INSIGHT A newsletter published twice a year with retreat schedules and articles of Dharma

                                INSIGHT
                                          
     A newsletter published twice a year with retreat schedules and 
                      articles of Dharma interest
                                          
                               Fall 1993
                                          
  
  Insight Meditation Society              Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
  Pleasant Street                                             Lockwood Road
  Barre, MA 01005 USA                                   Barre, MA 01005 USA
  
  
  CONTENTS
  ~~~~~~~~
  {1}  Community News
  {2}  An Interview with Carol Wilson
  {3}  Sariputta Relic Comes to Barre (Andy Olendzki)
  {4}  Letters from the Young Adults Course
  {5}  Garden: The Precious Interrelatedness of Life (Amalae)
  {6}  Sangha Page Poems
  {7}  Of Teachers and Teachings: Who is a Teacher? What is a Teacher?
  {8}  Buddhist Psychology & the Eightfold Path (Stephen Batchelor)
  {9}  Insight Meditation Society
  {10} Barre Center for Buddhist Studies
                                          
  
  
  
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  {1} COMMUNITY NEWS
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  
                 INTENSIVE PROGRAM IN BUDDHIST STUDIES
  
       The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies will offer its inaugural 
  intensive studies program from January 10 to January 21, 1994.  The 
  program consists of lectures, class discussions and seminars.  Courses 
  will be offered in the Origins of Buddhism, The Life and Teachings of 
  the Buddha, Development of Buddhist Thought in India, including the 
  Pali Canon and the Abhidhamma, Rise of Mahayana Buddhism and the 
  philosophy of Madhyamaka and Yogacara, developments in Buddhism 
  outside India, with special attention to Zen Buddhism.  Seminars will 
  be offered on Buddhism and Western Psychology, Meditative Experience 
  as Wisdom, and as Compassion.  A major focus of the program will be 
  Buddhism in America--community life and the future of Buddhism.  Each 
  day's program will be bracketed by morning and evening meditation, and 
  a formal Vipassana retreat will be offered during the weekend in the 
  middle of the course.
       
       The faculty will consist of resident and visiting 
  scholars--Joseph Goldstein, Andrew Olendzki, Mu Soeng Sunim, Dr. Diana 
  Eck, Dr. Dorothy Austin, Dr. Jack Engler, Dr. Perrin Cohen, Sarah 
  Doering, Michael Freeman, among others.
       
       The intensive studies program is a unique opportunity to pursue 
  the academic study of Buddhism within a contemplative environment and 
  share an experience of community life.
       
       College students may be able to get credits for this course 
  through their department. Please contact the Study Center for more 
  details.
  
  
  
             COMPUTER BULLETIN BOARD FOR DHAMMA INFORMATION
  
       The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies now provides a computer 
  "bulletin board" service to facilitate the exchange of Dhamma-related 
  ideas and information.  It offers a growing library of on-line texts, 
  including: Pali texts and translations, monographs by teachers and 
  scholars on various Dhamma topics, transcripts of BCBS courses and 
  lectures, and articles appearing in the past issues of this 
  newsletter.  Also available are complete listings of courses offered 
  at BCBS, Insight Meditation Society, and Cambridge Insight Meditation 
  Center.  You may browse through any of these materials and download 
  them onto your computer for personal use.
       
       The bulletin board system also provides a computer mail service 
  whereby users may either exchange private messages with each other, or 
  participate in public discussion on Dhamma-related topics of general 
  interest.  The system is now linked to DharmaNet, an international 
  network of Dhamma-oriented computer systems, enabling users to 
  communicate with others in the Sangha around the country and around 
  the world.
       
       If you have a computer and a modem, you can connect with us at 
  (508) 433-5847.  There is no charge for this service.  For a printed 
  copy of instructions on how to get started using the system, send a 
  self-addressed envelope to BCBS.
       
       Welcome to the electronic virtual sangha!
  
  
  
                  A NEW TRANSLATION OF MAJJHIMA-NIKAYA
  
       The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is collaborating with 
  Wisdom Publications, Boston and the Buddhist Publication Society of 
  Sri Lanka in publishing a new translation of Majjhima-Nikaya 
  (Middle-Length Sayings of the Buddha).  The Middle-Length Sayings 
  consist of 152 suttas and form a major part of the Pali Canon.  This 
  edition is based on a draft translation left behind by the English 
  scholar monk Ven. Nanamoli (1905-1960).  The original draft has been 
  thoroughly checked and revised by the eminent scholar Ven. Bhikkhu 
  Bodhi to ensure an optimal combination of accuracy and readability.
       
       This new translation is the first complete English translation in 
  more than thirty years and will be a companion volume to Digha-Nikaya 
  (Thus Have I Heard: The Long Discourses of the Buddha) translated by 
  Maurice Walshe and published by Wisdom Publications in 1987.
       
       This new translation is scheduled for publication in the Fall of 
  1994 and is a major step in transmitting the Dhamma to the West.  For 
  more information about this project, please contact Barre Center for 
  Buddhist Studies or Wisdom Publications, Boston.
  
  
  
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  {2} AN INTERVIEW WITH CAROL WILSON 
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  
  How did you first get into vipassana practice?
       
         After high school I went to college, but after my first year 
    things just stopped making sense for some reason. So I dropped out, 
    worked for about a year, and went to India. At the time I didn't 
    really know why. I know now that I had some kind of spiritual pull, 
    but it was quite vague and I didn't really know what I was doing.
         
         As I was traveling around with a friend we heard about a man 
    who was teaching ten-day meditation retreats in Bodh Gaya. That's 
    really all we knew about it. I didn't know it was Buddhism -- I 
    didn't know anything --and for some reason we just said, "Yes, 
    we're going".
         
         So we went to Bodh Gaya and did this retreat in January of 
    1971. It turned out to be a ten-day retreat with Goenka-ji, with 
    about a hundred people packed into this little area in the Burmese 
    Vihara in Bodh Gaya.  It was tough. It was really tough.
       
       
  
  This was your first time meditating? You had never done any meditation 
  before?
  
         Yeah, it was absolutely my first time. I'd read a little bit 
    of Zen, but that was it. For most of the people there it was the 
    first retreat. It was a real struggle. I remember it was so hard to 
    get up at four in the morning and go into the hall.  Of course we 
    didn't have zafus or anything--we just sat on the concrete.  I 
    couldn't sit cross legged or get my knees down. I remember it as 
    being a blur of pain and discomfort.
  
  
  
  But you got hooked?
  
         Yeah I got hooked. I came out really high and I thought "I've 
    got to go home and go back to college and serve the world." I still 
    didn't really understand that it was Buddhism.  Somehow that bit of 
    it, the philosophical part, went by me; but it changed my life.  I 
    didn't have fantastic experiences--I only remember my knees 
    hurting, falling asleep, and dragging myself up before dawn.
  
         I went back home then and started college again.  I started 
    meditating every day, and it really changed my life. I didn't want 
    to drink anymore. I liked my friends, but I didn't want to hang out 
    with them because I didn't really enjoy just hanging out or going 
    to bars or wasting time.  It really changed something, but I had no 
    intellectual understanding at all.
         
         I had a wonderful year.  For a whole year I was on a kind of 
    high. Of course, as often happens after retreats, I crashed after a 
    year.  You can come out on a high and you think you can cruise on 
    it, and then you crash.  I spent years doing that.
  
  
  
  Do you have any idea now of why the high lasted for a year?
  
         I can't really pinpoint it. What I think now is that I was 
    coming home to something I'd always known to be true--that's all I 
    can think. I know the sweeping practice Goenka-ji teaches is quite 
    concentrated--it really involves moving the energy through the 
    body, from head to foot.  When you can get concentrated enough to 
    do it, it has a real purification effect.
         
         The reality that I'd been living in--going to school and 
    teaching and getting a job and living a normal life--had stopped 
    making any sense. The best I can say is that the retreat introduced 
    me consciously to a deeper level of existence--the level of the 
    formless, the energy beneath the manifestations.  What I think it 
    did was open me up to what I would now say is the truth or the 
    dharma.  I think it profoundly changed my understanding of life.  
    It made it possible for me to enjoy and play in all the 
    manifestation without taking myself seriously.
         
         But you know, one retreat isn't enough.  So a couple of years 
    later I went back to India, because I didn't know anyone in this 
    country who was doing meditation.
  
  
  
  Really? Did you feel isolated?
  
         Very.  Well...that year I didn't, I was so happy.  But then 
    when I started to crash and I still went to school for another half 
    a year...then I was really isolated.  I again realized that what I 
    was doing was meaningless.
         
         You know how they say in Buddhism that understanding naturally 
    manifests as compassion?  Coming out of that first retreat my 
    impulse was, "I have to go back to school so I can help 
    people...But I can't really help people, I'm just nineteen, I don't 
    know anything...I'll learn something in school to help people."  
    And then that impulse and everything got just sidetracked and 
    things went flat again.  
         
         So I went back to India and did another 20-day retreat with 
    Goenka-ji.  It was the same process, but it was a much deeper 
    practice--I really understood more.  I got that it was Buddhism and 
    all.  And again I came out fired up:  "Now I'll go back, I'll go 
    back to school".  Oh God, I went through that for years.
         
         So I went back, I went back to school in Boston.  I finished 
    school in education, but I didn't want to teach kindergarten.  I 
    knew I had to do something to help people, but I didn't know what.  
    At that time I did feel very isolated.  I made a few friends, but I 
    didn't know anyone who meditated.  I'd read about transcendental 
    meditation, and at one point during those years I went to do that, 
    but obviously I had a bias.  And after doing vipassana the 
    transcendental just didn't click for me.  I tried, but for me it 
    didn't have the depth and the investigative qualities that 
    vipassana did.
  
         And I'm a shy person, so where some people may have gone out 
    and investigated and this and that, I was really shy and 
    self-conscious. I was on some mailing list from Goenka-ji, and 
    would occasionally hear about things, but I was just too shy to go 
    down and present myself. I'd think: "I don't know anything. That's 
    just how I am."
         
         So for about five years, I'd say until about 1976 when IMS 
    opened, I tried to meditate on my own.  I read voraciously from the 
    Buddhist Publication Society, in Sri Lanka. They publish a lot of 
    Buddhist texts, a lot of commentaries, a lot of really interesting 
    books. It's a wonderful thing, and that was really my lifeline 
    through the years.
         
         This is just an aside, but I got a chance to meet and talk to 
    Bhikkhu Bodhi just the other day. The Study Center and Wisdom 
    Publications are collaborating with him on publishing a new 
    translation of the Majjhima Nikaya (one of the best and most 
    accessible of the Buddhist texts), so he was around. Anyway I 
    talked to him very briefly. It made me very happy to be able to 
    tell him how that had been my lifeline. I just wanted him to know 
    people appreciate it, people you wouldn't know--some young woman 
    living in North Carolina, working in a sheltered workshop for 
    mentally retarded adults.
  
  
  
  So that kept you from being completely isolated?
  
         Yes.  Because otherwise no one understood what I was doing.  I 
    didn't think I was crazy, but I certainly didn't know enough to 
    sustain myself.  That's where the importance of sangha comes in.  I 
    just can't say enough for how supportive sangha is; more than 
    supportive, it is nurturing and encourages growth.  It just keeps 
    you alive.
         
         I remember I had a little card on my desk in Pali and English 
    containing the Buddha's last words: All conditioned things are of a 
    nature to pass away. Practice with diligence." I would look at it 
    and it would revive me--you know, help me remember that there was a 
    deeper part to life.
         
         So in 1976 IMS opened, and I started coming here.  I sat with 
    Ruth [Dennison] a couple of times in '76 and '77; I did some 
    self-retreats.  Then I did the 3-month course in '77, and was asked 
    to come on staff as a cook.  It wasn't a very hard decision.  So 
    that's when I walked in here, shy as I was, isolated as I was, and 
    I thought, "Oh my gosh, these people are all doing the same thing.  
    I'm not really crazy--I fit in here."
         
         I was on IMS staff and sat a lot over the years since then.  
    In '81 and '82 I went to Thailand for a year and ordained as a nun.  
    That wasn't easy, but when I look back, it was a really wonderful 
    experience.  It was very tough in many ways, but it was really 
    transformative in another kind of way.  I've also sat in England 
    quite a bit--maybe two years altogether.
  
  
  
  What were you doing in England?
  
         I remember a period, before Christopher [Titmuss] and 
    Christina [Feldman] acquired Gaia house, when they rented some 
    space in Wiltshire near Stonehenge. The building was not too 
    inviting, so I associate that period of practice with long walks in 
    the countryside. It was a more relaxed, spacious style of practice 
    than what I do when at IMS. I would not just sit, walk, sit walk in 
    the Burmese style--which is how I practice at IMS (it is a really 
    important part of practice). I had some back trouble so I could not 
    slow walk very easily. So I would sit for an hour, and then take a 
    walk through the countryside, up the lanes, across the fields, by 
    the river--they had lovely walking paths in Wiltshire.  Then I 
    would come back and sit, and then go off on another country walk.  
