TBA IMG
Insight Meditation Group of Houston

In December of 2010, Jade Buddha Temple’s English Dharma Group (EDG), and the Insight Meditation Group (IMG), held an unprecedented, self-run, private retreat for 18 days. The intensive, long retreat was sponsored by the American Bodhi Center in Hempstead, Texas. Resident monk Ven. Katapunna guided the retreat, conducted interviews for the participating yogis, and held Dharma talks every night. A significant part of the Dharma talks consisted of an extended examination and discussion of the Maha-Pari-Nibbana Sutra (DN 16), which is about the Buddha’s last days and great passing. This is the longest sutra in the Nikaya, and it took more than two weeks of Dharma talks to finish the discussion. Also during this retreat, students had the honor of emailing additional questions to a well-known meditation teacher, Bhante Sujiva, who lives in Europe. With the help and support of Jade Buddha Temple and the American Bodhi Center, the retreat was a great success. As the retreat began, a...

HAPPY NEW YEAR! May the year of Tiger brings you health and "purity of heart". I was reading " Purity of Heart, Essays on the Buddhist Path " by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (Geoffrey DeGraff) and was touched. Want to share this with you'all in the coming New Year. The following are the paragraphs from the short article. Enjoy and best with your practices. -- “You know,” he said, “the whole aim of our practice is purity of heart. Everything else is just games.” , -- his "... definition of purity of heart was simple ... a happiness that will never harm anyone ", -- " ... Ajaan Fuang was offering to teach me how to develop it. That’s one of the reasons why I stayed with him until he died." Download the book. Read the entire article .

We have our first meditation in the Chinese School Auditorium and it works out really well. Now that we have a good environment, the following are key points to furthur help with our group practice. - Be on time (7:00AM) - Bow when you enter the hall (beginning settling the mind) - Follow the program schedule - Listen and follow the bell (remember to turn off cell phone) - At the end, maintain your mindful (no need to rush), mindful of each movement like stretching, massaging, standing, ... - Remember to close together by chanting 3 times the triple gems (re-affirming the dedication to the training) Doing this with RIGHT UNDERSTANDING and correctly, the benefit is tremendous. These will help us even further the benefit of the time we are investing in the group meditation. If you have any comments or thoughts, do let us know. Ken & Josten Click here to leave us your comments.

I finished my 10-day meditation retreat at Southwest Vipassana Meditation Center a couple of weeks ago and it was AWESOME. I didn't realize how meditating with TBA-IMG every Sunday boosted my ability to concentrate so quickly at the retreat. I felt at ease, comfortable and accepting of sitting right off the bat. I could not have done that without steady practice with the Sangha. Through my practice I've cultivated discipline for meditating. Also, I had my first experience with concentration. I would not have known what it was without my interviews with Sayadaw Dhammapiya . ( Thank you, Sayadaw! ) You (Sayadaw) said to me before, "Don't worry about concentration, you can do that a retreat. Just work on mindfulness." I've never felt the quality of concentration before, like I felt at the retreat recently, and I haven't felt it since. The noble silence and the whole atmosphere is conducive for concentration and meditation. I'm grateful for my gradual aw...

Metta sutta Pali 黃慧音 - 慈經 (巴利文唱頌版) Chinese/Pali 黃慧音 - 慈經 (中文唸誦版) ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ The Buddha's words on cultivating a heart filled with good will (metta) towards all beings. [Loudspeaker icon] Listen to this sutta read by Thanissaro Bhikkhu (01'56" 1.7 MB) Recorded by the reader in January 2006 at Metta Forest Monastery, Valley Center, California. Translated from the Pali by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. From »Handful of Leaves, Volume Four: An Anthology from the Khuddaka Nikaya, Thanissaro Bhikkhu, trans. and ed. Text is copyright © 2005 Thanissaro Bhikkhu. http://www.suttareadings.net/audio/index.html#khp.9

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.