I'm really confused about this whole process. I've read many things on it, but my mind just blanks out. I live in Texas and I want to find a teacher in the Theravada tradition. Are these at meditation centers, or monasteries? Do I just approach them and ask if they teach Vipassana and Samatha meditation? I've been trying to practice from just reading, and almost all of them suggest finding a qualified meditation teacher. Some clarification and feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

In all honesty and from a practical point of view, as people who know this stuff really well and use this sort of terminology and set of conceptual frameworks are so sparsely distributed around the globe, and the number who you (and us) would resonate with, like, understand, and get along with are likely fewer than that, most of us use this and related forums (fora?), such as KFD and Open Enlightenment, etc., travel to various places to go on retreats or talk with people who know this stuff, contact each other over Skype, Google Chat, Google Wave, iChat or the phone or whatever, and establish long-distance supportive contact with each other to help each other go deeper.

Few of us have much of a local sangha, and fewer have local sanghas with real seasoned and accomplished practitioners who will talk about practice in ways that are open, straightforward and empowering, and those that do should count themselves really, really lucky. Hence, we find ourselves here. I started this place due to having absolutely no local community at all.

I personally had to do a lot of traveling and phone calls to learn these things most of the time, as my local resources were few and problematic when they were there at all.

Helpful?

Daniel

A very tricky question you asked.

The first thing you need to get clear about is the practice. Just from your brief post it is difficult to say, but I would venture to guess that you view samatha and vipassana as two separate meditation regimens. This is an incorrect view. Samatha and vipassana go together and complement one another. Perhaps the following essay will help you to sort out this difference: One Tool Among Many.

Second, choosing a specific teacher can be an intimate and personal endeavor. One should ideally take one's time with this process. Get to know the person first as a human being before becoming all caught up in the student-teacher relationship.

However, if you are referring to a more relaxed relationship of meditation guide to student, meaning that you could use some hands on guidance with how to go about structuring a practice in meditation and Dhamma study, then this is a horse of a different color. Keep your eyes open and read about different approaches to this until you find one that resonates with you. You're better off to just go slow with this process and let it take its time until you find a guide and approach that suits your inclinations and ability to make a personal commitment to the practice. Also, logistical considerations can often come into play. That is, you may locate a teacher/guide who lives in a different state or country from where you are.

The reason that you are hearing that it is best to "find a qualified meditation teacher" is because at certain crucial stages of the practice, it is best to have hands on assistance with the practice in order to help you smooth the way through these stages.

At any rate, if one is not already aware of this, one should become informed about why there exists a need to practice at all. The following might help to clarify such a prerequisite: Going for Refuge. In conjunction with that if you haven't already read it, the book by Bhikkhu Bodhi on The Noble Eightfold Path, The Way to the End of Suffering should be of considerable help and assistance regarding the path which the Buddha taught.

I'm sure others here may have differing opinions about this. All the best to you.

Thank You Daniel and Ian for your replies. The reason I asked was because many texts gave the impression that teachers were REQUIRED to get anywhere. I've only started practicing perhaps a few months ago, as much as I can at home. Many of the times I have to force myself to practice. So perhaps consulting here would be a good idea Also thanks for that little clarification on vipassana and samatha Ian, I'll give the essay a read. As I've understood it, samatha and vipassana only differ in whether more emphasis is placed on concentration or mindfulness and what their end goal is, and samatha can be used to drive the practice of vipassana further.