The Ten Stages of Enlightenment

(Asangoham) Ten Stages of Enlightenment

Real Happiness Meditation Challenge

• Let's get to know accomplished Theravada JuBu meditation teacher Sharon Salzberg, best hippie friend of Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein, Joseph Goldstein, Dipa Ma (Nani Barua), Dipa, and countless meditation practitioners at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts and Los Angeles

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• If I am locked out of Teachable, how do I access the course?

Login to Teachable using the Teachable password right here or login with a temporary code right here.

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Login with a temporary code right here or reset your Teachable password right here.

• Real Happiness — Sharon Salzberg
• Real Happiness Meditation Challenge 2026

• I signed up for the Challenge but have not received anything.

Registrants should receive a confirmation within a few minutes of signing up from Teachable. If not and no emails have been received, check the spam/junk and “promotions” folders. Still can't locate any emails from Teachable, contact support team right here.

• How long are the lessons?

Daily lessons vary in length ranging from 7-10 minutes. Practice for longer if you wish. That is always welcome.

• When does the Challenge start?

The Challenge begins Sunday, February 1, 2026. Each lesson in February becomes available daily as we move through the month. Lesson One becomes available on February 1st...Lesson Five becomes available on February 5th, and so on.

• Can I join the challenge late?

Registration for the 2026 challenge closes at 11:59 pm EST on January 31st. Unfortunately, we cannot take late registrants beyond that date. So do it now, not in a minute, NOW.

• Is the Challenge free?

The Challenge is offered on a sliding-scale basis with a suggested contribution of a dollar-a-day ($28); however, a donation is not required to participate. If you are inspired to make a larger contribution to support the Challenge, you can do so here via PayPal.

• Does the course have lifetime access?

No, there is no lifetime access to course materials, as they are owned by happify.com. Once a lesson becomes available, you have until May 31st, 2026, to access it.

• How do I access meditations?

Once you sign up for the Challenge, you will receive an email to verify your account in Teachable. Once setup, you will need to log-in to Teachable each day to access lessons. You will receive a daily email from us each day with the link to the day's lesson. If you are not receiving these emails, please contact our support team right here.

• Can I download lessons?

No, the lessons are not available to download. Video components, including the guided meditations, are only available to stream.

• What time are lessons available each day?

Daily lessons are released at midnight/0:00 UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) on the day prior. To see what midnight/0:00 UTC corresponds to in your local time zone, use this UTC converter.

• If I get busy and skip some days of the Challenge, should I stop all together, or can I continue forward?

You are either welcome to continue onward either at your own pace doing the lessons in order or pick back up on the current day’s lesson the group is currently on. You can then go back later to the lessons you missed since you will have access to the materials until May 31st, 2026.

• Do I need to purchase a copy of the book to participate in the Challenge?

Real Happiness: Power of Meditation: 28-Days

No, the book Real Happiness is not required to participate in the Challenge. However, if you would like to supplement your experience, it is a great way to deepen your experience. For anyone wanting to purchase the book, you can use the code MEDITATION20 to receive a 20% discount via Hachette (US orders only). This discount also applies to Real Happiness at Work and Finding Your Way.

• Does it matter if I buy the physical book or the eBook?

All forms of the book are the same. Choose whatever format you prefer for yourself.

• Are there guidelines for comments?

Kindly limit sharing in the comments section to the scope of this Challenge and how it affects your life. Our intention is to foster a community of encouragement and support for this practice. We ask that comments adhere to the principles of right speech and refrain from harmful speech. Any comments containing advertisements or inappropriate content will not be published.

• When are my comments published?

"We can always begin again." - S. Salzberg

Our team reads all comments before they are published within 24 hours. We ask that all comments adhere to the principles of right speech and refrain from harmful speech. Any comments containing advertisements or inappropriate content will not be published.

• Why wasn’t my comment published?

If your comment doesn’t meet our guidelines, it will not be published. If you still have a question or concern, please contact our Challenge Support Team by direct email right here.

• Week 1 • Concentration | Sharon Salzberg
• Real Happiness Meditation Challenge 2026
• Remember, it BEGINS on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026

American Buddhist teacher Sharon Salzberg

ABOUT: Sharon Salzberg is a pioneer in the field of Buddhist meditation, a world-renowned teacher, and New York Times bestselling author. She has played a pivotal role in bringing Buddhist insight meditation (vipassana) and mindfulness (sati) into mainstream American culture since 1974. She is cofounder of The Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, and has authored 10 books, including the New York Times bestseller Real Happiness. Acclaimed for her down-to-earth and relatable teaching style, she offers a secular, modern approach to Buddhist teachings, making them instantly accessible. Her writing can be found on Medium, On Being, the Maria Shriver blog, and Huffington Post. She is also the host of her own podcast The Metta Hour, with 100+ episodes, featuring interviews with the top leaders and voices in the meditation and mindfulness movement. Learn more at sharonsalzberg.com.

