Josh Summers

Yin Yoga | Meditation | Path

Wise View

This week, my classes have emphasized the first limb of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path: Wise View. Wise View simply sees things as they really are. In the beginning, Wise View aligns our energy with the direction of the path, towards a freedom that is independent of conditions.  In a sense, Wise Viewharnesses our energy towards a deeper understanding of how […]

To Self Or Not To Self

Without fail, probably the most commonly misunderstood concept in all of Buddhism is the teaching on Non-Self, or Anatta. This teaching asserts that there is no permanent, stable, abiding entity at the center of our existense. Clever students often quip, “Yeah, but if there’s no self, then what’s sitting here right now? Isn’t that a self?” […]

Dukkha, Dukkha, Dukkha

This week, my classes have emphasized opening to the contemplation of dukkha.  Dukkha is the second characteristic common to all conditioned existence, and it is often translated as ‘suffering’ or ‘unsatisfactoriness’. But the literal translation of dukkha is ‘that which is difficult to bear’.   So this flavor of experience covers the entire spectrum of the obvious sorrows such […]

The Three Marks of Existence

This week’s practice focuses on the Buddha’s Fourth Foundation of Mindfulness: ultimate realities (dhammas). The Three Marks of Existence: The Buddha taught that all conditioned phenomena (ie. sensory experience) are 1) impermanent, 2) incapable of providing lasting happiness and 3) void of a permanent self. Not seeing these characteristics, we easily enter into an unskillful […]

Contemplative Thinking

This week, we opened our contemplation to include the experience of thoughts and emotions. This is an immensely rich area to investigate. And I hope you enjoy these reflections. Core Concepts: “The mind is not our own, but we’re still responsible for it anyway,” says Sayadaw U Tejaniya.  This statement acknowledges the out-of-control nature of […]

Reflections on Practice

It occurred to me that my original intention of having this newsletter has yet to be fulfilled.  That intention was to offer meditation/yoga related content that would offer support, inspiration and some direction in the development of your own spiritual interests.  And, unfortunately, that intention has fallen short, for which I apologize.  Instead, this newsletter […]