meditation ** 2:30 Walking Meditation or Qigong ** 3:15 Sitting Meditation ** 4:00 Walking Meditation ** 4:30 Sitting Meditation (sometimes w/Brahma Vihara Instructions) ** 5:15 Evening Meal ** 6:30 Sitting Meditation ** 7:15 Walking Meditation ** 7:30 Dharma Talk ** 8:30 Walking Meditation ** 9:00 Sitting Meditation/Evening Chanting ** 9:40 Sleep or further practice ** Bells

Cloud Mountain Retreat Center 1.2 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T12:41:46Z

==Cloud Mountain Retreat Center== * **Name of Center:** Cloud Mountain Retreat Center * **Address:** 373 Agren Road,Castle Rock, WA 98611 * **Phone Number:** 360-274-4859; 888-465-9118 * **Website:** http://www.cloudmountain.org * **Contact Email:** info@cloudmountain.org * **Tradition(s):** An assortment of programs from a variety of traditions. Check out the website. * **Technique(s):** Various * **Teacher(s):** Various * **Cost:** Various * **Accommodations:** single rooms, double rooms, dormitory style rooms located in a number of different buildings. * **Facilities:** A number of different buildings in close proximity in a forest locale. * **Physical Setting:** A lovely, peaceful and secluded forest setting with several ponds. Very tall trees. * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** Vegetarian. The main meal is the mid-day meal. * **Retreat Length(s):** Any where from a weekend to several weeks. * **Typical Schedule:** Unique to individual programs. * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** Unique to individual teachers * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** General guidelines may be found at the Center's URL listed above. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** Basic common sense; general guidelines may be found at the Center's URL listed above. * **Issues of Etiquette:** General guidelines may be found at the Center's URL listed above. * **Issues of Language:** None unless teacher specific. * **Health Issues:** None. * **Logistical Issues:** About 2.5 hours travel time south from Seattle (a bit less than this from Seattle-Tacoma Int'l Airport); 1.5 hours north from Porland OR. * **Strengths:** A great setting for sitting, then walking, then sitting again... * **Weaknesses:** None that I found. * **Other Comments:** Over the course of three days I saw a deer, a possum, and several raccoons. * **Overall Impression:** Awesome. * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** Absolutley!

Bhavana Society Forest Monastery and Retreat Center 1.1 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T12:11:55Z

==The Bhavana Society Forest Monastery and Retreat Center== * **Name of Center:** The Bhavana Society Forest Monastery and Retreat Center * **Address:** Bhavana Society, Rte. 1, Box 218-3, Back Creek Road, High View, WV 26808 USA * **Phone Number:** Website:www.bhavanasociety.org * **Contact Email:** * **Tradition(s):** * **Technique(s):** * **Teacher(s):** * **Cost:** * **Accommodations:** * **Facilities:** * **Physical Setting:** * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** * **Retreat Length(s):** * **Typical Schedule:** * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** * **Issues of Proper Dress:** * **Issues of Etiquette:** * **Issues of Language:** * **Health Issues:** * **Logistical Issues:** * **Strengths:** * **Weaknesses:** * **Other Comments:** * **Overall Impression:** * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?**

Garrison Institute 1.1 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T12:01:30Z

==Garrison Institute== * **Name of Center:** Garrison Institute * **Address:** 14 Mary's Way, Route 9D, Garrison, New York 10524 * **Phone Number:** phone 845.424.4800; fax 845.424.4900 * **Website:** http://www.garrisoninstitute.org/home.php * **Contact Email:** Use the Contact page at the website to send email. * **Tradition(s), Technique(s), Teacher(s):** The Garrison Institute is a non-denominational, secular, kind-of Buddhist-oriented center with a some earth-centered and social-justice flavoring, so matters of teaching and tradition depend on the particular retreat. The "Spiritual Advisors" are Fr. Thomas Keating, Gelek Rimpoche and Rabbi Zalman Schacter. * **Cost:** A little costlier than some centers; does not appear to offer work retreats or a sliding scale, save on rooming choices on some retreats. A week in a single room ran $500. * **Accommodations:** Single, Double and Dorm rooms. * **Facilities:** In an old monastery , with a large dining hall, a main hall, smaller rooms and two floors of rooms. * **Physical Setting:** On the Hudson River, about an hour north of New York City. While wooded and fairly undeveloped, it's very quiet but not quite in the middle of nowhere. There's a few miles of easy or moderately sloping walking trails, and apparently somewhere access to the Applachian Trail. * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** Meals are vegetarian, and typically consist of a grain-based entree. Not as heavy as the Moosewoods / Fat Vegetarian fare. Eggs and cheese are served, though not with an entree. "Special Needs" like gluten / celiac / nightshade / "heating" -free meals do not appear to be offered. * **Retreat Length(s):** Most retreats appear to be shorter in length, around two or three days. * **Typical Schedule:** This will vary, based on who's in charge. * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc., Rites/Rituals, Proper Dress, Etiquette, Language:** Again, this will vary. * **Health Issues:** From what I can gather, the only health supplies are those in the first aid kit; unlike, e.g., IMS, Garrison doesn't have "Needs" closet stocked with various remedies. * **Logistical Issues:** ** Few, but noteworthy. First, the center staff tends to work during the day but rarely intrude beyond cleaning the bathrooms. More importantly, the center can accommodate up to 165 people and can and does book more than one group at a time. You may find your retreat sharing the space with fifty people who are not strictly maintaining silence, or there may be an evening event with singing and schoolkids in the hallways. ** Getting to and from the center is easy. There's some parking available there, the center offers shuttle service to the train station--and a flat walking trail only a mile long leads to and from the center to the train station. To fly (or AmTrak) in, it'd be best to fly into New York, then take the subway to Grand Central Station and from there catch the MTA-North. It's a little over an hour by train. * **Strengths:** A nice, warm facility with a lot of accommodations--plenty of showers and toilets and even hot tubs. The Garrison Institute is very accessible to transportation. The food is good; the main hall is well-heated and ventilated. * **Weaknesses and Other Comments:** A sort of vague eclectic atmosphere hangs over the place and can take some time to adjust to. Staff are supportive of but not (by my impression) all that familiar with silence. Likewise, the cost is a little steep. * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** Yes. It wouldn't be my first choice of places to practice, but the drawbacks aren't that bad--especially considering that it can be a "Make Your Own" retreat center, and it wins points for accessibility.