    It was wonderful.
  
  
  
  When you were doing this, was it like walking meditation?
  
         It was more like open awareness (which of course means 
    sometimes spacing out). It wasn't like "lifting, moving, 
    placing"--I was just really sort of tuned into nature, tuned into 
    the body, tuned into consciousness. I wasn't trying to do walking 
    meditation, if you know what I mean, it was just being--with the 
    walking, with the nature. If I would have compared it at the time 
    with how I practice here (at IMS), I might have said that I'm not 
    really practicing "hard."
         
         But I was there for 7 or 8 months, and I think it brought a 
    spaciousness and equanimity to my practice at that time which let 
    me grow more when I came back to IMS and started working more in 
    the Mahasi Sayadaw style.  This style involves a very pin-pointed 
    and precise continuity of mindfulness from the moment you wake up 
    to the moment you go to sleep. I found I could do that. I needed 
    the precision by that point, but I could do it with more 
    spaciousness and equanimity than I could have five or six years 
    before and not get so caught in "efforting."
         
         I find my whole practice has been a very helpful balance of 
    precision and concentration and being more spacious. If I'm sitting 
    in the Mahasi Sayadaw style, I'll sit in my room and walk in the 
    hall, and sit in my room, and walk in the hall; and I might not go 
    outside for six weeks--not even think about it. And then I'll flip 
    into the next year and I won't want to do that practice and I'll do 
    something different. It just seems to happen naturally. It's not a 
    plan. But I've found for me it's been a very helpful way to keep 
    growing.
  
  
  
  And how did you wind up doing dharma teaching?
  
         I feel like it happened by itself. It chose me.  I never sat 
    down and said I want to be a dharma teacher.  I never even thought 
    that was appropriate. One time when I was manager here [at IMS], a 
    teacher got sick and could not do a retreat.  Sharon [Salzberg] 
    really thought I should fill in, and was really encouraging me to 
    do it.  I was just petrified, thinking:  "It's not appropriate...I 
    can't do it....sure, I know how to meditate, but that's not good 
    enough."  Sharon is not a pushy person, but she didn't just say "If 
    you don't want to do it that's okay".  She really pushed me, but 
    also gave me a lot of support.
  
         Just about a month before this happened, I had been on 
    self-retreat, and the very strong intention came up for me that my 
    life was about serving the dharma.  I had no idea what that meant, 
    or what form that might take.  But it came up very profoundly, to 
    the point I felt embarrassed:  "Who am I?  What right do I have to 
    feel that?"  (Of course now I feel that we all have that 
    right--that's who we are.)  But at the time I just acknowledged the 
    intention, and didn't forget about it, but put it aside.
         
         Then when this retreat came up and Sharon and James [Baraz] 
    were pushing, pushing and I was resisting--at one point I 
    remembered that, and thought:  "Serving the dharma doesn't mean 
    doing what I want to do. This is obviously happening.  People want 
    me to help.  And my reasons for refusing it were basically my own 
    fear.  So, what's the fear?  That I won't do a good job, which is 
    ego-centered. I'll look like an idiot."  And that's what it really 
    was. So, I agreed to do it, and it was really hard, because I was 
    petrified.
         
         But it went fine.  I surrendered, and let the dharma take 
    over, got my ego out of the way.  I felt a great degree of trust, a 
    sense of the power of the dharma, and let it be what it is. It 
    really carried me through. The fear was there and everything, 
    but...that's how I got started.
         
         So I never sat down and decided to do this.  It was just the 
    truth of dharma, and really freedom.  It's my passion--its the love 
    of my life.  It's the thing that makes  everything else meaningful.  
    Without it, without a connection to it, nothing makes any sense to 
    me. And that I could have the incredible blessing--I just can't 
    believe it.
         
         I still don't feel that I know anything.  But that's okay, 
    really, because I can just let the dharma come through--to transmit 
    somehow.  If I can encourage somebody to sit long enough--a 
    weekend, a week, whatever--to get in touch with themselves, to just 
    recognize the truth for themselves, then I'm so happy.  That's all 
    it is.  I don't really see myself as a teacher at all.  I prefer to 
    be regarded as a kalyanamitta , a spiritual friend.  I support 
    people in their own investigation, give them encouragement to trust 
    enough to open to the truth.  If my presence can help with that, 
    then it's so fulfilling.
  
  
  
  Sounds like non-attachment.
  
         There are definitely attachments. There are a lot of 
    attachments. But if I can keep examining and seeing those 
    attachments, and seeing that they do not become the guiding 
    motivations for decisions I make, if the attachment comes and I see 
    it--that's okay.  I don't have to identify with it, and it doesn't 
    drive my actions.  Lately I am not so afraid of attachment.  If I 
    see it's there, it's just another arising appearance.  I can let it 
    go, and that's okay.  If I don't see it, then that might be driving 
    my decision, and that's not okay.
         
         A lot of people think you should have no attachments. I mean 
    that's impossible, just being a normal human being.  If I get the 
    idea that I should have no attachments, that becomes just another 
    way for me to flog myself.  All that does is get in the way.  If 
    you see it as an attachment,  such as, "Oh, I just want to look 
    good...that's okay," then it just blows it apart.  It doesn't have 
    power anymore.
  
  
  
  What do you think is the basic value of vipassana meditation to modern 
  practitioners?
  
         I'm sure I would answer that question differently a year ago 
    or a year from now...so don't take this as a definitive statement.  
    Also, I haven't done a lot of other practices, so I can't say this 
    from a comparative level, only from an experiential level.
         
         For me, vipassana practice is the most powerful and direct 
    method to come out of the concepts and daydreams of life, out of 
    the false concepts of living in the past or living in the future, 
    all the stories we make up about everything that's happening.  When 
    we bring all our energy and attention to the here and now, to the 
    basic simplicity of sensation and mental experience, without all 
    the story lines--all the worry and fear we generate about 
    everything that's arising, every sensation and sound and 
    sight--vipassana has this amazing power to cut through all that to 
    just be here. It can be a lot of work. The habit of the mind to 
    elaborate on everything is so strong, and our belief in it seems so 
    absolute, before we start looking.
         
         Vipassana just gives us a very simple way to look at what is 
    really happening in the here and now, and in the doing of that to 
    actually drop out of or underneath our beliefs in mind and body, 
    the material and mental worlds, that we perceive as being all there 
    is.  The technique itself has the power to let us open to whatever 
    you want to call the truth--the Source, the Unconditioned, 
    Emptiness...I don't know how to talk about it.
         
         The technique allows us to just be with what is, moment after 
    moment after moment.  Coupled with concentration, it allows us to 
    penetrate more deeply--one monolithic sensation becomes many many 
    tiny little sensations arising and passing moment by moment...until 
    the whole thing breaks apart and there is no solidity at all.  And 
    then one sees what really is true--not intellectually--but opening 
    to the truth that is always present.  We are so caught in making up 
    stories about it that we don't have the time, the trust, to open to 
    what's really true.
         
         But also on a daily basis, I find it the most helpful practice 
    for me to have the habit and the skill to develop to know my 
    experience for what it is.  It's an amazing tool, and it's 
    accessible every moment...all I have to do is remember.  Also 
    important to me is the ability (at moments) to be okay with what's 
    difficult, to stop looking for happiness in samsara. Do you know 
    what I mean?
         
         The first noble truth of the Buddha, of dukkha, is that we are 
    going to suffer--physically, but not only physically.  The body is 
    going to break down, we're going to have pain, everything that 
    gives us pleasure is going to go away, because everything is 
    impermanent--that's true.  It's scary, it's really painful to open 
    to, but it's true.  Even the pleasant things in life bring us a 
    sense of unsatisfactoriness. The unsatisfactoriness isn't the 
    unpleasant thing itself, it's that I somehow think it's what's 
    going to make me happy.
         
         Knowing that deeply actually brings me so much peace and 
    happiness--when I remember.  None of it's going to make me happy, 
    on a really deep and profound level, Samsara is this whole cyclical 
    movement of wanting and becoming, impermanence and death, becoming 
    and death.  You can see it over lifetimes.  I only see it from 
    moment to moment.  I become what I want--someone who came to this 
    meeting, someone who is sad, someone who is happy; in each of those 
    becomings there is an attachment, and that's the suffering.  But 
    when I just see it as a cyclical thing, now I'm this, now I'm that 
    and it's all just flowing on and on, then there is this real 
    happiness.
  
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  {3} SARIPUTTA RELIC COMES TO BARRE, by Andy Olendzki
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       The Insight Meditation Society has been honored recently with a 
  very special gift.  We have been given an apparently authentic relic 
  of the Buddha's chief disciple, Sariputta (Sariputra in Sanskrit).  We 
  are making plans to erect a modest stupa or reliquary somewhere on the 
  grounds, in order to house the relic in the manner prescribed by 
  tradition.
       
       The story behind relics and the role they have played in the 
  Buddhist tradition is an interesting one.  Some of us might think that 
  the Buddha taught simply that all lumps of matter were of equal 
  significance, that Gotama's "fathom-long body" was composed of 
  essentially the same five aggregates as anyone else's, and that the 
  veneration of his or his disciples' relics is not part of the direct 
  path to liberation.  Nevertheless, the special significance (if not 
  the veneration) of relics has been and continues to be an important 
  part of Buddhism as a religious movement.  Even from the earliest 
  times it seems that this tradition had more to do with the inherent 
  religiosity of human nature than with the pith of the dhamma.  This is 
  how it all got started:
       
       When the Buddha was about to pass away at Kusinara in 483 B.C.E. 
  he was asked by Ananda the question, "Lord, what shall we do with the 
  Tathagata's remains?" to which he answered, "Do not worry yourselves 
  about the funeral arrangements, Ananda.  You should strive for the 
  highest goal, devote yourselves to the highest goal, and dwell with 
  your minds tirelessly, zealously devoted to the highest goal." 
  (Mahaparinibbana Sutta 5.10, Maurice Walshe translation, Wisdom 1987).
       
       Ananda was apparently unsatisfied by this reply, and asked the 
  question again.  At this point the Buddha answered, "They should be 
  dealt with like the remains of a wheel-turning monarch."  Now the 
  custom of the ancient Indian kings, like that of so many similar 
  civilizations worldwide, was to cremate the body and build a funeral 
  mound over the ashes or relics.  All the texts have the Buddha said 
  further on the matter is "A stupa should be erected at the crossroads 
  for the Tathagata.  And whoever lays wreaths or puts sweet perfumes 
  and colors there with a devout heart, will reap benefit and happiness 
  for a long time."
       
       It's ironic that the passing away of the Buddha, who spent his 
  whole life teaching compassion, mutual understanding and non-violence, 
  nearly resulted in a war.  And yet this is the case.  His body was 
  cremated with great solemnity, and reduced to a pile of bones.  
  Immediately thereafter eight different groups laid claim to these 
  relics, ranging from the dominant king in Magadha to the Sakyas of 
  Buddha's clan in Kapilavatthu, to the kingdom in whose territory he 
  happened to pass away.  A wise Brahmin, Drona, stepped in and 
  suggested an eight-way division of the relics between the contesting 
  parties, for which service he received the urn that contained them.  
  Another latecoming group had to settle for the embers of the funeral 
  fire.  Altogether, the Pali texts say, ten stupas were raised as 
  mounds over the remains of the Buddha.
       
       Human nature being what it is, the story does not stop here.  
  Once the tradition was established that the relics had intrinsic 
  value, and that prestige came with the erecting of a stupa, the 
  original ten mounds were exhumed and the relics divided up into much 
  smaller piles.  Stupas were raised over these, and before too long 
  there were hundreds of stupas built across South Asia over relics of 
  ever-diminishing size.  Similar treatment was given the remains of 
  other prominent Theras, like Sariputta, Moggallana and Ananda, and all 
  of these stupa sites became an important cultic focus of the 
  burgeoning early Buddhist tradition.
       
       We are now ready to pick up the story of the IMS Sariputta relic.  
  One of the most important of these early stupa sites, Sanchi, was 
  excavated about a hundred years ago by the British archaeologist 
  Alexander Cunningham.  Sanchi is among the earliest and most elaborate 
  of the stupa sights, probably erected within a couple hundred years of 
  the Buddha's passing away by the Mauryan kings of whom the great 
  Buddhist Asoka was heir.  Sure enough, Cunningham found at the heart 
  of the Stupa a small copper casket, inscribed with ancient Brahmi 
  letters, containing the relics.  Nearby he found relics in two 
  associated mounds, one with the inscription "A," presumably for 
  Ananda, and the other with an inscription "Sa" which he took to mean 
  Sariputta.
