Concentration

Teachings from the annual Cultivating Concentration Retreat held over Labor Day weekend.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat

For several years, Venerable Thubten Chodron led an annual Cultivating Concentration Retreat over Labor Day weekend. She taught on how cultivating single-pointed concentration or serenity fits into the Buddhist path and the methods for developing this mental state to benefit ourselves and others. Explore the teachings by year below.

Learn more about Venerable Thubten Chodron’s signature courses and retreats on the Sravasti Abbey website.

Subcategories

A young woman sits in meditation in the garden under a tree.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2010

The causes and conditions necessary to cultivate concentration and do a retreat focused on this practice.

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Venerable Jigme and lay people sit in meditation in the Sravasti Abbey Meditation Hall.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2011

Methods for cultivating serenity laid out in texts by Maitreya and Asanga in the Sanskrit tradition.

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A room full of people sitting in meditation.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2012

Hindrances to developing serenity and their antidotes according to the Pali and Sanskrit traditions.

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A line of monastics and laypeople do walking meditation in the Sravasti Abbey garden.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2013

Mental factors we need to strengthen to develop serenity and how to overcome hindrances to developing serenity.

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Venerable Kunga leads retreat participants in walking meditation in the Sravasti Abbey garden.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2015

Nagarjuna's teachings on the perfection of concentration from his Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra.

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A row of people sit in meditation on chairs on the Chenrezig Hall deck.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2016

More teachings on concentration from Nagarjuna on the Six Perfections translated by Bhikshu Dharmamitra.

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Lay people sit in chairs in the Sravasti Abbey garden in meditation.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2017

Teachings on The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation by Chinese master Zhiyi, translated by Bhikshu Dharmamitra.

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Monastics and lay trainees sit in meditation in the Sravasti Abbey Meditation Hall.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2018

Venerable Sangye Khadro teaches on the hindrances to developing serenity and their antidotes.

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Bird's eye view of the Sravasti Abbey Meditation Hall filled with people meditating.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2019

Conditions required to develop serenity and hindrances to doing so according to the Pali and Sanskrit traditions.

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A man sits in meditation in a meadow.

Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2020

Methods for developing serenity and commentary on the sutra, The Removal of Distracting Thoughts.

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Related Books

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2020

Discourse on “The Removal of Distracting Thoug...

Nagarjuna’s analogies for the hindrances continued. Also advice on how to remove distracting thoughts.

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2020

Structuring the meditation session

How to structure a meditation session, including the six preliminary practices before meditation. Identifying the…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2020

The benefits of and conditions for developing serenity

Where serenity fits on the path to liberation, the three higher trainings of ethics, concentration,…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2020

Concentration as a Buddhist practice

Instructions on walking meditation, the four immeasurables as aids to concentration, the breath as an…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2019

Stages of sustained attention

The nine stages of sustained attention prior to developing serenity or calm abiding.

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2019

Doubt

The fifth hindrance to developing concentration, and teachings from the Pali tradition on taming the…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2019

Lethargy, sleepiness, restlessness, remorse

The third and fourth hindrance to developing concentration: lethargy and sleepiness, and restlessness and remorse.

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2019

Sensual desire and malice

Walking meditation instructions, sitting meditation posture, and the first two hindrances to developing concentration.

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2019

Conditions conducive for developing concentration

The six conditions conducive for developing concentration and selecting an object of meditation - either…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2018

The five faults and eight antidotes

How to identify the five faults that arise when doing concentration meditation, and how to…

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Cultivating Concentration Retreat 2018

Restlessness, regret, and doubt

How to identify and apply antidotes to the hindrances of restlessness, regret, and deluded doubt.

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