Tathagata Meditation Center 1.1 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T11:58:19Z

==Tathagata Meditation Center== * **Name of Center:** Tathagata Meditation Center (TMC) * **Address:** 1215 Lucretia Ave., San Jose, CA 95122 * **Phone Number:** 408 294-4536 * **Website:** http://www.tathagata.org * **Tradition(s):** Theravada - Burmese * **Technique(s):** Vipassana (Mahasi Style) * **Teacher(s):** Beelin Sayadaw (abbot), Sayadaw U. Pandita, Sayadaw U Jatila, Sayadaw U Kavinda, ... * **Cost:** Mandatory Donation $25 a day * **Accommodations:** Shared Dorm Room, Shared Bathroom & showers * **Facilities:** Single meditation hall recently rebuilt. Walking meditation in the main hall or on the sidewalks outside. * **Physical Setting:** Located in San Jose, California (San Francisco Bay Area). There are some street and city sounds however they are not excessive or overly disturbing * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** Vegetarian usually with vegan selections marked. Most dishes are Vietnamese or Thai and quite good. * **Retreat Length(s):** weekend retreats once a month, 14-21 day retreats 3 times a year and one 45 day retreat each year in May * **Typical Schedule:** ** 4:45 AM Wake Up ** 5:00 AM Sit ** 6:00 AM Breakfast ** 7:00 AM Free time ** 8:00 AM Sit ** 9:00 AM Walk ** 10:00 AM Sit ** 11:00 AM Lunch ** 12:00 Free time ** 1:00 PM Sit ** 2:00 PM Walk ** 3:00 PM Sit ** 4:00 PM Walk ** 5:00 PM Dharma Talk ** 6:00 PM Walk ** 7:00 PM Sit ** 8:00 PM Walk ** 9:00 PM Sit & Metta Chant ** 10:00 PM Bed * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** Some teachers basically recite The Progress of Insight in their talks but within interviews the primary focus is on noting moment by moment experience and not what attainment the student has. Once the Sayadaw confirmed I was experiencing Vipassana Jhana and was in Knowledge of Arising and Passing away but mostly the focus is on "what did you experience?" and "how did you note it?" * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** ** Bow 3 times when entering and Leaving the meditation hall ** Bow 3 times when entering and leaving teacher interview ** 8 Precepts * **Issues of Proper Dress:** None specified however modest unrevealing clothing is assumed * **Issues of Etiquette:** Allow teachers to leave before leaving the meditation hall at the end of a sitting * **Issues of Language:** No issues at the retreat I attended, however I suspect the 6 weeks Sayadaw U Pandita retreat each year has a translator. * **Strengths:** ** No Nonsense Intensive Mahasi Practice ** Only Mahasi based retreat center in the US ** Excellent Food ** Moderate climate ** Minimal Boomeritis (new agers) ** 8 precepts * **Weaknesses:** ** Minimal Integration Guidance ** 8 precepts (depends on who you ask whether this is good or bad) * **Other Comments:** Supported by the local Vietnemese community and generally prefers to stay smaller and more contained. Most yogi's are from the area. * **Overall Impression:** Excellent place to make good Insight progress using Mahasi technique without leaving the US * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** Yes. With the emphasis on noting, continuous mindfullness and progress, TMC is a solid center for goal-oriented practice in the US while avoiding the New Age crowd.

Chom Tong Insight Meditation Center 1.1 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T11:49:58Z

==Chom Tong Insight Meditation Center (Chaing Mai, Thailand)== * **Name of Center:** Chom Tong Insight Meditation Center * **Address and Directions:** Tambon Ban Luang, Amper Chom Tong, Chiang Mai 50160 (60 km South-West of Chiang Mai city). The easiest way to get there from Chiang Mai city is either by blue bus from South (Chiang Mai) Gate or Chiang Peuak bus station or a yellow songtaew (also from Chiang Mai Gate). Buses go directly from NE bus terminal, Bangkok, to Chom Tong Meditation Center every evening. * **Phone Number:** (66) 053-826-869. Please make reservations as the temple is sometimes full. Best to arrive in the afternoon from 1:00-3:00pm as the office is closed for lunch and you will have to wait until it reopens. * **Tradition(s):** Theravada * **Technique(s):** Satipatthana Vipassana (Insight Meditation based on the 4 Foundations of Mindfulness) in the tradition of Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw's teaching. Equal parts walking and sitting meditation with mindfulness/awareness using mental noting. Temple emphasizes developing momentary concentration paired with mindfulness. New instructions on most days of practice. This is a difficult retreat by most meditators standards. "Goenka is a vacation compared to this" was one yogi’s comment recently. * **Teacher(s):** Achan Tong, the Abott of the temple and widely regarded as the greatest Vipassana master in Thailand, still gives basic instructions and teaches at various times of the year (with the help of a translator). He has kindly set up an International section at the temple so that meditators can receive teachings in English. The head of the International section is Thanat Chindaporn (Thai). He is supported by Kate Chindaporn (American), his wife. Thanat and Kate each have over 20 years experience teaching Ajahn Tong's method to international students. Thanat and Kate are supported by many experienced teachers from from Canada, USA, Germany, and South Africa. * **Cost:** By donation. * **Accommodations:** Each meditator is provided with an individual hut or kuti. The kutis have wood or tile floors, screens, a fan, western toilet, running water, showers. White clothes, blankets a pillow and a mattress are provided by the temple. * **Facilities:** Wat Phradhatu Sri Chom Tong Voravihara is a Royal Historic Treasure, and contains the Holy Dakkhinamoli Buddha Relic; legend has it that the Lord Buddha came to teach the people on the hill near the monastery. Special ceremonies are held at different times during the year to wash the relics. The temple is spread out over 20 acres, rapidly expanding into surrounding rice fields. Parts of the temple are quiet and tree covered, other parts can be noisy at times. There are several meditation halls, one specifically for Western students, and new facilities exclusively for Western students * **Size:** 100 or more Thai meditators and 8-10 Western students on average. * **Physical Setting:** The retreat center is in Chom Tong, a medium size Thai village at the base of Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. The surrounding town has many Western conveniences, market, internet shops, 7-11 for meditators to buy supplies or make travel arrangements on the way into or out of the temple. * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** There are two meals a day, breakfast and lunch. Food is served cafeteria style and is usually traditional Thai food. Breakfast is usually a soup or noodle dish. Both vegetarian and meat meals are available for breakfast and lunch. Meditators can take any type of liquid after noon (juice, milk, honey, yogurt etc.). For special dietary needs, help can be sought by the foreign department, and generally soy milk is offered as a gift in the evening. * **Retreat Length(s):** The Basic Course is around 21 days. Subsequent retreats are for the standard 10 days. * **Typical Schedule:** Wake up at 4:00am go to sleep at 10:00pm. There is very little group meditation. Meditators are expected to observe the eight precepts, meditate throughout the day and report to their teacher every day. Teachers may suggest more or less time meditating depending on the meditators conditions. * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** Respect and adherence to Thai cultural values. Showing respect to Ajahn Tong if seen in the temple or on the grounds. Prostrating while entering and leaving the temple, and while reporting to monks. Opening and closing ceremonies to take 8 precepts on entering and 5 precepts on leaving. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** Loose white clothes, long pants, minimum revealed skin and sandals/flip flops. Clothes are available in the village or from the temple. * **Issues of Etiquette:** Theravada based etiquette as well as respect for Thai cultural norms. Meditators are expected to follow the 8-precepts. There is no noble silence but as little speech as possible is emphasized. Suggestions are made to get the most out of the practice but in the middle way with loving kindness. Meditators may be asked to leave if it appears they are not serious about their practice or are going against teachers' suggestions repeatedly. * **Issues of Language:** Courses are taught in Thai or English, there are also basic instructions printed in other European languages, and frequently foreign assistant teachers, monks, or nuns who speak multiple languages if needed. * **Openness of Discussion:** While on retreat meditators must report at least once a day to their teacher but the teacher is available for additional consultation to support their practice. The meditation practice itself is regarded as the real teacher and reporting usually revolves around technique of walking and sitting meditation and the conditions that arise from the practice. The Thai teachers are usually more strict and structured and discussion is purely about conditions of the practice. * **Conduciveness to Practice:** A good environment for serious meditators with discipline. Practice in the meditation halls or on your own in your house. * **Openness about Hardcore Practice:** Depends on the instructors. Serious students are welcome to stay as long as space is available, after a few retreats and as rapport grows with instructors, there are more opportunities for discussion. * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** No specific taboos but teachers ask meditators not to discuss their meditations conditions with each other as this often leads to comparing, doubt and confusion. Students usually ignore this suggestion. Students are encouraged to discuss everything that arises during their meditation with their teacher. * **Health Issues:** Vipassana in general and this type of intensive practice can exacerbate underlying and existing medical and psychological conditions. Anyone suffering from either medical or psychological conditions would be better off with a more Western centered facility and method of meditation. * **Problems?:** The most common challenge is students coming with expectations of achieving something other than insight i.e. wanting to learn to relax or switch off, or learn Buddhism. Other challenges are attachment to concentration and therefore difficulty adapting to mindlfulness/awareness. The temple is quite big and noisy, with more than 100 monks/novices and 80 nuns plus a majority of Thai meditors, so meditators who dream of quiet, peaceful meditation center are quickly in for a rude reality shock. Effort, plus a good sense of humor and "I don't know attitude" are useful.

