Thursday, January 17, 2019

Cultivating the Luminous Mind (jhanas)

Stephen Snyder, Tina Rasmussen (jhanasadvice.com); Dhr. Seven (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly
Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen teaching at Yale University (jhanasadvice.com)

Practicing the Jhanas BookThe jhana practice (meditative absorption) is an ancient type of concentration meditation (samatha, serenity) that predates written history as a method of purifying the mind/heart.

It was taught to Siddhartha (who later became the Buddha) by his teachers.

When people asked him what to practice, it is the practice the Buddha referenced in as many as 80% of the sutras/discourses throughout his life. The jhanas were so important to him that they were his last acts before passing into final nirvana.

Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder were personally taught by Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw of Burma, who authorized them as the first Western laypeople to teach samatha practices in his lineage.

Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw is considered by many to be the leading Buddhist meditative absorption master alive today. Their book, Practicing the Jhanas (Shambhala Publications), is an accessible and direct experiential account of samatha practice.

Rasmussen and Snyder are teachers of awakening to a deeper reality and Truth beyond our conventional way of understanding human experience. They offer teaching and spiritual mentoring to new and experience d practitioners. As part of the cultivation of the “luminous mind” referenced in many spiritual lineages, they teach many practices including samatha, vipassana, dzogchen, and modern non-duality that cultivate a fertile ground for seeds of liberation to grow and become established in daily life.  They have lead events and worked with people one-on-one from more than 50 countries since 2007. Services offered in-person and online include:
  • Retreats
  • Daylong intensives
  • Dharma talks at your location
  • One-on-one spiritual guidance
  • Year-long mentoring program
  • Free downloads of Dharma talks More

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