       
       As was the habit in colonial times, and with no Buddhists left in 
  India to complain, all these relics wound up in the British Museum, 
  where they remained for more than fifty years.  With the independence 
  of India from the British empire, however, a number of the museum's 
  holdings were returned.  The relics were given into the care of the 
  Mahabodhi Society, who distributed them to a number of Buddhist groups 
  worldwide, including the Vajirarama monastery in Colombo, with whom 
  the great scholar monk Narada Thera was associated.  Our benefactor, 
  Charles O'Hara, was a monk in Sri Lanka twenty five years ago, and was 
  given a small portion of these relics by Narada Thera.
       
       Mr. O'Hara has started to distribute some of these relics in 
  recent years, as major stupas are built or as important dharma centers 
  become established in this country.  Portions of these relics are also 
  enshrined at the Karmapas Monastery in Woodstock N.Y., the Tibetan 
  Buddhist Learning Center in Washington, the Nyingma Monastery in 
  Poolesville Md. and the Odivan Stupa in California.  We thank him 
  sincerely for thinking of IMS in this regard, and take it as a sign 
  that the dhamma has found a meaningful long-term resting place here in 
  Barre, Massachusetts.  Just as we have a sapling growing on the 
  premises from the great Bodhi tree in Bodhgaya, we are honored to 
  receive these Sariputta relics as a symbol of IMS' deep connection 
  with the ancient Buddhist tradition.  We will try to design and build 
  a simple stupa for these relics, so as to carry on the venerable 
  tradition as best we can.
       
       Of course we will also continue diligently to "strive for the 
  highest goal, devote ourselves to the highest goal, and dwell with our 
  minds tirelessly, zealously devoted to the highest goal."
  
  
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  {4} LETTERS FROM THE YOUNG ADULTS COURSE
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       The third annual young adults retreat held at IMS this summer was 
  a great success.  The course was led by U Pandita Sayadaw and Steven 
  Smith, and assisted by U Pannathami and a number of IMS teachers and 
  senior practitioners.  At the end of the retreat, the students were 
  invited to write letters to U Pannathami remarking on their 
  experience.  Perhaps some of the comments will be of interest to our 
  readers:
  
  
  
       1) I came here to IMS because I was looking for a sense of 
  personal happiness.  I have always been very shy and I was tired of 
  feeling insecure and pitying myself because I didn't have the courage 
  to go after the things I wanted from life.  I thought that I needed to 
  learn to shape my mind.
       
       After only a few days of practice, I already feel calmer and more 
  at peace.  I believe that I am more prepared to unconditionally love 
  myself and others.  When someone insulted me today, I was not as upset 
  by it as I might have been before, and I also didn't have any feeling 
  of anger towards the person who insulted me.
       
       Meditation is not an easy practice, but I believe it is the most 
  important thing I can do in order to aid my spiritual growth.  I am 
  ready to make meditation a regular part of my life.
       
       Thank you for all you have taught us.
       
                                          [A.G., age 16]
  

       2) Thank you so much for such an exhilarating experience.  I 
  never thought that my mind was so extraordinary.  I could actually 
  feel the openness of everyone and the energy given off in the hall.
  
                                          [L.K., age 16]
  
  
       3) I feel very relaxed and loved and safe and tired after this 
  experience.  I felt the metta between us.  My favorite times were at 
  night when the kids didn't sleep--we just shared.  But all the 
  meditating and opening up to ourselves led to that.
       
       I think I will definitely come again.  I also loved the analogies 
  U Pandita made during his talks; they made the precepts more real.
  
                                          [J.M., age 15]
  
  
  
       4) I enjoyed my time here at IMS a lot.  I feel that it has 
  changed my outlook on life somewhat.  It has opened up something 
  inside of me.  I also enjoyed meeting all the monks and hearing about 
  their lives, the lives of the teachers, and even the other students.  
  The staff were very supportive.
  
                                          [J.M., age 18]
  
  
  
       5) It is rare in our culture to be able to speak with a monk, 
  especially one who speaks English.  Your truthfulness and generosity 
  is greatly appreciated.  I am glad that I could have a chance to talk 
  with one who is wise and at the same time compassionate.
       
       In the past I would only give gifts for something in return.  Now 
  I give freely not caring if I get something back.  Watching your 
  lifestyle has taught me this.  Thank you.  I wish you happiness and 
  continued practice.
  
                                          [C.B., age 17]
  
  
  
       6) Although I've sat with you and U Pandita once before, I felt 
  that my mind opened to the information presented by you much more than 
  in my previous experiences.  I'm sure that this time when I leave the 
  safe walls of the Center and go back into my daily life, I'll be able 
  to apply my awareness and mindfulness to things that arise over the 
  next year.
       
       I felt very open and calm during this retreat within myself, and 
  I think it was one of the most interesting retreats I've been on.  I 
  wanted to thank you and U Pandita for this experience.
  
                                          [J.R., age 15]
  
  
  
       7) My experience was that I learned how to meditate.  I learned a 
  new way!  I had a great time at IMS.  It is a good way to start your 
  life with.  I learned to focus and also to concentrate.
       
       I would like to come back to IMS next year.  I like the place and 
  I like the people here too.  That is so cool when the monks speak!
  
                                          [C.P., age 12]
  
  
  
       8) I loved the time we spent together and all of the discussions, 
  whether on broad topics or intricate issues.  I felt that U Pandita's 
  talks were a little too long and should have involved more actual 
  discussion rather than lecture, yet I feel I benefitted greatly from 
  his wisdom and generosity.
       
       I appreciate the interest taken in my practice, and I will 
  continue sitting and walking at home plus attending additional 
  retreats.  Learning about my mind and surroundings is the greatest 
  quest that life has.  Thank you for your help.
  
                                          [O.K., age 16]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  {5} GARDEN: THE PRECIOUS INTERRELATEDNESS OF LIFE, by Amalae
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
       Right livelihood, right actions, metta, health, and maturing.  
  Each of these are reflected in a single leaf or ruby chard which I 
  hold in my hand as I watch the retreatants come to walk or sit in the 
  garden.  I sit in the IMS vegetable garden's inner sacred circle on a 
  bench facing a statue of Buddha which is surrounded by the eight spoke 
  wheel of Dharma that the eight types of basil we planted in a 
  community ceremony in the spring create.  A hummingbird zooms by as do 
  dragonflies and honey bees, a hawk.
       
       How do we walk the bridge between the concept of formal practice 
  (on a cushion or as walking meditation) and its actualization in our 
  actions in everyday life?  How do we BE our truth and not just stop in 
  the intellectual realm which so easily breeds division, 
  self-righteousness, apathy.
       
       What is the expression of right livelihood?  Right Action?
       
       "The average bite of food a United States citizen eats travels an 
  average of between 1,200 to 1,300 miles at an incredible expenditure 
  of energy and creation of all sorts of pollution," said the man at a 
  workshop on our present day food system.
       
       Right livelihood and right action go hand in hand and flow from a 
  place of insight.  They are about non-harming.  The closer I come to 
  truth, as I peel away layer upon layer of illusion, the more my 
  actions naturally deepen into non-harming, right action and right 
  livelihood.  Coming out of ignorance and making the choice to no 
  longer look away from or act in unskillful ways is part of my practice 
  and that of the people in the community at IMS.  It happens as a 
  natural process, as is wanting to share one's joys and insights.
       
       A person's practice will flow in many ways.  Its ripening into 
  maturity may take any number of forms.  For me it is growing food, for 
  another it may be something else.
       
       To grow this ruby chard; so simple, so rewarding.  To then take 
  this vegetable incredible being and offer it as dana to each human 
  being who comes to IMS to grow into peace and truth is as wondrous and 
  heart filling to me as if I had offered it to the Buddha.  "Is the 
  garden necessary?" I've been asked at moments of scrunched time and 
  personnel.  I offer that being a handful of fresh picked tomatoes free 
  of pesticides, fungicides, preservatives, wax, irradiation, dyes, 
  depreciated nutrients, wasted energy and other things that harm one 
  and the environment.  "Taste it," I say.  Taste a tomato.  Tell me if 
  you can taste the beauty and simplicity of right livelihood, right 
  action, metta, health and interrelatedness.  Is it necessary, the 
  Garden?
       
       This is the fruition of my practice.  This is living practice.  
  This is the highest Dana I can give to the world right now; to create 
  a place of beauty and health.  Is it necessary?  I return to the 
  garden to continue to weed out impurities and to nurture health.
       
       The answer is yes.  It's a step.
       
       Metta to all beings.
       
       
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  {6} SANGHA PAGE POEMS
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
  
            Sangha/Meditation
       
       We are fully alert, composed, aware.
       We watch.  We see it all.
       Horizontal Integration has been achieved.
       
       
       We have domesticated ourselves
       And are patient witnesses
       To the outrages and little pleasures.
       No itch nor delicate anomaly
       Can escape our vigil.
       This is our devotion.
       We are ankle-deep in our own shallowness,
       Weak and gentle like grass.
       In a silent estuary we wait
       Like little dreaming fish
       For annihilation and the rising tide,
       For the vertical shaft of fire
       That splits the world.
  
  
                 [Viviane White]
  
  
  
            Poems
  
       Spider,
       Thread hung
       Breeze Swung
       
       
       Soaking with the underwear,
       Soapy toad.
       
       
       In the cat's dish,
       Toad
       Stalking Breakfast
  
  
                 [Kali Kaliche]
  
  
  
            Poem
  
       Tenderness melts the bones
       The puddle is still on the floor
       Down into the reflection
       How deep?
       Where is the edge of the voice on the tongue/
       Through the ancient blood, puddling beneath the grief
       I find you
       I remember
  
  
            [Jamie Kryszkiewicz]
  
  
  
            Stigmata
  
       I watched for days
       knowing that a bud
       my smallest finger size
       held high in tight pink womb
       by quiet green fingers
       would unfurl.
       
       A magical slow birth
       five separate veined petals
       from a ruby throat
       emerging
       and from this trumpet
       a stigma yellow-spiked
       under an umbrella of
       five blood red lollipops
       
       You would die soon.
       I knew this lesson
       of wanting the enchantment
       to endure and mesmerize me
       into perfect fantasy.
       And so I gazed all day
       and still you filled
       the air around you
       with gossamer rose shimmer
       
       Proud and erect you stood
       at dawn the second day.
       I felt delight
       that you would stay until
       I turned my back and found
       at noon a gnarled hand
       arthritic fingers twisted into
       one another - closed
       but for the starburst:
       five red explosions
       
       Today I cradle your
       shrivelled limpness in
       my warm hand
       remembering Richard
       and how he fell
       his face a stripe of blue
       across the pain and
       when they laid his
       peaceful body out
       
       I spoke into the limpid air
       "Oh, Richard,
       it's like you're sleeping,"
       and saw the crimson gash
       upon your cheek and felt at last
       the sweetness of undying love eluding
       time and space and change
       
       Dazzled by your radiant form
       I'd wandered far from daily truth
       and quested vainly for
       the healing balm contained
       unknown within my soul
       
       I hold a withered flower in my heart
       and vibrate love.
  
  
                 [Myrna Patterson]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  {7} OF TEACHERS AND TEACHINGS: WHO IS A TEACHER?  WHAT IS A TEACHER?
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
       As Westerners deepen their practice of dhamma, relationship with 
  a teacher can become quite complex.  In Asian societies, where dhamma 
  evolved over many centuries, teacher-student relationship was rooted 
  in traditional values and in a monk-layperson leitmotif, not given to 
  interpretation or examination.  With the dhamma coming to the West, 
  the issues of egalitarianism and democratic pluralism play on 
  teacher-student relationship as never before in the history of the 
  sangha.  For these obvious reasons, the Asian matrix cannot be 
  replicated in the West.  The Theravada/Mahayana Conference held at the 
  Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in March, 1990 gave the speakers and 
  participants a unique opportunity to look at this crucial issue 
  through their own experience.  In a sense, this discussion is a 
  continuation of the theme of taking refuge (reported in the June, 1993 
  issue of this newsletter.)  Here are the excerpts from the discussion 
  on teachers and students:
  
  
  
  Jack Engler (Moderator): The question before us is: "How does one know 
  the teacher's qualities of mind?"  If you take the Buddha as a 
  teacher, as an embodiment of the teaching. or as Joseph (Goldstein) 
  was talking earlier about a personal relationship with the Buddha as a 
  teacher--how do you know?  What attracts you in your own path?  What 
  has drawn you to your own particular teachers?
  
  
  
  Martine Batchelor:  When I was in Korea, there were many teachers who 
  had different personalities but generally gave the same teaching.  You 
  were attracted to some or stayed more with some than others because of 
  their personality.  If you stayed more with a teacher, you had more 
  affinity with them.  But one thing they all had which I could feel, 
  which I could recognize, was their lightness of being.  There was a 
  certain lightness and a certain creativity in response, and a lot of 
  humor.
  
  
  
  Jack Engler:   Could you give an example of what you are talking 
  about?
