TBA IMG
Insight Meditation Group of Houston

Audio files from Dharma Talks by Thanissaro Bhikkhu of Metta Forest Monastery Group Title: Description [Date] M1 Clear Sense of Priority : why practicing is important [12/19/2009], M2 How to Save the World : karma, you are responsible for your actions, you are in charge [1/2/2010], M2a A Small Steady Flame : patience with your effort, protecting your small spark [1/16/2010], M3 Samsara : going around and around, M4 Fires of the Mind : reasons extinguish the fires [1/30/2010], M5 What we Noticed: [2/6/2010], M6 Life in the Buddha's Hospital : discover your course cure [2/13/2010], M7 Appropriate Attention : [2/20/2010], M8 Luminous Mind : train your mind, catching greed, anger and delusion, [2/27/2010], MA Taking Your Own Medicine : using meditation in daily life [2/27/2010] S0M Food for the Mind : building strength, nourishing your mind, [3/6/2010] S1a The Steadiness of Your Gaze : keep your mind where it is, [3/13/2010] S1b Watching Over Time: building up skills, ...

Meditation group meets every Sunday starting at 7:00am in the Kwan Yin Hall at Jade Buddha Temple. This group is design primarily for everyone (beginners) who have been wanting to have a regular and stronger practice, so years of experience is not necessary. If are experienced, we genuine feel that you will find that your meditation deeper and richer. As a Member of the group, everyone is committed to, in order to help nurture the habit of regular and deeper practice.: - Sunday group meditation, - 2 personal daily practices. Contact us: questions and comments.

Dear Venerable Hung-I, We are happy to report to you that the TBA IMG has successfully completed the first six month class and the group has decided to continue with a minor changes. We are requesting your continuous guidance and support. The changes include moving the day of meditation from Sunday to Saturday. One of the reasons to change to Saturday is so that we can have longer practices. We also would like to request to schedule Dharma sessions with you as your schedule permits. In our new 3 hours session, we have added a 5-10 minuted Dharma talk at the beginning. The place of practice will be at the Bodhi School Auditorium Grand Hall (still be in the Quan Yin Hall and move to the conference room when it is not available) . For the past six months we have consistently 10 and sometimes up to 20 people attending the groups practice. We renewing our a new six months commitment and plan to add a new one, which is to explain to 5 people what insight meditation is and keep doing ...

By the time the 6 months commitment is over each yogi would have logged in 366 hours, 183 days or 26 weeks of meditation. Most important may be not how much but how much each has learned. Completing the course show fortitude and persistence that will benefit your path in a long run. Congratulations!!!! Couple of notes for this post. In November 22 nd , 2009, we will have another longer sitting. Do mark your calendar. The second matter is a group decision on future plan for the group. Many have expressed interests in continuing the group sitting. We will meet and discuss at the end of Nov 22 nd sessions. ================================================================================= Highly recommended Book on Insight Meditation ... Title: "Tree of Wisdom, The River of No Return" by Venerable Sujiva. Click here to download the book Source: http://www.sukhihotu.com/index.php . Quot on mindfulness "... good states of mind described could easily come under three c...

Personally, I have received many benefits from our group practice, especially from the interviews with Venerable Dr. Dhammapiya Sayadaw . Please see my report card below from last weeks interview on 9-20. I wrote this to show my appreciation. Background Meditation is normally called a skill of mental training, but the ultimate truth is that Vipassana meditation is in reality a process of processes. All things are manifested in a process of phenomena in constant change. All things--including the act of observation in daily life or in meditation, the observing mind and the object--are in a process of flow from the direct experience of practice, flowing in the flow and with the flow. As Sayadaw Shaw O Min states in his booklet, Right Attitude in Meditation , "...The object is not important. The mind that is working in the background-working to be aware, i.e., the observing mind- is more important..." In a slow process of mental training, to shift attention from the observed obj...

Stilling the Restless Mind- a 7 day Insight Meditation retreat lead by Venerable Seelananda. This will be held in a idelsitic location- the American Bodhi Center . The retreat date is from November 26th, 2009 to December 2nd, 2009. The American Bodhi Center is dotted with rolling hills and brooks and is full of geographical variety. It serves as a cultural, educational, and altruistic activity center for Buddhism. The Bodhi Center has a grand meditation hall and comfortable living quarters for meditators. Surrounded by quiet forest (see video and phots) accommodating either individual or groups retreat. To register please call 979-921-6969 or download for retreat information, registration and consent forms .

IMG Notes for August 30, 2009 The IMG extended five hour session began at 7:00 A.M. with a 20 minute audio dharma talk given by Thanissaro Bhikku. The subject of the talk, Befriending The Breath, was an insightful discussion on the importance of learning to be 'friends' with the breath. We all know the paths that some of our 'old friends' can lead us down--those old friends being the unskilful states of mind. Developing a new friendship with the breath can lead us to new friends, and new, skillful states of mind. These skillful states bring us true peace and happiness, but in order to achieve this, we must spend more time with the breath, and develop a lasting friendship with it. We must learn to ignore the call of our old friends while we are cultivating a relationship with our breath. Choosing and developing a friendship with our breath will yield the best friendship that we can ever have. Group discussion began about 11:00 A.M., and the main subject of interest cente...