A Study and Practice Course on the Satipatthana Sutta
by Jim Brumfield
This is my second time through Joseph McCormack’s class studying Joseph Goldstein’s book, Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening. I was looking for some structure, some way to measure or even pace my progress as a Vipassana practitioner when I found this class being offered online. The class has provided the structure that I was looking for and much more.
To quote from the description on the flap of the book, this book is “Exquisite in detail yet wholly accessible and relevant for the modern student.” I totally agree with this statement. The reading assignments and practices that Joe provided set the pace for an in-depth study of the Satipatthana Sutta and helped me identify my own patterns of thinking and emotional responses. Garbled and sometimes unconscious psychic patterns continue to be revealed.
Joe’s guidance through each chapter along with the question and response time provided additional insight into the subject. The opportunity to work one-on-one along with the instructor’s willingness to stay after class for further clarification are additional benefits.
By the end of the first course, I felt I had made connections with other class members who often had questions similar to my own. When I saw that this class was being offered again, I readily signed up for it, sensing a unique opportunity for further clarification as well as to deepen my practice.
And now, into the first couple of weeks of my second time through Joe’s class, my sense is that we are going even deeper and broader into understanding these basic teachings of the Buddha and how they apply to my own awakening.
Jim Brumfield is a practitioner of the Dharma and is a student in Joe McCormack’s Online Study and Practice Course on the Satipatthana Sutta.
Jim Brumfield is a practitioner of the Dharma and is a student in Joe McCormack’s Online Study and Practice Course on the Satipatthana Sutta.