Meditating with Snyder and Rasmussen

JhanasAdvice.com

Tina Rasmussen and Stephen Snyder have a new teacher-in-training, Brian Gavin. He is now authorized by them to give Dharma talks and will soon be learning how to lead daylong meditations. Brian shares his own experience in the area of “first sit to first jhana” in a clear way and inspiring way. He is very dedicated to the practice as a great yogi and has attended all of their long retreats to date. A professional geologist of 30 years and avid cyclist, Brian travels extensively.

• Arrange a Dharma talk with Brian
  

Spirit Rock Daylong: Sat., Jan. 14, 2012
Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California is hosting a second daylong meditation. The last one was attended by 120 meditators and was a great opportunity to introduce many people to serenity meditation practice.

Other Upcoming Retreats and Events

• Introduction to Concentration Meditation 3-day Retreat: Dec. 9-12, 2011 at Cloud Mountain in Castle Rock, Washington
  
• Brahma Viharas 3-day Retreat: March 23-26, 2012 at Cloud Mountain in Castle Rock, Washington
  
• Daylong Retreat and Evening Dharma Talk: Saturday April 21 & Sunday 22, 2012 at Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group in Sacramento, California
  
• Purification of Mind 13-day Retreat: Sept. 8-21, 2012 at Cloud Mountain in Castle Rock, Washington
  
• Purification of Mind 25-day Retreat: Oct. 13-Nov. 8, 2013 at Samish Island Retreat Center near Bellingham, Washington
  

Absorption Advice (Jhana Meditation)

(jhanasadvice.com)

Pa Auk Sayadaw is a Theravada Buddhist scholar-practitioner. Two of his accomplished Western students are Stephen Snyder and Tina Rasmussen. They are offering retreats, day long meditations, and interviews (advice on practicing to gain profound serenity).



2011 Retreats

3-day meditation retreat at Cloud Mountain, Dec. 9-12, 2011



Dharma Talks, Daylongs, Interviews

• Tina Rasmussen was recently interviewed by Nonduality Magazine, an online magazine featuring interviews with teachers from a wide variety of traditions. Stephen Snyder will be interviewed for the next issue.

Dharma Talks

• Sacramento, CA on April 21 & 22, 2012
• We have posted a Dharma talk recorded in November, 2009 when Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw invited us to teach at the Theravada Dhamma Society near San Francisco, California.
• We were interviewed in 2010 by Vince Horn at BuddhistGeeks.com. It was a lot of fun talking about the "Jedi Warrior Training" yogis described experiencing at our Dec. 2009- Jan 2010 retreat. Click here for the link, and scroll down to the interviews (in two parts).

Upcoming 2012 and 2013 Retreats

• 25-day Retreat in Washington, 2013: We will also offer our first 25-day retreat, October 13-November 8, 2013, at a private retreat center on Samish Island, near Bellingham, Washington. The estimated cost is $1,350 and all rooms are single cabins. Pre-registration is now open.
• These retreats are in addition to our usual 13-day annual retreat at Cloud Mountain, which next year will be held Sept 8-21, 2012. See Events page for details.
  
  

Spirit Rock Daylong: In Jan. 2011, we held our first daylong at Spirit Rock Meditation Center (near San Francisco). We were delighted that 120 people attended with very positive feedback.

Practicing the Jhanas Book

• Now available for e-readers! The e-reader version of Jhanas Advice is sold at a reduced cost, on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and Google.
• Practicing the Jhanas (Shambhala Publications) is available in major bookstores and most Internet booksellers. Or order from JhanasAdvice.com (Books page).
  
  
• The original Jhanas Advice from Two Spiritual Friends was purchased by more than 550 people in 31 countries on six continents in a two year period. The Shambhala version contains one additional chapter on "First Sit to First Jhana" as well as an expanded section on the Purification of Mind. Several wonderful reviews of our book have been released, including Yoga Journal UK, Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal, and Buddhadharma. The latest can be found here.

Knowing and Seeing by Pa Auk Sayadaw

This seminal text is now available at cost for purchase on Amazon.com thanks to two yogis in our sangha -- Ted Weinstein and Michael Nagy. The book is beautiful and much easier to read and use than the downloadable version. It sells for $15.99 (nonprofit) with any small proceeds being donated to Pa Auk Forest Monastery in Burma. Click here to order. For a description visit Books/Dana page.