Meditation

Shamata and Vipassana
(temporarily suspended)

The word Meditation refers to many things, like being aware, having balance, relaxing, concentrating, becoming absorbed in certain special states of mind, reflecting, pondering, being silent, etc. All these words give us a taste of what it might be like to meditate.

To describe the process of meditation, the Buddha uses the word bhāvana, which conveys the meaning of "cultivation”. The idea is that the cultivating process requires time and a consistent awareness of the development itself.

So to meditate signifies to cultivate various aspects of our being.  We meditate in order to develop our awareness, loving-kindness, understanding, concentration, mindfulness, wisdom, etc.

Most of the meditation methods can be grouped into two categories: Shamata and Vipassana.

Shamata refers to methods that are useful to  stabilize and calm the mind, shamata means "calm abiding".

Vipassana refers to methods which help us gain a deeper understanding about life and reality. Vipassana means "higher insight".

In my meditation classes we train both Shamata and Vipassana. However, we concentrate more on Shamata.

Please write to me for more information.