Richard Shankman is a distinguished teacher and author deeply immersed in the practice and philosophy of Buddhist meditation. His extensive experience, gained through decades of dedicated practice and numerous intensive silent retreats, informs his profound insights into mindfulness, concentration, and insight. Shankman's work focuses on making these ancient practices accessible, bringing the transformative power of dharma and meditation to diverse communities, including those within correctional facilities and rehabilitation programs. His writings offer an in-depth investigation into the nature of meditative experience, guiding readers toward a deeper understanding of Buddhist wisdom.
For the first time ever, a leading Insight meditation teacher presents an innovative and practical guide to building a strong meditation practice by unifying both concentration and insight meditation.
Dharma practice comprises a wide range of wise instructions and skillful means. As a result, meditators may be exposed to a diversity of approaches to the core teachings and the meditative path--and that can be confusing at times. In this clear and accessible exploration, Dharma teacher and longtime meditator Richard Shankman unravels the mix of differing, sometimes conflicting, views and traditional teachings on how samadhi (concentration) is understood and taught.In part one, Richard Shankman explores the range of teachings and views about samadhi in the Theravada Pali tradition, examines different approaches, and considers how they can inform and enrich our meditation practice.Part two consists of a series of interviews with prominent contemporary Theravada and Vipassana (Insight) Buddhist teachers. These discussions focus on the practical experience of samadhi, bringing the theoretical to life and offering a range of applications of the different meditation techniques.