  
  
  
  Martine Batchelor:  Well, I should also say they had intentional 
  purpose.  These teachers that I met had a very one-pointed mind and 
  they knew where they were going. They were going to keep on going, 
  even after any experience of enlightenment.  And they were always 
  doing the same with their disciples or any visitor who came by.
  
       My teacher told everyone who came by that they must find their 
  own mind and they must question.  This is what he said all the time.  
  One time these three old gentlemen came to see him; they were really 
  sweet and wanted to know about the history of the temple. So he talked 
  to them for about two minutes about the temple and its history, and 
  then said, "Do you know your own mind?  You must look for your own 
  mind."  They said, oh, yes.  Then they go back to talking about the 
  temple.  After another few minutes, my teacher brought them back to 
  finding their own mind.  They said, yeah, and went back to talking 
  about the temple!  This went on for about twenty minutes!  But it was 
  interesting to see his intention.  His point was for them to really 
  see into their own nature, and no matter what they were into, he was 
  going back to that point.
  
       
  
  Sharon Salzberg:    We're a little bit unusual here in that most of us 
  don't have a lifetime relationship with one teacher.  And the reason 
  we keep taking refuge in different teachers is like a development 
  model in some ways.  The Buddha may be a lifelong inspiration, but the 
  variety of teachers that most of us have encountered at different 
  times are probably a reflection of different needs at different times, 
  and that's quite a change (from the Asian model.)
  
  
  
  Jack Engler:   It would be interesting to talk a little bit more about 
  what Sharon just said, about different needs at different times.  
  There is a tendency to think about all this in a sort of timeless way.
  
  
  
  Sharon Salzberg:    I don't think I've ever consciously chosen a 
  teacher.  I have consciously chosen to leave teachers, but in the 
  circumstances of my life when I find a teacher, it usually feels more 
  like a recognition.  And I don't recall ever going through a process 
  of thinking whether I can bear this person's faults, or can I really 
  examine their behavior and so on, until somewhere in the process when 
  those questions become very relevant.
  
  
  
  Martine Batchelor:  But would you not think that in order for the 
  teaching to have some impact, you have to have lots of respect for the 
  teacher?
  
  
  
  Joseph Goldstein:   I think there has to be genuine respect but within 
  that there could be an understanding that this person is not finished, 
  that they still have more work to do, that they understand this piece 
  of the dhamma really well, and just to learn from that.
  
  
  
  Stephen Batchelor:  In my own training in the Tibetan tradition, the 
  idea that the practice of guru devotion, of guru yoga, is the root of 
  all development, is something with which I have had quite a difficulty 
  on a personal level. In Tibetan Buddhist practice one enters into a 
  tradition which is very strongly influenced by the Vajrayana.  The 
  Dalai Lama has said on occasion that the emphasis on guru devotion at 
  the beginning of the path is to a large extent an indication of the 
  extent to which Buddhism in Tibet has been influenced by the Vajrayana 
  doctrine.
  
       And I think this tension is present not only in the Tibetan 
  tradition but throughout the larger tradition.  The extent to which 
  one relies on one's own clarity of mind, or to what extent does one 
  relinquish that, at least temporarily, to rely upon the clarity of 
  mind of another person--that's the tension.  In my own experience, I 
  have oscillated back and forth between these two.  I feel now very 
  much that there are times when one does need to look up to those who 
  have more experience than oneself to seek guidance, to seek advice.  
  But the bottom line is whether that person who gives you advice is 
  leading you to a place where you can have a greater clarity of mind 
  within yourself.  And that is central to my understanding of Buddhist 
  tradition: part of the practice is to rely upon others, yes, but not 
  if that requires a denial of one's own autonomy.
  
  
  
  Joseph Goldstein:   This point came up for me very strongly in a very 
  immediate way in doing long retreats and working with a very specific 
  advice given by a teacher, and working with surrendering to what 
  they're asking to do and trying to do it;  and at a certain point 
  realizing that it was just not correct;  and struggling with whether 
  to keep surrendering because of one's doubts about one's own 
  perception.
  
       And what I saw was that I was willing to do that to a certain 
  point.  At times it took a long time, but there came a point when I 
  said,  "This is not working, this is not the right advice, and I'm 
  going to adjust it myself."  I saw that often this actually was the 
  right thing to do.  I found there was an interesting balance.
  
  
  
  Lama Gelek Rinpoche:     For me, looking at the teachers as 
  embodiments of enlightenment and surrender are two different issues.  
  I never emphasize the surrender business, but I look at the teachers 
  as embodiment of the Buddha, and as representing the Buddha, and also 
  as linkage to the tradition and the lineage.
  
  
  
  Bhante Gunaratana:  I think we learn certain things from our teachers; 
  as we also learn from our own experience.  We also learn by discussing 
  things with other people and friends and so forth.  And we also learn 
  from our own practice as we go deeper into it.  So we respect and 
  follow the teacher's instructions to a certain extent but we don't 
  have to totally surrender ourselves and accept everything from the 
  teacher.
  
       
  
  Martine Batchelor:  Like Bhante said, Buddhism is a path of 
  transforming ourselves.  In a basic sense, nobody else is going to do 
  it for you.  When a teacher tells us to do something, even if it 
  hurts, try it and it will become your own experience.  Another area 
  which I think is interesting to look at is the method of meditation we 
  are instructed to follow.  Do we all understand it in the same way?  
  Do we all apply it in the same way?  If you see different people 
  practicing the same method, they often bring their own individuality 
  to it.  Not different in the sense of being in conflict, but they 
  bring their own attitude, their own affinity to it.  And their 
  exploration goes in different ways.  That's what's interesting about 
  practice.  What you do on the cushion and what you do with it in your 
  every day life can be quite different from what your teacher has done 
  (with his own life and practice.)
  
  
  
  Sharon Salzberg:    The question really is about idealization and 
  probably it has to do with my own experience of having idealized some 
  teachers and seeing them as probably a kind of necessary folly.  I 
  don't think I could have done what I have done without having done 
  that.  I had to go through it and come out of it, maybe more than 
  once.
  
  
  
  Joseph Goldstein:   A distinction that's really important for me is 
  the difference in taking refuge in somebody's understanding and taking 
  refuge in them as a personality.  And for me it's both me with my 
  teachers, and also students with me.  I would feel very comfortable in 
  taking refuge in or surrender to a certain level of understanding.  
  That seems very different than taking refuge in the whole package of 
  personality stuff, which I think would be a big mistake.
  
  
  
  Martine Batchelor:  What I have found most helpful for myself, and in 
  the teachers I studied with in Korea, is the concept of "sonje shik" 
  which means, basically, good knowing advisers.  And I would want to be 
  seen in the same way, more as a person with good, knowing advice.  I 
  think the danger is in the tendency to think in terms of master/ 
  teacher.  That sounds like somebody out there, separated from us.  In 
  that situation we can idealize the person and put lots of stuff into 
  them, even if they don't want it.
  
       But I think the concept of good, knowing advisers is really very 
  helpful because you can still respect the person but you see them as a 
  friend, as a good dharma friend.
  
  
  
  Stephen Batchelor:  In my experience with teachers, I find that they 
  actually don't, my Tibetan teachers the least.  I sense that they felt 
  that I had a very one-pointed interest in what they were teaching, 
  whatever form it took, whether I was confused or not, the life-saving 
  gesture was that of taking a deep interest.  With that interest,  you 
  have a point from which you can perhaps create an avenue to a deeper 
  understanding.
  
  
  
  Sharon Salzberg:    Well, there's also an element in some teachers, 
  almost an effort to disappear, to truly embody the teachings.  And 
  these were the teachers with whom it was most confusing, because you 
  knew there was a person in there somewhere.  I feel that's very 
  different from how we are as teachers in our generation.  There's just 
  more revealing of one who is a reflection of that necessary 
  inspiration to practice.
  
  
  
  Jack Engler:   I wonder if there isn't a cultural confluence there 
  too?  I was wondering about this while listening to people from 
  different cultures.  In a sense, it's just another version of the same 
  conundrum that the Buddha set for us.  On the one hand, he says, or 
  the tradition says, take refuge in the Buddha or in his teaching.  On 
  the other hand, it says be a light unto yourself.  We've been talking 
  about how you put these two things together but as the dhamma has come 
  to the West, Westerners tend to pick up the part of being a light unto 
  yourself.  Who are you anyway that you should be telling me what to 
  do?  And how do you know what you know?  It's our cultural mindset to 
  question authority.  And the other side tends to get downplayed.  The 
  danger then is that the teachings get disembodied from their 
  embodiments.  And the only place they exist is in their embodiments.
  
       So I am wondering how much of a cultural factor there is on the 
  part of Western students in the difficulty of total surrender, to 
  accept authority in a healthy way instead of immediately suspecting 
  that it may be, you know, "What's his agenda?"
  
  
  
  Stephen Batchelor:  I don't know about that.  I'm actually amazed at 
  the extent to which many of the Western students are rather keen to 
  surrender to authority.
  
  
  
  Jack Engler:   Too keen.  But that's one way, I think, of dealing with 
  their own ambivalence.  That sets them up for the eventual 
  disillusionment.  But I am not sure that that really is a healthy 
  acceptance of authority.
  
  
  
  Stephen Batchelor:  No. I quite agree with you.
  
  
  
  Martine Batchelor:  I think what's important to look at too is the 
  notion that we can't separate the teacher from the tradition.  And 
  maybe that's where the sangha comes in, because the sangha might 
  represent the tradition and how in the tradition there is a whole 
  teaching, a whole phenomena.  It's not just practice alone; there's 
  also study, there's also ethics.  There're all these elements which 
  are important to cultivate.  In a way, by just focusing on the 
  teacher, we kind of personalize it and forget the whole tradition and 
  the richness of what we can integrate within us.  And I think that's 
  the tendency in the West.  You have a teacher and you can't quite 
  separate it from the tradition.
  
  
  
  Jack Engler:   That's why we founded the Study Center, to get the 
  focus off the teachers!
  
  
  
  Mirabai Bush:  I have a very small anecdote.  I was once with a great 
  Tibetan teacher, and a student asked him, "If all enlightenment is 
  within you, why do you need a guru?"  And he said,  "You need a guru 
  to tell you that you don't need a guru!"
  
  
  
  Larry Rosenberg:         The whole thing about linking ourselves to 
  this other being is very important, and it can be seen as not simply 
  an idealization or a whitewashing away of things that are less 
  admirable, but more a willingness to allow into our perception 
  everything in the other person as part of accepting their humanness.  
  And at the same time allowing that person be the Buddha, and to align 
  ourselves with the depth of their awakening.  We can't just draw a 
  line and only ask this person to be a guide when they're in the 
  classroom, meditation hall and interview room as we do in our culture 
  with teachers and professors, and not ask them to be Buddha in their 
  outside life.  A teacher of Dharma doesn't stop being a teacher when 
  they face the challenge of sex, money and power.  Of course, now I am 
  referring more to ethical maturity, not simply "personality quirks," 
  or compatibility in terms of "style."  Dharma teachers are not here to 
  help us (even unwittingly) become even more fragmented than we already 
  are!  Can we drop our idealizations and the inevitable swing towards 
  disenchantment?  Can we respect and learn from them as humans?  If 
  not, shouldn't we move on?
  
  
  
  Stephen Batchelor:  The teaching is not disseminating a certain kind 
  of information about some subject towards which you have a certain 
  kind of detached objectivity.  The Buddha dharma is about living your 
  life in a certain way.  So, you cannot make a distinction between the 
  teacher and the teaching.  Or, let me say, it's more difficult (to 
  make that distinction.)  The person's own behavior, if it does not 
  accord with what he or she is teaching, at that point is undermining 
  their integrity as a teacher, undermining their credibility, and 
  undermining also your trust.
  
  
  
  Martine Batchelor:  They (the teachers) are there to be living 
  examples on the path.
  
  
  
  Stephen Batchelor:  To the best of their cumulative ability.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  {8} BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY AND THE EIGHTFOLD PATH, by Stephen Batchelor
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     (Excerpts from the opening talk of a 7-day course on Buddhist 
               Psychology & Meditation October 24, 1992)
  
  
       Although the term Buddhist Psychology is being used frequently 
  these days, there's no equivalent in Pali or Sanskrit, Tibetan or 
  Chinese, and the very notion itself implies a Western attempt to try 
  and get a handle on Buddhism.  We know that Buddhism speaks a lot 
  about the mind, we may read books, we may have heard lectures, 
  teachings, that seem to address quite perceptively the nature of 
  consciousness, the dynamics of consciousness and so on,  and this 
  quite naturally leads us in our frame of interpretation as Westerners 
  to assume there must be such a thing as Buddhist Psychology, and in 
  fact the term has gained quite some currency.  You can buy books on 
  the subject.  So I'd like to explore, well, what are we trying to do 
  here, given the fact that we don't find in the traditions themselves a 
  psychology in the sense that we're used to using the word in the West, 
  what in fact do we mean, and what does the Buddhist tradition have to 
  offer in terms of a psychology.  I think in many respects the concept 
  Buddhist psychology is a challenge that we in the West are making with 
  regard to the tradition.  We are, as it were, seeking to tease out or 
  draw forth a psychology from within this mass of doctrines and 
  teachings and practices and so on.  That will then allow us to 
  approach the Dhamma, the Buddhist teachings, through a model that we 
  construct of psychology, of a Buddhist psychology.  
