Paramita Center Southeast

10/31/2025

Friday preparation: Tomorrow we begin.

For those registered for the Calm Abiding class: Come with genuine curiosity, real questions from your practice experience, and willingness to train systematically.

Wear comfortable clothes. Bring an open mind, a notebook if that helps you learn, and the text.

Everything else—cushions, chairs, materials, guidance—we provide.

For those still considering: Last opportunity to join this intensive. Next offering likely not until spring.

Saturday, 1:00 PM: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

The classical texts teach that properly prepared students learn most effectively. Not striving, not grasping—just showing up ready to train.

10/30/2025

Thursday invitation: Saturday we begin four weeks of systematic calm abiding training.

The past two weeks you've seen posts explaining Stage 1, the obstacles to practice, conditions that support development, and why lineage-based instruction matters. These aren't random topics—they're the foundation we'll explore in depth starting Saturday.

If you attended Jason's teachings and/or these posts have resonated, that's the signal worth paying attention to. Not manufactured urgency, but recognition that systematic training is what converts inspiration into transformation.

Small group. Both in-person and online available. Traditional Gelug methods. Starting November 1.

Register: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

Sometimes - maybe always - the right teaching appears exactly when you're ready to receive it. That's

10/29/2025

Karma clarification: One of the most misunderstood concepts in Buddhism.

Karma isn't cosmic punishment. It isn't the universe keeping score. It isn't destiny or fate you're powerless to change.

Karma is the Sanskrit word for 'action.' The teaching is simply this: actions have consequences. Virtuous actions create conditions for happiness. Non-virtuous actions create conditions for suffering.

Four key principles from classical texts:

Infallibility: The relationship between cause and effect is reliable. A virtuous cause produces happiness; a non-virtuous cause produces suffering. Like planting seeds—you get what you plant.

Increase: Small actions, when not purified or dedicated, can produce large effects. A minor harmful act can create significant suffering if left unaddressed. Similarly, small virtuous acts, when properly dedicated, can produce great benefit.

You can't experience what you haven't created: to understand your present, look to the past seeds you planted. To understand where you're going, pay attention to the seeds you plant today.

Actions don't disappear: Once performed, an action will eventually produce its result unless purified (for negative karma) or undermined (for positive karma). This can take lifetimes, but causality doesn't simply fade.

This isn't fatalism. It's the opposite—radical responsibility. Every action matters. Every choice shapes future conditions. And because we're always creating new karma, we're never trapped by past actions alone.

The subtleties of karma are profound—traditional texts say only fully enlightened beings completely understand them. But the basics provide a framework for ethical living and understanding why circumstances vary so greatly between individuals.

10/28/2025

Why does lineage matter in Buddhist training?

Think of learning a musical instrument. You could figure it out alone through trial and error over many years. Or you could study with someone who learned from an accomplished teacher, who learned from their teacher, back through generations of masters.

The second path avoids potential dead ends. You learn not just techniques but the subtle adjustments that make techniques work. You inherit understanding refined through centuries.

Buddhist meditation lineage functions similarly. The Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism traces back through unbroken transmission to the great Indian masters who received teachings from Buddha Shakyamuni's disciples.

This doesn't mean blindly accepting authority. Traditional Buddhist training emphasizes testing teachings against your own experience. But you test sophisticated methods, not guesses or assumptions.

These November teachings represeent the lineage that passed from Buddha Shakyamuni through the Nalanda tradition, to Atisha, to Je Tsongkhapa, all the way to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Lama Samten. At the Paramita Centers, we teach the same methods with the same commitment to authentic transmission.

Details: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

10/27/2025

5 days until the November Calm Abiding Meditation class begins.

The class offers the opportunity to build systematic practice foundation in the practice of meditation as taught by the Tibetan Buddhist masters.

Four Saturday afternoons exploring calm abiding meditation: the preliminaries, conditions, nine stages, obstacles, and traditional antidotes. Not philosophy about meditation—actual training in concentration techniques refined over centuries.
Small group maintains quality instruction. Both in-person and online options. Classes recorded for flexibility.

Starting Saturday, November 1: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

For those who attended, the momentum from Jason's teachings creates ideal conditions for beginning systematic practice.

10/26/2025

Meditation isn't relaxation.

Yes, calm abiding practice often produces relaxation as a side effect. But that's not its purpose. The goal is training attention—developing the ability to place the mind on an object and sustain focus despite distractions.

This is why meditation can feel effortful, even uncomfortable initially. You're building mental muscle. Like physical exercise, the process requires effort - joyful effort, but effort nonetheless.

Relaxation techniques (progressive muscle relaxation, listening to calming sounds) aim for immediate stress reduction. Valuable, but different.

Meditation trains the mind's capacity for sustained attention, mental stability, and clear seeing. These qualities then support everything else—better decisions, deeper relationships, reduced reactivity, genuine insight. Ultimately, enlightenment.

The classical texts are clear: this training requires proper instruction in systematic methods. Not just 'sit and breathe.'

