The Complete Path: Morning Meditation Sessions during H.H. the 42nd Sakya Trizin's TCP7 — IBA Kathmandu

Three weeks at the International Buddhist Academy (IBA), Tinchuli, Kathmandu, for His Holiness the 42nd Sakya Trizin, Ratna Vajra Rinpoche’s “Complete Path” teachings — part of the Academy’s long-running, multi-year study programme in the Sakya Lamdré tradition. Alongside the main teachings, I led a daily morning meditation class for course participants, covering śamatha (calm abiding), vipaśyanā (insight) and mettā bhāvanā (loving-kindness meditation). The course was based on the Nine Stages approach found in Kamalaśīla’s Bhāvanākrama, interweaving insights from the Pali tradition and Plum Village Zen.

Follow-up

You can find here audio recordings of the morning meditation class, suggested readings, and the glossary provided during the course to our wonderful translators. Currently all English language recordings are available - Chinese and Spanish are to follow soon…

Morning meditation sessions

The 15 morning sessions I taught during the course are available in full, with transcripts, as Śamatha, Vipaśyanā & Mettā Bhāvanā — Morning Meditation Talks, alongside the Glossary and Summary for Morning Meditations prepared for the course.

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Suggested reading

On the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna):

• Thich Nhat Hanh, Transformation and Healing: Sutra on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness (Parallax Press, 1990) — three versions of the sutra with commentary and twenty-three accompanying exercises. parallax.org

On Śamatha (the Nine Stages):

• B. Alan Wallace, The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (Wisdom Publications) — a full tutorial on the stages of śamatha training, following Kamalaśīla’s stage-scheme, with interludes on the brahmavihāras, tonglen, and dream yoga. wisdomexperience.org

On Mettā (the Four Immeasurables):

• B. Alan Wallace, The Four Immeasurables: Practices to Open the Heart (Shambhala Publications) — the brahmavihāras interwoven with śamatha instruction, guided meditations, and discussion. shambhala.com

For the complete list — including the Ānāpānasati Sutta, the Visuddhimagga, and a Southern-school manual on mindfulness of breathing — see the “Suggested Reading” page at the end of the Glossary and Summary for Morning Meditations (PDF).

Further resources

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