       
       So first of all, what do we mean when we say that a psychology is 
  Buddhist?  We need, I think, to reflect on this.  To say that a 
  psychology is Buddhist means that this talking about the mind or 
  understanding the nature of the psyche is contextualized by a 
  framework or by a set of ideas we could call Buddhist.  And I think we 
  do need to spend some time, first of all looking at what we mean by 
  Buddhist.  Again it's a word we can use and perhaps frequently use, 
  but as one Theravada monk said, the words Buddhist and Buddhism often 
  seem to be labels we use to stick on packages although we are not 
  actually sure what the packages contain, and I feel that is true.  I 
  think we use the word Buddhist rather sloppily, or let us say not very 
  critically.  We could define Buddhist in a number of ways, I'm going 
  to use a very traditional way of looking at what Buddhism means and 
  that is the model of the Eightfold Noble Path.  Now the Eightfold 
  Noble Path again implies two things: it implies the idea of a path, 
  and it implies the idea that this path somehow has eight aspects or 
  stages.  What do we mean by path?  Again this is a term which has 
  become very common in usage.  We talk about our being on a spiritual 
  path.  We talk about different spiritual paths.  What might we mean by 
  path? Path is a word that we use in our ordinary language.  Paths are 
  things we find in the forest around here.  Paths are so much part of 
  our life, that perhaps we don't pause very often to reflect on what we 
  mean by path.  I remember some couple of years ago I was walking along 
  a path on the South Devon Coast near where I live, and in one of those 
  rare moments where I wasn't being distracted by all the beautiful 
  things around me, I reflected on what it actually meant to be walking 
  on a path.  And it seemed to me there are three things about walking 
  on a path that were significant:  first of all, when we are actually 
  walking on a path we have the confidence that it's going somewhere, 
  that when we say we're on a path, and I mean in the non-abstract 
  spiritual sense, when we're walking along a path, how does that feel?  
  To walk along a path means that I know that I'm going somewhere.  I 
  may not actually know where the path leads, I'm sure you've had this 
  experience in--say--the wilderness, or in a place you're unfamiliar 
  with, the very fact that there is a path, it gives you confidence that 
  one is going somewhere.  A path, it also has this quality of being 
  free of obstruction and if you are walking along a path through the 
  woods you notice that the path is the place where there is not the 
  undergrowth and the weeds and the brambles and the poison oak and so 
  on, but its a place that's been cleared, a place that's been opened 
  up, a place in which you are allowed freedom of movement.  And when we 
  lose the path, perhaps we become conscious of the value of the path.  
  Sometimes the path becomes very unclear, and then you find yourself 
  stumbling around through bracken and undergrowth and fences and 
  things, and at that point you being to yearn to be on a path.  You 
  yearn to have a way forward that is unobstructed.  Another aspect of 
  the path, of being on any path, is that you have the assurance the 
  confidence that you are not alone, that the path is something that has 
  been forged by other people, that you are walking in a certain way in 
  a certain direction, but in a way that has been already trodden by 
  others who've gone before you and who have worn down the path.  And we 
  are always more confident in a path that is well trodden, one in which 
  no little bits of grass, and other little bits of tree things and so 
  on have come up.  If we can see footmarks we are even more confident 
  that this is a meaningful path, that it goes somewhere.  And the same 
  is true when we define the concept path as a metaphor for the 
  spiritual journey, again another metaphor.  
       
       So lets think what it means to be on a spiritual journey, 
  treading a path.  When we feel that we are on a path, we likewise feel 
  that our lives have a certain direction, a certain goal a certain 
  purpose, and when we say a spiritual path we mean a goal or purpose or 
  direction that is essentially spiritual in nature, spiritual perhaps 
  in that sense that this path is an inner path.  It is something we use 
  to describe the direction and focus of our life.  A direction and 
  focus though that is embodying, realizing, practising certain values, 
  the value of mindfulness of concentration or wisdom or ethics or 
  enlightenment.  We also feel that when we're on a spiritual path, that 
  we have found as it were a way, a way that is unencumbered and 
  unobstructed.  We have a methodology, we have a sense of what we need 
  to do.  We talk of being aware as a spiritual path, the practice of 
  being more mindful in each moment, in each activity.  And if we stick 
  to that instruction, although it may not be easy, when we find 
  ourselves freely practicing mindfulness we experience an 
  unobstructedness within ourselves.  We feel that here is something we 
  are doing that is meaningful and free flowing, and losing the way is 
  perhaps by getting caught up in fantasy or distraction or drowsiness 
  or sleepiness and there again we feel as it were as though we were 
  stumbling through the undergrowth again, so we need to come back to 
  the awareness to the mindfulness, we need to come back to that free 
  flowing openness we call the path.  And likewise when we are 
  practicing such a path, say the practice of mindfulness, we are not 
  doing something that is untested, that has not been done before.  But 
  we are acknowledging, implicitly perhaps, the existence of the 
  tradition, and I think more significantly, the existence of a 
  community, that a spiritual path is one that is not a purely private, 
  self-centered, isolated affair, but its something we do in communion 
  with others, both those who have already passed in front of us whose 
  footsteps as it were we are following, but also those who are walking 
  with us.  And Buddhism lays central emphasis on the value of Sangha, 
  on the value of the practice being embedded within a community of 
  people who are, as it were, committed to the same path, the same 
  values, the same practices as oneself.  
  
       The Buddha then not only spoke of a path, in these broad 
  terms--it was a word of course he used a great deal--and he talked in 
  fact of having created, or opened up, a middle path, the middle way,  
  way-path is the same word in Sanskrit or Pali.  But he also explained 
  his path in a very particular way.  He spoke of it as having these 
  eight phases, these eight stages, these eight attributes; and he also 
  called it a noble path, the noble eightfold path.  Now to what extent 
  then do we understand this path as being noble?  The nobility of the 
  path does not say so much about the actual nature of the path itself.  
  It has to do with the fact that such a path is revealed in the noble 
  vision, the Aryan vision of the Buddha or of anyone who reaches that 
  point of awakening or understanding.  So the eightfold path is 
  ennobled by it being part of the noble fourfold truth, the four noble 
  truths: of suffering, the origins of suffering, the cessation of 
  suffering, and the way--or the path--that leads to such cessation.  
  And it was this fourfold truth that the Buddha experienced directly 
  and vividly in his enlightenment, in his awakening.  If we look at the 
  very first discourse that the Buddha gave to the five ascetics in the 
  deer park at ?  , we find him saying "It was not until my vision was 
  utterly clear and utterly sure of this fourfold truth that I was able 
  to consider myself enlightened and awakened.  The point I think that 
  should be made here is that when we think again of enlightenment or 
  awakening, we tend perhaps to imagine that to ourselves in a frame of 
  reference that may be mystical, in which we think of enlightenment as 
  a great big sort of transcendent white light or something, essentially 
  a unitary transcendent experience that floods us, a metaphor that may 
  be more appropriate to say some of the Christian mystics, or the 
  vision of God.  But the Buddha's enlightenment was not a vision of 
  God, whatever God is.  The Buddha's enlightenment was the experience 
  of the four truths.  And the four truths is not a single thing, the 
  four truths represent a complex interconnected vision of the human 
  dilemma, we might even say the sentient being dilemma, and the means 
  whereby that dilemma can be resolved.  The dilemma is the first truth 
  of suffering and an understanding of what it is that gives rise that 
  originates that suffering.  The resolution of that dilemma is the 
  experience that suffering and its origins can cease, can stop, and the 
  vision and understanding of the way or path that leads to that 
  cessation.  And this way or path, the eightfold path that he later 
  explained is part of the vision explicit within enlightenment, or at 
  least in the Buddha's enlightenment.  
  
  
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  {9} INSIGHT MEDITATION SOCIETY
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                       INSIGHT MEDITATION SOCIETY
                          1230 Pleasant Street
                   Barre, Massachusetts, U.S.A. 01005
                             (508)355-4378
  
       Telephone Hours: Monday, and Wednesday through Saturday: 10 am to 
  12 noon and 3 pm to 5 pm
       
       Answering Machine: Tuesdays, Sundays, and all non-telephone hours
       
  
  
       INSIGHT MEDITATION (Vipassana) is a simple and direct practice -- 
  the moment-to-moment investigation of the mind/body process through 
  calm and focused awareness. This practice originates in the Theravada 
  tradition of the teachings of the Buddha. Learning to observe 
  experience from a place of stillness enables one to relate to life 
  with less fear and clinging. Seeing life as a constantly Changing 
  process, one begins to accept pleasure and pain, fear and joy, and all 
  aspects of life with increasing equanimity and balance. As insight 
  deepens, wisdom and compassion arise. Insight meditation is a way of 
  seeing clearly the totality of one's being and experience. Growth in 
  clarity brings about penetrating insight into the nature of who we are 
  and increased peace in our daily lives.
       
       The Insight Meditation Society was founded in 1975 as a nonprofit 
  organization to provide a place for the intensive practice of insight 
  meditation. IMS operates a retreat center which is set on 80 wooded 
  acres in the quiet country of central Massachusetts. It provides a 
  secluded environment for intensive meditation practice. Complete 
  silence is maintained at all times except during teacher interviews.
       
       VIPASSANA RETREATS are designed for both beginning and 
  experienced meditators. Daily instruction in meditation and nightly 
  Dharma talks are given, and individual or group interviews are 
  arranged with the teachers at regular intervals. A typical daily 
  schedule starts at 5 am and ends at 10 pm. The entire day is spent in 
  silent meditation practice with alternate periods of sitting and 
  walking meditation. The combination of this regular schedule, the 
  silence, group support, and daily instruction combine to provide a 
  beneficial environment for developing and deepening meditation 
  practice. Meals are vegetarian, and accommodations are austere, mostly 
  double rooms. Men and women do not share rooms. Camping is not 
  available. Retreats offered in 1993 are listed on the following pages.
       
       INDIVIDUAL RETREATS: In addition to teacher-led retreats, the 
  center is open to experienced meditators (except from February 1st to 
  19th this year) for individual retreats. IMS and its teachers 
  encourage experienced students -- anyone who has practiced in a 
  teacher-led retreat in the styles of vipassana offered at IMS --  to 
  use the center for individual meditation practice as a way of 
  strengthening self-reliance and increasing the value of meditation in 
  one's life. Individual retreats require the prior approval of a 
  teacher. IMS offers several forms for individual retreats:
  
       Self-Retreat: A self retreat may consist of any number of days 
  not to exceed the longest period of teacher-led retreat sat by the 
  student. During this time, meditators are expected to practice in 
  silence, observe the five precepts and maintain a continuity of 
  practice throughout the day. There are at least four group sittings 
  daily. Students schedule their practice individually during the 
  remaining hours of the day. Self retreats require the prior consent of 
  a teacher and can be arranged by contacting the IMS office.
       
       Long-Term Practice: For those wishing to do long-term meditation 
  practice of 118 days or more, IMS has available a limited number of 
  scholarships in the form of a reduced daily rate after the 88th day. 
  Practice guidelines are similar to those for shorter individual 
  retreats with an additional emphasis on self-reliance. Long-term 
  practice requires the prior consent of two teachers. Those interested 
  should contact the office for an application form and limited 
  available dates.
       
       Work Retreats: Work retreats offer an opportunity to integrate 
  five hours of work each day into the normal silent meditation schedule 
  at the center. The center occupies a large complex of buildings which 
  require extensive maintenance and care. We invite skilled, 
  semi-skilled, and enthusiastic old students to offer their energy to 
  the center for cleaning, painting and remodeling; landscaping, 
  gardening and grounds work; and assisting the cooks or administrative 
  staff. All work retreats are free. Work retreats are for experienced 
  students only. Contact the office for an application form.
       
       Evening Discourses: When a course is in progress, anyone is 
  welcome to attend evening talks, and meditators with vipassana 
  experience are welcome to attend the group sittings. Some restrictions 
  apply. Please call the IMS office for the daily schedule.
  
  
       DANA (generosity) is intrinsic to the 2,500 year old tradition of 
  Buddha Dharma. Going back to the days of the Buddha, the teachings 
  were considered priceless and thus offered freely. 
       
       
       TEACHER SUPPORT: In keeping with the spirit of the tradition of 
  Dana, IMS teachers do not receive any payment for leading retreats. 
  Course registration fees cover only the day-to-day operating costs of 
  the center. Teacher support is provided by voluntary donations given 
  by students at the end of each retreat. 
