Shinzen Young

My friend Erin Justensen, a fellow yogi and intuit, brought me to a place called Against The Stream. It's an underground, hidden Buddhist precious gem. Against the Stream was founded by Dharma Punx author Noah Levine, and it's got a punk-like vibe to it (especially the Buddhas with the mohawk statues ; )

But it's a seriously community minded organization- donation-based, socially-active and truly, truly open for all who want to attend.

This is my second time here, and I was lucky enough to catch a talk from Shinzen Young.

I loved Young. He was down to earth, poetic, and, as far as dharma talks go, to the point.

Young also hosts "on-site" retreats- once again, making meditation available to all those who feel that leaving for retreat isn't possible at the moment.

Here are some notes:

The Three Pleasures of Meditation

-Concentration

-Sensual clarity

-Inner equilibrium

What happens when you fully experience a pleasure?

Experience described only through paradox- You feel both extremely fulfilled, and at the same time vacuous.

You derive more satisfaction from being present in pleasure.

Most people think intensity, duration or variety.

What we really want is fulfillment.

Fulfillment(Aka satisfaction)= pleasure times mindfulness

Suffering= Pain divided by mindfulness

The razer's edge of bliss and void

You have an experience so complete that there's no time to fixate it to a thing.