Meditation Study Series
Meditation Study Series
Our next online series is on Tuesday evenings starting October 8th, 2024 at 7pm.
Join our seasonal meditation study series for intermediate and experienced meditators in a supportive community. Facilited by (Rev.) Andrew Blake of Sarana Institute.
Join (Rev.) Andrew Blake and Sarana Institute for our online meditation study series designed to strengthen your meditation practice and help you integrate the impacts of mindfulness and meditation into your daily life.
Practicing Dharma is a path of discovering wisdom and compassion or transformative actions. To get there, we sit and meditate weekly together.
Meditation practice is built on a foundation of skillful methods of insight and feeds the development of compassion to meet suffering and transform our life into meaning and joy.
What to Expect
Class begins at 7 pm ET on Tuesdays with a dharma talk, followed by a sitting practice, a walking meditation, then a contemplation based on each week’s theme. Class ends with a discussion and council practice, where we share from the heart and our experiences. We end at 9 pm. This class is suitable for any practice level and best suited for those wishing to deepen their Buddhist-informed practices and understanding.
Description of our Upcoming Series
Coming Home Again: Foundations for Deepening our Meditation
In this fall series, we'll be re-establishing and reconnecting to our commitment to both our personal and collective practice. Maintaining a regular sitting practice is always a challenge. How can we bring effort and joy to getting to the cushion? Equally important in sustaining our practice is understanding what exactly is happening during our meditation. Lastly, recognizing and growing from both the obstacles and insights that arise each time we sit is crucial. Reflecting on all of these aspects is essential to the progress we make on our path.
You might be asking yourself: Where does this practice lead me? Am I making any progress? What can I expect from my practice? Here, I believe the most important aspect is having a clear intention of what we want. Then, having somewhere or someone to share your progress with is also valuable. Over the years, we may ask: What should I focus on next? We will explore all these questions in our upcoming series.
In addition, we will survey different practice methods alongside our shamatha practice. We'll explore tools such as visualization, sound or mantra, inquiry, prayer recitation, and tonglen, gently touching on the traditional teachings around these practices. We will examine them as skillful means for nurturing our spiritual well-being and moving us incrementally towards enlightenment.
This course is open to all levels of meditation practice and those interested in integrating Buddhist approaches and teachings into their lives and healing. If you are new to meditation, please don't hesitate to contact us before registration.
Other Details
Tuesday Evenings from 7 - 9 pm ET on Zoom
Starts October 8th for 10 Weeks to December 10th, 2024
Registration Fee
There are a few options for registering:
Base Fee: $250
Supportive Fee: $300 for those who can contribute more
PWYC Fee: Any amount that you can contribute
*as a spiritual gift, the dharma is not a commodity bought and sold. Our registration fees go to support Rev. Andrew and the work at Sarana Institute. If the suggested fee is challenging, pay an amount that works within your finances. Everyone is welcome in our sangha, and finances must never be a reason not to join us.
About (Rev.) Andrew Blake
(Rev.) Andrew Blake, Buddhist Chaplain, Psychotherapist and Co-Founder of Sarana Institute
Andrew is the Director of Program Development at Sarana Institute, and his wife, Angie, is a co-founder. In 2010, Andrew was ordained as a Buddhist Chaplain by Roshi Joan Halifax, a leader in compassion, caregiving and end-of-life. His thesis, Mindful Listening at End-of-Life, was recently published and explores the roles of mindfulness, empathy and compassion, from both neuroscience and Buddhist psychology perspectives, as skills to prevent caregiver “empathy fatigue.”
A teacher and educator of mindfulness meditation, Buddhism, End-of-Life caregiving, and his Mindful Listening work, Andrew has created training and curriculums at the University of Toronto through the Applied Mindfulness Mediation Program, at Sick Kids Hospital through The Mindfulness Project, at Hincks Dellcrest Centre, as well as numerous conferences, hospitals, hospices and organizations involved in service, healthcare, end-of-life care, volunteer caregiving. In addition to his teaching, he guides individuals and families at end of life and serves as an officiant at memorials and funerals. www.andrewblake.ca