       
       
       FINANCIAL AID: As another expression of Dana, the Insight 
  Meditation Society provides two forms of financial assistance. The 
  Scholarship Fund allows a limited number of individuals who might not 
  otherwise be able to attend a retreat for financial reasons to do so. 
  The Sponsor-A-Yogi Fund is specifically geared to giving financial 
  assistance to people with life-threatening illness who cannot 
  otherwise afford to come and practice. Both funds are dependent on the 
  generosity of the IMS community. If you are interested in supporting 
  these important funds, please send your donations for this purpose to 
  IMS at any time. If you are interested in receiving financial support 
  from either fund, please contact the office.
  
  
  
                         COMMUNITY INFORMATION
  
       STAFF: A volunteer staff of 18, as well as the Executive and 
  Associate Directors and Resident Teacher, work in administration, 
  maintenance, housekeeping, and the kitchen, guiding the day-to-day 
  operation of the center. Staff life offers a challenging opportunity 
  to integrate mindfulness with daily activities, and for service to 
  others. The center depends on dedicated volunteer staff people for its 
  continued existence. Due to regular turnover, staff positions are 
  periodically available in all departments. Staff members are asked to 
  make a minimum commitment of one year. Occasionally, shorter or longer 
  term positions are available. Anyone who has sat at least one 9-day 
  vipassana retreat is eligible to apply. If you are interested in a 
  staff position, please contact the IMS office.
       
       TAPES FROM IMS RETREATS: Tapes of talks given by IMS teachers may 
  be purchased from the Dharma Seed Tape Library. For a catalogue of 
  available tapes and books, contact Dharma Seed Tape Library, Box 66, 
  Wendell Depot, MA 01380.
       
       THE INQUIRING MIND: The Inquiring Mind is an independent journal 
  of the Vipassana community. For subscription information, write: The 
  Inquiring Mind, P.O. Box 9999, North Berkeley Station, Berkeley, CA 
  94709. 
       
       MEMBERSHIP IN IMS: IMS continues to serve only through the active 
  participation of many people. If you appreciate what IMS does and 
  would like to help ensure that it continues, we invite you either to 
  renew your membership or to join the Society as one expression of your 
  own participation in its work. Memberships start at $25 a year. If you 
  are interested in renewing your membership or becoming a member, 
  please send your contribution to IMS Appeal. Please include your 
  address and zip code.
       
       MAILING LIST UPDATE AND CHANGE OF ADDRESS: IMS retreat schedules, 
  newsletters, and other information are sent periodically to those who 
  have attended retreats here. If you are not currently on our mailing 
  list and wish to be, please contact the IMS office. In addition, 
  because the cost of address correction with the post office is high, 
  we ask that you notify us as soon as possible of any change of 
  address. Please include your old address and zip code. If you no 
  longer wish to be on our mailing list, please let us know.
       
       DISABILITY ACCESS: IMS has made several renovations to make its 
  facility more accessible to those who are physically challenged. 
  Although we do not yet have a fully barrier-free environment, we 
  encourage people with disabilities to contact the office about 
  attending retreats.
  
  
  
  
  
                        OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIVING
  
       The Insight Meditation Society depends greatly on donations and 
  contributions from its community of friends and supporters.  If you 
  care about IMS and would like to help support its valuable work, 
  please think about making a donation or gift (tax deductible, of 
  course).  There are a number of ways you can help:
  
    Membership Fund:  A direct contribution to each year's operating 
       costs, memberships help keep the daily rate as low as possible.
    
    IMS Dana Fund:  A general contribution to the center, IMS dana is 
       allocated each year by the Board wherever it is most needed.
    
    Scholarship Fund:  This money is given out each year to people who 
       request financial assistance to sit meditation retreats.
    
    Sponsor-a-Yogi Fund:  These funds support the meditation practice 
       of people in chronic pain or with life-threatening illness.
    
    Building Fund:  The building fund is used to help with some badly 
       needed repairs and renovations of the buildings and grounds.
    
    Annex Fund:  Started in 1993, the Annex Fund will be used for a 
       thorough renovation of the yogi rooms in the Annex building.
    
  
       The enclosed envelope may be used for donations to any of these 
  funds.  Simply indicate in the space provided which one(s) you wish to 
  support.  Also, please contact the executive director if you would 
  consider making a bequest to IMS as part of your estate planning.
  
  
  
  
  
            INSIGHT MEDITATION SOCIETY 1994 RETREAT SCHEDULE
  
  
  Feb 4 - 9 METTA RETREAT  (6 days)             JS1           $175
  Feb 10 - 20    VIPASSANA RETREAT  (10 days)   JS2           $275
  Feb 4 - 20     METTA & VIPASSANA RETREATS Joseph Goldstein, Sharon 
  Salzberg, and Sylvia Boorstein  (16 days)     JS3           $425
  
  This retreat emphasizes the intensive continuity of mindfulness, along 
  with some daily practice of metta (loving kindness) meditation.  The 
  teaching is in the basic style of Mahasi Sayadaw, refining the tools 
  of mental noting, slow movement, and precise, open awareness as a way 
  of deepening the wisdom and compassion within us.  Preference will be 
  given to those sitting the entire course.
  
  
  
  Feb 25 - 27    WEEKEND  Larry Rosenberg and Narayan Liebenson Grady  
  (2 days)                                      LR1           $90
  
  The emphasis of this retreat is similar to the March 25 retreat.
  
  
  
  March 4 - 6    DANA WEEKEND  Bhante Gunaratana  (2 days)                                                         
                                                DANA      Donation
  
  This retreat is offered on the part of IMS to affirm the spirit of 
  giving.  There is no fixed course fee; participants are encouraged to 
  offer whatever contribution fits their means.  Priority will be given 
  to those who, for financial reasons, are unable to attend courses with 
  fixed course rates.
  
  
  
  Mar 11 - 13    WEEKEND  (2 days)              AV1     $90
  Mar 14 - 20    BEGINNING AGAIN RETREAT  Amaravati Sangha--Ajahn 
  Sucitto  (9 days)                             AV2     $250
  
  This will be an opportunity for people to have a taste of the 
  renunciate life and a monastic style of routine, and to see how 
  these--taken up with a spirit of interest and enthusiasm--can be a 
  gateway to deeper understanding and freedom.  Reference will be made 
  to the life of the Buddha and his early disciples as sources of 
  inspiration and encouragement for our practice of these timeless 
  teachings.  The emphasis will be on the cultivation of mindfulness, 
  kindness and forgiveness of ourselves and others, lightening our 
  lives, so that each moment is experienced as a fresh, new beginning.  
  Participants will have the opportunity to undertake the eight precepts 
  for the duration of the course, but if necessary, these can be adapted 
  to suit individual needs.
  
  
  
  March 25 - Apr 3    VIPASSANA RETREAT  Larry Rosenberg and Narayan 
  Liebenson Grady (9 days)                      LR2     $250
  
  Anapana-sati--the Buddha's teaching on the full awareness of breathing 
  will be the frame of reference for this retreat.  Conscious breathing 
  will be practiced to help develop and nourish both Serenity (samatha) 
  and liberating Insight (vipassana).  In addition to formal sitting and 
  walking meditation, we will learn to keep the breath in mind 
  throughout the day enabling us to stay awake in the midst of all 
  ordinary activities.
  
  
  
  April 9 - 16   WOMEN'S COURSE  Christina Feldman and Narayan Liebenson 
  Grady (7 days)                                WOM     $200
  
  In this annual gathering of women at IMS, insight meditation is the 
  vehicle used to develop calmness and clarity, wisdom and compassion, 
  openness and vision.  This retreat is an opportunity for women to 
  focus on a spiritual path free of dichotomies as well as spiritual, 
  social and psychological conditioning.  There is a full daily schedule 
  of meditation and silence, as well as small group meetings.
  
  
  
  April 22 - 29  INSIGHT MEDITATION AND INQUIRY  Christopher Titmuss, 
  Sharda Rogell and Jose Reissig (7 days)       CT2     $200
  
  This retreat consists of sustained silent meditation, deep inquiry 
  into our life experiences, and realization into the nature of things. 
  It provides the opportunity to free the mind from the influence of 
  tensions and negative patterns, and for the heart's awakening to 
  immensity.  Christopher and Sharda will be assisted by Jose Reissig, a 
  former university professor, who has been practicing vipassana 
  meditation for 10 years, and teaching since 1990 in Europe and in the 
  U.S.
  
  
  
  May 6 - 8 WEEKEND  (2 days)                   VK1     $90
  May 6 - 15     VIPASSANA RETREAT  Vimalo Kulbarz and Erik Knud-Hansen  
  (9 days)                                      VK2     $250
  
  In the silence, stillness and sensitivity of sitting and movement 
  meditation, we awaken comprehensive awareness in all areas of our 
  experience. We will give particular attention to the breathing process 
  and how it reflects and reveals our relationship to life. The essence 
  of the Dharma, of this teaching, is peace;  the talks will deal with 
  how to find inner peace and how to apply the Buddha's Eightfold Path 
  in a creative, comprehensive way to all areas of our daily life.
  
  
  
  May 20 - 29    METTA RETREAT  (10 days)               SM1     $275
  May 30 - Jun 10     VIPASSANA RETREAT   (11 days)     SM2     $300
  May 20 - Jun 10     METTA & VIPASSANA RETREATS  Steven Smith, Michele 
  McDonald-Smith, Kamala Masters  (21 days)             SM3     $550
  
  This retreat emphasizes the intensive continuity of mindfulness, along 
  with some daily practice of metta (loving kindness) meditation.  The 
  teaching is in the basic style of Mahasi Sayadaw, refining the tools 
  of mental noting, slow movement, and precise, open awareness as a way 
  of deepening the wisdom and compassion within us.
  
  
  
  Jun 14 - 19    MEN'S COURSE  Steven Smith and Steve Armstrong  (5 days)
                                                         MEN       $150
  
  This traditional vipassana retreat will combine silent sitting with 
  careful examination and thoughtful dialogue of significant issues in 
  men's lives. Suitable for new and experienced students.
  
  
  Jun 23 - 27    YOUNG ADULTS COURSE  Steven Smith  (4 days)  YA                                             YA $125
  
  This retreat is specifically for teenagers.  It will offer beginning 
  meditation instruction, 1/2 hour sitting and walking periods, 
  discussions, stories, and free time.  The aim is to allow young people 
  to discover, develop, and value their natural spirituality with a 
  tremendous amount of support.  Extensive supervision will be provided.
  
  
  
  
  
  Jul 1 - 4 4th OF JULY WEEKEND - THE HEART IN VIPASSANA MEDITATION  
  Rodney Smith and Carol Wilson  (3 days)  4TH           $120
  
  This weekend course will center on the ways of the heart, and how 
  awareness brings us in touch with the joys and sorrows of living with 
  ever-increasing sensitivity, stability, and love.
  
  
  
  July 8 - 17    VIPASSANA RETREAT (For Experienced Students)  Larry 
  Rosenberg and Corrado Pensa (9 days) LR4           $250
  
  Anapana-sati--Buddha's teaching on the full awareness of breathing 
  will be the frame of reference for this retreat.  Conscious breathing 
  will be practiced to help develop and nourish both Serenity (samatha) 
  and liberating Insight (vipassana).  In addition to formal sitting and 
  walking meditation, we will learn to keep the breath in mind 
  throughout the day enabling us to stay awake in the midst of all 
  ordinary activities. Retreatants are required to have sat at least one 
  9-day retreat at IMS, or a comparable vipassana retreat situation 
  elsewhere.
  
  
  
  July 22 - 31   VIPASSANA RETREAT  Christina Feldman and Anna Douglas  
  (9 days) CF1           $250
  
  An opportunity to develop calmness, wisdom and compassion in a 
  supportive environment.  Emphasis is placed upon developing 
  sensitivity, attention and awareness in sitting and walking meditation 
  to foster our innate gifts of inner listening, balance and 
  understanding.  Silence, meditation, instruction and evening talks are 
  integral parts of this retreat.
  
  
  
  August 4 - 9   FAMILY COURSE  Christina Feldman  (5 days) FAM           
  $150
  
  This course explores integrating meditation and family life.  In a 
  less formal atmosphere, a full program of sittings, discussions, 
  family meditations, and talks is offered.  Child care is shared 
  cooperatively through a rotation system with parents and volunteers.  
  Each family unit pays an additional $25 for professional child care 
  coordination.  Please specify names, year of birth, and sex of all 
  children on your registration.
  
  
  
  August 12 - 21 INSIGHT MEDITATION AND INQUIRY  Christopher Titmuss, 
  Sharda Rogell and Jose Reissig  (9 days)     CT2           $250
  
  The emphasis of this retreat is similar to the April 22 retreat.  
  Christopher and Sharda will be assisted by Jose Reissig, a former 
  university professor, who has been practicing Vipassana meditation for 
  10 years, and teaching since 1990 in Europe and in the U.S.
