Tricycle Meditation Month 2023:
Samadhi with Christina Feldman
An annual challenge to commit to a daily practice throughout January. This year’s theme is samadhi and will be led by Christina Feldman: author, co-founder of meditation retreat center Gaia House, and a guiding teacher emeritus at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.
Welcome to Tricycle Meditation Month, our annual challenge to commit to a daily practice throughout January. Whether you’re new to meditating or a longtime practitioner, our free 31-day challenge is a great way to kickstart your practice and set aside more time for calm and clarity in your life. We’ll be supporting you along the way with an array of meditations, tips, inspiration, and resources. Our free offerings throughout the month include:
• A new Dharma Talk video each week from our Meditation Month teacher Christina Feldman, author, co-founder of Gaia House, and a guiding teacher emeritus at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. This year’s theme is Samadhi: Cultivating Inner Calm and Collectedness.
• A live Zoom webinar on Friday, January 13th at 2 p.m. EST (7 p.m. GMT) with Christina to ask any questions you have about your practice.
• A steady stream of helpful articles online, including classic and contemporary Buddhist teachings
• A Facebook discussion group where you can share your experience and connect with practitioners from all over the world
• An interactive group on Insight Timer, a free meditation app
• A daily newsletter with practice prompts to encourage you throughout the month
• Our evergreen meditation section of Buddhism for Beginners
Over this month we will be reflecting on and cultivating samadhi. Samadhi is an integral part of meditative development showing us the way to cultivate what the Buddha refers to as a well-trained/heart mind that comes to know the deepest peace and happiness. Each week Christina will share reflections on the theme and practice guidelines.
Meditation Month is free. Consider making a donation to support this offering.
SCHEDULE
Week 1 – What Is Samadhi?
What does samadhi mean? What is its place in the path of meditative development?
Week 2 – The Benefits of Samadhi
What are the benefits of developing samadhi? Why is it so highly valued in the Buddha’s teaching?
Week 3 – A Well-Trained Mind
Samadhi blindfolds Mara—the patterns of mind that bind us to distress—and develops a well-trained mind, no longer overwhelmed by obsession and rumination.
Week 4 – Samadhi as a Life Practice
Learning to meet life’s joys and sorrows with inner calm and collectedness.
Teacher
Christina Feldman
Christina is a co-founder of Gaia House and a guiding teacher emeritus at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts. The author of a number of books, she has been teaching insight meditation retreats internationally since 1976. She is one of the teaching faculty of the CPP program, dedicated to the study and application of the early teachings of the Buddha. She also teaches on the Buddhist psychological foundations of mindfulness to those training to teach mindfulness-based applications in England, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Christina’s recent books include Boundless Heart: The Buddha’s Path of Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity and Mindfulness: Ancient Wisdom Meets Modern Psychology, with William Kuyken.