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Meditation Training Systems

If you already have a solid understanding of meditation basics and want to take your practice further, I highly recommend exploring one of these meditation training systems.

The teachers who developed them are well respected and have done a great job distilling Buddhist teachings into a modern and accessible format. They range in depth and style, but any one of them will give you a solid foundation for deeper practice. Some of them also have a community component, which can be incredibly helpful for support, guidance, and connecting with like-minded people.

The Mind Illuminated

Culadasa (John Yates, PhD)

The focus of this system is on developing a stable and tranquil mind, also known as Shamatha. This is done through systematically improving your concentration and awareness abilities, and increasing the overall conscious power of your mind. This system is broken into 10 distinct stages, each with their own set of tools and stage-specific practice instructions. In-between each stage are chapters that explore various aspects of how the mind functions, helping you better understand your experience in meditation and in daily life. The middle to later parts of the book also dive into working with the body, and various insight practices. It’s incredibly in depth and uses neuroscience to back up a lot of the information and techniques.

Purchase the book Amazon

Online community The Mind Illuminated Subreddit

Buddhist Geeks

Emily & Vince Horn

Emily and Vince Horn at Buddhist Geeks have put together the most well rounded and accessible system out of the three I’ve listed. It’s not as in depth and systematic as The Mind Illuminated, but it covers a lot of ground and gives you some great information and guided instructions for a variety of practices. They encourage practitioners to really think about their motivation for practicing, and to use the combination of techniques that will help bring that forward in their lives.

Meditation Guide guide.buddhistgeeks.org

Virtual Trainings buddhistgeeks.training

Unified Mindfulness

Shinzen Young

This system was created by Shinzen Young, an american mindfulness teacher and neuroscience research consultant. It’s designed to quickly get your meditation practice up and running. Through eleven short videos they introduce you to things like recognizing impermanence, developing concentration, and labelling sensory experience. It’s a great starting point for awareness or mindfulness practice, and from there you can try one of their paid courses or use the Home Practice Program to take your practice deeper.

CORE Teachings (free foundation course) unifiedmindfulness.com/learn-um

Home Practice Program homepracticeprogram.com

Community Shinzen Young Mindfulness Community