“empty because fabricated”

A practice-based orientation to insight approaches in ‘Seeing that Frees’

This course is intended to offer a particular point of orientation from which to explore some of the insight/emptiness practices contained within “Seeing that Frees – Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising” by Rob Burbea.  This course is short (six weeks) and so we will neither be able to work with all the practices in the book, nor will we be spending enough time with any one practice to do it at all justice.  Instead, the practices chosen are curated to illustrate some things about the underlying framework of Rob’s approach to Buddhist wisdom practice and the way he connects and interweaves the Buddhist teachings of Dependent Origination and Emptiness.  So, to be clear, the primary intention of this course is to establish some basis of intellectual understanding around key concepts within “Seeing that Frees” in order to empower one to better practice with the book over time (as the book offers a depth of teaching and a broad range of practices that provide the ground for many years of practice).  That being said, practice instructions will be provided around six key practices from the book in a group setting, allowing space for clarifying and refining how one applies the instructions within their own practice.

The practices chosen for the course support the exploration that Rob describes as “a gradually deepening inquiry into fabrication – of the self and of all experience”.  They are all “insight ways-of-looking” that will tend to release degrees of clinging and attachment.  With time and practice, these insight ways of looking offer a meditator the possibility to develop an experiential understanding of the relationship between the way the mind is meeting experience and the appearance of the phenomena one perceives.  The course will not include any of the “analytical practices” from the book, although some connections will be made between those practices and the insight ways-of-looking taught within the course.

Who is this course for: I’m offering this course for a few reasons. The first is to serve folks who are already familiar with insight meditation practice but would appreciate some form within which to clarify and explore what is particular about the way Rob offered these practices (including how they can serve as vehicles for exploring the teachings of both the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist traditions).  For those already working with the book, I hope this course will serve as a place to make helpful connections between the specific range of practices offered, along with an opportunity to visit or re-visit key practices in a group setting (with time for questions and reports).  This course might also be a helpful point of departure for those who have been focusing on other areas of practice (metta, samadhi, jhana practice) and who are looking to lean into emphasizing insight/emptiness practice.  As well, this course will also provide a good basis for taking other insight meditation courses I offer for experienced meditators (some happening Fall/Early Spring) which rest upon many of the concepts that will be presented here.

Just generally, it’s always my intention to impart meditation instructions with an eye towards conveying how and why they work in a way that empowers an individual meditator to find their own way to best explore dharma and practice, given their particular strengths, interests, constraints, and capacities. 

Course format: The main weekly course meeting will include practice instructions, time for sharing/questions/reports and a talk.  Teaching topics will highlight key principles of practice in this particular context of Rob’s presentation of Buddhist wisdom practice, as well as more general considerations around practicing within a liberation-oriented meditation tradition.  A mid-week 45-minute group practice session will be offered live, and recorded for those unable to attend.

Practices offered: (there may be one or two changes, but this is the general gist of what will be taught): Impermanence, Vedana, some approaches to applying emptiness practice to interpersonal relationships, Dukkha (method 2), Anatta, and Vastness of Awareness).

Experience level: This is not a beginning meditation course. Applicants should have familiarity and experience with Buddhist wisdom teachings and practice – although it’s designed as a kind of orientation to a particular framing of the dharma, it will not include any basic meditation instructions. Different practices will be explored each week, and so the pace will be quite fast.   It will be assumed that you have the capacity to cultivate stability of attention on your own (i.e. some kind of samadhi practice), the ability to apply mindfulness well, and be comfortable sitting 45 min on a regular basis.  I ask that you also have had a regular meditation practice for at least one year. It’s great if you have done meditation retreats, but there will be space in the course for those who are unable to do retreats but show commitment to practice in other ways.  Please feel really free to ask me any questions regarding whether this course may be a good fit for you. As I will be limiting the size of this course, I ask that you not sign up for it if you do not plan to attend most of the sessions so that another may have the spot.

About me: has practiced Buddhist meditation since 2001, and began practicing insight meditation five years later.  In 2015 she began studying and training with Rob Burbea, and completed her teacher-training with him in 2020.  She teaches meditation in Los Angeles, California, and is an artist and a parent.  She is passionate about exploring the intersection between creative energies and contemplative practice, and supporting meditators wishing to pursue deep practice in the midst of daily life.

About me (specific to this offering): At the time I encountered Rob’s teachings, I had a small child, and never practiced with his methods on retreat. Instead, I practiced at home with guidance from Rob.  Having enough clarity to be precise and intentional within one’s practice feels for me to be a key ingredient in developing a personal practice that is dynamic and empowered outside of retreat settings.  With this in mind, I am offering this course in the way I am: smaller group size (space for questions/reports), clear instructions on key practices, and teaching topics geared to support the possibility that, in time, one can make these practices their own.