I’m excited to announce the new 2026 mediation retreats, along with a decision to begin a weekly in-person meditation group again in Winchester, VA … and, to say thank you all so much for your patience this year, as I’ve not been able to offer out my dharma talks/podcast for many months now!
The topic of patience is actually the theme of my new talk, “The Buddha’s Most Important Meditation,” mainly because as a confession, it’s one of the main qualities of mind and heart that I’ve been trying to cultivate myself for much of this year.
The title comes from a question the Buddhawas once asked by one of his best students, which was: “Sir, what is the most important meditation for us to practice?”
His answer was just one word: “Khanti” which in the Pali language means “patience.”
Many of you know that one of my favorite teachers, the modern-day scholar Bhikkhu Analayo, has famously summed up the entirety of the Buddha’s teachings in just four words: Keep Calmly Knowing Change.
And if this is true – which I believe it is – it means that the Buddha’s answer to his student was even more concise, as he basically condensed it down to the most important quality of heart and mind that we need in order to practice what Bhikkhu Analayo suggests.
This skill or quality is “the most important”because it’s exactly what we are being asked to apply to absolutely everything we struggle with in our lives – every person, situation, and even ourselves – in order to become more peaceful, compassionate, and undisturbed by all that life brings us.
And, of course, because it’s our most essential practice, as you might imagine, patience also tends to be the most difficult – for all of us.
This new talk explores the Buddha’s teachings about how we can cultivate, and apply it. It includes a meditation at the end. As always, I hope that it will serve.
Just a few heads up!
1) The next daylong retreat on MAR. 7, “True to Your Heart” will be in Berryville, VA, and seats are already filling.
2) The next residential retreat APRIL 23-27, “KEEP CALMLY KNOWING CHANGE” in Romney, WV is only 4 months away! And spots have been filling …
4) I’m very excited to announce that I’ve made the decision to begin a weekly meditation group again in Winchester, VA this year … but, we are still ironing out the details (including venue), so … please stay tuned!
4.) I’m also excited to announce that we now have a new team member – Elliott White! He teaches an open, online sangha on Thursday evenings from 7-8 p.m.. Please visit our team page to learn more!
In the meantime, we hope that you can join us!
With care, much metta (loving-kindness), and kind wishes for Happy Holidays!
~ Shell 🙏🏽💕
