Bear Awareness: Wild Mind (Ajahn Brahm)

Seeing sexiness everywhere, even a bear becomes plush and eroticized. Help, Ajahn Brahm!

I didn't tame my wild mind. It led to pregnancy and these two knuckleheads I'd kill to protect.

Bear Awareness: Questions and Answers on Taming Your Wild Mind

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Bear Awareness: Wild Mind

British Theravada Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm has 4.8 out of 5 stars with 79 ratings.

The bestselling author of Who Ordered This Truckload of Dung? and one of the world’s most beloved Buddhist monks answers meditators’ questions.

In Bear Awareness Englishman monk Ajahn Brahm answers actual questions from his meditation students––questions other sitters may have had as well.

Kindfulness with mindfulness for fullness.

While most mindfulness meditation teachers praise the benefits of "bare awareness," he teaches BEAR awareness. Huh? He helps us make friends with the scary things that come up on the cushion, and he knows how to lift the mood with a well-placed stuffed teddy––or a well-timed pun.

The intimacy of the question-and-answer format provides a fresh experience of learning from a master meditator.

Whether Ajahn Brahm is urging readers to fly Buddha Air (sit back and relax on the way to nirvana), giving tips for dealing with panic attacks or depression, or extolling the bliss of meditation that is better than sex, he gives us permission to enjoy our lives and our kindful and joyful practice. More (Amazon.com)

• Ajahn Brahm (BSWA.org), Nov. 2017; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Happy New Year, Full Moon (Beth Upton)

Beth Upton (bethupton.com and Community in Spain); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

Happy New Year! Today is Beth Upton's first day back after a long break for rest and retreat over the past month. It has been a wonderful time for her -- a time to deepen her own practice, to reconnect with nature, and to spend some much needed time with friends and family.

She spent much of early December meditating at Bodh Gaya ("Enlightenment Grove" in Buddhist India) and the other Buddhist holy sites in India and Nepal. It was an incredible thing to be immersed in a space that is sacred to Buddhist traditions from around the world, each in their own way dedicating their lives to the Dharma.

Something about being there, in India, in the very same places where the historical Buddha lived and taught, made the Buddha's life and work seem all the more real to her and has filled her with inspiration for the year to come. And there is much to look forward to in 2023.

Having spent much of 2022 working hard on the preliminary bureaucracy for the new cave meditation community in Spain, she will be doing her best this year to actually buy the land and start transforming the space into a meditation home for all.

Also this year she looks forward to diving into some deeper aspects of calm and insight (samatha and vipassana) on her YouTube channel, taking part in some great interviews and podcasts, and perhaps even getting started on writing a book...

But above all, this year will be another year dedicated to leading meditation retreats. Having had the pleasure of practicing with many in person through 2022, she is happy to announce that she will be leading six more retreats through the first half of this year.

Indeed, her first retreat of the year starts this week, at Javorie in Slovakia. She looks forward to seeing the participants there. For more information about these retreats, take a look here.

IMG-20230103-WA0005

Full moon gathering

Today, Friday, January 6th, 2023 (8:00-10:00 pm UK), will be kicking off the new year with a full moon gathering. These gatherings are a great opportunity to come together to deepen our connections to the Dharma and to each other.

This month's gathering will be on the timely new year's topic of changing habits. Everyone is welcome! Book a place at the gathering here.

Appointments

Beth Upton will be restarting her one-on-one Zoom appointments next week. As some have noticed, as demand increases it is getting more difficult to book appointments with her. For this reason she encourages all, in the service of the community as a whole, to only book as much time as is really needed.

Also, a quick reminder that there is a two-week booking window on her calendar, meaning that one can book appointments up to two weeks in advance, and also meaning that new appointments are coming up most weekdays, so do check back regularly. Book appointments with her here.

On Tuesday January 10th, she will be holding the first group interview of the year. These weekly online sessions offer the chance not only to ask questions about one's own meditation, but also to listen and learn from the questions of others.

These group sessions are open to everyone and are also a good option if one is having difficulty booking a one-on-one Zoom appointment with her. Book a place at the group interviews up to a month in advance here.

As ever, all of her work is given on a donation basis. Please note, if making a donation via a bank transfer that her bank details have recently changed, and although the old ones do still work, it would be much more convenient to use the new ones posted on her website.

For information about all the ways in which her work can be supported, take a look here.

With much metta and gratitude!

FAQs: "I can't meditate!"

