Wat Luang Phor Sodh Buddhist Meditation Institute

An Associated Institution of the World Buddhist University

 

3. Meditation Education

Meditation?

More and more, individuals worldwide, caught up in the pressure and emptiness of modern consumerism, are turning to meditation for reduction of stress, or for personal development, or in search of meaning – learning more about themselves and exploring the eternal questions of life. Meditation is objective scientific observation, turned inward. It does not require blind faith or belief in Buddhism; participants “see for themselves.” It is a method for training the mind to become concentrated and keenly aware, polishing the lens to see more clearly. Skill in meditation develops the ability to perceive experience directly, without the distortions implicit in conceptualization. Dhammakaya meditation is one of the most efficient ways to ascend directly from mundane mentality to transcendental insight (Vipassana), purifying defilements and actually seeing heaven and hell. This meditation retreat is for all who seek inner peace and happiness or self-purification, as well as for those who seek to understand reality or the meaning of life. Wisdom and virtue develop hand-in-hand. As the meditator progresses beyond the distortions of the passions, insight sharpens and understanding deepens. Wat Luang Phor Sodh is named after the late Abbot of Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen, the Venerable Chao Khun Phra Mongkol-Thepmuni, affectionately known as Luang Phor Wat Paknam or Luang Phor Sodh. In 1917, he rediscovered the meditation method used to reach Dhammakaya states of internal transcendence, in accordance with the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. This is the method taught here.

The Meditation practice combines four methods: (1) Focusing on a visual object, a luminous sphere (aloka-kasina), (2) Repetition of a mantra (samma arahang) recollecting Lord Buddha's virtues (buddhanussati), (3) Mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati), and (4) Focusing at the centre of the body. Meditation proceeds to successively higher levels by always focusing at the centre of the centre.

Meditation Teachers?

Chao Khun Phra Rajyanvisith, Principal & Meditation Master

Phra Rajyanvisith (Sermchai Jayamanggalo) is one of Thailand’s most eminent Meditation Masters and Buddhist scholars. His mission is to revitalize Buddhism, placing equal emphasis on academic study and meditation practise. He founded and heads the: (1) Wat Luang Phor Sodh (WLPS) Buddhist Meditation Institute, (2) WLPS Mahachulalongkornrajavitayalaya University Academic Services Unit (Branch Campus), (3) Wat Luang Phor Sodh Dhammakayaram, (4) Rajburi Provincial Pali Studies Centre, (5) WLPS Dhamma Studies School, and (6) Dhammakaya Buddhist Meditation Institute. (His Holiness Somdej Phra Buddhajarn, Chairman of the acting Supreme Patriarch Committee, is President.) 

He has published over 40 books, 200 articles, and two journals. He has also recorded over 700 Dhamma lectures on tape, CD and VCD. His efforts have achieved noteworthy success in the National Pali Examinations and in training over 1,000 Vipassana Meditation Masters throughout Thailand. He is fluent in English, and will personally teach advanced participants.

Phra Maha Wannapongse Wannawangso, Vice-Principal

P.M. Wannapongse heads the Vipassana Division at Wat Luang Phor Sodh. He holds an M. Sc. (Eng) from Oregon State University, USA, and teaches intermediate and advanced meditation in English.

Phra Khru Baitika Dr. Barton Yanathiro, Vice-Principal & Secretary

Phra Khru Baitika Dr. Barton is an American monk with a Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Psychology from Cornell University. He is a former professor and international development specialist who teaches introductory and intermediate meditation.

Assisted by Advanced Lay Meditators

 

 

 

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