The Buddha offered an analogy for the optimal amount of striving called for in meditation practice: a guitar that is strung too tight is not playable, and neither is a guitar that is strung too loose – it has to be tuned just right to produce the desired sound. “In the same way,” said the Buddha, “over-aroused persistence leads to restlessness, overly slack persistence leads to laziness. Thus, you should determine the right pitch for your persistence, attune the pitch of the five faculties to that, and there pick up your theme.” In this program, we will talk about the concept of Right Effort – an important factor of the Noble Eightfold Path – and how it can help us attune our meditation practice. In addition to the concept of "not too tight, not too loose," we will discuss ways to avoid the arising of negative mind-states and encourage the arising of positive ones. This program is open to beginners and experienced meditators alike, and will be held mostly in silence, with an instructional talk and time at the end for Q&A and discussion.
Adam Groff is the manager of NSIMC. He has been practicing Buddhist meditation since the 2000s, beginning at the Insight Meditation of Newburyport under Matthew Daniell. Read more at Adam’s teacher page.
The fee for this program is $45 for members and $50 for nonmembers (become a member here). To register and pay online, click below; if paying by cash or check, send an email to northshoreimc@gmail.com.