Vipassana Buddist Meditation Practice, SF Bay Area CA USA Life Balance Institute

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Vipassana is the Buddhist meditation practice of insight meditation which is the cultivation of mindfulness, awareness and 'clear seeing'. Mindfulness (sati) practice leads to wisdom (panna). Thus, a practice of vipassana is cultivating satti-panna: mindful wisdom.

Vipassana means to 'see through' or see things through the 'suchness' of all physical and mental experience. It is the meditative training that the Buddha created over 2,500 years ago for achieving the end of suffering. It is most thoroughly described in the Satipatthana sutta.* Vipassana is primarily associated with the Theravada tradition in Buddhism which flowers in South East Asia and Sri Lanka.

For a more complete description of Theraveda go to: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/bullitt/theravada.html

*For more information on the Satipatthana Sutta one can refer to:

The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A New Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, translated by Bhikkhu Ñanamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995).

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Introductory to Meditation Classes

This free five-week introductory course is offered two or three times a year to Marin Sangha members and covers both core Buddhist teachings and the basics of Buddhist meditation. It is intended both for beginners with no residential retreat experience who wish to get some foundational training in the core principles of the dharma and for those with some retreat experience who want a refresher or small-group setting in which to ask questions. Course timing and availability will be announced in Sangha and on the web site: www.marinsangha.org.

Vipassana basics courses are also offered periodically at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre. Information is available at: www.spiritrock.org.