• Sharon Salzberg, FAQs, 2026; Crystal Q., CC Liu, Sheldon S., Dhr. Seven, The New Real Happiness Crew (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Gain confidence in minutes, Awaken POV

(Chase Hughes) Confidence fixed in exactly 5:43 minutes

• Chase Hughes sees us Naked: How to get NUDE with us
• Book: The Behavior Ops Manual (Chase Hughes)
• Chase Hughes books on amazon.com

(Chase Hughes, Friday Night Live) Sacred texts, POV AWAKE!

About the author

Author Chase Hughes, writing

I’m Chase Hughes. I’ve spent most of my life studying people — not the cute, Instagram version of “behavior,” the real stuff:

• the fear under the confidence,
• the lies we tell ourselves to get through the day,
• the patterns we don’t even know we’re running.

I’ve worked with the kind of truths that don’t make the sweater-vest TED Talks, the kind that make you sit alone in your car afterward for a few minutes, staring at your hands.

Tongue: A Cognitive Hazard

I used to think the goal was mastery. Control. Influence.

Now I think it’s something quieter:

• seeing clearly,
• without flinching, and
• maybe helping someone else see clearly too, without getting swallowed by noise.

I write books for people who are starting to unzip the costume -- and some who have stripped it off., people who want to understand others, but also want to understand the thing inside themselves that keeps steering their life when they’re not looking.

If you’re here, you’re probably one of those people. Good. We need more of you.

— Chase Hughes

• Tongue: A Cognitive Hazard
• Emily Wickersham: "I feel very confident" (tenor)
• Chase Hughes; Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Alan Watts: Buddhism is not a religion

• alanwatts.org, alanwatts.com
• Religion of No Religion - Alan Watts
• Is it true that "Buddhism is Hinduism stripped for export" as Alan Watts says? What is the general consensus of Buddhists on Alan watts : r/Buddhism
• Thoughts on Alan Watts takes on Buddhism? : r/Buddhism
• Buddhism: The Religion of No-Religion by Alan Watts
• Alan Watts twice weekly on Pacifica Radio (KPFK 90.7 FM)

The Full Hunter's Moon (Uposatha)

The Moon is inside our atmosphere, which is much larger than we're told  (USSR).

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Triple Moon headband with pentagram of Man

Culturally and spiritually significant across many societies, full moons are associated with festivals such as Buddhist Vesak (~May) and various Hindu purnima observances (such as the Buddha's Birthday). The "fasting day" or Uposatha is also of tremendous importance to the Buddha and Theravada Buddhism.

Many traditions have named specific full moons—like the harvest moon or hunter's moon—and linked them to seasonal and agricultural events.

Folklore has associated full moons with madness, supernatural events, and insomnia, though scientific studies have so far found inconsistent evidence of behavioral effects on anything but the tides.

• Eric Dubay stands by his position that the tides are NOT related to the moon for the simple fact of lunar distance having absolutely no effect on massive bodies of freshwater like lakes and mighty rivers (Ganges, Mississippi, Nile, Amazon, Yangtze, Saraswati); however, could this be because salt plays a role in their electromagnetic pull?

In modern times, terms like “blood moon” and “blue moon” have entered popular use, often referring to lunar eclipses or rare lunar events....

In folklore and tradition

• See also: list of lunar deities and lunar effect

The Moonship tilts and lists, glows and fades.

In Buddhism, Vesak (Wesak) is celebrated on the full moon day of the ancient Indian month of Vaisakha, marking the birth, great enlightenment, and final nirvana of the historical Buddha [11].

In Arabic, badr (بدر ) means "full moon," but it is often translated as "white moon," referring to The White Days, the three days when the full moon is celebrated.

Moonstruck is not necessarily lunacy.

Full moons are traditionally associated with insanity (lunacy and lunatic), various supernatural or "magical phenomena" such as clinical lycanthropy (turning into a werewolf or hirsute dogman), and insomnia (the persistent inability to sleep).

Psychologists, however, have found evidence for effects on human behavior around the time of a full moon, but it tends to be weak [12] except for sensitives, who may be driven over the edge (as seen in asylums and emergency rooms across the country).

