Description
The Ānāpānasati Sutta is one of the most important suttas in the Pali Canon of early Buddhism. In this foundational teaching, the Buddha lays out a comprehensive series of sixteen sequential steps for using full awareness of breathing as a complete path to liberation.
This program is appropriate for those who are already familiar with the sixteen steps outlined in the Ānāpānasati Sutta and who have spent some time practicing them with a teacher’s guidance.
Each session will include instructions, practice, and time for reflections, questions, and discussion. Over the course of our time together, we will move from the formal practice of the sixteen steps into an integrated practice of working with the breath in both formal sitting practice and in our everyday life.
Deepening our understanding and experience of the practice instructions in this sutta, we see for ourselves how they can form the core of a rich and fruitful meditation practice and support our progress on the path toward happiness and inner freedom.
Jim Austin
Jim Austin has been practicing insight meditation since 1975. He regularly teaches various programs at CIMC: the Beginners Drop-In, the Parents Sangha, and the Little Buddhas Sangha. For a number of years he offered workshops and retreats at the Insight Meditation Center of Newburyport and also assisted Larry Rosenberg on his weeklong retreats at the IMS by providing mindful yoga sessions. Formerly he was the Senior Teacher at eMindful for over 10 years, leading online mindfulness courses. Anapanasati has been his primary practice.
Attending an in-person practice group
- Masks may be required. We’ll make this decision on a program-by-program basis.
- Please arrive at least 20 minutes early to check in and to find a comfortable place in the meditation hall.
- Please power off your phone, smartwatch, and other electronic devices for the duration of the program.
- Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest you use public transportation to the Center whenever possible.
- CIMC provides vegetarian meals at day-long, weekend, and multi-day retreats. We are unable to accommodate special dietary needs. If you have dietary restrictions, we invite you to bring your own meat-free meal. Please note that nuts may be used in our kitchen.
- Food and beverages, including water, are not allowed in the meditation halls.
- We strongly recommend you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation hall varies throughout the day. The hall thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature. Still, please give yourself a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.
- Please leave your shoes on the shoe shelves on the first floor and keep your valuables with you.
- CIMC provides zafus (round cushions), zabutons (large mats), meditation benches, blankets, and chairs. At the end of each program, we request that you brush off and plump up zabutons and zafus and neatly return them where they belong.
- CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those with chemical sensitivities, please avoid using scented products such as lotions, deodorant, after-shave, hair products, perfume, and clothes laundered with scented detergent or dryer sheets.
- Meal Dana: In keeping with tradition, we invite you to sponsor a practice group meal as a simple and meaningful act of generosity. You can share a dedication of your generosity, perhaps to someone in your life, a special occasion, or an aspiration. Please contact the office for more information about offering Meal Dana for this practice group.