Adyashanti at Asilomar retreat Center 1.2 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T11:41:16Z

==Adyashanti at Asilomar Retreat Center== * **Name of Center:** Adyashanti at Asilomar Retreat Center * **Address:** Asilomar is in Pacific Grove, CA--need to contact per below, not Asilomar * **Phone Number:** 408-299-0201 * **Website:** www.adyashanti.org * **Contact Email:** go to http://www.adyashanti.org/ * **Tradition(s):** Combination of American Zen, Neo-Advaita, and other things. * **Technique(s):** Adyashanti has a handout called True Meditation. * **Teacher(s):** Adyashanti * **Cost:** $325.00 for 5 day retreat not including lodging * **Accommodations:** You must pay for your lodging with Asilomar 60 days prior to the retreat. They have shared rooms--very comfortable and nice rooms. The cost for lodging is $465 for a shared room, up to $970 for a single room. There is very limited availability for a single room. * **Facilities:** The meditation hall, the dining hall and sleeping quarters are all in separate buildings. There is handicapped accessibility, and assistance. Asilomar is located on 107 acres of State Park land, very spacious, excellent walking paths, an outdoor pool, large dining halls, and separate buildings for lodging. * **Physical Setting:** The meeting hall has chairs for sitting, although they are nicely spaced from each other. If you want to meditate on the floor you need to sit in a chair on the outside aisle, and put your zafu under the chair when you leave. Some folks set up their zabutons and zafus in the back, but then you would not be able to see Adyashanti very well during satsang. * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** If you have food allergies, when you arrive, you are to visit the Head Chef. He has you fill out a form with your preferences. They put a little dot on your necklace card which indicates your need for special request. The chef and the entire kitchen staff went to incredible lengths for folks to accommodate a huge variety of needs. The staff was consistently sincere and did an excellent job in my opinion. * **Typical Schedule:** Retreat Length(s): 5 and a half days ** 7:30 Silent Sitting (The meditation hall opens at 6:30, so you can arrive early; open all day.) ** 8:10 Breakfast Break ** 10:00 Satsang ** 12:00 Lunch/Break ** 2:00 Silent Sitting ** 2:40 30 Minute Break ** 3:10 Silent Sitting ** 3:50 30 Minute Break ** 4:20 Silent Sitting ** 5:00 Break ** 6:00 Dinner ** 7:00 Satsang ** 8:45 15 Minute Break ** 9:00 Silent Sitting ** 9:30 Break ** 10:00 Lights Out (Meditation hall closes.) * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** This is in silence (no gesturing or notes either) so there is no disclosing anything unless you are having a very hard time and need to see the retreat leader, or you get a chance to talk with Adyashanti. He seemed very open to different practices, and he stayed with each person until they felt they had what they needed. It was noted by Adya that about 50% of the folks at the retreat in 4/08 were having a first time experience on retreat and with Adyashanti, so there was a real openness, an innocence and interest among the group. * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** It is asked that you bow to your chair/cushion before you sit , and that you stand and bow together at the end of the meditation session, but it is also clear that you do not have to do so. It is asked that you stand and wait for Adyashanti to leave the meditation hall after satsang. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** They prefer non-distracting clothing, must wear pants, no shorts allowed in the hall. * **Issues of Etiquette:** Bowing is invited and not required, Adya was open to people doing what they wished. Also, if you are late for the start of a meditation session or satsang, you are not allowed into the hall until the next scheduled event. Also, if you leave to go to the bathroom, you may not be allowed back in until it is over. * **Issues of Language:** All in English. There were several large speakers, so everyone could hear well. * **Health Issues:** None. * **Logistical Issues:** There are car pools from Adya's web site to help with getting a ride there from the airport. There is excellent carpooling facilitation at the end of the retreat. There is shuttle service from San Jose airport for about $100.00 round trip. * **Strengths:** The area is beautiful, the food was excellent. Walks along the ocean beach are refreshing. The questions during satsang were helpful to see how others are having similar experiences, very affirming that way for a first retreat. Adyashanti was very clear and helpful to folks. If you want to stay seated and continue to meditate during breaks, there is no problem with this. The container was kept very well and supported by all the staff for silence. The guided meditation sessions in the middle of the afternoon were helpful. * **Weaknesses:** There is a lottery to get into these retreats, you must sign up about 8 months in advance. You are notified fairly quickly, about a week to two weeks later as to whether or not you got in, but it isn't a sure thing. Also, whether or not you get a chance to ask a question to Adya is also like a lottery since there are over 300 people there at Asilomar. (At Mount Madonna, and some other sites, I've heard there are fewer folks.) There is really no one to check in with during the week, be prepared for that. At Asilomar, there are other retreats (as in my case a meeting of the state patrol) going on at the same time, so you may run into folks who didn't see your necklace or understand what a silent retreat is like. It's a more open environment, not like a monastic setting. Also, remember it is only a short retreat so just as --in my case--you experience deep insight you might feel concerned about getting right back into your regular schedule. * **Other Comments:** I'm glad I went a day early to get settled, because they can book over 300 people for this retreat, along with some staff. So, there are long check-in lines on the first day which I totally alleviated. On the check-in day, I checked in with the staff at the end of the check-in time, and went straight to the front of the line. I felt safe and happy to be there even though I went through a lot. I made a good deal of progress there by following instructions, (particularly the Noting Practice Instructions from Daniel Ingram's web site), being open and remembering what I had gone there for. * **Overall Impression:** A good first one week retreat experience, a good one for beginners; and if you like Adyashanti and enjoy him; and for those who have been on many retreats--you can certainly tailor the experience to meet you needs, it is flexible enough for that too. * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** Yes.

