Amitabha Foundation Vancouver

 

Happy New Year! Start it off right with some mental rejuvenation and a healthy dose of equanimity, and join us for our ongoing group meditation series. As announced in our recent newsletter, John Halpern will be guiding us in the first Shiné—Calm Abiding—meditation session of 2026 this Saturday, 01/10 at 2pm. The next date this month will be on Sunday, January 18th. See below for registration info and more details: We are pleased to announce that the popular Calm Abiding Meditation series with John Halpern continues at the Big Indian Sanctuary, Thinley Khachod Ling, this Saturday, January 10th at 2pm Eastern time. It will now be hybrid: accessible both in person (weather permitting)* and online. Calm Abiding is a method based on Tibetan Buddhist Tradition.  Beginner & all meditation levels are invited. Also known as Shiné in Tibetan and Shamatha in Sanskrit, this is the foundation of all meditation. It develops the capacity to rest the mind on a singular point of focus and sustain a state of tremendous relaxation and evenness.  The ongoing workshops Include: Three Aspects of Calm Abiding or Shiné Practice 1. Gazing at a stable object (External) 2. Focusing upon a luminous sphere within (Inner) 3. Formless Immersion (Secret ) These three aspects will be broken up into several discrete sessions, and elaborated upon as the series continues over time. The 3rd aspect also opens the doorway to vivid flashes of insight(lhatong or vipassana): liberating glimpses of emptiness and openness.  Explanation and practice of breathwork, mindful relaxation, and tonglen healing will also be explored. *If the weather forecast the morning of a scheduled session indicates it may be dangerous to travel, we will conduct the session soley via Zoom, so stay tuned once you register.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

John Halpern embarked on the profound path of Tibetan Buddhist training and study in 1982 with His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, the first Supreme Head of the Nyingma lineage, who was a living terton or treasure revealer. He continued his studies with H.H. Shenphen Dawa Rinpoche until Rinpoche’s parinirvana in 2017.  At H.H. Shenphen Dawa Rinpoche’s request, in 2009, John began leading meditation instruction at Yeshe Nyingpo, the Dudjom Tersar lineage Temple in New York. Since then, John has led retreats and Naked Mind - a weekly meditation class, in Union Square, New York.    John is an international, award winning artist and independent filmmaker of over 50 years, known for large-scale, interactive, public art, cultural activism – socially engaged practice, and theatrically released art films. John established the Institute for Cultural Activism International, a 501(c)3 art organization based in Delhi, NY, with his wife Emily Harris in 2022.