This event is hosted by the Contemplative Studies Centre.
The Vipassana movement was initiated in Myanmar (Burma) in the 20th century to make enlightenment accessible again in modern times, without needing religious rituals or robes. This pragmatic and practical branch of Theravada Buddhism aims to cultivate experiential wisdom by observing the nature of mind and body, instead of reading books or acquiring intellectual knowledge. The teachings are based on the Buddha’s discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipatthana Sutta), claimed to be ‘The Direct Path to Awakening’. This system of meditation takes a step by step approach, starting from 5 minutes of mindfulness practice, to cultivating moment to moment awareness and progressing through sixteen stages of Vipassana wisdom to achieve full awakening.
What attendees can expect
Four foundations of Mindfulness: A technique to see reality in slow motion
Have you seen the movie The Matrix and wished you had the ‘slow motion seeing’ ability like Neo when the bullets were coming at him? Have you ever noticed the bullets that are being shot at us through the words and actions of others or from our own minds? The good news is that there is a technique that can help us dodge these bullets by seeing the mind-body-feelings process in slow motion.
In this series of online guided meditations, we will learn this technique and progressively explore the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, starting with Mindfulness of Body, then moving onto Mindfulness of Feelings, followed by Mindfulness of the Mind and finally arriving at the Mindfulness of Truth. The teachings will be offered in plain English while still trying to maintain the traditional depth.
Participants will learn how to practise Vipassana skilfully and in a relaxed manner, so wisdom can arise naturally without trying too hard. We will explore what to expect as you progress through the stages of Vipassana wisdom, the common obstacles and how to overcome them. There will be opportunities to ask questions and receive guidance for your practice.
The first session will provide an introduction to the key concepts in the tradition while subsequent sessions will focus more on guided practice.
This guided meditation will run online via Zoom every week from Wednesday 5 July – Wednesday 9 August 2023. Please register once to indicate your attendance throughout the series, or register for the individual sessions you plan to attend.
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