  
  
  
  Sept 2 - 5     LABOR DAY WEEKEND  (3 days) RD1           $120
  Sept 2 - 11    VIPASSANA RETREAT  Ruth Denison  (9 days) RD2 $255
  
  This retreat fosters awareness and correct understanding of life's 
  process in ourselves and others. The focus of the practice is on 
  opening the heart, discovering oneself, and developing insight into 
  the reality of the mind and body. Retreat activities include sound and 
  body movement meditations, and the development of mindfulness in the 
  day-to-day activities of our lives. This retreat is somewhat different 
  from other IMS retreats, and includes sustained and on-going verbal 
  teacher instruction throughout the day.
  
  
  
  Sept 21 - Dec 17    THREE MONTH RETREAT  (87 days) 3MO         $2,200
  
  Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Carol Wilson, Steven Smith and 
  Michele McDonald-Smith
  
  The three month course is a special time for practice.  Because of its 
  extended length and the continuity of guidance, it is a rare 
  opportunity to deepen the powers of concentration, wisdom and 
  compassion.  The teaching is in the style of Mahasi Sayadaw, refining 
  the skillful means of mental noting, slow movement and precise, open 
  awareness.  Prerequisite is one 9-day retreat with an IMS teacher or 
  special permission.
  
  
  
  Dec 28 - Jan 6 NEW YEAR'S RETREAT  Jack Kornfield and Rodney Smith  (9 
  days) NY            $250
  
  The New Year is traditionally a time for listening to the heart and 
  taking stock of our lives from the deepest wisdom within. This retreat 
  offers a systematic training in mindfulness of breath, body, feelings, 
  and mind. Emphasis is placed on incorporating a spirit and training of 
  loving kindness into all aspects of the practice, developing our 
  capacity for clarity and compassion in each moment. Please note the 
  special cancellation deadlines for this retreat.
  
  
  
                         SENIOR DHARMA TEACHERS
  
  Ruth Denison studied in Burma in the early 1960s with the meditation 
  master Sayagi U Ba Khin.  She has been teaching since 1973 and is 
  founder of Dhamma Dena, a desert retreat center in Joshua Tree, 
  California, and The Center For Buddhism In The West in Germany.
  
  Christina Feldman has been studying and training in the Tibetan, 
  Mahayana and Theravada traditions since 1970, and teaching meditation  
  worldwide since 1974.  She is co-founder and a guiding teacher of Gaia 
  House in England, author of Woman Awake!, and has co-author Stories of 
  the Spirit, Stories of the Heart.
  
  Joseph Goldstein is a co-founder and guiding teacher of IMS.  He has 
  been teaching vipassana and metta retreats worldwide since 1974, and 
  in 1989 he helped establish the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies.  He 
  is the author of The Experience of Insight, and the forthcoming 
  Insight Meditation: The Practice of Freedom.  He is also the co-author 
  of Seeking the Heart of Wisdom.
  
  Jack Kornfield is a co-founder of IMS and Insight Meditation 
  West/Spirit Rock.  He has been teaching vipassana retreats worldwide 
  since 1975.  He is the author of A Path with Heart, co-editor of 
  Stories of the Spirit, Stories of the Heart and co-author of Seeking 
  the Heart of Wisdom.
  
  Vimalo Kulbarz was a Buddhist monk for 25 years and received his 
  training in vipassana meditation in Burma.
  
  Narayan Liebenson Grady teaches full time at the Cambridge Insight 
  Meditation Center.
  
  Michele McDonald-Smith has practiced vipassana meditation since 1975 
  and continues to study with Sayadaw U Pandita.  She has been teaching 
  at IMS and worldwide since 1982, weaving her interest in relationship, 
  nature, and poetry into her teaching.
  
  Corrado Pensa teaches vipassana retreats in the U.S., England and 
  Italy.  He is founder of the Association for Mindfulness Meditation in 
  Rome, a professor of Eastern philosophy at the University of Rome, and 
  a former psychotherapist.
  
  Larry Rosenberg practiced Zen in Korea and Japan before coming to 
  vipassana.  His approach has been strongly influenced by the forest 
  tradition of Thailand and the teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh.  He is the 
  resident teacher at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center.
  
  Sharon Salzberg is a co-founder of IMS.  She has studied and practiced 
  Buddhist meditation since 1970, and has taught worldwide since 1974.
  
  Steven Smith has studied meditation since 1970, training as monk and 
  lay student with Sayadaw U Pandita since 1982.  Founder of Vipassana 
  Hawaii, he teaches vipassana and metta retreats worldwide.  A deep 
  reverence for nature and the power of myth reflect in his teaching.
  
  Christopher Titmuss gives teachings worldwide concerned with spiritual 
  realization and insight meditation.  He is the author of Spirit of 
  Change, The Profound and the Profane, and Fire Dance and Other Poems.  
  He is co-founder of Gaia House Trust and lives in Totnes, England.
  
  Carol Wilson has been practicing vipassana meditation since 1971, most 
  recently with U Pandita Sayadaw.  She has been teaching since 1986 in 
  the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
  
  
                       ASSOCIATE DHARMA TEACHERS
  
  Steve Armstrong has been practicing vipassana meditation since 1975, 
  both as a layman and as a monk, and leads retreats in the U.S. and 
  Australia.  His primary focus is Buddhist psychology.  He was on the 
  staff and board of directors at IMS for several years.
  
  Sylvia Boorstein has been teaching vipassana meditation since 1985 and 
  is a founding teacher of Spirit Rock Center.  She is also a 
  psychotherapist, wife, mother, and grandmother and is particularly 
  interested in seeing daily life as practice.
  
  Anna Douglas, in addition to vipassana, has a background in Zen, 
  psychology and the arts.  Presently she lives in the Bay Area.
  
  Eric Knud-Hansen lives in Hawaii and has been affiliated with IMS 
  since its beginning.  He teaches principles of meditative and 
  therapeutic inquiry for the awakening of heartful awareness. 
  
  Sharda Rogell has been involved with meditation and healing since 1975 
  and currently teaches retreats in Europe, India and the U.S.
  
  Rodney Smith has been practicing vipassana for 18 years and spent 4 
  years as a Buddhist monk in Asia.  He has been teaching meditation for 
  the last 10 years and is currently the director of the Hospice of 
  Seattle.
  
  
                        VISITING DHARMA TEACHERS
  
  Ajahn Sucitto is a member of the Amaravati sangha in Great Britain.
  
  Bhante Gunaratana is a Sri Lankan monk who has conducted retreats on 
  all four continents.  Currently he directs the Bhavana Society in the 
  Shenandoah Valley of West Virginia.  His latest book is entitled 
  Mindfulness in Plain English.
  
  
                          IMS RESIDENT TEACHER
  
  Marcia Rose has been studying and practicing Buddhist meditation and 
  related disciplines for many years, and has been the resident teacher 
  at IMS since 1991.
  
  
                        REGISTRATION PROCEDURES
  
  Registrations for retreats are taken only by mail or in person. We 
  cannot accept registrations by phone or fax. Course costs are listed 
  in the main portion of this brochure. We request that you pre-pay the 
  full retreat cost if possible, as this significantly reduces the time 
  required to process your registration.  However, the minimum deposit 
  required with your application is listed in the table below. After the 
  receipt of your deposit, a confirmation letter will be mailed to you 
  with information on travel details and what you need to bring.
  
  
  Deposits are refundable, minus a processing fee, if we receive 
  notification of a change or cancellation before the opening day of the 
  retreat. Transfers made before a retreat's first  deadline  will incur 
  no fee.  Transfers made after the first deadline,  and all 
  cancellations,  will have processing fees applied.These fees are  
  outlined in the table to the right [NOT INCLUDED IN THIS EDITION].  
  For most retreats,  the first  deadline  occurs  two weeks  before the  
  retreat begins, with the final deadline one week before.  The Three 
  Month and New Year's retreats  have  special  deadline dates due to 
  their  popularity and the time needed to arrange attendance  at them.  
  Cancellations  or  changes  made  after a 1st deadline  incur  higher  
  fees.  For many  years now our retreats  have  filled  and have  had 
  waiting  lists of those unable to get in.  Please cancel as early as 
  possible so that others  who  may  be  waiting  can  have  sufficient  
  time to arrange their participation.  ALL PROCESSING  FEES  COLLECTED 
  WILL BE CONTRIBUTED TO THE SCHOLARSHIP FUND.
  
  Participants are expected to attend the entire retreat. Any exceptions 
  should be discussed with the office staff and confirmed in writing in 
  advance. Such partial retreats will be charged at the full retreat 
  cost, except for the Three Month retreat (special obligations apply to 
  Three Month partials). Except in cases of emergency, pre-arrangement, 
  or teacher recommendation, refunds will not be available after a 
  retreat starts (exceptions may be made during the first 10 days of the 
  Three Month retreat). In fairness to people who may be waitlisted, 
  registrations are not transferable. We have adopted these policies to 
  allow the greatest number of people to have the opportunity to 
  participate in retreats. We appreciate your cooperation and your 
  understanding.
  
  Continued participation in retreats or use of facilities is always at 
  IMS discretion, and IMS reserves the right to end retreats for 
  individuals.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  {10} BARRE CENTER FOR BUDDHIST STUDIES
  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
                   BARRE CENTER FOR BUDDHIST STUDIES
                             Lockwood Road
                              Barre, Mass
                             (508) 355-2347
  
       The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies is dedicated to bringing 
  together teachers, students, scholars and practitioners who are 
  committed to exploring Buddhist thought and practice as a living 
  tradition, faithful to its origins and lineage, yet adaptable and 
  alive in each new time and place.  The Center's purpose is to provide 
  a bridge between study and practice, between scholarly understanding 
  and meditative insight; it encourages active engagement with the 
  tradition in a spirit of genuine inquiry and investigation.
       
       The Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, or more informally, the 
  Study Center, offers a variety of study and research opportunities, 
  lectures, classes, seminars, workshops, conferences, retreats, 
  independent study, and, in future, scholars-in-residence program.  The 
  Study Center plans to offer research and publication facilities for 
  Buddhist scholarship and translation.  Its vision calls for dialogue 
  between different schools of Buddhism, discussions with other 
  religious and scientific traditions.  The emphasis is always on the 
  interrelationship between study and practice, and on exploring the 
  relevance of classical teachings to contemporary life.
       
       Location:  The Study Center is located on 90 acres of wooded land 
  in rural, central Massachusetts, one-half mile from Insight Meditation 
  Society.  Founded in 1989, the Study Center provides a peaceful and 
  contemplative setting for the study and investigation of the Buddha's 
  teaching.  For many years, it had been a dream of teachers at Insight 
  Meditation Society to complement the silent meditation retreats at IMS 
  with study programs.  This vision became a reality with donations 
  enabling the purchase of a 200-year old farmhouse and surrounding 
  forest property.  After extensive renovations, there are now 
  residential facilities, a library, workshop hall, offices, and a 
  dining room that provide a comfortable setting for students, staff, 
  and teachers.  With the completion, at the end of 1993, of a large 
  dormitory and conference hall, there will be space for more resident 
  scholars and conferences.
  
       The Library at the Study Center is a major resource to be used by 
  both students and visitors.  Our collection consists of the complete 
  Pali Canon in both English and Pali, several hundred volumes on 
  Theravadan, Tibetan and Zen Buddhism and a variety of journals and 
  newsletters.  As part of our vision, we plan to expand our current 
  collection into a respectable research library.
       
       Courses and Registration:  The Study Center courses offer 
  learning to students with a wide range of previous exposure to the 
  material taught.  If you have questions about a course, please call.  
  Registrations are accepted only by mail or in person.  We cannot 
  accept registrations by phone.  Early registration is advise since our 
  capacity is limited.  Please send the entire course cost as deposit.  
  Upon receipt of your deposit, a confirmation will be mailed to you 
  with information on travel details and what you need to bring.  
  Deposits are fully refundable until 10 days before the start of the 
  course.  After that a small processing fee will be charged.  If you 
  need to cancel, please do so before the day of the course, otherwise 
  there be an additional cancellation fee.
       
       DANA (generosity) is intrinsic to the 2,500 year old tradition of 
  Buddha Dharma.  Going back to the days of the Buddha, the teachings 
  were considered priceless and thus offered freely.  Teacher support 
  comes primarily from voluntary contributions from students.  The 
  registration fee covers the center's cost of housing the retreat, and 
  a small part of our ongoing expenses.  Teachers receive only a token 
  stipend from the Study Center for leading the courses.  Donations from 
  students at the end of a course are a major sources of income for many 
  teachers.
       
       As another expression of Dana, the Study Center makes 
  scholarships available to those who might not be able to attend a 
  course due to financial need.  Please contact us if you need financial 
  assistance.
