Meditation

 

Information about buddhism and meditation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Books

 

Books by Buddhist Authors:

Buddhism Plain and Simple, Steve Hagen

Buddhism Without Beliefs, Stephen Batchelor

The Buddhist Path to Simplicity, Christina Feldman

Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism, Chogyam Trungpa

The Experience Of Insight, Joseph Goldstein

Faith, Sharon Salzberg

Focused and Fearless, Shaila Catherine

A Gradual Awakening, Stephen Levine

The Life of The Buddha, Ñanamoli

Light On Enlightenment, Christopher Titmuss

Meditation For Life, Martine Batchelor

Mindfulness in Plain English, Hénépola Gunaratana

The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh

The Path of Compassion, Fred Epsteiner

A Path With Heart, Jack Kornfield

Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach

Stepping Out of Self-Deception, Rodney Smith

What The Buddha Taught, Walpola Rahula

Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn

Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Be the Refuge: Raising the Voices of Asian-American Buddhists, Chenxing Han

Awakening Together, Larry Yang

Mindful of Race, Ruth King

The Way of Tenderness, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

Radical Dharma, angel kyodo williams and Lama Rod Owens

You Belong: A Call for Connection, Sebene Selassie

Therigatha: Verses of the Elder Nuns

 

Discourses of the Buddha, translations:

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, Ñanamoli & Bodhi

The Dhammapada, Gil Fronsdal

The Sutta Nipata, H. Saddhatissa

In the Buddha's Words, Bhikku Bodhi

 

Books by other authors:

Freedom From The Known, J. Krishnamurti

I Am That, Nisargadatta Maharaj

Peaceful Piggy Meditation, Kerry Lee MacLean

(a book for young children and families)

 

Some sources for online ordering include:

Pariyatti Book Service

Parallax Press

Shambhala Publishing

Wisdom Publications

Abe Books

The Buddhist Path

 

Fall forest stepsThe Buddha taught a path of spiritual awakening, a way of 'practice' that we can use in our daily lives. This 'Path of Practice' can be divided into three mutually supportive aspects: Virtue, Meditation and Wisdom.

 

Virtue

The foundation of the Buddhist path is a life that expresses compassion in our relation to all living things through a practice of non-harming. The entry to the Buddhist path is usually marked by taking the Five Precepts.

 

1. We undertake the precept of refraining from killing.

In undertaking this precept we acknowledge the interconnection of all beings and our respect for all life. We agree to refine our understanding of not killing and non-harming in all our actions. We will seek to understand the implications of this precept in such difficult areas as abortion, euthanasia, and the killing of pests. While some of us recommend vegetarianism and others do not, we all commit ourselves to fulfilling this precept in the spirit of reverence for life.

 

2. We undertake the precept of refraining from stealing.

We agree to not take that which does not belong to us and to respect the property of others.
We agree to bring consciousness to the use of all of the earth's resources in a respectful and ecological way.

 

3. We undertake the precept of refraining from sexual misconduct.

We agree to avoid creating harm through sexuality, sexual exploitation or adultery, and will observe celibacy while at True North Insight Meditation Centre. We agree to develop consciousness of how we are influenced by sexuality in our relationships, and will express respect and loving-kindness in this dimension of human experience.

 

4. We undertake the precept of refraining from false speech.

We agree to speak that which is true and useful and to refrain from gossip in our community.
We agree to cultivate conscious and clear communication, and to cultivate the quality of loving-kindness and honesty as the basis of our speech.

 

5. We undertake the precept of refraining from intoxicants that cause heedlessness or loss of awareness.

It is clear that substance abuse is the cause of tremendous suffering. We agree that there should be no use of intoxicants during retreats or while on retreat premises.

 

The above five precepts are reprinted from Jack Kornfield's book A Path With Heart (Bantam Books, 1993, pages 341-342). The third and fourth precepts have been re-arranged to follow the traditional order, and the wording of the third precept has been altered.

 

Someone living in this way develops the self-discipline and sensitivity necessary to cultivate meditation, the second aspect of the Path.

 

Meditation

Meditation, broadly speaking, is the repeated focusing of attention upon an image, a word or a theme in order to calm the mind and consider the meaning of that image or word. In the Buddhist practice of insight meditation, this focusing of attention also has another purpose, which is to more fully understand the nature of the mind. This can be done by using the meditation object as a still reference point to help in revealing the attitudes that are otherwise buried beneath the mind's surface activity.

The Buddha encouraged his disciples to use their own bodies and minds as objects of meditation. A common object, for example, is the sensation associated with the breath during the process of normal breathing. If one sits still, closes the eyes and focuses on the breath, in due time clarity and calm will arise. In this state of mind, tensions, expectations and habitual moods can be more clearly discerned, and through the practice of gentle but penetrative inquiry they can be resolved.

Cultivating goodwill and kindness gives another dimension to the practice of insight. Meditation naturally teaches patience and tolerance, or at least it shows the importance of these qualities. To encourage an open hearted attitude to life and to enhance compassion in daily living the Buddha recommended meditations where the qualities of love and amity are deliberately cultivated in meditation practices.

Meditation is normally associated with the sitting posture but in fact walking is commonly alternated with sitting as a form for meditation. Choosing a short path of perhaps twenty paces and tuning in to the gentle rhythm of walking to and fro calms the mind and puts us in touch with the present moment in a simple and uncomplicated manner.

The Buddha taught that it is possible to maintain meditation in the course of daily activity as well as while sitting still in one place. One can focus attention on the movement of the body, the physical feelings that arise, or the thoughts and moods that flow through the mind. This mobile attentiveness he called 'mindfulness'. The Buddha explained that through mindfulness one realizes an attention that is serene. Although it is centered on the body and mind, it is dispassionate and not bound up with any particular physical or mental experience.

