Meditating doesn’t have to be a solitary pursuit. In fact, it’s not really supposed to be.
When the Buddha talked about the central pillars of his teachings, he listed three things:
The Buddha. This sounds immodest, to mention yourself as the first pillar, but I think what he’s really pointing to is the fact that it’s powerful to have an example of what is possible at the far reaches of the meditative path.
The Dharma. The teachings of the Buddha.
The Sangha. The community of fellow meditators.
Think about that. The Buddha was asked to list the three most important aspects of living a good life, and one of them is the community. And yet, how often do you meditate with other people?
I’m extremely lucky in this regard. Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to spend time with some amazing meditation teachers. I have seen firsthand how having friends on the path can accelerate my practice. As I often joke, hanging out with other meditators can have a carpool-lane effect.
Two of my favorites are Sebene Selassie and Jeff Warren. They’re on the podcast today, (listen below—or wherever you get your podcasts) for one of our occasional Meditation Party episodes, which emerged out of a desire to make the practice less solitary. Today’s episode is a collection of the best exchanges from our most recent get-together, and I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and…we’re actually doing another one in October at the Omega Institute, which is north of New York City.
And today - Friday, September 13 - I’d like to invite you, our subscribers, to join Jeff and Seb and me in the chat at 2:30 PM EST. We will take your questions about what you find confusing or frustrating about meditation. Or anything else that comes to mind.
Below is today’s podcast cheatsheet. For each new podcast, subscribers will be able to access a summary of the key takeaways, timestamped highlights, and a full transcript. This week we are offering it to all subscribers, and next week it will become a paid subscriber benefit. If money is an issue, email us at free@danharris.com.
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