The Lansing Buddhist Association is happy to announce a three-hour “Meditation for Beginners” course from 9:00 a.m. to noon on the third Saturday of each. The course meets at Amitabha Village Retreat Center near Williamston (15 min from Lansing and 50 min from Ann Arbor). There is no charge for the course; donations are welcome to cover expenses.
The meditation teacher Mr. George Yeh is a certified Assistant Meditation Instructor of Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association. He was trained by the world-renowned Ch’an Master Shengyen, founder of the Dharma Drum Mountain Association.
Students should register by email at lansingbuddhist@gmail.com. The teaching will cover:
- The right attitude for practicing meditation.
- Selection of a suitable time, location, and environment for meditation.
- Selection of meditation aids, such as towels, sitting square cushion, round cushion, or sitting bench.
- Proper posture for meditation. Introduction to alternative postures, e.g. full lotus, half lotus, quarter lotus, riding saddle’ form, Japanese sitting styles, use of a chair or meditation bench.
- Adjustment of head, eyes, chest, lower back, arms and hands during meditation. How to use meditation aids to support sitting postures. How to make micro-adjustment to your meditation aids.
- Steps and method for whole body relaxation.
- The method of meditation by feeling the sensation of breath.
- The method of meditation by counting the breath.
- Correct procedure to enter and exit the meditation state.
- Warm-up steps to prepare sitting posture.
- Whole body massage after meditation session.
- Three forms of walking meditation. Where should mind be anchored when practicing walking meditation?
- Guided practices for all instructions listed above.
After the morning teaching, students are welcome to practice in the afternoon along with other meditators who attend LBA’s Monthly Day of Mindfulness, also scheduled on the third Saturday of each month.
Everyone is welcome!
p.s. Please wear comfortable and loose-fitting clothes in a modest style that won’t distract other meditators (e.g. choose darker colors and avoid heavy perfumes, shorts, tank tops and tight-fitting pants).