Samatha means calm. We practice calming the body and mind through mindfulness of breath. Through calming the mind, we find greater clarity.
Whether you think of yourself as a naturally calm person or a more restless or anxious person, samatha meditation can help you find stillness, clarity, and calm, both during out outside of meditation practice. One of the first benefits students report is noticing they feel less reactive to things in life that used to bother them more.
All regular classes are free of charge, always. Donations are warmly accepted and go back into supporting the practice.
Samatha meditation practice is open to all. Additional efforts are made to ensure that the space is LQBTQIA+ affirming, neurodiversity-affirming, and trauma-informed.
Your first few months: Try to clear your schedule for the full 90 minutes and arrive a few minutes early to give yourself time to settle before we begin. Rushing to and from meditation class is counter to the process of cultivating mindfulness and concentration. Cushions and chairs will be provided. Your teacher will support you in finding comfortable ways to sit. Enjoy the process, and give it time to develop. It takes most people a full month or so to get a taste for the practice and begin to see how it can benefit them, and many are surprised that it can take up to 2-3 months of weekly attendance to learn the full foundations of the practice. This scaffolding of the practice is intentional and is designed to help each person develop mindfulness and concentration at the same time. Like any practice worth trying, it takes time and effort. Your teacher will be available for one-on-one chats about the practice (also free) to support you in your weekly practice, and to support you in finding ways to develop an at-home practice.
After a few months: Once you have progressed in the practice (usually after 2-3 months of weekly practices, longer if attendance is less regular), you will be invited to join additional Zoom groups for further support, which include meditators from all across North America. You will also receive announcements about local events (special practices, day-long retreats, practice weekends, and practice weeks) as well as practice weeks held across North America in this tradition.
Giving / Dāna
encourage generosity (dāna). If you are so inspired, you may either give online, or donate by cash or check in-person to the following organizations:
More about Samatha Meditation
We practice meditation in the samatha tradition as taught through the Samatha Foundation of North America and the Samatha Trust of the UK, which are both non-profit organizations, run by experienced meditation teachers on the basis on dāna (generosity). You can learn more about the practice through either of these websites.
Samatha meditation has its roots in Buddhist practice. You can learn more the lineage and history of this samatha practice here. Many discussions in groups will center around teachings from Buddhism which directly support our meditation practice. There may occasionally be some chanting in Pāli as well. Identifying as Buddhist is neither a requirement, nor expected. The practice is open to all, whatever your religious beliefs.
In this tradition, we practice in groups, led by–but never centered on–a teacher. Samatha teachers help support each person in their meditation practice through both group and one-on-one conversations, and in turn are supported by the community of samatha teachers, in North America, and worldwide. Through practicing in groups, all who practice samatha meditation are supported both by peers and more experienced meditators. As a community of meditation practitioners, our focus in conversations is how to deepen our meditation practice and connect what we learn from our practice to life experiences.