Upper West Side Buddhist Meditation Class

A Wide River Flowing: Joyful Effort and the Art of Not Putting It Off

You know that thing we humans do, where we know what brings us joy, yet push it away? For example, we genuinely want to meditate, but weirdly, it’s hard to press the pause button in the morning. Even just for ten minutes, to sit with our hearts. Later, we say, later. Tomorrow, we say. Tomorrow.

Well, that’s called procrastination. And the opposite of this disinclined mind, according to Buddha, is joyful effort. Or in other words, the energy of delight. Rather than a doomed-to-fizzle sprint, this mind is a nice good steady walk you can actually do every day.

Please come by and learn how to stop waiting for the perfect time. Never fear, we’re not going to teach you how to be relentlessly productive. We’re not trying to whip ourselves into a frenzy of virtue, only to collapse in the ruins of our own good intentions three days later. No thanks!

We want something much sweeter: a mind that is magnetically drawn to the thoughts and actions that make us happy. And to allow this delighted mind to grow fuller and deeper and gentler and evermore powerful, like a wide flowing river that will carry us in perfect timing to where we truly want to go.

September 14: Waking up to the Precious Moment
September 21: Rewriting the River of Nonsense
September 28: Overcoming the Laziness of Attachment
October 5: Who You Are and What Do You Seek
October 12: no class (Columbus Day)
October 19: Reclaiming Our Attention Span
October 26: How to Stop Pushing Our Own Mind
November 2: How to Stop Taking Orders from Our Own Mind

NEXT SERIES

Breathe In, Shine Out: The Magic of Taking and Giving

Buddhism has a beautiful breathful meditation based on that wisdom. It’s called taking and giving, or tonglen in Tibetan.

It goes like this. When we’re hurting, we remember that others are hurting too. Out of compassion, we breathe in their suffering like smoke. It destroys our own pain, and we imagine them free as our heart grows stronger.

Then, we breathe out our happiness, we shine it out like we’re a radiant wish-fulfilling jewel. We give it all away.

As soon as our self-cherishing mind hears this, it cringes. “Are you crazy? I’m barely getting by as it is!”

But try it, and something astounding happens. The more we take, the less afraid we are. The more we give, the more we have.

There’s a lot of healing to be found in turning our usual instincts inside out and upside down. It’s a great meditation to practice in the long post office lines and chaotic family dinners that tend to fill our days as 2026 careens to a close.

November 9: Amazing Benefits of the Practice of Taking and Giving
November 16: Self Compassion and the Practice of Taking
November 23: Thanksgiving Special with guest teacher Neil Goldenberg
November 30: Fearless Compassion and Joyful Taking
December 7: Healing Body and Mind
December 14: How the Meditation on Giving Increases Our Love
December 21: no class
December 28: no class

DETAILS

Our general program classes include Dharma teachings along with guided meditations
These classes are suitable for both beginners and more advanced meditation practitioners
General meditation classes are given as a series, but can also be taken individually
No special clothing is required
No pre-registration is necessary
Chairs are supplied
Everyone welcome!