Shiné – Traditional Tibetan Shamatha Meditation
“Shiné – Traditional Tibetan Shamatha Meditation” is a practice which is peaceful and powerful at the same time. It aims to calm our mind and train it in a way so that it transforms from its usual active and agitated state into a calm and clear one that gradually allows for awareness to arise. As a result, our mind becomes more peaceful and less disturbed by both internal factors like thoughts and emotions, and external factors, like a stressful environment.
The Tibetan tradition has developed potent methodologies for improving the functioning and clarity of the mind. Over many centuries and countless hours, Tibetan masters have closely observed their minds, enabling them to come to know it intimately. What they discovered is that our mind has an innate awareness and calmness. However, having excessive thoughts and emotions causes us to lose that inner calm. When this happens we are no longer alert to what is happening around us, nor what is happening inside of us. Then we are just following our thoughts and emotions around like a wild elephant running after a monkey.
Knowing both - what is possible and what the challenges are - one can create a very effective program for training the mind and eliciting its natural powers. This is exactly what the Tibetans practitioners have done. They have forged a path that leads unquestioningly toward a calm, clear, highly aware mind that is ready to receive the highest realizations. The process to reach there is to first train our mind to be stable and functional. Then, with this stable mind, we do contemplative practices and receive insights into the nature of reality.
If you are interested in learning this technique from a teacher who has been certified by Tulku Lobsang Rinpoche, you can find a teacher list in the section “Certified Teachers” of this website.
If you are interested in attending any of Rinpoche’s online or in-person teachings, please visit his tourplan to find information about his upcoming events: