Contemplative Training Center

The Contemplative Training Center at The Center for Contemplative Research provides professional, sustained training in methods of shamatha (contemplative technology) and vipashyana (contemplative science) drawn from the Theravada, Mahayana, Mahamudra, and Dzogchen traditions of Buddhism. While all these contemplative methods are drawn from Buddhism, they may be practiced by people of all religious faiths as well as those with no religious faith, and there are parallels to these methods and insights in all the great contemplative traditions of the world.

We engage in collaborative research between retreatants and scientists regarding replicable insights and discoveries into the fundamental questions of the nature, origins, and potentials of consciousness offering unprecedented opportunities for longitudinal studies of meditation.

Throughout all these activities, we emphasize secular ethical foundation of non-violence/compassion and the fourfold cultivation of genuine well-being through the development of exceptional mental balance. We will deeply probe the reasons why humanity so often fails to live up to these standards, either individually or collectively and believe the root cause of the current destruction of the ecosphere is the triad of materialism-hedonism-consumerism.

A fundamental aspect of our mission is to challenge the reigning paradigm of materialism-hedonism-consumerism, which began its rise during the latter half of the 19th century. The past 150 years have seen an accelerating decimation of the ecosphere and the most destructive wars in the history of humanity, together with a rise in mental disease, especially depression.

To address these issues, we emphasize inter-contemplative dialogue and research, investigating the authenticity of contemplative insights and discoveries made by the great contemplative adepts, ancient and modern, East and West.

And by engaging in inter-institutional collaboration we will be able to provide deep contemplative/scientific research that will support the missions of the other institutions engaged in the study of consciousness and contemplative practices.