KFD Meetups

ditto.

Thanks for blazing the trail for the group Nadav!

OK, this is looking good. So far, we have Bruno, Jarrod, Clayton, and Ron. Anybody else? Those of you who are signed up, just be ready and logged onto Skype at 1:30pm New York time tomorrow (Saturday, 11 December, 2010), and you will get a call from me to join the conference.

See you then!

Kenneth

Updated list of attendees for Saturday the 11th:

Bruno, Jarrod, Clayton, Ron, Duncan. Anybody else want in? Have I forgotten anyone?

I'm on the westcoast and working a graveyard shift so I'll be fast asleep at 13:30 EST. It would have been great to listen in though. I really hope someone records it. Have fun guys.

"Anybody else want in?
- Kenneth
"


I would like to, if you still have room for one.

Antero.

Updated list of attendees for Saturday the 11th:

Bruno, Jarrod, Clayton, Ron, Duncan, Antero, Gary S.

Really great! I loved the very precise instructions to get NS!

Thanks everyone.

Very enjoyable, hope everyone learned something... I know I did...

Definitely a success! Had a great time. Thanks guys.

Just saw this. Sorry I missed out. Hopefully I'll catch ya'll next round.

Thank you all! It was very nice. I agree with Bruno about NS. Now I really know what to look for when trying to find Nirodha Samapatti.

it was a good event and I got a lot out of the discussion on NS. Please do this again and again!

Sorry I didn't make it. We didn't get done with our appointment in time.

"Not long ago a few of us who happened to be in the Chicago area started to meet once a month to chat face to face. It has been a great experience, and now that I've moved, I really miss it. I have realized how powerful it is to have sangha to connect with face to face.

"

Where in Chicago?

Jack
Naperville

"it was a good event and I got a lot out of the discussion on NS. Please do this again and again!"

There was some discussion of an audio post of the event. Any idea whether that's in the works?

"There was some discussion of an audio post of the event. Any idea whether that's in the works?"

Thanks for reminding me, Joel. I just listened to the recording and I think it's excellent. I'll see about getting permission from the participants to publish it. Stay tuned...

"Where in Chicago?

Jack
Naperville"

Hey Jack,

We met at a couple locations depending on what was easy for everyone. I believe folks are still getting together on occasion. Contact Cmart, betawave and Chris_CK to see if they are meeting or would like to meet up again.

Ron

The recording has been posted.

Enjoy everyone!

jaytek.net/KFD/KFD%20Conference%20Call%2...Dec%2011,%202010.mp3

Thanks for hosting the file and making it available, Mumuwu! And thanks to Bruno, Jarrod, Clayton, Ron, Duncan, and Antero for participating and for giving your permission to publish the recording!

Kenneth

In the grand tradition of casually suggesting more work for Kenneth to do, it would be cool to have an "Audio" link at the top of the page where all of these conference calls, as well as Kenneth's past dharma talks, are aggregated.

Any suggestions on how to download this?

Once the plug-in MP3 player got cranking in my browser, I was able to righ-click on it and "save as," at which point I could download the MP3 and put it on the iPod.

Go to

jaytek.net/KFD

You'll see it as a link there and be able to right-click and save it.

I have enjoyed this site and the audio. I have been meditating twice a day for ovefr 40 years. I miss a day every once and awhile but I have been fairly faithful over the years. I have been on numerous retreats but only one over 5 days. I started off doing samadhi meditaion for several years (TM), then tried koan work in a Korean Zen group and have been doing vipassana (Mahasi Sayadaw method) for the last 15-20 years. The person with whom I lead a local sangha has over 35 years meditation experience and just returned from a 6 week intensive meditation retreat at IMS. Several months ago he went on a month IMS retreat. Neither of us has reached the attainments I read about on this list, often from people who have meditated for only a year or two.

I don't doubt the attainments of the more experienced yogis here. I question the attainments of the newcomers. (Question is not as strong as doubt.) Yes, the list does a very good job on the nuts and bolts of meditation unlike most but not all other Internet lists. But the meditation method used here is not new or original.

I don't want to throw cold water on anyones process but this has been on my mind.

Jack from Chicago

Jack

Hi Jack,

First of all, thank you for posting your concerns. You could have just as easily "voted with your feet," deleting this site from your favorites list and moving on. By being willing to share your misgivings here on the forum, you give the rest of us a chance not only to respond but to take a moment for self-reflection. If we are deluding ourselves, better that we find out sooner rather than later.

I understand your skepticism. I often talk to yogis with many years experience who have not attained to even the earlier stages of attainment by the criteria we use here. In fact, that is the reason this site exists; to emphasize a particular aspect of meditation practice that I believe is generally under-emphasized in western dharma. Our goal-oriented approach is not everyone's cup of tea, it's true. And without exception, the experienced yogis I know (by which I mean yogis like you with many years or decades of experience) have benefited enormously from their practice. My mission is not to belittle or denigrate anyone, but to fill what I perceive as a hole in western dharma.

While on longterm retreat in Rangoon in the early 90s, I found a culture that would be unrecognizable to many dedicated practitioners of western Buddhism. People talked openly about attainments, teachers encouraged yogis to gain to stream entry and beyond, and it was not at all unusual to find people who claimed to have attained to stream entry in a single 90 day retreat. In fact, it was expected.

Back in the states, I returned to a Buddhist world where attainment was a dirty word and many dedicated practitioners with decades of experience had not yet attained to even the A&P. The teachers, not wishing to hurt anyone, downplayed the importance of attainment to the point where it was not considered a realistic goal for westerners. I disagree, of course. Hence this website.