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The Way of Shamatha: Soothing the Body, Settling the Mind, and Illuminating Awareness

Date	July 10-12, 2009
Time	9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Location	Human Services Building, Ithaca, NY
Instructors	B. Alan Wallace
Cost	$140, see details below
Registration	Pre-registration required, see details below
Prerequisites	None. This intensive is suitable for both beginning and advanced students.

During this weekend seminar, B. Alan Wallace will introduce the theory and practice of three methods for developing shamatha. We will begin with the practice of mindfulness of the breathing as taught in the Theravada tradition, which is an especially effective approach to soothing the body and calming the discursive mind. We will then explore an approach to shamatha that is particularly pertinent for Dzogchen practice, called “settling the mind in its natural state,” as taught by the nineteenth-century Dzogchen master Lerab Lingpa in his commentary to the “Heart Essence of Vimalamitra.” Finally we will engage in the practice of “shamatha without signs” as taught by Padmasambhava in his classic terma Natural Liberation. Although this subtle practice is taught explicitly as a means of achieving shamatha, Padmasambhava comments that it may even result in a realization of rigpa, or pristine awareness. The achievement of shamatha, technically known as access to the first dhyana, is widely regarded in the Buddhist tradition as an indispensable foundation for the cultivation of contemplative insight (vipashyana). This weekend intensive is designed to introduce students to the relation between shamatha and vipashyana in the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions and to show their relevance for achieving exceptional states of mental balance and well-being, and liberation from all mental afflictions. The weekend will consist of lectures, guided meditations, and discussion periods.

B. Alan Wallace began his studies of Tibetan Buddhism, language, and culture in 1970 at the University of Göttingen in Germany and then continued his studies over the next fourteen years in India, Switzerland, and the United States. Ordained as a Buddhist monk by H. H. the Dalai Lama in 1975, he has taught Buddhist meditation and philosophy worldwide since 1976 and has served as interpreter for numerous Tibetan scholars and contemplatives, including the Dalai Lama. After graduating summa cum laude from Amherst College, where he studied physics and the philosophy of science, he returned his monastic vows and went on to earn his Ph.D. in religious studies at Stanford University. He then taught for four years in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California at Santa Barbara, and is now the founder and president of the Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies. He has edited, translated, authored, and contributed to more than thirty books on Tibetan Buddhism, medicine, language, and culture, and the interface between science and religion.

In preparation for this weekend intensive, a group book-reading and discussion will be scheduled on Wallace’s The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the Focused Mind (Wisdom Publications, 2006).

Location

Human Services Building, 320 West State Street, Ithaca, NY 14850

For directions from your current location, try Mapquest, or your favorite map web site.

Cost

The cost for the weekend intensive is $140, and includes morning tea and session tea breaks.

Registration

To register, please contact Namgyal with your full name, address, telephone number, and email (optional).

Payment

Please make your personal check, money order, or bank cashier's check payable to “Namgyal Monastery” and send to our mailing address.

For payment by credit card, please register first and then process your payment through the “Donate to Namgyal Ithaca” link on our Supporting Namgyal page. In the Comments field of the Payment Form, enter the name of the event for which you are paying.

Schedule of Activities

Friday 7/10
7:00 - 8:30 PM: Introductory Talk - The Inaugurual
Event of The Victor Mansfield Memorial Speaker Series
(Free and open to the public - Donations are welcomed)

Saturday 7/11
8:30 - 9:00 AM: Gathering for tea
9:00 - 10:15 AM: Session one
10:15 - 10:30 AM: Tea break
10:30 AM - Noon: Session two
Noon - 2:00 PM: Lunch break
2:00 - 3:15 PM: Session three
3:15 - 3:30 PM: Tea break
3:30 - 5:00 PM: Session four

Sunday 7/12
8:30 - 9:00 AM: Gathering for tea
9:00 - 10:15 AM: Session one
10:15 - 10:30 AM: Tea break
10:30 AM - Noon: Session two