Your own self-realization is the greatest service you can render the world. -- Sri Ramana Maharshi

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Cultivating the Luminous Mind

The jhana practice is an ancient type of concentration meditation (samatha) that predates written history as a method to purify the mind. It was taught to the Buddha by his teachers, and when people asked him what to practice, this is the practice he referenced in as many as 60-80% of the suttas, throughout his life. This practice was so important to him, that it was his last act before he died.

Stephen Snyder was taught personally by the Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, who authorized him as the first American non-monastic man to teach the samatha practices in his lineage. Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw of Burma is considered by many to be the leading Buddhist jhana meditation master alive today. Their book, Practicing the Jhanas, is an accessible and direct experiential account of the samatha practice, and is published by Shambhala.

Stephen is a teacher of awakening to a deeper Reality and Truth, beyond our conventional way of understanding human experience. He offers teaching and spiritual mentoring to both new and experience practitioners. He teaches many practices including samatha, vipassana, dzogchen, and modern non-duality, which cultivate a fertile ground for the seeds of liberation to grow and become established in daily life.  Stephen has lead events and worked with people one-on-one from more than 50 countries around the world, since 2007. Services offered both in-person and on-line include:

• Retreats
• Daylong intensives
• Dharma talks at your location
• One-on-one spiritual guidance
• Year-long mentoring program
• Free downloads of dharma talks

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