Digital Library



INSIGHTAotearoa

A newsletter dedicated to supporting individuals and communities in Aotearoa New Zealand who practice insight meditation, INSIGHTAotearoa is sent out roughly monthly by email or by post to those who ask for it.

Having grown out of Wellington Insight Meditation Community’s newsletter, it is now an independent publication which circulates countrywide and overseas.

INSIGHTAotearoa is edited by Christine Dann in Port Levy and Kanya Stewart in New Plymouth, with contributions from others, some regularly and others occasionally. Caren Wilton in Wellington keeps the website at http://www.insightaotearoa.org up to date.

To subscribe, send an email to insightaotearoa+subscribe@googlegroups.com.

There is no subscription price. We rely on the generosity of the readership for our financial support -- please look at the section on generosity to discover ways of supporting the newsletter.



Online resources for those wanting to learn to meditate

With thanks to the Sydney buddhist community Beaches Sangha, a glossary of buddhist terms is available here.

How to meditate: the art of formal practice, by Tara Brach
http://www.imcw.org/how-meditate as a web page or
http://www.tarabrach.com/how-to-meditate.pdf as a document

Some simple instructions for people starting out
http://nyimc.org/index.php/site/learnmeditate/

Sitting meditation instructions, by Jack Kornfield
http://www.jackkornfield.org/index/meditations?id=sittingMeditation

An introduction to meditation, by Gil Fronsdal (six downloadable MP3 files)
http://www.audiodharma.org/talks-intromed.html

Awakening joy, a ten month experiential online course
http://www.awakeningjoy.info/

Nelson cook and gardener Roger Wilde’s thoughts on beginning meditation
http://www.wildhealthfood.com/learn-to-meditate

Dharma talks by Australian teacher Winton Higgins with a modern, secular view on this practice are available as PDFs at
http://www.beaches-sangha.org/Downloads/default.aspx


Other resources

INSIGHTAotearoa, a monthly newsletter for New Zealand’s insight meditation practitioners and communities
http://www.insightaotearoa.org

Aotearoa Buddhist Education Trust
http://www.abet.net.nz

The Insight Meditation Center, Barre, Massachusetts, USA
http://www.dharma.org

Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Woodacre, Marin County, California, USA
http://www.spiritrock.org

Insight meditation in Australia
http://www.dharma.org.au

Gaia House, Devon, Britain
http://www.gaiahouse.co.uk

Against The Stream Buddhist Meditation Society, the home of dharma punx
http://www.againstthestream.org/

Metta Foundation, the home of insight dialogue
http://www.metta.org/

Audiodharma archive of downloadable dharma talks
http://www.audiodharma.org

Dharma Seed audio archive of downloadable dharma talks
http://www.dharmaseed.org

Recommended books, periodicals, downloads, links etc
http://www.abet.net.nz/resources

About

There are a number of communities and individuals who practise insight meditation, as well as people who teach it, in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This website lets you know who they are and where they can be found, as well as where you can find sitting groups, learn to meditate, and sign up for retreats.

Contact the community or person nearest to you to find out more.

A Thought for Today

We are the first generation of spiritual aspirants to attempt to find a life of awakening and freedom while living in the world rather than within the cloistered walls of a monastery.

There are few sure voices or blueprints to guide us. We are learning the lessons of engaged renunciation — treasuring simplicity within a life of consciously loving, working, and creating. The dilemma each of us faces is how to meet our heart’s longing of calm simplicity amid a complex life.

It is a journey that may involve a change in our lives. It will surely involve a change of heart. It is a journey that asks for honesty, commitment, wisdom, and a willingness to learn.

— Christina Feldman