Scientists find that their poorly designed studies are generally inconsistent, with some showing a positive effect and others showing a negative effect. In one instance, the Dec. 23, 2000, issue of the British Medical Journal published two studies... More

So what's the big deal? Why does the Moon matter so much. To explain that we have the Saga of Vanity Lycan coming up in Part 2: Who cares about the Moon? Vanity does

• Ashley Wells, Seth Auberon, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Temporary ordination for one Rains Retreat

What is a Rains Retreat? | Learn Buddhism

Observing the Vassa – the Annual "Rains Retreat" – Nalanda Buddhist Society

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(Nick Keomahavong) Many people are looking for the opportunity to become Buddhist monastics, especially Buddhist monks at Thailand's Wat Phra Dhammakaya.

Temporary ordination

All ordination is temp up to enlightenment

There is a specific program for international practitioners who want to become monastics for a few days or weeks is called IDOP, which is short for the International Dhammadayadas Ordination Program.

This program gives Westerners the opportunity to live and train as Theravada monastics. The program is in English and welcomes males from all over the world, not limiting itself to Buddhists.

Once the temporary 30-45 day ordination program is completed, the temporary monks enter the three months Rains Retreat or Phansa or Vassa at Prachinburi Province.

The Rains Retreat is a time for them to continue their monastic training, living a life of Dhamma and meditation.

Life for them slows down as they experience what it is like to truly live the life of a monk. This video was created to give an exclusive inside look and education into what is the annual three months Rains Retreat is like for all Theravada Buddhist monks.

American nun Ven. Tathtaaloka

Thailand also has maechis, or "Eight or Ten Precept Nuns," for females motivated to become monastics. These options are rarer than the traditional male samaneras and bhikkhus. But recent developments have restored even FULL ordination for women in Theravada Buddhist countries so that they can live out the life the Buddha made possible by establishing the Dhamma (Dharma) for their benefit just as well as that of males.

• FREE Video-Led Meditation Retreats: 🔶 nickkeomahavong.com/retreats
• Nick Keomahavong, What is a Rains Retreat? March 6, 2020; Pat Macpherson (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Samurai clean their minds every day

Don't pray, project. Don't plead, manifest

Forbidden handbook Elites are suppressing

(Wise Quotes) Feb. 27, 2025: THE FORGOTTEN HANDBOOK OF REALITY MANIPULATION: THE FORBIDDEN WORK THE ELITES DO NOT WANT US TO READ.

Meditation must be banned before it works.

Throughout history, rumors have circulated about a hidden document containing secret knowledge capable of transforming reality.

This enigmatic work allegedly details methods of mental influence, subconscious reprogramming, and spiritual manipulation that could undermine traditional power structures.

While skeptics dismiss it as a myth, conspiracy theorists suggest systematically suppressing such insights is intentional. Could meditation practice be the key to unlocking this potential?

Before we can meditate, we can already come together for a common positive goal like healing.

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How to capitalize on this idea.

This thought-provoking discussion explores the profound implications of concealed wisdom and its impact on human autonomy.

🙏 Support channel and help spread spirituality and human development. Become a member with a symbolic contribution and be part of this journey of transformation. Click on join. 🌟✨ LINK: @wisest-quotes ► Subscribe to channel! → @Wisest-Quotes. Thanks for watching! Produced and scripted by Wise Quotes. Copyright © 2024 Sync Mind Audio LLC. “All rights reserved.” How this content was made: Altered or synthetic content: sound or visuals were significantly edited or digitally generated. Learn more

I control you with my mind. I've got vibe and manifestation power!

(Hermetic Truths) Esther Hicks channels "Abraham" to give the secret

• The Power of Thought by Henry Thomas Hamblin (self-help)
• The Isaiah Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophecy (by Gregg Braden, Sounds True)
• Ask and It Is Given: Learning to Manifest Your Desires (by Esther Hicks, Jerry Hicks, and Wayne W. Dyer)
• The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham (Audible, by Esther Hicks, Jerry Hick, Hay House)
• The Vortex: Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships
• As a Man Thinketh (by James Allen)
• Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People
• Wise Quotes (video), Feb. 27, 2025; Abraham-Hicks; Skeptics and supermen (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Day in the Life of a Tibetan monk

Tibetan prayer flags in the Himalayan breeze

Hey, what's the difference, Buddhism is Buddhism, right? No. The differences are so vast that they make one form or school nearly unrecognizable from another. There are at least three or four Buddhisms, but many more when culture is factored in. This website is partial to "orthodox" Early Buddhism, the many forms of Theravada (particularly Burmese, Sinhalese, and Thai).

