Pith Instructions on Śamatha and Vipaśyanā
A Rime Shedra NYC Course on Meditation
Based on the book: Śamatha and Vipaśyanā: An Anthology of Pith Instructions, composed and translated by B. Alan Wallace and Eva Natanya
May 5, 2026 to July 28, 2026, 7-9:15 PM ET via Zoom
This course will focus on meditation practice, which is the first part of the five-part Rime Shedra NYC curriculum. In this course we will delve into key classical śamatha-vipaśyanā meditation manuals composed by major representatives of all four lineages of Tibetan Buddhism.
For those who aspire to the total enlightenment of a Buddha, the practices of śamatha and vipaśyana play a crucial role from the beginning of the path to its culmination. Initially, they free our minds from the five obscurations and eventually from the ignorance that is the root of suffering. When imbued with bodhicitta, these practices enable us to reach a pivotal stage within the Mahayana path of accumulation, at which we’re assured of being a bodhisattva in all our future lives until enlightenment.
We will use the recently published book by Wallace and Natanya as our primary source along with a few complementary supplemental texts provided separately. This book contains a wonderful collection of texts translated by B. Alan Wallace and Eva Natanya, and also includes a complete introduction to the Dzogchen meditational system authored by B. Alan Wallace. The instructions gathered here are like a string of pearls spanning from the eleventh century to the present day. Each of these invaluable instructions on core meditations are designed to bring about irreversible spiritual transformation.
Maitreya, know that all mundane and supramundane virtuous qualities,
whether of śrāvakas, bodhisattvas, or tathāgatas, are the result of
śamatha and vipaśyanā. —Saṃdhinirmocana Sūtra