  
  
  
  
                   BARRE CENTER FOR BUDDHIST STUDIES
                                          
                          1994 COURSE SCHEDULE
  
  January 9-21        INTENSIVE PROGRAM IN BUDDHIST STUDIES (2 Weeks) 
                 (Resident and Visiting Faculty)         94INT 
       $750
  This inaugural academic program is a new vision of the study of 
  Buddhism in America.  It provides an in-depth academic introduction to 
  the doctrinal and historical background within a contemplative 
  environment.  The objective of the program is to explore Buddhist 
  thought and practice as a living tradition, to provide a bridge 
  between study and practice, between scholarly understanding and 
  meditative insight. 
  
  February 5-6        Scientific Inquiry, Buddhist Insight  
       (Weekend)
                 Perrin Cohen                       94PC  
  $90
  How can one bring mindfulness and Buddhist insight into routine 
  scientific research, scholarship, application and teaching?  This 
  workshop is designed for science students and professionals (i.e., 
  research, nursing, medicine, engineering) to explore practical ways of 
  cultivating the purifying forces of mind (paramis) that can connect 
  daily activities in scientific fields to wisdom and compassion.
  Note: A reading list will be provided for registered participants.
            
  February 11-13 PRESCRIPTION FOR HINDRANCES        (Weekend)
                 Sylvia Boorstein                   94SB  
  $90
  The hindrances--desire, anger, torpor, restlessness/worry, and 
  doubt--cloud the mind and interfere with clear understanding and wise 
  action.  We can consciously cultivate ways of being that reduce the 
  impact of these hindrances.  This course will explore these ways of 
  being through alternate periods of concentration practice (sitting, 
  walking, silent meals) with talks and discussions.
  
  February 19-20 APPLICATION OF DEPENDENT ORIGINATION IN  
                 EVERYDAY LIFE                      (Weekend)
                 Dr. Thynn Thynn                    94TT  
  $90
  The teaching of Dependent Origination (Paticcasamuppada) is the core 
  of Buddha's teaching about the way of being in the world.  Through 
  lectures, discussion, practical training in mindfulness, this course 
  will examine ways of understanding and applying knowledge of the cycle 
  of Dependent Origination in everyday life.
  
  February 26-27 WINGS TO AWAKENING PART I          (Weekend)
                                               94TB1      
  $90
  March 5-6      WINGS TO AWAKENING PART II         (Weekend)
                 Thanissaro Bhikkhu                 94TB2 
       $90
  The Buddha's own summary of the main points of his teaching was this 
  list of 37 qualities: the four foundations of mindfulness, the four 
  right exertions, the four bases for accomplishment, the five powers, 
  the five dominant factors, the seven factors of Awakening and the 
  eightfold path.  This two-weekend course will cover these qualities as 
  they appear in the Pali Canon and the teachings of present-day 
  masters, with special emphasis on their application to meditation and 
  to daily life.
  
  March 12       GENJO KOAN:  ACTUALIZING THE FUNDAMENTAL  
            POINT                              (Saturday)
                 Rev. Issho Fujita                  94IF  
  $25
  Of the many writings of Dogen (1200-1253), the greatest religious 
  thinker in Japanese history and the founder of Soto Zen tradition, the 
  Genjo Koan "is the skin, flesh, bones, and marrow of the Founder.  The 
  fundamental teaching of the Founder's lifetime is expounded in this 
  fascicle.  The Buddhadharma throughout his lifetime is revealed in 
  this work."  This one-day course will use the Genjo Koan as a basic 
  text to explore the teaching of Zen Master Dogen.
  
  March 25-27         DEPENDENT ORIGINATION AND MEDITATION  
                                               (WEEKEND) 
                 Ajahn Sucitto from Amaravati Sangha   94AMR $90
            This course will examine the arising and ceasing of 
  Dependent Origination both as experience and as the core teaching of 
  Buddhadhamma.  Other areas to be examined are conditioned structures 
  and varying relationships of conditionality underlying them.
  
  April 9        COMPASSION IN ACTION: DOING THE RIGHT THING 
                                               (Saturday)
                 Ed Hauben & Mirabai Bush      94EHMB    $25
  This daylong gathering will explore work--whether in the professions, 
  in business, in government, in family, or in service--as a vehicle for 
  increased awakening, a path toward wisdom and compassion.  We will 
  discuss Right Livelihood, the balance of action and reflection, and 
  developing a living relationship with the Precepts through our work.
  
  April 10       THE HEADLESS LIFE                  (Sunday)
                 Douglas Harding                    94DH  $25
  This course will use a range of experiments for the purpose of gaining 
  access to our mind's wide openness.  It will be followed by discussion 
  about how we can maintain this openness, its likely effect on our 
  energy, creativity, health and personal relationships.
  
  April 30       THE DIAMOND WAY                    (Saturday)
                 George Bowman                 94GB      $25
  The Diamond Sutra is one of the most important sutras in the 
  Prajnaparamita literature.  It has been highly influential in the 
  development of Buddhist practices in East Asia for the last 1500 
  years.  This course will share and practice this timeless teaching on 
  cutting through the delusion of separateness.
  
  May 7-8        MONEY AND BUDDHIST SPIRITUALITY     (Weekend)
                 Jose Reissig                       94JR  $90
  This course will investigate the split which exists between the world 
  of morality and the world of money.  Is the split inevitable?  What 
  are its consequences?  We will investigate the play of 'money maya' by 
  looking at the 'inner and 'outer' aspects of the split and its 
  construction through meditation, playing, talks and sharing.
  
  May 14         TRANSFORMING NEGATIVE EMOTIONS THROUGH   
       BODY AWARENESS AND INSIGHT         (Saturday)
                 Joseph Dellagrotte & Ron Leiffer        94JDRL $25
  Negative emotions represent the mind states such as fear, anger, envy, 
  pride, guilt, and shame, accompanied by worry, anxiety and depression.  
  The way through and out of these emotions involves awareness of the 
  body and feelings, making it possible to develop mindfulness.  Using 
  the first and second foundations of mindfulness from the Satipatthana 
  Sutta, this course is intended to develop body awareness to perceive, 
  sense and feel emotional states at another level.
  
  May 15-17      THE WISE USE OF THE MIND (YONISO MANASIKARA) 
                                     (Three Days)
                 Vimalo Kulbarz                94VK      $110
  This course will engage in a sustained investigation of how our mind 
  is conditioned, how we cause ourselves suffering through certain ways 
  of thinking, and how we can bring about a change in this pattern of 
  thinking.  Changing these patterns of thinking is the key to 
  happiness, inner peace and freedom.  The "Wise Use of the Mind" 
  (yoniso manasikara) is a powerful tool for inner transformation and 
  one of the most important aspects of Buddhist mind-training.
  
  May 22         METTA                              (Sunday)
                 Daeja Napier                       94DN   $25
  Metta (Loving Kindness) is the first of the Brahma Viharas (Sublime 
  States of Mind) taught by the Buddha.  It is a concentration practice 
  that softens the experience of life, enhancing a loving, 
  compassionate, joyful and balanced relationship with oneself and 
  others.  This workshop will explore the teaching and practice of Metta 
  to restore a sense of loving connection with ourselves and the world 
  around us.
  
  June 12        BRAHMA VIHARAS                (Sunday)
                 Steven Smith and Michele McDonald  94SSMM1  $25
  The Buddha taught that cultivation of four attitudes of mind--Loving 
  Kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy, and Equanimity--are the great 
  peacemakers and healers of suffering inherent in our human condition.  
  This course will use traditional contemplative practices to cultivate 
  these four qualities of heart and mind.
  
  
  June 18-22          SUTTA STUDIES                      (5 days)
                 Bhante Gunaratana                  94BG1    $150
  This Dhamma study course will explore the Dialogues of the Buddha, 
  with an emphasis on Mahasatipatthana Sutta.  This sutta is the basis 
  for both Samatha (concentration) and Vipassana (insight) meditations.  
  Students will have the opportunity to both study and practice the 
  meaning of this very important teaching.
  
  June 22-26          VIPASSANA MEDITATION FOR PARENTS OF YOUNG ADULTS                             (4 days)
                 Bhante Gunaratana                  94BG2     $120
  This four-day course is designed to give parents of participants in 
  the IMS Young Adults Course a unique opportunity to join the young 
  adults in practicing Insight Meditation.  Although the two retreats 
  will be separate, they will occur at the same time and may have joint 
  Dhamma talks.  This retreat is open to anyone but priority will be 
  given to parents whose children are participating in the Young Adults 
  Course.
  
  June 25        EXPLORING FULLNESS OF LIFE IN THE FACE OF DEATH                              (Saturday)
                 Rodney Smith & Gavin Harrison      94RSGH  $25
  Conflict with the truth of our mortality creates enormous suffering in 
  our life.  Difficulty with aging, illness, change, insecurity--all are 
  ultimately foundations in our non-acceptance of the inevitability of 
  death.  By honestly facing our mortality, we open to the possibility 
  of great freedom, joy and peace in our life.  This workshop will 
  engage--through meditation, discourses, and discussions--in the issue 
  of birth and death, so that together we come face to face with the 
  fact of our mortality.
  
  July 16        THE TEACHING OF AJAHN MAHA BOOWA  (Saturday)
                 Corrado Pensa                 94CP      $25
  Ajahn Maha Boowa is one of the most renowned living meditation masters 
  in the Thai forest tradition.  He is a disciple of Ajahn Mun 
  (1870-1949), perhaps the most charismatic monk in Thailand in this 
  century.  Ajahn Maha Boowa's teaching, in accordance with the Thai 
  forest tradition, encourages using the power of samadhi to nourish a 
  more and more refined mindfulness and discernment (satipanna) into the 
  fundamental nature of existence.
  
  
  
  
                                TEACHERS
  
  George Bowman is a Zen Master and lineage holder in the tradition of 
  Korean Zen.  He is the resident teacher at Cambridge Buddhist 
  Association in Cambridge, Mass.  He also has a private psychotherapy 
  practice in Cambridge.
  
  Mirabai Bush is Project Director for Seva Foundation's Guatemala 
  project and is a co-author, with Ram Dass, of Compassion in Action: 
  Setting Out on the Path of Service.
  
  Perrin Cohen is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Northeastern 
  University, and co-director of NUCASE (Northeastern University Center 
  for the Advancement of Scientific Education), which is concerned with 
  ethical responsibility in scientific research.  He has practiced 
  vipassana meditation since 1977 and is a Board member of BCBS.
  
  Joseph Dellagrotte, M.A., Ph.D. is a body-oriented therapist and has 
  been working with pain syndromes of a psychophysical nature for 20 
  years.  He has practiced various Buddhist and Taoist practices for 
  many years.
  Rev. Issho Fujita is the resident chief priest at Valley Zendo in 
  Charlemont, Mass.  He belongs to the Soto Zen lineage of Japan.
  
  Douglas Harding was born in England in 1909 and is the author of On 
  Having No Head.  He teaches that wisdom can be experienced now, 
  without years of effort, and his methods cut through the ambiguity and 
  remoteness of some spiritual teaching..  He teaches workshops 
  worldwide on transformation of pain and stress, healing, growing, and 
  aging.
  
  Gavin Harrison teaches Buddhist Insight Meditation in groups and 
  retreats throughout New England.  He is HIV+ and meditation practice 
  is at the core of his efforts to engage the AIDS virus in a 
  life-affirming way.  He lives in Amherst, Mass, and is the author of a 
  forthcoming book on meditation practice and living with AIDS.
  
  Ed Hauben is Vice-President of Ruby Shoes Studio, a graphic arts 
  studio, in Watertown, Mass. He is on the board of directors of Barre 
  Center for Buddhist Studies and is a past president of the Insight 
  Meditation Society Board.  He was a co-founder of Interface Foundation 
  and has been practicing meditation for more than 25 years.
  
  Ron Leiffer, M.D., is a psychotherapist in Ithaca, New York and has 
  extensive background in Tibetan Buddhist practices.  He is the author 
  of Turning Vinegar Into Honey.
  
  Daeja Napier is the founding teacher of Newbury Insight Meditation 
  Center and the Phillips Exeter Academy Insight Meditation Program.  
  She is also on the teaching staff of Interface Foundation.  She has 
  been studying and practicing Buddhist meditation for over 20 years and 
  is the mother of five children.
  
  Jose Reissig, a former university professor, has taught meditation at 
  Gaia House in England and at IMS.  He has taught workshops on money 
  and spirituality in England, France and the United States.
  
  Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) has been a Theravada monk since 
  1976.  He is presently the Abbot of Wat Metta Forest Monastery--a 
  combined monastic and lay meditation community--in San Diego County.  
  He is author and translator of a number of Thai meditation guides 
  including Keeping the Breath in Mind and Inner Strength.
  
  Dr. Thynn Thynn is a medical doctor and Dhamma teacher from Burma.  
  She studied Buddhism for nearly thirty and meditation from Burmese 
  masters for twenty years.  She has been teaching the application of 
  Buddhism and meditation in everyday life both in Thailand and United 
  States for a number of years.  She has written books on Buddhism in 
  both English and Burmese.
  
  
  
  [end]