Sayalay Susila (sayalaysusila.net) edited by Dhr. Seven, CC Liu, Wisdom Quarterly

Q: Sayalay, I just can't meditate. My mind is running so restlessly, jumping here and there like a monkey. That's why I have decided not to meditate, because maybe the time is not quite right just yet.

A: It is mind's nature to be restless. Learn to accept it. And it is precisely for this very reason that one needs a method to calm the mind down and make it more manageable. And that direct method as prescribed by the all-knowing and compassionate supremely-enlightened Buddha, is meditation. You can start with loving-kindness meditation. This meditation makes the mind happy. Happiness produces concentration. Keeping one's precepts well also helps promote happiness, thereby calming and stilling the mind in meditation.

Questions and Answers

Unravelling...Abhidhamma

This is from a small collection of FAQs concerning meditation that Sayalay Susīlā and her Dharma teachers have addressed during Q&A sessions at meditation retreats and Dharma talks. More

• FAQs: English or Chinese 中文
• Q&A: English or Chinese 中文
• Temple and Teaching Schedule

American Buddhist meditation teachers (jhana)

Tina Rasmussen, Stephen Snyder (jhanasadvice.com); Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

What is concentration-meditation and jhana practice?

Parents turn to mindfulness for kids (HP)

Meditative absorption (jhana or dhyana) practice is an ancient type of serenity-concentration meditation (samatha) that predates written history as a method to purify the mind/heart.

It was taught to the Buddha by his teachers, and he practiced and taught the absorptions throughout his teachings. It is a practice that was so important to him that entering the absorptions was his first act that led him from severe austerities to a path of happiness to enlightenment. Siddhartha soon became the Buddha. His last act before reclining into final nirvana, exiting samsara and thereby making an end of all rebirth and suffering, was also entering the absorptions.

• Pa Auk Forest Monastery (Burma)

Burmese meditation master and scholar-monk Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw is considered by many to be the leading Buddhist jhana teacher alive today. Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder were taught personally by the Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, who then authorized them as the first Western lay people to teach the serenity (samatha) practices as the Sayadaw taught them.

Their book, Practicing the Jhanas, is an accessible and direct experiential account of samatha practice. It has been endorsed by the Sayadaw, Joseph Goldstein (Insight Meditation Society), Guy Armstrong, Richard Shankman, Rick Hanson, and others, and was republished by Shambhala Publications.

• Retreats
• Daylong intensives
• Dharma talks at your location
• One-on-one spiritual guidance
• Free downloads of Dharma talks on jhana practice

American teachers Rasmussen and Snyder offer several services to meditation practitioners interested in the samatha practices of which the jhanas or absorptions are a part. Their services are for both experienced meditators interested in deepening their concentration practice as well as new meditators beginning a concentration practice. More

• Practicing The Jhanas: Traditional Concentration Meditation as Presented by the Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw (147 page paperback published by Shambhala Publications) 

Deep Meditation Advice (JhanasAdvice.com)

Kalyani, Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; Tina Rasmussen, Stephen Snyder (JhanasAdvice.com)

Awakening Dharma

Jhana (meditative absorption) practice is an ancient type of concentration meditation (samatha).

It promotes serenity and predates written history as a method of purifying the mind/heart. It was taught to the ascetic Siddhartha by his yogi teachers. He practiced, attained enlightenment (by adding insight practices now called vipassana), and taught a path of serenity-and-insight throughout his life.

 

This practice was so fundamental to meditation that it was his last act before he passed away into final nirvana.

Stephen Snyder, Pa Auk Sayadaw, Tina Rasmussen (jhanasadvice.com/Dhammapada 372)

 

Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw of Burma is considered by many to be the leading Buddhist jhana teacher alive today. Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder were taught personally by this accomplished meditation master, who authorized them to be the first Western laypeople to teach the samatha practices as he teaches them. 

 

Their book, Practicing the Jhanas, is an accessible and direct experiential account of deep serenity practice. The book has been endorsed by the Sayadaw, Joseph Goldstein, Guy Armstrong, Richard Shankman, Dr. Rick Hanson, Wisdom Quarterly, and others. It was updated and released by Shambhala Publications.

 

Rasmussen and Snyder offer several services to practitioners interested in the serenity practices, of which the jhanas are a central part. These services are useful for both experienced meditators interested in deepening their concentration to the point of absorption, as well as new meditators beginning a serenity practice. More

The Five Easy Steps to Meditation

Wisdom Quarterly

Bring mind (attention) to an object, keep it on it, develop intense interest in it, grow happy and contented with it, and as the mind coheres, it fixes on it. That is meditation.