S N Goenka Centers 1.1 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T11:28:52Z

==S.N. Goenka Centers== * **Name of Center:** Vipassana Meditation Centers * **Address:** Many sites worldwide * **Phone Number:** There is no central phone number; call individual course sites instead. * **Website:** www.dhamma.org * **Contact Email:** A list of contacts worldwide is here. * **Tradition(s):** Deliberately secular Theravada. * **Technique(s):** Anapana and Vipassana in the tradition of Sayagyi U Ba Khin. * **Teacher(s):** S.N. Goenka teaches via prerecorded audio and video tapes. Assistant teachers are there to answer questions from students and introduce the tapes, but only very high-level AT's are allowed to give talks. * **Cost:** Free. Costs are covered by donations, and there is no penalty for not donating. * **Accommodations:** Varies by site. * **Facilities:** All sites will have separate living quarters and dining halls for men and women, a single large meditation hall, and a place for walking around outdoors. Well-endowed sites also have pagodas with individual cells for students. * **Physical Setting:** Typically set in rural areas close to major cities. * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** Vegetarian breakfast and lunch, fruit and tea in the afternoon. Returning students must forego the afternoon snack unless they are ill. * **Retreat Length(s):** The basic retreat is 10 days, with longer retreats available for long-term students. There are also short courses for children and teens. * **Typical Schedule:** ** 4:00 am Morning wake-up bell ** 4:30-6:30 am Meditate in the hall or in your room ** 6:30-8:00 am Breakfast break ** 8:00-9:00 am Group meditation in the hall ** 9:00-11:00 am Meditate in the hall or in your room according to the teacher's instructions ** 11:00-12:00noon Lunch break ** 12noon-1:00 pm Rest and interviews with the teacher ** 1:00-2:30 pm Meditate in the hall or in your room ** 2:30-3:30 pm Group meditation in the hall ** 3:30-5:00 pm Meditate in the hall or in your own room according to the teacher's instructions ** 5:00-6:00 pm Tea break ** 6:00-7:00 pm Group meditation in the hall ** 7:00-8:15 pm Teacher's Discourse in the hall ** 8:15-9:00 pm Group meditation in the hall ** 9:00-9:30 pm Question time in the hall ** 9:30 pm Retire to your own room--Lights out * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** Assistant teachers tend to have pre-scripted answers to questions about attainments and insights. In my limited experience, these answers boil down to something like, "It's not helpful to think about these things. Your question comes from intellectual agitation, which is the enemy of your equanimity. Please continue working and you will see the benefit of the practice." The only concrete attainment mentioned in the nightly discourses is bhanga -- "dissolution--in which one experiences the ultimate truth of mind and matter: constantly arising and passing away, without any solidity. Solidified, intensified emotion and solidified, intensified sensation both dissolve into nothing but vibration. " Full enlightenment is often described in emotional terms, although it is also defined as the complete elimination of mental impurities. * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** A 45-minute audio tape of Goenkaji's chanting is played every morning in the meditation hall and meditation cells. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** Tight, transparent, revealing, or otherwise striking clothing (such as shorts, short skirts, tights and leggings, sleeveless or skimpy tops) is not allowed. * **Issues of Etiquette:** No one is allowed to speak (except to AT's and course managers) until the 10th day of the course. No eye contact or notes either. * **Issues of Language:** Every site in the world uses the same English-language audio and video tapes for instruction and discourses. In many countries, the English instructions will be followed by a translated version in the local language. Some courses in America are also bilingual. * **Health Issues:** Course managers keep a variety of over-the-counter medicine for student use, and are happy to help. * **Logistical Issues:** Sites are often located in rural areas with little public transportation. Shared rides are facilitated by the office. * **Strengths:** ** Very hard-core for an introductory course. With 10-hours of cushion time per day, 10 days in a row, everyone is bound to get something out of the experience. ** It's a great place to send your curious friends or family members, because they will not have to pay for it unless they wish to donate. ** Another advantage is that the content of the course itself never changes, and never gets worse than it was last time. ** The video discourses are also pretty darn funny. ** The S.N. Goenka organization does good service to humanity by making the courses free. ** Some AT's go far out of their way to run courses for prisoners. * **Weaknesses:** With standardization and mechanization of the retreat comes narrowness that can be dogmatic. It would be impossible for all the thousands of students to get individual attention and guidance from an enlightened master, and so prescriptions for how to live a productive spiritual life are one-size-fits-all. Students are encouraged to commit to using one technique for concentration practice, and only the body-scan technique of vipassana; in fact, commitment is a prerequisite for entering the longer courses. Returning students who have sat four, five, or twelve 10-day courses already know the instructions and discourses by heart, but still have to listen to them during meditation periods. Sitting for periods longer than an hour and a half is difficult to arrange because of the way the schedule works. The quality of the Assistant Teachers is hit or miss.Some are excellent and inspiring,but others are highly uninspiring. In general, there is little intellectual material available to students in this tradition. The books published by this organization tend to be persuasive rhetoric about the value of dedicated practice, and lack detailed information about the territory beyond the A&P. Note that this is not a weakness for non-readers and true beginners. * **Other Comments:** Attending Goenka courses in different countries can be an excellent way to travel if you have a lot of extra vacation time. If you have already sat one Goenka course, you will be comfortable at any of the other centers around the world. The population includes lots of young outdoorsy people, so anyone who fits that description will probably make new friends at a Goenka course. * **Overall Impression:** A great way to find out what meditation is and what it can do, but staying in this tradition for more than a few courses is not for everyone. * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** If you have never done insight meditation, yes. If you are poor and cannot afford other retreats, yes. If you are a nerd who has solid experience with other insight meditation techniques and have already passed the Arising and Passing Away and know it because you read Daniel Ingram's book and loved it, it's probably not for you.

