ACI 3

APPLIED
MEDITATION

Taught by
Ven. Sumati

online Course
jan 4 - Feb 13, 2024

MASTER YOUR MIND.
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE.

ACI 3:
APPLIED MEDITATION

In a normal, modern life, we experience a barrage of input from both the outside world and our inner worlds. Social media, news, work, families, friends, books, movies, television along with our thoughts, our emotions, our desires, our reactions – all these compete for our undivided attention. And at the same time, it seems impossible to properly focus for any length of time on any one thing and give it the time it may deserve. Drawn from one thing to another, we try to control what we can and then oftentimes get swept away by the currents of our lives, wondering about missed opportunities and potentials that fade into vague memories and dreams.
One of the keys to sort out what’s going on, and gain some insight and mastery over both our outer and inner worlds is meditation. With so many options of mindfulness and meditation practices available, how can we know which meditations work and truly help to finally get to the root causes of our outer and inner confusions, and not act like a simple band-aid solution?
To identify the root causes of our inner and outer worlds, we turn to the ancient wisdom and foundations of meditations in Buddhism. Here, we can begin to uncover our roles in creating the good and challenging in our lives, so we can finally make positive, and lasting transformations. Ultimately, the main motivation to make these changes will then become a motivation to establish and promote the well-being of all other people and the world at-large.
According to these ancient teachings, clear, bright meditation is the foundation for all transformations. 
The centerpiece of this course is a special woodblock carving called “Stages of Meditation”. It represents everything we need to know about our minds as we progress into deeper, more calm and more insight types of meditation. This image was drawn by Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche (1900-1981), and was based on the teachings of the Indian master Kamalashila (~750ad). His Bhavana Krama is the basis of all later schools of meditation in Tibet. This course gives very detailed explanation of this system provided by Kamalashila, Je Tsongkapa (1357-1419) and Pabongka Rinpoche (1878-1941).
 
 The course is free of charge and is open to everyone, from beginners to more advanced practitioners. After registration, you will gain access to our online learning platform and the course materials will be uploaded by the first day of class, Jan 4, 2022.

In this course
we will learn:

  • All of the different types of meditation, 
  • Conditions that are conducive to create good, consistent, meditation,
  • The parts of a meditation practice, 
  • How to prepare yourself PRIOR to meditating, 
  • The eight-point meditation posture, 
  • The best things to focus upon during meditation, 
  • The five general problems which occur within meditation, 
  • The eight solutions to those challenges, 
  • The nine resulting meditative states which lead to the attainment of deep meditative concentration.
  • How to use that state to gain clear insight into that nature of your mind and the world

📆 ACI 3  SCHEDULE:
(ARIZONA TIME)

Classes from
10:00am to 12:00 pm

Class 1 - Jan 4
Class 2 - Jan 8
Class 3 - Jan 11
Class 4 - Jan 15
Class 5 - Jan 18
Class 6 - Jan 22
Class 7 - Jan 25
Class 8 - Jan 29
Class 9 - Feb 1
Class 10 - Feb 9
Review - Feb 13

THE TEACHER

DAVID STUMPF
VENERABLE SUMATI

David is a retired plant biochemist living with his wife, Sarahni (Susan), in Tucson, Arizona.  He has studied and trained in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition since 1995, most intensively with Geshe Michael Roach. He is a certified ACI teacher and has taught internationally since 2006. David and Sarahni helped establish the Diamond Mountain Retreat Center in southeastern Arizona, where he served as operations manager from 2004 to 2010.

From December 2010 to April 2014, he and his lovely wife participated in a three-year, silent, isolated retreat at Diamond Mountain Retreat Center. During the three-year retreat he received a transmission for the practice of White Tara, which is now his main personal practice. During retreat, he wrote a compendium of advices on her practice, which he enjoys sharing with those who feel connected to White Tara. He is currently teaching students in South Africa.