What are the five steps to meditating? The first step is called "initial application of mind," which can be done anywhere at anytime. What does it mean?

Initial application, or turning attention to an object of development (bhavana), means applying the mind to the object. The object can be the breath (spirit), a candle, a person on which loving-kindness (metta) is focused, or countless other objects. Forty objects were recommended by the Buddha to gain absorption.

The second step is "sustained application of mind." The Buddha compared the first and second steps to pouring water versus pouring oil. Poured water is choppy and inconstant, but oil is smooth and unbroken. The mind begins to collect on the object.

It settles and steadies as "concentration" (intensification) builds. Here it is very important to be persistent but to avoid excessive effort. The only solution is balance and constancy, a middle path avoiding extremes of muscling and laziness.

(Fabrizio Magoni)

The Five Hindrances commonly arise to oppose unification of mind. What to do? The Five Hindrances and Their Conquest presents the Buddha's advice. Overcoming them with steady persistence gives rise to the next stage.

The third step is "blissful interest in the object." It is also called "rapture," "zest," or "ecstasy." Delight and a buoyant joyful feeling arise as the mental hindrances are displaced and the mind/heart is able to do what it is capable of doing, having for so long been obstructed.

1. initial application (placing attention)
2. sustained application (holding attention)
3. joy (piti, ease in the body)
4. happiness (sukha, ease in the mind)
5. one-pointedness (laser focus)

JOY arises as lust, resentment, laziness, restlessness, and skepticism fall away. One becomes calm. The calm is shot through with thrills of joy. And concentration increases. Hairs may stand on end. Flashes or sudden rushes of momentary joy may give way to a general feeling of floating or being lighter.

This uplifting joy may come in waves of pleasant feeling and be overwhelming and without reason other than joy for joy's sake.

Of course, it is not without reason. Like everything (other than nirvana, which is the great unconditioned) is based on causes and conditions. If one stops meditating or becomes attached to it, it will fade away leaving one disappointed.

Persistence gives way to the entire body feeling suffused, which will increase to an unimaginable degree when the mind gains absorption. One may experience tears of joy or trembling.

The Buddha compared this to a handful of soap powder becoming wet and lathering until all of it was suffused and oozing with moisture. Dry insight practice makes one stiff and irritable, whereas serenity practice makes one flexible and forgiving, bubbly and ebullient.

Attachment, while it is our natural reaction to things we find pleasant, is counterproductive. It sets us up for disappointment. One may reflect that as pleasant as pleasant bodily sensation is, happiness is better. And as good as happiness is, equanimity is even better.


These states are impermanent, unsatisfactory, and impersonal. It is folly to become attached. It is wise to experience, observe, and continue striving until permanent safety is reached.

The fourth step is "happiness." It has grown more subtle and is not so much experienced in the body as the mind.

Where dukkha is the problem of life -- the unhappiness, disappointment, and suffering -- the opposite state (sukha) is NOT the solution. It, too, is impersonal and impermanent. Successful meditation brings about the complete end of suffering. The result is a very subtle joy, peace, and equanimity. At this early stage, happiness is a bit gross and far from the unending security of nirvana. So we get this odd saying:

"There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way!"

The path to nirvana traverses rapture and happiness, bodily and mental pleasure along the way to unending happiness and freedom from all bonds.

The fifth step is "one-pointedness." The unified mind sticks to the object. Sticking, it eventually sinks in. All five steps lead to absorption. The steps are repeated. They are not one time events. The mind joins with the object and one may experience a sense of non-duality.

There is silence, there is peace, there is light, and one persists. Absorption comes when it comes. It is not something we do. It is something we allow and receive. One remains vigilant, wakeful, diligent, and persists. And it comes.

Being close to the Five Hindrances, they may at any time arise to counter these Five Factors of Absorption (or right concentration). One deals with them but is not derailed by them. We come to understand that they really oppose and obstruct what the mind/heart is capable of. So one protects one's meditation object and practice, searching for a quiet place to carry on the quest.

Lapsing into sleep (sloth and torpor) or becoming dejected that the rapture (joy, bliss) and happiness that heartened one have faded. One may become over eager and lose balance. Trying too hard or becoming lax and negligent are sure ways of getting off track.