Cambridge Insight Meditation Center 1.3 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T11:13:18Z

==Cambridge Insight Meditation Center== * **Name of Center:** Cambridge Insight Meditation Center * **Address:** 331 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139 * **Phone Number:** (617) 441-9038 * **Website:** http://www.cimc.info * **Contact Email:** n/a * **Tradition(s):** Insight Meditation - Affiliated with IMS * **Technique(s):** Vipassana, Metta, Mindfulness Yoga. * **Teacher(s):** Larry Rosenberg, Narayan Liebenson Grady, Michael Liebenson Grady. * **Cost:** Daily sittings are free; talks and events are $5; weekly groups, workshops, and non-residential retreats have various fees. Membership is a $300 a year suggested donation, which gets you a code for building access during the day, library borrowing privileges, access to teachers, and discounts on classes. * **Accommodations:** None, except for a few positions (as in 2 or 3) for residents at the center. * **Facilities:** CIMC has been in the same 3-story house in Cambridge for decades. There is a large meditation hall on the third floor, and a smaller meditation room in the basement. The library on the second floor has a table for in-house reading. * **Physical Setting:** 10 minutes north of the Central Square T stop in Cambridge, MA. * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** Apparently, meals are provided for retreatants. I can't testify to their content or quality as I have never sat a retreat here. * **Retreat Length(s):** The range spans from one morning to several days. * **Typical Schedule:** It's complicated, see website. The regular offerings include free sittings at 7am and 6pm each weekday, and the "Dharma Night" program on Wednesday evenings. Every Wednesday, a teacher gives a talk and answers questions from the audience. Beginners' Drop-in guided meditation on Tuesday nights is nearly as popular as the talks. * Typical 1-Day Retreat Schedule ** 9:00 am Sit ** 9:45 Orientation ** 10:00 Walk ** 10:30 Sit ** 11:15 Walk ** 11:45 Sit ** 12:30 pm Lunch ** 2:00 Sit ** 2:45 Walk ** 3:15 Sit ** 4:00 Walk ** 4:30 Sit ** 5:15 Discussion/Tea ** 6:00 End of Retreat * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** As this is a loose community of practitioners rather than a formal retreat setting, it is not possible for the powers that be to prevent discussion of taboo subjects. I got the sense that people who use the CIMC are all over the place on this. However, I was not deeply involved in the community, so I don't know what the subtler culture is like. If you use the center simply as a support for daily practice, other peoples' nonsense can't affect you. (during a q+a after a dharma talk by a guest speaker, someone mentioned that he had attained some level of awakening using the "neti-neti" method. one of the practitioners responded by quietly saying "wow", so while this was received with a level of surprise, it seems like a fine place to share experience publically.) ~ahandle * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** Some bow to teachers and icons, some don't. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** Better wear socks, because you'll have to take your shoes off in the hall. * **Issues of Etiquette:** It's unclear whether people coming to daily sittings want to make eye contact and be friendly, or avoid eye contact and be silent. * **Issues of Language:** All English all the time. * **Health Issues:** n/a * **Logistical Issues:** The parking lot is very small, and it could take up to an hour to get here on public transportation from parts of Boston. There are public lots nearby for overflow. Parking is not a problem at 7am. * **Strengths:** The CIMC has many strengths. The place is very busy, and has a great spacious retreat-center atmosphere. If you happen to live in Cambridge, it can become a part of your daily life without great expense. The library is awesome -- they have all the classics, and also back issues of Buddhist journals and magazines. There is room for growth here with several weekly meditation groups oriented towards experienced practitioners. Can be a good place to meet like-minded people in Boston. The weekly dharma talks feature an impressive schedule of dharmic celebrities, which means it's also a good place to check out various teachers. * **Weaknesses:** The community is mostly boomers. Daily sittings are led by long-time members, which means that they can be inconsistent. Most practice leaders will simply ring a bell at the end of the session, some will say something metta-related, and one audacious lady felt the need to read to us from a Ticht Naht Hahn book for 5 minutes. The interruptions can be disturbing if you're really into your practice. * **Other Comments:** Most people have their first meditation experience on a retreat, and then have a very hard time maintaining daily practice on their own. The CIMC helps people bridge the gap between retreats and their daily lives. If you are in that weird stage where you really want to practice every day, have an easy time at retreats, but find it utterly impossible to meditate in your bedroom by yourself, get yourself to an urban retreat center! I was amazed at how easy it was to spend 2.5 hours every weekday going to this place. * **Overall Impression:** Like stepping into a serious retreat center, and then stepping out again when it's time to go to work. * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** Yes, if you happen to live in Boston.

Southern Dharma Retreat Center 1.1 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T10:50:28Z