Although mindfulness is the basic tool to use, we generally need some pointers as to how to establish the right objectivity about ourselves and how to assess what mindfulness reveals. This is the function of the wisdom-teachings of the Buddha.

 

Wisdom

The most generally used wisdom-teachings of the Buddha are not statements about God or Ultimate Truth. The Buddha felt that such statements could lead to disagreement, controversy and even violence. Instead, Buddhist wisdom describes what we can all notice about life without having to adopt a belief.

 

The Four Noble Truths

Winter gazeboThe Buddha often used a medical model to describe his core teaching. There is sickness, the cause of sickness, the end of sickness and a cure for sickness. In the same way there is suffering. There is a cause of suffering. There is an end to suffering and there is a way that leads to the end of suffering. These are known as the Four Noble Truths.

 

The First Noble Truth:

There is suffering.

Life as we normally know it must always have a proportion of disagreeable experiences. Sickness, pain and distress are obvious examples. Even in relatively affluent societies people suffer from anxiety, stress or a loss of purpose or they feel incapable of dealing with life's challenges. Moreover, agreeable experiences are limited and transient. As human beings we are always vulnerable amid the uncertainties of life and no manipulation of our outer situation can protect us completely from the possibility of suffering.

 

The Second Noble Truth:

There is a cause of suffering.

Suffering, in this case, is the inner conflict that we have with the natural ups and downs of life. Sickness and loss are natural as are gain and health. Our inability to peacefully abide with life's changes expresses itself in a variety of ways: fear, anger, greed, confusion, self-hatred, jealousy etc. This is because we often want what we don't have and don't want what we do have. This wanting is known as craving and attachment to craving is the cause of suffering.

 

The Third Noble Truth:

There is an end to suffering.

When our lives are ruled by craving we are in a perpetual state of imbalance and discontent. If we learn to let go of craving our hearts return to a natural state of balance and ease in which there is a possibility of deep peace and profound compassion. The deeper the letting go, the deeper the peace and love.

 

The Fourth Noble Truth:

There is a Way to the end of suffering and that is the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Noble Eightfold Path offers guidelines for the development of one's spiritual life. Right Understanding begins with an intellectual appreciation of the cause of suffering and culminates in a profound realization of the way things are. From Right Understanding, one's thinking becomes attuned to truth and hence Right Intention motivates one's actions, speech and thought. From here lifestyle issues are addressed in terms of Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. All of this requires Right Effort and Right Mindfulness. Finally the ability to stay present and mindful is strengthened by Right Meditation.

The 'Right-ness' of these is that they entail living in accordance with virtue, meditation and wisdom, rather than from any self-centred position. Such a Way is therefore 'Right' for others as well as for oneself.

Someone who has fully cultivated this Way finds serenity and patience in themselves in times of difficulty, and the wish to share good fortune when things go well. They live a life free from guilt, and, rather than having violent mood swings, the mind and heart stay steady and buoyant through the circumstances of life.

Audio Talks

Talks on the practice of meditation help to bring alive the Buddha's teachings of freedom.

Material courtesy of Dharma Seed. Please support their service!

Download and stream

These are the 15 most recent TNI talks. To listen to more True North Insight talks, please go to Dharma Seed.

 


 

 

Why Meditate?

 

Zafu

Given today's frantic pace of life, more and more people are seeking a way to reduce tension, and find contentment and peace. True North Insight offers meditation teachings in a quiet and inclusive environment. These teachings show us how to develop the skills to wake up and become free of greed, hatred and delusion, and cultivate calmer and gentler ways of living. From this place of deep understanding, a profound and compassionate response to the world's suffering arises.

Dr. Zindel Segal, head of the Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Clinic of the Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and one of the founders of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), expresses his support for True North Insight. Zindel Segal is also a professor in the departments of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Toronto. Click here to read his letter outlining the health benefits of meditation.

 

Meditation allows us to:

  • learn how to release tension and holding in the body/mind and experience deep calm
  • find ways to stay grounded in present moment experience through mindfulness
  • explore the connection of body and mind
  • compassionately open to our own hearts with acceptance
  • learn to recognize and release limiting self-perceptions and live with creativity, courage and authenticity
  • cease being driven by old habits of fear and compulsion and find contentment and equanimity
  • develop wisdom to live with skill and kindness, releasing judgment, resentment and ill-will
  • transform our worldview from isolation and confusion to connection, clarity, interdependence and compassion

 

Did you know?

 

  • Insight Meditation has been taught and practiced for more than 2400 years as part of a path to liberation of mind and heart from suffering
  • Practicing insight meditation has been clinically proven to reduce the damaging effects of stress and pain, replacing them with peace and calmness
  • Meditation is being taught in hospitals and community health centres to help manage chronic pain, depression, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, stress and anxiety
  • Mindful awareness is considered a core competency in effective leadership
  • Meditation is being taught in elementary and secondary schools as an important life skill
  • Meditation is used in a wide range of personal development and rehabilitation programs as a tool for managing anger and learning to be accountable
  • The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto offers meditation as a well-researched intervention for preventing depression relapse
  • Many meditation communities are collaborating with environmentalists on important issues of planetary well-being, as insight meditation teachings reflect on interdependent relationships with all life forms and the environment.

 

Where to find meditation cushions?

Best well-kept secret in Montréal, Sea of tranquillity
Boutique Alchimiste en herbe on St-Denis
Bluecony - Banc de méditation made in Québec
Boutique Sri Aurobindo on St-Denis (4125 rue St-Denis)
Futon d'Or
La Massagerie
Conforauly in Eatern Townships
Samadhi Cushions,  Vermont, USA
Yoga centers and health and well-being stores
Large retail stores boutiques such as Winners, Indigo, etc. and online