Insight Meditation Instruction


Introduction to Meditation Course – Several times a year Gil Fronsdal (the lead teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, Calif.) offers a 6-week instructional series for beginning meditators. These classes provide a good overview of insight meditation practice as well as many guided meditation sessions which help the student learn how to establish and sustain a daily meditation practice. This link provides recordings and materials from this wonderful class.

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Brief Instructions for Sitting Meditation – from The Issue at Hand by Gil Fronsdal

 

Instructions for Walking Meditation

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Basic meditation instruction from Present Moment: Mindfulness Practice & Science

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Basic meditation instructions: Well section, The New York Times

 

Audio

Links to talks we've listened to during Wednesday night meetings (available via Meetup.com).

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Recorded talks from Roswell Insight Meditation. 

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Guided meditations (from Insight Meditation Center's audiodharma.org).

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Websites with Dhamma Talks and Recommended Readings

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Online Directories

Check out the websites georgiameditation.org and meditateatlanta.com for up-to-date listings and information on local practice groups near you. 

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Insight Meditation Centers and Groups
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Roswell Insight Meditation – Teacher-led, diverse community of practitioners dedicated to cultivating greater compassion, understanding and wisdom, through the teachings of the Buddha. These teachings, or Dharma, provide a path of practice, leading directly to the reduction of our personal and collective suffering. The group practices in the tradition of Insight Meditation, or Vipassana, which offers practices for opening the heart and mind, and seeing more clearly into the nature of our interconnected existence. Welcomes practitioners from diverse spiritual and secular traditions. Roswell Insight Meditation Community | Heron House, 102 Russell Rd, Roswell, GA 30075   

 

Atlanta Insight Meditation Community – Buddhist meditation, practice and study community based in the Insight/Vipassana tradition. AIMC meets weekly on Monday nights from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Its usual format is a 30-minute silent meditation, followed by a Dharma talk and discussion. The community is a mix of new and advanced practitioners who celebrate diversity and are dedicated to co-creating a warm and inviting environment. 1190 West Druid Hills Drive NE Suite 150

Atlanta, GA 30329

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Insight Meditation Center – Redwood City, California – The Insight Meditation Center (IMC) is a community-based urban meditation center for the practice of Vipassana or Insight meditation.  

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Insight Meditation Society - Barre, Massachusetts - Founded in 1975 by a small group of young meditation teachers with the goal of creating an environment where the teachings of the Buddha could flourish in the West. 

 

Spirit Rock Meditation Center - Spirit Rock Meditation Center is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha as presented in the vipassana tradition. The practice of mindful awareness, called Insight or Vipassana Meditation, is at the heart of all the activities at Spirit Rock. The Center hosts a full program of ongoing classes, daylong programs, and residential retreats.

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Southern Dharma Retreat Center - Located in the Blue Ridge mountains of North Carolina, this 501(c)(3) non-profit educational center offers affordable, teacher-led retreats representing a variety of spiritual traditions, including insight meditation.

 
Recommended Books on Meditation & Buddhist Practice

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The Issue at Hand, by Gil Fronsdal – This book was written by Gil Fronsdal as a gift to the community. It is freely given and is also available online in English, French, and German.

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Mindfulness in Plain English, Updated and Expanded Edition (Paperback) by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana – A wonderful, straightforward and concise introduction to Insight meditation.

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Presence: How Mindfulness and Meditation Shape Your Brain, Mind, and Life, by Paul Verhaeghen, Oxford University Press

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It’s Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness, by Sylvia Boorstein

 

With Each & Every Breath, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu
 

Don’t Just Do Something, Sit There, by Sylvia Boorstein

 

Mindfulness With Breathing, by Bhikku Buddhadasa

 

Woman Awake, by Christina Feldman

 

The Experience of Insight: A Simple and Direct Guide to Buddhist Meditation, by Joseph Goldstein

 

Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom, by Joseph Goldstein

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The Science of Enlightenment, by Shinzen Young

 

Seeking The Heart of Wisdom: The Path of Insight Meditation, by Joseph Goldstein and Jack Kornfield.  

 

Being Peace, by Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Wherever You Go There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life, by Jon Kabat-Zinn

 

A Path With Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises Of Spiritual Life, by Jack Kornfield

 

Teachings of Twelve Buddhists Masters, by Jack Kornfield

 

Freedom From the Known, by J. Krishnamurti

 

The Wisdom of the Desert, by Thomas Merton

 

Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, by Sharon Salzberg

 

A Heart As Wide As the World: Living with Mindfulness, Wisdom, Compassion, by Sharon Salzberg

 

Lessons From the Dying, by Rodney Strong

 

The Mind and the Way: Buddhist Reflections on Life, by Ajahn Sumedho

 

The Profound and the Profane, by Christopher Titmus

 

Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki

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