==Southern Dharma Retreat Center== * **Address:** 1661 West Road, Host Springs, NC 28743 (located near Asheville, NC near the border of North Carolina and Tennessee) * **Phone Number:** 828-622-7112 * **Website:** www.southerndharma.org * **Contact Email:** southerndharma@earthlink.net * **Tradition(s):** Eclectic, but includes retreats in the: Zen, Theravada, Tibetan, Thich Naht Hahn, Christian, & Sufi traditions. Several vipassana retreats are led there each year. * **Technique(s):** see above for an idea of all the different kinds of practices that are taught there. * **Teacher(s):** varies quite a bit depending on retreat * **Cost:** varies depending on retreat length, but is around $400 - $500 for a week-long retreat. Scholarships are also available. * **Accommodations:** Accommodations are either in a large shared dorm at the top of the main building or in shared rooms. Whether you get a room or the big dorm seems to depend on which gender predominates on the retreat you're on. The group with the most participants gets thrown together up in the loft area. * **Facilities:** The facilities comprise of two main buildings, one which includes sleeping quarters, the kitchen, dining area, a small lounge area, and some of the retreat center's offices. The other building is the meditation hall, which has a porch surrounding the entirety of the hall, that is great for walking meditation. There are several other small buildings on the property, including the teachers cabin. * **Physical Setting:** The retreat center is set in an isolated, and beautiful part of the Appalachian mountains in the Western part of North Carolina. The wildlife there is absolutely stunning--I should know cause I grew up and lived only 15 minutes from the retreat center, though I didn't know about it. :) * **Food (Vegetarian** Food is all vegetarian with the most substantial meal for lunch. Dinner is often a soup with bread and some other stuff. Very good food. * **Retreat Length(s):** Retreat range from weekend retreats to just over a week in length. * **Typical Schedule:** varies depending on teacher and tradition. Most retreats though are held in silence. * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** There are so many traditions coming through this joint, that it was a little hard to feel out the taboos. A lot of it will probably depend on the teacher(s) that you're sitting with. * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** Again, this is tradition and teacher dependent. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** Not many limitations on the retreats I've done. * **Issues of Etiquette:** Again, this is tradition and teacher dependent. * **Issues of Language:** All teachers seem to speak English as their primary language. * **Health Issues:** Very clean and safe. * **Logistical Issues:** Unless you live in the Southeast, it's pretty challenging to get to this center. You'd have to fly into either Charlotte, NC or Raleigh, NC and take a long taxi from one of those places. If you live within driving distance that would probably be easier. * **Strengths:** Some good teachers come through here, the meditation hall if good, food is very good, and the natural setting is stunning. All in all it can be a great place to come practice, especially if you live nearby. * **Weaknesses:** It's remote location makes it less than ideal for people living more than a few hours away. Also the lack of any longer retreats doesn't make it a good place to do extended practice. The extreme eclecticism of the place can also be a little annoying to some. :) * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?:** If you live near Western North Carolina and want to do an introductory kind of retreat this is a great place to go. A few of my first retreats were here, and they were very useful. For the practitioner who wants to go deeper with vipassana though, I'd have to recommend some of the other centers (Spirit Rock, IMS, the Forest Refuge, etc.) as being much better for practice.

The Insight Meditation Society 1.2 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T10:31:40Z

==Insight Meditation Society== * **Name of Center:** The Insight Meditation Society * **Address:** 1230 Pleasant Street, Barre, Massachusetts 01005 * **Phone Number:** 978-355-4378 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 978-355-4378 end_of_the_skype_highlighting * **Website:** http://www.dharma.org/ims/ * **Contact Email:** rc@dharma.org * **Tradition(s):** Predominantly Theraveda * **Technique(s):** vipassana, metta, jhanas, etc. * **Teacher(s):** Varying. Most well-known teachers include Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg. * **Cost:** On a sliding scale; a week runs from US$200-700, with "scholarships" available for those who can demonstrate need. * **Accommodations:** Retreatants get a shared dormitory room, shared bathrooms and showers. * **Facilities:** A large meditation hall (recently renovated), dining room, kitchen, and several walking rooms. There is a small "Yoga Room" with some physical therapy and hatha yoga equipment; one of the walking rooms, houses a number of yoga mats and I believe converts into a yoga studio on some retreats offering "optional yoga" or "optional qigong". * **Physical Setting:** In rural Massachusetts, on a wooded lot with three miles of walking trails. The center points out that they suffer all four seasons there. * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** Food is served buffet-style. Breakfast is oatmeal and various seeds and fruits, with a "special needs" alternative grain; lunches vary and are vegetarian, and probably better than what's available in your workplace cafeteria. Dairy-free and wheat-free meals--which I gather are also nightshade free--are prepared based on the number who request them, though it tends to much simpler fare: e.g., millett and tofu as opposed to tempeh with peanut sauce. The evening "tea meal" offered is actually fairly heavy (e.g., corn chowder and crackers), though on longer retreats will often be a smaller assortment of crackers, spreads, and fruit. * **Retreat Length(s):** From weekends to three months. * **Typical Schedule:** Wake-up bell at 5 am, followed by sitting, then breakfast and a work period, then sitting and walking, lunch, more sitting and walking, atea meal followed by sitting and a talk, then sitting and walking until about 9 PM, with the hall remaining open after that. * **Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** There's a heavy psychological bend interested in integration and using wisdom in daily life. * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** Chanting at least once a day, often in Pali, may accompany retreats, and bowing is very common. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** The orientation is Western, although as mentioned bowing is common; IMS advises against "rustling" fabrics and suggests modest clothing. * **Issues of Etiquette:** Some people bow to images and teachers, some do not. * **Issues of Language:** Most of the teachers are native English speakers. * **Health Issues:** Only over-the-counter homeopathic remedies are on the premises, though requests for runs to drugstores or elsewhere are available; the nearest major medical center is about forty-five minutes away. * **Logistical Issues:** Getting to and from the center on schedule can be difficult unless one's driving or flying. The train and bus routes into Worchester are not incredibly frequent. By plane, train, or bus, you'll still need car service there; one or two companies offer a reliable shared van service, as well as regular car service. Budget at least two hours for car service from Logan Airport. * **Strengths:** The center is very quiet; the administrative staff is amenable; they encourage practicing as much as possible. Likewise it is well-established and brings in a variety of teachers. * **Weaknesses:** Teachers can be difficult to access on a large retreat.Also, as mentioned before there seems to be a tendency for most teachers to talk about enlightenment in terms of psychological ideals, and there is a strong tendency toward discouraging the desire to attain enlightenment. Also it can be a little crowded here if you are on a retreat that is full. The Forest Refuge tends to be a bit more spacious, loose, and quiet. * **Other Comments:** The lunch and "tea" schedules are generous enough to be good times for formal practice. There's only one clock on the first floor, and the bell-ringing schedule is actually relatively lenghty (e.g., it might take the wake-up bell-ringer ten or fifteen minutes to get to your wing) so wear a watch. * **Overall Impression:** Worthy of recommendation.

The Forest Refuge 1.2 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T09:50:11Z