The fact of the matter is that the Factors of Absorption directly counter the Five Hindrances: happiness overcomes restlessness, rapture overcomes ill-will, one-pointedness overcomes sensual desire.... And when one is able to concentrate, one is ready and well equipped to take up insight meditation that leads to enlightenment.

• Viran Photography; Fabrizio Magoni; MeditationGold.com; Roshchodeshnewmoon.com

10 Ways to ZEN (jhana)

Wisdom Quarterly, Ven. Buddhaghosa (Path of Purification)

Serenity is beginner's mind, our natural joy and tranquility, free of neurosis -- "monkey mind," distraction, worry, ADHD, believing mere thoughts, etc. (alibaba.com).

Meditation (jhana, zen) Means Merit

Successful meditation is spectacularly profitable karma (merit). Allowing full absorption (into a single object) purifies the heart/mind.

It is redounding with profit leading to the storing up of tremendously beneficial karma (seeds with the capacity to exponentially ripen with pleasant results).

Jhana has the power to lead to rebirth as a divinity, in accordance with the depth and level of mastery if it is held at the time of passing.

Moreover, it can serve as the basis for fruitful insight (vipassana) practice. In this case it becomes supermundane, leading to enlightenment here and now.

What destroys serenity and insight? These Five Hindrances oppose absorption: sensual craving, ill-will, physical sloth and mental torpor, restlessness and remorse, doubt and uncertainty.

What gives rise to successful meditation? These five Factors of Absorption (zen, jhana, dhyana) lead to "right concentration," a component of the Noble Eightfold Path: application of mind, sustained attention, rapture, joy, and concentration.

The ancient commentarial Path of Purification (Vissudhimagga I 128) gives ten ways to improve the likelihood of gaining one of these serene states of stillness:

1. Purify the basis: clean body, clean surroundings (wearing white), clean conscience.
2. Balance these five factors: Energy equal to concentration and faith to understanding with no limit on mindfulness.
3. Skill in the sign: develop a nimitta (internal light or object so intense that the mind creates a counterpart) by balanced persistence.
   
4. Exert mind on all occasions: steady persistence is more fruitful than spurts of effort.
5. Control mind on all occasions: restraint is a blessing, as are mindfulness and clear comprehension.
6. Encourage mind on occasions when it is advantageous to rouse and cheer it.
7. Observe the mind with equanimity: when things proceed appropriately.
8. Avoid distracted, agitated, frantic, unconcentrated, and stressful people.
9. Cultivates company with well focused, determined, and concentrated people.
10. Resolutely determine level of absorption (of the eight jhanas) to be practiced. (This is done by emerging from one level of absorption and reflecting on its defects and the peacefulness of being free from those defects. For example, the defect of the first jhana is that it is very close to the ordinary scattered mind because of the Five Hindrances; the second jhana is far from those distressing influences).

Meditating with Snyder and Rasmussen

Wisdom Quarterly; JhanasAdvice.com

Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder have a new teacher-in-training, Brian Gavin. He is now authorized by them to give Dharma talks and will soon be learning how to lead daylong meditations. Brian shares his own experience in the area of “first sit to first jhana” in a clear way and inspiring way. He is very dedicated to the practice as a great yogi and has attended all of their long retreats to date. A professional geologist of 30 years and avid cyclist, Brian travels extensively.

(chronamut/art.ngfiles.com)

• Arrange a Dharma talk with Brian

Spirit Rock Daylong: Sat., Jan. 14, 2012
Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California is hosting a second daylong meditation. The last one was attended by 120 meditators and was a great opportunity to introduce many people to serenity meditation practice.

Other Upcoming Retreats and Events

• Introduction to Concentration Meditation 3-day Retreat: Dec. 9-12, 2011 at Cloud Mountain in Castle Rock, Washington
• Brahma Viharas 3-day Retreat: March 23-26, 2012 at Cloud Mountain in Castle Rock, Washington
• Daylong Retreat and Evening Dharma Talk: Saturday April 21 & Sunday 22, 2012 at Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group in Sacramento, California
• Purification of Mind 13-day Retreat: Sept. 8-21, 2012 at Cloud Mountain in Castle Rock, Washington
• Purification of Mind 25-day Retreat: Oct. 13-Nov. 8, 2013 at Samish Island Retreat Center near Bellingham, Washington

Absorption Advice (Jhana Meditation)

(jhanasadvice.com)

Pa Auk Sayadaw is a Theravada Buddhist scholar-practitioner. Two of his accomplished Western students are Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen. They are offering retreats, day long meditations, and interviews (advice on practicing to gain profound serenity).

