Description

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A Classical Training Program in Mindfulness Meditation

Course objectives:

Discuss the four foundations of mindfulness as a way to maintain moment-by-moment mindfulness, including mindfulness of the body, mindfulness of feelings, mindfulness of mind and mindfulness of thought.
• Discuss the four instructions for mindfulness of the breath
• Practice each of the four foundations of mindfulness through guided meditation
• Practice each of the four instructions for mindfulness of the breath through guided meditation
The profound techniques of Vipassana (or insight meditation) are all rooted in the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha's practice-oriented teaching on the four foundations of mindfulness. With Mindfulness, Joseph Goldstein brings you a series of core teachings and guided practices for "looking directly at the nature of the mind and body, at how suffering is created, and how we can awaken and be free." Designed to complement his book of the same title, as a stand-alone tool for daily practice, or for anyone wanting to go deeper in their experience of mindfulness, these profound meditations include:

Mindfulness of the Elements—a practice for relating to your body not through concepts but as a constantly changing energy field
• Mindfulness of Feelings—discover how the experience of our sense perceptions conditions our reactions in the mind and our actions in the world
• Mindfulness of Mind—how we recognize skillful and unskillful states of mind and thought
• Big Sky Mind—an expansive practice for resting in a mind that is spacious enough to hold all of our experience in the light of pure awareness
"The term 'mindfulness' may seem to indicate something quite ordinary and prosaic," explains Goldstein, "but the quality of mind it refers to has tremendous transformative power in our lives." With Mindfulness, now you have a set of time-tested tools for opening to the ultimate goal of practice: liberation.

About the Author

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Joseph Goldstein has been leading insight and lovingkindness meditation retreats worldwide since 1974. He is a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society, the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and the Forest Refuge. Since 1967, he has studied and practiced different forms of Buddhist meditation under eminent teachers from India, Burma, and Tibet. His books include A Heart Full of Peace, One Dharma, Insight Meditation, and The Experience of Insight.