New Insight Meditation Community Houston site : www.meditationhouston.org
Mary's site: www.citta101.org www.citta101.org
Insight Meditation Community Houston
Insight Meditation Tradition
Teachers
Affiliation
Our Intention
Practice/Methods
Terminology
Insight Meditation Tradition
Vipassana, Insight, Mindfulness or "clear seeing" are 2500-year-old meditation teachings rooted in Theravada Buddhism. These teachings are a component of all Buddhist traditions and compatible with any spiritual practice, whatever the tradition.
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Teachers
Insight Meditation teachers act as spiritual friends, guiding the student through obstacles of the path. Exposure to multiple recognized teachers is encouraged. Students are continually asked to rely on their own hearts for inner guidance, to become aware of and trust their own process and experience. They are also asked to be open and willing to learn, to come to appreciate that much suffering is the result of conditioning and lack of understanding.
Mary Rees has been teaching meditation since 1989. She has extensive experience and has worked with teachers from many traditions. Rodney Smith was her primary meditation teacher for sixteen years. She is currently working most closely with Marcia Rose. Mary is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leader Training program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California.
Mary is offering a training program for students who wish to share the dharma as a spiritual practice and for those interested in teaching in secular settings.
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Affiliation
The major retreat centers of the Insight Meditation network include the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, Gaia House in Devon, England, and Spirit Rock in California. Insight Meditation or Vipassana teachings have revolutioned countless lives of those fortunate enough to discover them. A publication containing excellent articles about our tradition and maintaining current information about Insight Meditation connections is Inquiring Mind. You can now find them on line at www.inquiringmind.com . (Back to Top)
Our intention is to open to innate compassion and wisdom,
to come to self-knowledge through exploration and direct contact with experience,
to bring arising wisdom into all life experience.
We invite everyone to journey with us in learning a few basic practices
that help us plunge deeply into silence and to discover in the stillness:
Most events are offered for expenses only,
with free will donations requested for the teaching,
making these practices accessible to anyone drawn to them.
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Practice /Methods:
Basic Meditation Practices:
Metta - opening to innate capacities including loving-kindness, compassion, equanimity and empathetic joy
Vipassana - insight, wisdom, or clear seeing through training in concentration, awareness and mindfulness,
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Being in touch with immediate experience
Releasing agendas and unskillful activity of mind
Resting in stillness and fullness that contains and permeates all
Manifesting skillful behaviors
Being open to truth of experience, of qualities of mind, whatever they are
Accepting experience rather than denying
Being interested in experience, investigating when appropriate
Releasing views, remembering nothing is substantial as it seems
Watering the seeds of wholesome qualities of mind
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Terminology:
Citta
(a Pali word for mind,"c" pronounced [ch]; sanskrit "chitta"), used here because of limitations in the English word mind. Citta suggests a much more inclusive and basic understanding of mind. It may include mind, heart and consciousness.
Dana or generosity:
The teachings are considered priceless, a gift that comes only due to auspicious circumstances or good karma. Dana, a practice of generosity for both students and teachers, is an important practice in itself and manifests uniquely for each individual.
In Dana courses there is no charge for dharma teachings, only for expenses. Free will offerings are requested, accepted and greatly appreciated for the teachings. Sometimes a modest amount is suggested. Please help save this unique and precious practice, develop your own spiritual quality of generosity. A generous donation (neither offering too little and not too much) is a joyful experience.
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This page is from our old website.
New Insight Meditation Community Houston site : www.meditationhouston.org
Mary's site: www.citta101.org www.citta101.org