November intensive provides that foundation: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

10/25/2025

Saturday reflection: This week we've explored the first stage of calm abiding, the five obstacles that arise, the conditions that support practice, and the nine progressive stages that describe the journey.

These teachings come from classical Buddhist texts refined over centuries, transmitted through unbroken lineage, tested by countless practitioners.

If you attended Jason's teachings last week and/or this week's posts have sparked curiosity about systematic meditation training, the November intensive starting next week offers the opportunity to go deeper.

Not merely collecting information. Actually learning the techniques.

Four Saturday afternoons starting in one week. Both in-person and online. Classical Gelug instruction in the same lineage you experienced with Jason, and as taught by Lama Samten.

Details: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

The dharma is here. If the causes and conditions have come together for you to engage with it, join us!

10/24/2025

The nine stages of calm abiding, briefly:

Stage 1: Stabilizing the mind within (starting the path, turning inward)
Stage 2: Continuous placement (brief moments of sustained focus)
Stage 3: Re-stabilzing the mind (quickly noticing wandering, returning faster)
Stage 4: Close placement (attention rarely leaves object completely)
Stage 5: DIscipline (seeing the faults of laxity & agitation, we tame the mind)
Stage 6: Pacifying (seeing the benefits of mediation, we let go of agitation)
Stage 7: Thorough pacification (obstacles appear but don't disturb practice)
Stage 8: Single-pointed concentration (effortless sustained attention)
Stage 9: Balanced placement (perfect mental stability and clarity)

From awkward beginner to accomplished meditator—mapped systematically by practitioners who walked this path before us.

The stages aren't achievements to collect, or trophies to show how skilled we are. They're descriptions of what naturally unfolds through consistent, properly guided practice.

One week until we explore these in depth, November 1, for anyone interested: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

10/23/2025

Classical texts teach that certain conditions support the development of calm abiding:

Staying in a conducive place - Quiet, safe, minimized distractions
Reducing desires - Not constantly seeking new experiences or possessions
Being content - Satisfaction with what you have
Letting go of excessive activity - Not filling every moment
Maintaining ethical discipline - Living with integrity reduces mental turmoil
Abandoning obsessive thinking - Not over-analyzing everything

These aren't moral judgments. They're practical observations about what supports vs. undermines mental stability.

Notice these are mostly about simplification—doing less, wanting less, thinking less. Modern life pushes the opposite direction: more activity, more stimulation, more complexity.

This explains why meditation feels so counterintuitive. We're training qualities our culture actively discourages.

Nowhere does Buddhism expect us to be perfect, and especially not austere. The middle way is always the path, and that means we have to find a way to live in the world, to be in relationships, to work and support ourselves. The question is, can we do that without so much distraction that we undermine our peace of mind?

The preliminaries for calm abiding practice address how to create these conditions realistically in contemporary life. For those interested, that's where our November class begins—Week 1, November 1: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq"

10/22/2025

Why is meditation so difficult?

The classical texts identify five veils that interfere with meditation:

Desire-attachment - The mind chasing after and clinging to pleasant experiences
Ill will - Aversion, irritation, anger
Dullness/sleepiness - Mental fog, lack of clarity
Restlessness/worry - Agitation, fleeting thoughts
Doubt - Questioning whether practice works, whether you're capable

These aren't signs you're bad at meditation. They're universal obstacles that every practitioner encounters. The difference between someone who develops concentration and someone who gives up? Learning to recognize these obstacles and working with them skillfully.

Tibetan Buddhist tradition provides specific methods for working with each veil. Grounded in philosophy, but with practical techniques refined over centuries.

For anyone interested, understanding veils, hindrances, and their antidotes is central to our November intensive: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

Daily Dharma

10/21/2025

The first stage of calm abiding is called 'placing the mind.' Sounds simple - just put your attention on the meditation object.

The classical texts are honest about this: even maintaining focus for a few seconds proves difficult initially. The mind wanders constantly. This isn't failure - it's normal, and why systematic training in the stages matters.

In fact, noticing that our mind wanders is real progress! Our minds wander constantly, but it isn't until we slow down that we notice. Tibetan Buddhist tradition tells us that the key to developing is 3-fold: listen (hear and read the teachings), contemplate (dive into and seek to understand the teaching, testing it for ourselves), and practice (confidently apply what we have understood to practice in meditation and in daily life).

For those interested, we're exploring all 9 stages in more detail starting November 1: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq"

Join our Intensive Calm-Abiding Meditation course and find tranquility in a chaotic world through in-person or online sessions.

10/20/2025

This past week we experienced authentic Buddhist teaching. Many of you asked for more about the 9 stages of calm abiding that Jason described.

November brings the opportunity to explore those stages in depth—not as philosophical concepts but as actual training in concentration meditation. Four Saturday afternoons, starting November 1.

For those who attended last week's events: this is your natural next step. The overview becomes detailed instruction. The inspiration becomes systematic practice.

Details and registration: https://bit.ly/48zbzbq

This is what sustaining momentum looks like—converting genuine interest into actual training.