2011 Retreats
3-day meditation retreat at Cloud Mountain, Dec. 9-12, 2011

Dharma Talks, Daylongs, Interviews

• Tina Rasmussen was recently interviewed by Nonduality Magazine, an online magazine featuring interviews with teachers from a wide variety of traditions. Stephen Snyder will be interviewed for the next issue.

Dharma Talks

• Sacramento, CA on April 21 & 22, 2012
• We have posted a Dharma talk recorded in November, 2009 when Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw invited us to teach at the Theravada Dhamma Society near San Francisco, California.
• We were interviewed in 2010 by Vince Horn at BuddhistGeeks.com. It was a lot of fun talking about the "Jedi Warrior Training" yogis described experiencing at our Dec. 2009- Jan 2010 retreat. Click here for the link, and scroll down to the interviews (in two parts).

Upcoming 2012 and 2013 Retreats

• 25-day Retreat in Washington, 2013: We will also offer our first 25-day retreat, October 13-November 8, 2013, at a private retreat center on Samish Island, near Bellingham, Washington. The estimated cost is $1,350 and all rooms are single cabins. Pre-registration is now open.
• These retreats are in addition to our usual 13-day annual retreat at Cloud Mountain, which next year will be held Sept 8-21, 2012. See Events page for details.
  

Spirit Rock Daylong: In Jan. 2011, we held our first daylong at Spirit Rock Meditation Center (near San Francisco). We were delighted that 120 people attended with very positive feedback.

Practicing the Jhanas Book

• Now available for e-readers! The e-reader version of Jhanas Advice is sold at a reduced cost, on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and Google.
• Practicing the Jhanas (Shambhala Publications) is available in major bookstores and most Internet booksellers. Or order from JhanasAdvice.com (Books page).
  
• The original Jhanas Advice from Two Spiritual Friends was purchased by more than 550 people in 31 countries on six continents in a two year period. The Shambhala version contains one additional chapter on "First Sit to First Jhana" as well as an expanded section on the Purification of Mind. Several wonderful reviews of our book have been released, including Yoga Journal UK, Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal, and Buddhadharma. The latest can be found here.

Knowing and Seeing by Pa Auk Sayadaw

This seminal text is now available at cost for purchase on Amazon.com thanks to two yogis in our sangha -- Ted Weinstein and Michael Nagy. The book is beautiful and much easier to read and use than the downloadable version. It sells for $15.99 (nonprofit) with any small proceeds being donated to Pa Auk Forest Monastery in Burma. Click here to order. For a description visit Books/Dana page.

Psychic Phenomena Today (abhinna)

Wisdom Quarterly

What the West has labelled psychokinesis, ESP, or paranormal activity has a long history in Buddhism and India. Hinduism calls these natural powers, dormant in the vast majority of people, siddhis. Buddhism refers to them as abhinna (abhijñā, abhiññā) or "higher knowledges." They are rooted in meditative absorptions ("right concentration" or samma samadhi) either developed in this life or in past lives. The karmic ability manifests as a natural inclination or ability, which leads us to conclude that "either you're born with it or you're not." No one is "born" with it, as such. Everyone develops it. But having developed it in the past, it may manifest spontaneously. Then it will be misconstrued as having no cause, that is, something someone is simply born with for no reason. Whereas there are many stories of such things in Buddhist texts, Katie presents a modern case of paranormal powers:

The Gold Leaf Lady

and Other Parapsychological Investigations

Prof. Stephen E. Braude, Univ. of Maryland

Katie, the Gold Leaf Lady

I was seated across a table from a woman, no more than three feet away. And while we were talking, a small piece of gold-colored foil appeared suddenly on her face. I knew that her hands were nowhere near her face when this happened. In fact, I was certain they were in full view on the table the entire time. I knew also that if her husband, seated next to her, had placed the material on her face, I would have seen it clearly. But nobody’s hands had been anywhere near her face. So I knew that the material hadn’t been placed there; it appeared there, evidently without normal assistance.

This was one of several similar incidents that occurred during my most fascinating paranormal investigation: the case of a woman much of whose body -- not just parts of her face -- would break out in what looked like gold leaf. But first, some background. We need to be clear about just how unusual and potentially important this case is.