But there's no denying the extreme value of the "reformed" Mahayana schools, with their mix of Hinduism, Taoism, and indigenous shamanism. One should parse what is missionary Buddhism from what practices and beliefs were present before Buddhism arrived and not confuse the Dharma (the Buddha's Teaching) with many other beliefs. The bathwater was not thrown out just because the baby arrived. There are throughlines for all forms of Buddhism no matter how far afield they travel.

Note that Theravada ("Teaching of the Elders") only represents 10% of the Buddhist experience in the world, whereas Mahayana ("Great Vehicle") is a big tent with many disparate members that would not really go together but do because everyone accepts the mainstream by default and some even prefer it.

What's the difference? Would YOU prefer a Buddhism centered on Amitabha, a "Cosmic Buddha" of Infinite Light, or a Queen of Heaven who is the Goddess of Compassion Virg Yin Guanyin -- or a lackluster tradition about an actual historical human guy named Siddhartha Gautama who mostly refuses to do magic and prefers the "miracle of instruction" over the other more flashy miracles?

We think the answer is clear. But people on this planet, by and large, will stick with whatever they were born with. Right, Catholic readers? Lol. We were Catholic, we were Christian, we were Jewish, we were atheists, we love (animistic) shamanism, and now we fancy ourselves lapsed agnostics (like Monty Python said).

So one way the Dhamma (Pali) came to be practiced was the post-Brahmin version that went north. Technically, it is a Mahayana school, but it is actually Himalayan Vajrayana (as distinct from the related Mongolian, Russian, and Siberian versions), where -yana means "vehicle." Let us take a peek at a lama's life in a form of Buddhism so influenced by Bon shamanism that it is all about ritual, black magic, and a whole lot of Hinduism by another name.

(One may ask how Tibetan Vajrayana survived and came to be so widely known. The CIA and the American Empire, at odds with the Chinese Empire, had a lot to do with that). Which Buddhism is the "right" Buddhism? Viva la difference.

Tibetan Monk: A Day in the Life of a Tibetan Buddhist Monk | Tibet Travel

Tibet Travel (Tibet Vista) What is the daily life of a Tibetan monk or lama? This is one of the most intriguing aspects when we talk about the Tibetan plateau, now a quarter of China's total territory. Learn more at tibettravel.org.

This video lets us have a glimpse of what a monk’s daily life is like in Tibet, which is shown as we followed a head monk, who lives in the Jhoden Monastery, about three hours driving east of the Tibetan (formerly imperial) capital Lhasa.

Follow-up on monk's daily life: The Daily Life of a Monk (2): Gift

He leads a fairly peaceful and simple life. His daily schedule consists of morning Buddha offering (puja), meditation (bhavana), praying for the peace and a good harvest for the villages around his monastery, and night chanting (paritta).

Buddhist monastics are living a happy and simple, but it’s not easy. They need to keep pursuing their Buddhist practices, studies, and praying for the blessings of the Goddess of Mercy Kannon (Kwan Yin, Guanyin, Avalokita).

From the early morning to the late night, see how he will enjoy the day. Hoping all will enjoy the video and let us know what you think. 

Subscribe to channel: bit.ly/2UzibQD. Website: tibettravel.org. Social media: tibettravel.org/tibetan-c.... Facebook/tibettravelorg. IG: tibettravelorg #tibet #monk #tibetanmonk #monastery #dailylife #lhasa

• Tibet Travel (Tibet Vista), July 22, 2020; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

What is vipassana (insight) meditation?

The Buddha's answer: What exactly is vipassanā?

Ego Podcast (Buddhism) Jan. 9, 2025: Many believe vipassanā (pronounced \vee-paw-saw-naw\) is said to be a standalone meditation technique distinct from samatha (\saw-maw-taw\), but the Buddha’s teachings suggest a deep integration of these practices. They are not standalone methods at all. Explore the truth about vipassanā and its role in successful Buddhist practice.

This video explores what vipassanā ("clear seeing") truly means, its role alongside samatha, and how they contribute to ultimate liberation. It is only on the basis of calm, stillness, and serenity developed through samatha that successful vipassana is possible. The first is the rocket fuel that feeds the second.

Like, comment, and subscribe to deepen understanding of the Buddha’s teachings. #VipassanaMeditation #SamathaAndVipassana #BuddhaTeachings #MeditationTechniques #InsightAndTranquility.

Adventures in Church: Full Moon Day

What is Theravada Buddhism? — Theravada Buddhist Council of Malaysia (squarespace.com)

Marching in front of the temple grounds at the LA consecration (srilankafoundation.org)

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It is good to keep the fasting day

The Buddha commended an ancient practice on the subcontinent (proto-India), and that was the lunar observance days (the Sabbaths which includes the Buddhist "Sabbath").