==The Forest Refuge== * **Address:** 97 Lockwood Rd. Barre, MA 01005 * **Website:** http://www.dharma.org/ims/fr_general_i.html * **Phone Number:** (978) 355-2063 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (978) 355-2063 end_of_the_skype_highlighting * **Tradition(s):** Mostly Theravada * **Technique(s):** A range of techniques taught in the Theravada including the Mahasi noting technique, choiceless awareness practices, other various insight practices, and jhana practice. * **Teacher(s):** Various teachers from the insight meditation tradition (two teachers are there each month) and often times teachers from Burma (ex. Sayadaw U Pandita, Sayadaw U Lakkhana, and Pa'Auk Sayadaw have all been teachers at the Forest Refuge.) * **Cost:** ** Cost is around $450/week (on the low end of a sliding scale) and $1500/month, with each month if you are doing a longer retreat becoming progressively cheaper. After the 3rd month the cost each month is cut in half, making retreats of over 3 months much more affordable. ** They also offer various scholarships, including in 2007-2008 a "choose your own fee" scholarship, making it possible for those without little money to do longer retreats. ** They also offer month-long work retreats at no charge. * **Housing:** Housing is in a beautiful facility (built in 2002) nestled in the woods of Barre, MA. Dormitories in the building, with each yogi getting their own room. The room is furnished with a bed, sink, desk, and some storage area. The rooms were also designed so that one can both sit and walk in their room. * **Schedule:** Since it is a self-retreat environment there is a very loose schedule, including breakfast, lunch, tea, a work period of an hour, and an occasional dharma talk by one of the resident teachers (two each week when I was there). The rest is open-ended and yogis decide how to structure their retreat. * **Length of Retreats:** The Forest Refuge operates a year-round schedule, with 365 days of the year being available for retreat (though spots aren't available at all times if the center is full). It is fairly flexible in terms of when you show up to begin a self-retreat there and when you leave. You can stay from 1-week at the shortest to a year at the longest. * **Entrance Requirements:** The entrance requirements are fairly broad. From their website: "//At the minimum, applicants must have participated in either six one-week retreats or one six-week course, or have an established and long-term commitment to insight meditation practice.//" * **Food:** They serve three vegetarian meals each day, with lunch being the most substantial in size. The food is very good, and pretty much identical to what you'll find at the IMS Retreat Center. * **Setting:** The retreat center is in an isolated forest area (hence the name) in the small town of Barre, in central MA. * **Facilities:** Fantastic new facility built in the early 2000s, designed for long-term meditation. Several walking halls in the facility, cork flooring to dampen the noise, a small library with comfortable chairs, and a beautiful meditation hall. * **Size:** The facility supports up to 30 retreatants at a time, with a few staff that work and live there as well. * **Clothing Restrictions:** none, beyond the usual not wearing anything extremely revealing. * **Etiquette:** A very loose, but definitely Theravada based etiquette. One follows the 5-precepts while there, and also maintains "noble silence". * **Issues of Rites and Rituals:** A moderate amount of bowing goes on in the meditation hall, though is definitely not required. There are also a couple periods of chanting each week, that is again optional. * **Openness of Discussion:** While staying there you have two interviews with the teachers and openness of discussion largely seems to depend on who the teacher is you are talking to, what their style is, and the rapport you may have with them. Some teachers are very open to talking about the specifics of practice, and are willing to talk about the maps some. Other teachers seem more focused on clarifying the practice instructions only, with any talk of specific states and stages being a hindrance to the practice. * **Conduciveness to Practice:** I found, after having done several long retreats and having gotten used to being almost completely self-motivated in my practice, that this was a great environment to practice in. The teachers were generally very helpful, the center was definitely quiet and spacious, and the conditions were ripe for developing deep insight and/or concentration. * **Openness about Hardcore Practice:** As befits the Insight Tradition in general, I think that some of the teachers, under the proper conditions will talk more openly about hardcore practice. Again it seems to depend highly on the teacher themselves, the rapport you have with them, how much they know about your practice, and so on. * **Problems?:** The only problem I would mention, has to do with the propensity in the insight culture to fixate on a model of enlightenment that is basically a perfected state where one experiences absolutely no suffering. This sets up the embarrassing problem where none of the teachers could possibly be enlightened, and yet somehow, somewhere there were people who are (They're Asian I'm guessing). I found this kind of enlightenment model both dis-empowering (you mean we are here to wake up but pretty much no Westerner has done it?) and confusing. Again, how heavily this model is relied upon to explain the dharma seems to be dependent on the teacher, but it is definitely prevalent here.

Retreat Center Review Template 1.5 (minor-edit)

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T09:47:58Z

If you submit a review of a center for placement here, please consider using this format: * **Name of Center:** this is an example (no "bold") * ** Address:** * ** Phone Number:** * ** Website:** * ** Contact Email:** * ** Tradition(s):** * ** Technique(s):** * ** Teacher(s):** * ** Cost:** * ** Accommodations:** * ** Facilities:** * ** Physical Setting:** * ** Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** * ** Retreat Length(s):** * ** Typical Schedule:** * ** Issues of Taboos around attainment, real practice, disclosing insights, etc.:** * ** Issues of Rites/Rituals:** * ** Issues of Proper Dress:** * ** Issues of Etiquette:** * ** Issues of Language:** * ** Health Issues:** * ** Logistical Issues:** * ** Strengths:** * ** Weaknesses:** * ** Other Comments:** * ** Overall Impression:** * ** Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** * ** Name of Person Reviewing the Center:**

