On Aug 1, 2007, at 1:11 PM, Richard J. Williams wrote:
Bhairitu wrote:
> Of course you can get good meditation techniques for less
> than that these days.
>
Which meditation techniques do you consider to be good? Are
they easy and simple to learn? Can they help a person learn
to transcend? Do they include free checking for life? And,
where would a person get them these days and where would
all the money go? Can you be specific?
At my age, I'm not much interested in left-handed
basket-weaving or memorizing a bunch of non-sense syllables
or sitting in a locked-leg position concentrating on the tip
of my nose. It costs a lot of money to take a Tony Robbins
course or get audited by a Scientologist.
It costs over $1500 just to take a one day computer course
these days. The average tuition for university is over
$15,000 per semester. Cigarettes or cable TV could cost
a person thousands of dollars a year. So, learning
TM to be able to relax for $2,500 seems like a bargain to
me, as long as you don't turn it into a guru cult like you
and some others did.
Here's a better bargain:
Please plan to join us for the Ahimsa Center meditation retreat with
Dr. B. Alan Wallace.
The Retreat, Balancing the Heart and the Mind, will take place at Cal
Poly Pomona, Bronco Student Center on the weekend of August 11 and 12.
In this retreat we will focus on two methods for meditative
quiescence, or shamatha. We will begin with the practice of
mindfulness of the breathing--an effective approach to soothing the
body and calming the discursive mind. We will then explore an
approach to shamatha that is particularly pertinent for meditative
practice called “settling the mind in its natural state.” The
attainment of shamatha is widely regarded in the Buddhist tradition
as an indispensable foundation for the cultivation of contemplative
insight (vipashyana), and this retreat is designed to provide
participants with a sufficient theoretical understanding and a basis
in experience to enable them to proceed effectively toward this
extraordinary state of mental and physical balance.
In addition, instruction will be offered on the cultivation of the
four immeasurables–loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and
equanimity. They are so called, for the development of these
qualities of the heart that can break down all barriers that are
created by attachment and aversion, opening our hearts boundlessly to
all beings.
This retreat will be valuable for college faculty and students,
school teachers, business and community leaders, peace workers,
mediators and other professionals who are interested in achieving
balance and harmony in their lives.
Members: $105, Nonmemeber: $125
For more information, including accommodation, please visit :
http://www.csupomona.edu/~ahimsacenter/retreat/retreat_aug_07.html
Tara Sethia, Ph.D.
Director, Ahimsa Center
Professor, History Department
California State Polytechnic University
3801 West Temple Avenue
Pomona, CA 91768
Phone (909) 869 3868
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.csupomona.edu/ahimsacenter
