Cultivating and Deepening a Meditation Practice
with Elaine Jackson
The real purpose of meditation is to gently tame the mind, to discover its true nature, to live as harmonious human beings, and to make life as meaningful as possible. Through meditation training, one cultivates an open-hearted awareness of whatever is arising in the present moment. The mind gives up its wandering and is quite happy to be alert, open, attentive, and accepting of the present.
The simple practice of pausing, for the purpose of seeing what is true in each moment, works to retrain the mind. When the mind is relaxed and focused through meditation, grace arises as love, compassion, and all the other noble qualities of awakened humanity.
To establish an enduring practice, one that leads to lasting happiness, requires sustained effort. When practice is deepened, it becomes an integral part of life. We can all use a boost in our practice from time to time. In this four-session course, we explore how to cultivate and sustain a meditation practice.
Short Video
Elaine Jackson gives a brief overview of her background and announces her upcoming course in February; Cultivating and Deepening a Meditation Practice
Additional Materials
Recordings
This is a playlist. To jump to a particular session, click the playlist icon (near the top-right corner) of the video frame to select video.
About the Teacher
Elaine Jackson is a founding member of Vajrapani Institute for Wisdom Culture located in Boulder Creek, California. She has been a student of Tibetan Buddhism since 1977 and has studied with many of the greatest Buddhist teachers of our time, primarily in the Gelug Tibetan Buddhist tradition of the FPMT.
Elaine has served as executive director of Vajrapani Institute and was also their resident teacher for several years, retiring in 2021.
In addition to engaging in annual month-long solitary retreats for over 20 years, she also completed a three-year retreat in 2014. Currently, she lives a contemplative life off-the-grid in the Santa Cruz mountains, while offering Dharma teachings and meditation support.
