Three Types of Meditation, by Sean Feit Oakes.
Insight Meditation emphasizes three basic types of meditation: mindfulness, lovingkindness, and concentration. Each of these types includes many different styles of practice. In our Dharma selections this month, we explore a range of meditation styles, and how they weave into and support each other.
We start with instructions from Margarita Loinaz in the elegant form of mindfulness known as “open awareness,” and then an overview of lovingkindness (mettā) practice from Donald Rothberg. Every form of meditation depends on steadiness of attention, so we include here a comprehensive introduction to concentration from Tina Rasmussen. And we end the set with a conversational talk from Forest Sangha monastic Ajahn Karunadhammo on how concentration can be understood as the quality of “unwavering composure” necessary for all meditation practices.
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Sīla, Samādhi, Pañña, by Matthew Brensilver.
To be mindful of goodness brings love, and to be mindful of pain brings love. That is something like a miracle. This weird asymmetry, that to attend to goodness brings love, and to attend to suffering also brings love. The steadier and more unified the mind gets, the deeper the love can be. Sometimes the mind gathers so singularly around an object—the breath, a mettā phrase, the body, sound, sight, looking into the eyes of another person—the mind just becomes unified. And all the static, fragmentation, and division collapses. And in that mind state, it’s like a drop of love reaches everywhere.
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Ajahn Brahm, "Mindfulness, Bliss and Beyond: A Meditator's Handbook"
Amana Brembry Johnson, "Cooling the Fire with the Waters of Compassion"
Andrea Lieberstein, "Mindful Eating"
Andrea Lieberstein, "7 Tips to Mindful Eating Practice"
Anna Douglas, "Riding the Waves of Change"
Anna Douglas, "Who Am I Now?"
Anne Cushman, "Mothering As Meditation Practice"
Anne Cushman, "Moving into Meditation"
Anne Cushman, "Why Mindfulness of the Body Is Important"
Anne Cushman, "The Mama Sutra: Butterfly Kiss for the Buddha"
Bhikkhu Bodhi, The Moral Tide of Our Age
Bob Stahl, "How to Work with Challenges that Arise during Meditation"
Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change
Buddhist Statement on Racial Justice
Dale Borglum, "We Are Compassion"
Dana DePalma, "Stopped in My Tracks"
David Richo, "The Power of Grace"
David Richo, "How to Be an Adult in Love"
Diana Winston, "Tribute to Sayadaw U Pandita"
Dom Sagolla, "Mindful Parenting in the Age of Connected Devices"
Donald Rothberg, "Transforming the Judgmental Mind"
Donald Rothberg, "Loving-Kindness: Cultivating the Open and Wise Heart"
Erin Selover, "Prajnaparamita: The Wisdom of Emptiness"
Eugene Cash, "The Paradox of Maranasati Practice"
Frank Ostaseski, "The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us about Living Fully"
Gary Buck, "Seeing the Dharma"
George Taylor, "A Path for Couples"
Gil Fronsdal, "Dependent Origination"
Grace Fisher, "Deep Listening As Awareness Practice"
Guy Armstrong, "Emptiness"
Jack Kornfield, "The Bodhisattva Responds to the Virus"
Jack Kornfield, "True Happiness Is..."
Jack Kornfield, "A Lamp in the Darkness"
Jack Kornfield, "More Love"
Jack Kornfield, "Practicing the Dharma in Times of Uncertainty"
Jack Kornfield, "Now Is the Time to Stand Up"
Jack Kornfield, "Recollections of Ajahn Chah"
Jack Kornfield, "This Fantastic, Unfolding Experiment"
Jaimal Yogis, "All Our Waves Are Water"
James Baraz, "Equanimity: Finding Balance in Difficult Times"
James Baraz, "Grateful Heart, Joyful Heart"
James Baraz, "Calling All Eco-Sattvas"
Jill Satterfield, "Titration — Skillful Means for Self-Regulation"
Kate Munding, "A Look Inside the Family and Youth Program at Spirit Rock"
Kate Munding, "The Concentrated Mind: Cultivating Peace and Steadiness"
Kristin Neff, "Take a Self-Compassion Break"
Lama Palden, "Tara — A Manifestation of the Divine Feminine"
Lama Tsultrim Allione, "Feeding Your Demons"
Linda Graham, "Rewiring the Brain"Linda Graham, "Shift Happens"
Linda Graham, "Shifting Gears"
Linda Graham, "Why Our Practice Is Essential"
Mark Coleman, "Thief of Peace"
Matthew Brensilver, "Buddhanature, Love and Awareness"
Miki Kashtan, "Why Personal Liberation Alone Won’t Be Enough"
Nikki Mirghafori, "How I Fell in Love with the Suttas"
Oren Jay Sofer, "After a Divided Election: The Value and Limits of Mindfulness"
Oren Jay Sofer, "Resilience Through Joy and Gratitude"
Oren Jay Sofer, "Cultivating Generosity, Love and Community"
Oren Jay Sofer, "Where Our Heart Meets the World"
Pamela Weiss, "Leadership: A New Narrative"
Pamela Weiss, "A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism"
Pawan Bareja, "How Do You Know If You Have Experienced Trauma?"
Pawan Bareja, "Working at the Edge of Compassion Practice"
Phillip Moffitt, "A Week of Tragedy"
Phillip Moffitt, "Making Skillful Life Changes"
Phillip Moffitt, "What Is the Mindfulness of the Buddha?"
Phillip Moffitt, "Self-Soothing Meditation for Hard Times"
Phillip Moffitt, "Sustaining Yourself As a Care Provider"
Phillip Moffitt, "The Nine Bodies: Explorations in Consciousness"
Phillip Moffitt, "Getting to Know the Real You"
Rick Hanson, "Neurodharma: Practicing with the Brain in Mind"
Roger Housden, "Seeing the Good in Goodbye"
Ruth King, "Belonging: Polishing the Third Jewel — Sangha"
Ruth King, "The Art of Letting Go"
Sakti Rose, "Taking Refuge in the Body"
Sally Armstrong, "Transforming Suffering: The Resilience of A Compassionate Heart"
Sharda Rogell, "Cultivating a Courageous Heart"
Sharon Salzberg, "Real Love"
Sobonfu Somé, "Embracing Grief"
Steve Armstrong, "The Abhidhamma — A Field Guide to the Mind"
Susie Harrington, "Meditation for Difficult Times: R.A.I.N."
Susie Harrington, "The Gifts of Silent Retreat"
Sylvia Boorstein and Jack Kornfield, "Beyond Words — Remembering 9/11"
Tara Brach, "Meeting Our Edge and Softening"
Tina Rasmussen & Stephen Snyder, "Focused Attention"
Wes Nisker, "Please Identify Yourself"
Wes Nisker, "Crazy Wisdom"