Upper West Side Buddhist Meditation Class

You know that amazing feeling when you’re totally in the zone? When you’re so caught up in doing what you love that a team of wild horses couldn’t drag you away? You feel alive and fulfilled. Your heart is warm with bliss. That flow state is coming from your concentration.

Unfortunately, a lot of times, distraction makes it impossible to get into the groove. This is because a distracted mind is like a sputtering flame. When we try to use this feeble light to illuminate the beautiful wisdoms Buddha gives us, it’s like squinting in the dark. We can barely make out the shapes of love, compassion, let alone the true nature of reality.

But imagine if our concentration became a big, strong, bright, steady flame, illuminating all virtuous objects clearly. Imagine if we could just say, “Hey mind, let’s abide single-pointedly on love today,” and know without a doubt that it would happen. Imagine developing a concentration so strong that it could mix with Buddha’s deepest wisdoms and break the shackles of confusion and endless cycles that tie us down.

In this series, we’ll follow the guidance of Geshe Kelsang and the great meditators of the past, who recommend meditating on the nature of the mind to improve concentration. And we’ll discover what Buddha meant when he said, “From concentration comes peace.”

After each class, we’ll enjoy snacks, seltzer, and Dharma talk. Everything tastes better, and even talking is funner, when our mind is blissed from concentration. Please come by and see what we mean!

January 6: The Happiness of the Undistracted Mind
January 13: Finding our Object for Training: the Mind Itself
January 20: Understanding Distraction: the Five Obstacles to Concentration
January 27: Generating Enthusiasm: the Opponents to the Obstacles
February 3: Fly Like an Eagle (in your meditation)
February 10: The Power of Intention
February 17: Clear Sky Mind
February 24: Journey through the Mental Abidings
March 3: How to Gain the Best Results