Meditation 101 | Living in the Path

Delivered over 5 sessions on Wednesday evenings from 5:30 - 7:30 pm

Session1: 11th May 2016

Session 2: 25th May 2016

Session 3:1st June 2016

Session 4: 8th June 2016

Session 5: 15th June 2016

Meditation 101 is an introductory course on basic Buddhist meditation techniques for complete beginners. You will be introduced to a variety of meditations, such as; breathing, mindfulness, visualization, and analytical meditation. All of these different terms will be explained, as well as what kinds of skills we develop in meditation and how these might also be useful in our daily lives.

The following topics will be covered during this five-session course:

• what is meditation?
• meditation posture and arranging the body
• purposes and benefits of meditation
• different skills that are used in meditation and useful in daily life
• the difference between meditation and simple relaxation
• two main types of meditation – analytical and stabilizing
• obstacles to meditation and their antidotes
• setting up a meditation session
• advice for establishing a long-term meditation practice
• using the benefits of meditation in everyday living
• meditation practice
  • breathing meditations: counting, nine-round
  • mindfulness meditations: scanning the body, bare attention, mind like the sky, mind like the ocean
  • visualization meditations: body of light, purification with light
  • analytical meditations: meditation on equanimity, transforming negative experiences into positive

Course materials include handouts of pertinent information and instructions for the various meditations taught.

1. Scanning the Body
2. Counting the Breaths
3. Seven-Point Meditation Posture
4. Bare Attention Exercise
5. Meditation on the Mind Like the Sky
6. Meditation on the Mind Like the Ocean
7. Nine-Round Breathing Meditation
8. Transforming Negative Experiences into Positive
9. Meditation Session in Four Parts
10. Purification with Light Meditation
11. Body of Light Meditation
12. Equanimity Meditation

The following Guided Meditations are practiced in this course:

• Med 01: Meditation Posture
• Med 02: Preliminary Motivation
• Med 03: Scanning the Body Meditation
• Med 04: Counting the Breath Meditation
• Med 05: Bare Attention Meditation
• Med 06: Nine Round Breathing Meditation
• Med 07: Mind Like the Sky Meditation
• Med 08: Mind Like the Ocean Meditation
• Med 09: Transforming Negative into Positive Meditation
• Med 10: Purification with Light Meditation
• Med 11: Body of Light Meditation
• Med 12: Equanimity Meditation

Please find PDF transcripts of the Teachings:

plus PDF transcripts of Handouts 1- 12

plus suggested readings

Suggested Readings:

This course has no required readings. However, two books are highly recommended for those who take this course:

What Is Meditation? by Rob Nairn. Published by Shambhala Publications, 2000. www.shambhala.com

How to Meditate by Kathleen McDonald. Published by Wisdom Publications, 1984, 2006. www.wisdompubs.org (Available in FPMT Foundation Store )

There are also suggested readings in the Meditation 101 Bibliography

Resources