Parapsychologists study several interesting phenomena, but they focus primarily on the evidence for extrasensory perception (ESP), psychokinesis (PK), and survival of bodily death. Of course, many consider all of these incredible and unworthy of serious attention. Others agree that they’re extraordinary, but believe they’re both possible and worth studying. And still others consider at least some of the phenomena to be natural and part of everyday life. In fact, many would say ESP is merely a form of intuition and leave the matter there. More

• "Weird or What?" (Discovery Channel)
• Immortal Remains: The Evidence For Life After Death
• RVConference.org (remote viewing)

Meditating on the Four Elements

Rather than struggling with the too-simple (and therefore too complicated for the overthinker) in-and-out breathing meditation, it is effective to take up Four Elements meditation. Here the subject is interesting and constantly changing. The result is eventually the same; only the route is different.

Pa Auk Sayadaw, literally an enlightened scholar-practitioner, teaches this method to those who do not progress to absorption and insight by concentrating on the breath. (Author and meditator Stephen Snyder is an excellent example of someone who succeeded using this meditation finding it futile to get anywhere with the breath).

The object is to perceive the Four Great Elements (maha-bhuta) in oneself. The characteristics or qualities of materiality are:

1. Earth-element: hardness, roughness, heaviness, softness, smoothness, lightness.
2. Water-element: flowing, cohesion.
3. Fire-element: heat, coldness.
4. Air-element: supporting, pushing.

Read about technique in detail in Mindfulness of Breathing & Four Elements Meditation.

New Meditation Advice

Shambhala Publications has released a new and revised version of the breakthrough book Jhanas Advice! It is available now from Shambhala and will soon be available on other sites and in bookstores by December 1, 2009. Under a new title with a new cover there is also new content in the chapter on "First Sit to First Jhana." Practicing the Jhanas

The book was presented to Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw a few weeks ago by the authors, Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen, as he sojourns in California in restricted retreat. The authors have a December meditation retreat scheduled, which is about two thirds full at this time. It is taking place at Cloud Mountain retreat center.

Meditation Guidance by Phone

Jhanas Advice authors, meditators Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder

One-on-One Spiritual Guidance

If one has simple questions that can be answered by email, or via a brief phone call of 15 minutes or less, the authors are happy to provide advice freely or on a dana basis.

• Jhanas Advice

For extended inquiries, individual spiritual guidance sessions are available to Dharma practitioners by phone. These calls are either 30 minutes or 1 hour, either as needed or on a regularly scheduled basis, either biweekly or monthly. The focus of these sessions is the caller's Dharma practice, as well as how practice and understanding integrate into worldly life.

• Life Coaching

For work or life coaching, please visit our website at http://www.enteleky.net/. We offer a different set of services and fees for work and life coaching.

• BOOK: Jhanas Advice from Two Spiritual Friends: Concentration Meditation as Taught by Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw (Endorsements)
• DESCRIPTION: Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw of Burma is considered by many to be the leading Buddhist jhana teacher alive today. Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder were taught personally by the Sayadaw, who has endorsed them to offer their experience to others. Their very accessible and direct experiential account of jhana practice has been endorsed by the Sayadaw. They now offer several services to practitioners interested in the practice. Their services are for both experienced meditators interested in deepening their concentration practice, as well as new meditators beginning a concentration practice.

Contact them for one-on-one spiritual guidance; guidance for solo retreats; monthly jhana practice groups; free downloads of Dharma talks on the jhanas practice

Shambhala's new: "Jhanas Advice"

The authors with Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, 2008 Forest Refuge Retreat

WQ is excited to report that two successful meditators (whose advice is featured in WQ) have recently signed a book contract with Shambhala Publications, the highly respected publisher of Buddhist and other authors such as the Dalai Lama, Joseph Goldstein, Ajahn Chah, A.H. Almaas, and Ken Wilber!

Book Release

Shambhala will release an expanded version of the book Jhanas Advice, in stores by Fall 2009.

Older (pre-Shambhala) cover

Possible 2009 Retreat
The authors are also in conversation with a Buddhist retreat center about the possibility of offering a public retreat in 2009.

2008 Intensive
There is still space for the day-long intensive on November 8, 2008, in San Rafael, California. The topic is "From First Sit to First Jhana--Navigating the Process of Purification of Mind through the Use of Wise Effort." Register at http://www.jhanasadvice.com/id6.html. Space is limited, so register early.

• More information: http://www.jhanasadvice.com/