MBMC 2.5

Guillermo Z — 2010-05-16T09:46:03Z

==MBMC (Penang, Malaysia)== * **Name of Center:** Malaysian Buddhist Meditation Center (MBMC) * **Address:** 355, Jalan Mesjid Negeri, 11600 Penang, Malaysia * **Phone Number:** +604 - 282 2534 and +604 - 282 2534 * **Website:** http://mbmcpg.bravehost.com (please use MS Internet Explorer) There is no information at this link, it is just a placeholder. * **Contact Email:** lindatoh2001@yahoo.com & mbmcpg@yahoo.co.sg * **Tradition(s):** Theravada * **Technique(s):** Vipassana (Mahasi Sayadaw's noting techniques) * **Teacher(s):** ** Sayadaw Nanda Siddhi from Nirodharama Meditation Centre should be there by the time Vasa starts in 2009. There is a little about him at this [[http://www.goldess.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=23&Itemid=31&limit=1&limitstart=1|link ]] ** U Thuzanza did not get his visa renewed and will be returning to a center in [[http://www.panditarama.org/|Burma]] * **Cost:** 20 Malaysian ringgit (about $7) per day is charged for 10 days after which a donation of any amount is welcome. * **Accommodations:** Male yogis get a shared dormitory room, shared bathrooms and showers. Female yogis stay in a kuti or hut, or depending on how full they are you might need to share a kuti; they are located behind the main building. * **Facilities:** Two spacious and well ventilated meditation/walking halls, kitchen & dining hall. Accommodations are simple (no luxury) but they are comfortable enough not to cause any cultural shock. One additional small temples is used for monks. * **Physical Setting:** Located at the beautiful island of Penang (also known as the “Pearl of the Orient”). Penang has a year-round equatorial climate which is warm and sunny (min 22°C/71°F, max 30°C/86°F), along with plentiful rainfall, especially during the southwest monsoon from April to September. * **Food (Vegetarian/Vegan/etc.):** They serve mostly nonvegetarian meals. The food is delicious home-made Malaysian food. They serve fresh fruit at each meal. Usually the vegetarian meals are for the monks, if there is any extra, it is offered at the table. By the time you eat, the food is usually cold. (You must wait until the chanting is finished.) * **Retreat Length(s):** It is fairly flexible in terms of when you show up to begin a retreat there and when you leave. * **Typical Schedule:** ** 4:00 Wake-up ** 4:30 Walking Meditation ** 5:30 Sitting Meditation ** 6:30 Breakfast ** 7:00 Walking Meditation/Showering/Washing ** 8:00 Sitting Meditation ** 9:00 Walking Meditation ** 10:00 Sitting Meditation ** 11:00 Lunch ** 12:00 Walking Meditation/Showering/Washing/Rest ** 13:00 Sitting Meditation ** 14:00 Walking Meditation ** 15:00 Sitting Meditation ** 16:00 Walking Meditation ** 17:00 Sitting Meditation ** 18:00 Walking Meditation ** 19:00 Sitting Meditation ** 20:00 Walking Meditation ** 21:00 Sitting Meditation ** 21:30 Metta-Chanting ** 22:00 Lights off * **Issues of Rites/Rituals:** Bowing to the teacher and in the meditation halls is a rule. Metta-Chanting is done daily before going to bed. * **Issues of Proper Dress:** Preferable clothing would be loose cotton trousers and shirts / t-shirts - white top and bottom. (Do own hand washing). * **Issues of Etiquette:** Bowing to teachers and images is necessary * **Issues of Language:** Instructions and Dharma talks are imparted in English. Some teachers are better with English than others. The Dharma talks are each Friday night, and on Sunday afternoon. * **Logistical Issues:** In order to get there you have several options depending on your time and budget. From Kuala Lumpur you can: ** fly to Penang Interational airport and then get a taxi. ** travel by train up to Butterworth and then take a bus to Georgetown. In Georgetown you can access the MBMC by taxi. ** travel with a Bus directly to Penang and then get a taxi. * **Strengths:** Depending on the teacher, the time of year and activities going on, the teacher is accessible (almost any time, although interviews are given every two days). The teacher is well versed in the practical and theoretical aspects of the Pali Canon. The techniques and guidance are given in pure Mahasi style. * **Weaknesses:** ** Heat, the heat in Penang has been unusually hot recently (depends on the season). ** Noise: The road near the MBMC can be quite noisy, and there is a foundry next door that has trucks entering and leaving most of the day. Depending on your temperament, it may or may not disturb your meditation. MBMC is embedded in a beautiful garden. There is a Thai Buddhist Temple located next door. * **Other Comments:** All yogis (retreat participants) must take the 8 precepts: ** Refrain from taking life (killing) ** Refrain from taking what is not given (stealing) ** Refrain from physical contact with the opposite gender ** Refrain from false speech or frivolous talk (lying) ** Refrain from taking intoxicants, drugs ** Refrain from eating solid food after noon (12.00 pm) - Pls inform Sayadaw for gastric cases / special cases ** Refrain from using fragrances and entertainment ** Refrain from sleeping on high beds or luxurious cushions ** You get to practice and live among monks and nuns. I find this extremely interesting and this will give you a more down to earth perspective of the practice. * **Overall Impression:** ** Simply excellent! Great teacher, great techniques, great food and very supportive community and facilities. If you are looking for the real stuff, come and see. ** I have not been in any western-like vipassana retreat centers before, but I guess that the typical pitfalls of our way to (mis)understand Dharma have no space at the MBMC. -Mautelino * **Worthy of recommendation on the Dharma Overground?** ** Yes, I would recommend this center to other yogis. As a newbie in the Vipassana world, I must say that this experience was very important for me since I got to confirm that progress is possible if you follow the instructions with enough dedication and energy. ** There you will learn the real thing and do some progress. * **Name of Person Reviewing the Center:** Guillermo Z and CCasey I must thank Daniel Ingram for the hint about this place. As he puts it: "// [MBMC] is by far my favorite retreat center in the world. I absolutely love this place: great food, great instruction, great technique, nice meditation halls, it is safe and clean.... basically no worries about malaria, very inexpensive, and they speak English, in short, one of the rarest shining gems in the meditation world, the perfect fusion of best of the East and the West, like Burma without the hassles.// " From CCasey: Was there in 2008, the water is not potable! Perhaps it was fine when Daniel was there but they have had many problems with the water system. They have drinking water brought in, or you may be able, if you arrange it, and they are out of drinking water to boil water in the kitchen

MCTB 15. Fruition 1.1

Florian Weps — 2010-04-28T08:32:54Z

\\ \\This is the fruit of all the meditator's hard work, the first attainment of ultimate reality, emptiness, Nirvana, God or whatever you wish to call it. In this non-state, there is absolutely no time, no space, no reference point, no experience, no mind, no consciousness, no nothingness, no somethingness, no body, no this, no that, no unity, no duality, and no anything else. Reality stops cold and then reappears. Thus, this is impossible to comprehend, as it goes completely and utterly beyond the rational mind and the sensate universe. To “external time” (if someone were observing the meditator from the outside) this lasts only an instant. It is like an utter discontinuity of the space-time continuum with nothing in the unfindable gap. \\ \\The initial aftershocks, however, can go on for days, and may be mild or spectacular, fun or unsettling or some mixture of these. There are times when it is fun to show off, and this is one of those times. Aftershocks I have noticed after paths include but are not limited to: the visceral feeling that sensory reality is so intense that the nerves in one’s forehead and upper neck may not be able to handle the strain; the feeling that one has become diffused into the atmosphere without a center, purpose, function, sense of direction or even of will; a feeling of joy and gratitude beyond what is normally possible welling through one’s being; the sense of discovery of that which one has most needed; the profound sense of coming home; a quiet awe like the stillness after a great storm; and rapturous transcendent highs that make anything that happened after the A&P seem like dry toast. \\ \\Remember how I said in the section on the psychic powers that strong concentration and intent make magickal things happen? Just after the attainment of a path, particularly the first path, is a time when formal resolutions have an outrageous amount of power. The Buddha said that the greatest of all powers is to understand and then teach the dharma, meaning to attain to full realization, however you define it, and to then help others do the same. I had been advised to use this unique period in my practice well, and I resolved to attain to full enlightenment for the benefit of all beings as quickly as was reasonably possible. Despite all the complex consequences of having done so, I do not regret my decision in the least and highly recommend that you do the same. \\ \\On subsequent passes through Fruition of that path the mind tends to be refreshed, bright, quiet and clear for a while, and milder forms of the above-listed phenomena may occur. It is as though someone hit the reset button and cleared out all the junk for a little while. There is a nice bliss wave that tends to follow and may take a few seconds to develop. If you have not learned the concentration states yet, doing so in the afterglow of a Fruition can make them much easier to attain and master. [[MCTB 16. Review]]