Spirit Rock Meditation Center is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha. We provide silent meditation retreats, as well as classes, trainings, and Dharma study.
Vipassana |
The path and practice of insight through mindfulness meditation |
-
9 comments
Everyday Meditation
Recently I was thinking about some close friends who are younger than I am, raising families, with busy lives in the world. I could appreciate that it might be quite some time before they would be able to sit a long retreat. So I started wondering if there was a way for people in those circumstances to integrate some kind of meditation technique into their daily activities that could really touch the transformative power of the practice. On longer retreats it’s easier to access meditative depths, but when we’re otherwise intensely engaged, it can be quite a challenge. More » -
5 comments
Set the Compass of Your Heart
You need a reliable compass to set your direction and steer through the rough waters when you are going through hard times, when you’ve been betrayed, when you’ve lost your job, when you’ve lost friends or loved ones, when you’re in conflict with your family, or when you’re going through illness. But how can you set your direction when you can’t see any clear harbor? And how can you navigate through difficult waters when you’re swamped by overwhelming emotions, when so much of your awareness is taken over with trying to figure out who’s at fault and who did what to whom, or creating stories about who’s wrong and who’s right and why? More » -
0 comments
Generosity: The Revolutionary Foundation for Buddhist Practice
The practice of giving and the virtue of generosity is at the foundation of Buddhism since the time of the Buddha. Generous giving is a wonderful entry point to Buddhist practice as well as expressions of mature practice. At its essence dana is revolutionary because it is a giving freely without any expectation of receiving something in return. Not only is it is an alternative to selfishness, greed, and possessiveness, it is an alternative to the commercial economy that is the basis of our society. In the four weeks of the retreat, Gil Fronsdal will discuss the radical nature of dana, how it can be practiced, and it's connection to the path of liberation. More » -
2 comments
Q&A with Vipassana Instructor Michele McDonald
Michele McDonald, who has been teaching vipassana meditation for thirty years, co-founded Vipassana Hawai’i and was the first woman to teach a formal retreat in Burma (with Sayadaw U Lakkhana, Abbot of Kyaswa Monastery). Although she’s been busy lately holding retreats for both her novice and more experienced students, Tricycle had the chance to chat with her via email about practice, teaching, and her CD “Awake at the Wheel: Mindful Driving,” which presents vipassana meditation instructions for drivers. Tricycle’s very own Web Editor, Philip Ryan, tried it out a few months ago while on a trip to visit the Venerable Bhikku Bodhi, which you can read about here. More »