Just as the Abrahamic faiths keep the "Lord's Day" (which had always been Saturday not Sunday, given the very word Sabbath means "Saturday," like the pagan, pre-Christian, Wiccan, Jewish Shabbat, the holy or rest day for spiritual stuff.

The Buddha could see back in time that this custom was very good and should be continued. He gave it a Buddhist spin -- like previous buddhas, observing the Eight Precepts rather than the ordinary daily Five Precepts, fasting (eating only between dawn and noon), practicing intensive meditation, hearing and studying the Dharma and Discipline, the path to liberation pointed out by the Buddha.

He taught a path-of-practice that includes calm and insight meditation (shamatha, the jhanas, satipatthana, and vipassana). These are the practices of:

• serenity (silence and stillness)
• the meditative absorptions (samadhi)
• systematic mindfulness (of the four foundations or domains)
• insight ("clear-seeing") and the Seven Factors of Enlightenment.
• The Buddha taught that the fasting day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind/heart," resulting in inner calm and joy. On this day, Buddhists intensify their practice, deepen their knowledge, and express communal commitment through millennia-old acts of lay-monastic reciprocity. More

Rains Retreat (Vassa) schedule lists weekly Dharma
talks and monthly Poya or Lunar Observance Days.

One need not be a wandering ascetic, an austere monastic, a celibate (anagarika), nor a "little nun or monk" (samaneri/samanera) to practice for insight.

It would be nice and could be very helpful to speed things up to fruition, but it is not necessary. That means a normal, ordinary householder (workaday family person with possessions and worldly obligations) can practice what the Buddha taught and advance in this very life. There's no need to wait.

What are the Four Enlightening Truths, particularly the fourth, which is known as the Enlightening Eightfold Path?

Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles in art Uposatha

The lunar observance day (Uposatha) is the day to find out. It is observed in Los Angeles at many Theravada Buddhist temples of Southeast Asia. One in particular is the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara. Instead of practicing weekly, it does so monthly on the full moon day or an approximation of it.

Due to scheduling constraints, September's lunar observance day is being conducted today, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, beginning at 8:00 am with a day of scheduled sitting and walking meditations, Dharma talks, lunch, and question and answer periods.

Lunar observances during the three-month Rains Retreat period

We're spiritual seekers in LA looking for Truth

The Rains Retreat continues in Los Angeles, so we trekked over to visit the Mindfulness Meditation Center of the Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in the suburbs of LA's San Gabriel Valley:

• Mindfulness Meditation Center
• 1023 N. Glendora Ave.
• Covina, CA 91724
• INFO: (626) 364-7497

The Center has a vision. It is to bring people to a depth of realization of the Buddha’s path to liberation through direct experience.

Why would anyone be a monk? We should ask.

The Mindfulness Meditation Center – Covina (LABV) is a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist spiritual center dedicated to the study and practice of Buddhist teachings (Dharma) and meditation (bhavana) and is committed to the possibility of liberation for all beings from pain, disappointment, and unsatisfactoriness (collectively called dukkha or "suffering").

American Col. Henry Olcott in old Sri Lanka

The Center welcomes diverse populations. It supports and encourages the development of compassionate action towards everyone for a community based on the ideals, teachings, and practices in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism.

• What happened last week? Rains Retreat Sunday Dharma talk, Los Angeles

Mission

The Citadel of Sigiriya atop a massive rock in Sri Lanka, once a Buddhist monastery

Maha Moggallana̞, Sri Lanka

Its mission is to provide practitioners with Buddhist teachings to manifest wisdom and compassion in all aspects of life for the benefit of all beings.

It is a spiritual center and a sanctuary dedicated to the study and practice of mindfulness meditation according to the Theravada Buddhist lineage. It provides Los Angeles and neighboring communities with opportunities to practice meditation, study Buddhist teachings, and apply those teachings in the context of daily life.

August's lunar daylong retreat

There are weekly sitting groups, monthly (lunar observance) daylong retreats, and weekly study courses. Invited guest speakers from other Buddhist centers in the United States and around the world supplement the offerings of dedicated local teachers.

The Center supports and encourages compassionate actions locally and globally to help people who are in need of support materially and spiritually around the globe. mindfulnessmeditationcenter.org

• Information: Mindfulness Meditation Center - Covina Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara | Covina | Facebook
• Formerly in Pasadena, now in Covina, CA
• Hsi Lai Temple, 3456 Glenmark Dr., Hacienda Heights, California (Yelp)