We’ve been on a spiritual journey which has led us to Buddhism. We’ve been practicing vipassana (Insight) meditation since 1992. We attend annual week-long silent retreats each summer at Cloud Mountain. Most recently we’ve discovered a teacher, Phillip Moffitt, who combines mindful movement with meditation. That combination has struck a chord in us, as it melds nicely with the yoga practice we do. We’ve sat with Phillip on several retreats including at Spirit Rock and expect we’ll continue to do so at least annually. This serendipitously has also led us to sitting again with the very first Buddhist teacher, Julie Wester, who also teaches at Spirit Rock.
What is Insight Meditation?
(borrowed from Seattle Insight Meditation Society)
The term “insight meditation” refers both to a spiritual practice shared by all forms of Buddhism, and to a particular historical Buddhist tradition. The word “insight” is a common translation of the Pali word vipassana, which means “clear seeing”. Developing “clear seeing” helps people live their lives with growing skillfulness and ease.
As a spiritual practice, insight meditation helps cultivate the qualities of mindfulness and equanimity, which in turn foster the deepening of wisdon and compassion, the gateways to liberation and freedom.
As a spiritual tradition, insight meditation draws on the accumulated wisdom of the Theravadin Buddhist lineage as practiced over centuries in the monasteries of Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka, and as transmitted over the last thirty years to teachers in the West.
