Comparative Meditation: An Experiential Journey
A course exploring Shamatha, Vipassana, Tantra, and Non-Dual meditation philosophy and practice
I came to meditation with an insatiable curiosity and yearning to understand the deep wisdom that I could sense at the heart of these traditions.
Although I studied formally and read Buddhist and other spiritual books ferociously, meditation really clicked for me when I started looking at it through a comparative lens.
When I started studying this stuff in my early 20s the advice I always got was “choose one path and stick with it”.
So I chose the path of Tibetan Buddhism and studied formally for a year before realizing it wasn’t the right path for me, at least not at that time.
(You can read more about my path of study here, or if you have nothing to do for 40 mins you can watch a video I made talking about my journey here.)
It wasn’t until a decade ago that I encountered the work of Shinzen Young — a brilliant teacher who had studied in a variety of traditions and created his own comprehensive framework for practice — that I really started to understand and also practice meditation and mindfulness in a whole new way.
I’m excited to offer what I would have loved early on in my meditative path.
My goal here is to give you a crash course in 4 vastly different categories of practice; helping you understand the essence of each and in turn better grasp meditation and its dynamic yet complementary philosophies better as a whole.
While each category encompasses countless traditions and practices that could be explored for lifetimes, I've distilled the core themes and techniques to convey the essence of each.
The categories are:
Shamatha (Calm Abiding) - Explore a variety of techniques to cultivate relaxed focus, inner peace, and deep states of absorption (Jhanas).
Vipassana (Insight Meditation) - Learn how to observe sensory experience in a way that leads to insight, deconstructing and liberating mental projection and habituated patterns.
Tantra - Explore the rich inclusive philosophy of Tantra and its energy cultivating practices, using imagination to bridge into more embodied and awakened states of being.
Non-Dual (Direct Path) - Explore a variety of practices from different traditions that take you beyond conventional mind and point to the timeless, undivided and ultimate nature of Self and World.
Each session will also explore Metta or Loving-Kindness (cultivating compassion and good will) in congruence with that style of practice.
Once you better understand the landscape of meditation and the mechanisms of transformation, you can orient your practice to suit your unique goals and stylistic preferences.
This course is:
Experiential - You will learn how to practice a wide variety of techniques
Philosophical - Exploring the core philosophies of the most established and transformative traditions
Pragmatic - Helping you find the practices that work for you and give you criteria to measure progress
Comparative - Understand distinct paths by contrasting their similarities and differences
Comprehensive - Giving you everything you need to start practicing
Grokkist
This course will be delivered on the Grokkist platform, a home for those who insist on relating to the world with curiosity and care.
Last fall I singed up for Nathan Dafour’s (aka Nathanology) course on Philosophy for Ecological Action.
His course trailer is easily the best trailer I’ve seen — for anything. I was sold immediately.
I loved so much about the course and the Grokkist platform. The way it encourages and cultivates community and engagement was awesome. I was struck by the warmth and passion of the founder, Danu Poyner, who I clearly shared a lot of values with.
One of these values is accessibility. I’m happy to share that all courses on Grokkist, including mine, are offered on a pay-what-you-can basis.
The suggested cost of this course is $220 (USD), and signup comes with a few bonuses.
You get access to this cohort and the following one, so you can do it twice or just review missed classes (all classes are recorded and participants have lifetime access to all materials, but live classes are always fun).
And if you sign up before the end of April, we are also throwing in my Meditation for ADHD course (which will go live on the Grokkist platform in May).
I’m also offering an early bird discount of 15% if you sign up before the end of April. Just use the code EARLYBIRD15 at checkout. (But remember this is pay-what-you-can and I’d love to see you there regardless of what you can afford… I’m just trying to encourage early signups.)
The course begins May 15th and I hope to see you there!
Feel free to send me any questions or drop them in the comments section.
I really hope to see you there!
Jude