The close observation of individual moments of experience combined with inquiry can reveal experiential insights about the nature of the self, the mind, and the world of phenomena that have greater transformational power than conceptual analysis alone. Join Doug Veenhof as we examine how these empirical insights are what actually cut through the subtlest obscurations to Pristine Awareness.
This “fusion of shamatha and vipashyana,” as Tsongkhapa calls it, is presented within the context of Dzogchen, Tibetan Buddhism’s Great Perfection. Participants will learn why the still awareness achieved with shamatha practice is essential before experiential wisdom can flourish.
This weekend retreat will be organized into one-hour modules that begin with instruction on a progression of meditation techniques designed to produce the effortless stillness and vividness of mind achieved with shamatha practice and then apply that single-pointed focus to an investigation of individual moments of experience. Each one-hour module also includes a guided meditation and a period of silent, self-guided meditation to integrate the new practice as your own to take home .
Participants will learn a full range of shamatha practices, from breath meditations to Taking the Mind as the Path, and Awareness of Awareness. These latter practices will feature a new , very effective approach that Doug learned in his recent two-month retreat with his teacher, renowned shamatha master Lama Alan Wallace. We then explore the fusion of shamatha and vipashyana with insight practices drawn from the traditions of Dzogchen and Mahamudra.
This clear and systematic approach will provide a great foundation for those new to meditation, and long term practitioners may find that this empirical approach to revealing wisdom is just what they have been missing.
At Diamond Light Meditation Center
2791 24th Street, Room 14 (upstairs)
Sacramento, CA 95818
Parking lot in back, ADA accessible
cost: $40-$60 one day/$75-$110 one weekend
Scholarships Available (email diamond light.sac@gmail.com)
To Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/meditation-to-reveal-insight-with-doug-veenhof-tickets-47389636679
Doug Veenhof is a former mountain guide, an award-winning journalist, author, and long-time Buddhist practitioner. He studied for twenty years with esteemed Gelugpa teachers and now devotes himself to the study and practice of shamatha and vipashyana in the Dzogchen tradition with Lama Alan Wallace.
Doug is a certified trainer of Cultivating Emotional Balance, a program using meditation to promote emotional self-regulation and he travels much of the year leading CEB trainings and shamatha and vipashyana retreats. His schedule this year includes leading a two-month retreat for Buddhist nuns at Dharamsala, India. He is also currently collaborating with Lama Alan Wallace on the design and construction of the Center for Contemplative Research in Tuscany, a project enthusiastically endorsed by H.H. the Dalai Lama.