Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation
Spring Iteration
April 6 - June 8, 2024
An online study and practice course
guided by Bhikkhu Anālayo
with facilitating teachers
9 Weeks of practice and focused study on the liberating teachings of the Satipaṭṭhāna sutta, a foundational early Buddhist teaching
This program will be offered in Spring 2024
Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation is an interactive and comprehensive online program modeled on in-person courses offered by Venerable Bhikkhu Anālayo on the foundational mindfulness text the Satipaṭṭhāna-sutta. While based on scholarly research, the emphasis throughout this online course is on what is relevant to actual meditation practice. In order to promote accessibility and support individual learning styles, students are offered a variety of tools to make this text personally relevant and to integrate it into daily living.
The core text for this course is Satipaṭṭhāna Meditation: A Practice Guide by Bhikkhu Anālayo. The student experience is enriched by a variety of learning modalities and practice experiences, including interactive group study meetings facilitated by guiding teachers, recorded guided meditations and video lectures by Bhikkhu Analayo, moderated forum-based discussions, and practical exercises. Each week students will investigate one aspect of the four foundations of mindfulness by contemplating a particular aspect of body, mind, feeling, or the dhammas.
From previous students of this course:
"The curriculum was incredibly well-designed, the teachings were well-paced and clear, and the sangha discussions were wonderful!"
"Shook me to my core and reawakened the kind of passion for the Dharma I first had in my teens."
"The online sangha was and is wonderful. I learned so much from my fellow travelers."
"You have taken online teaching to a new level."
Course Overview
 | Application time frame | January 15-February 26 |
 | Course dates | April 6 - June 8, 2024 (orientations April 1 - 6) |
 | Duration | 9 Weeks |
 | Time commitment | 7-10 hours per week |
 | Participation expectation | Intensive |
 | Prerequisite | Establishment in a basic mindfulness practice |
 | Self-Paced components: | • Video lectures • Audio guided meditations • Reading assignments • Sutta study • Contributing to discussion forums • Non-graded review questions |
 | Interactive components | • Weekly 90 minute live group meetings including: • Break-out practice and sutta study discussions • Moderated weekly written discussion forums |
This Sattipatthana Program will be offered: Spring 2024
Certification Track
This online course offers an optional certification track, which would qualify students to meet the prerequisites for Bhikkhu Anālayo's advanced online and residential courses (Mindfulness of Breathing and Brahmavihāra & Emptiness). The optional certification track requires the completion of a final reflection and review of participation.
Timeline
Applications Open: January 15, 2024
Applications Close: February 26 (5 pm ET)
Initial Accepted Applicants Notified: March 4
Registration: March 4- 22
Orientation Week: April 1 - 6
Course Dates: April 6 - June 8, 2024
Guiding Teacher
Bhikkhu Anālayo is a scholar-monk and the author of numerous books on meditation and early Buddhism, such as Satipatthāna: The Direct Path to Realization, Perspectives on Satipatthāna, and Satipatthāna Meditation: A Practice Guide. He is a Faculty Member at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, having retired from being a professor at the Numata Center for Buddhist Studies at the University of Hamburg. His main area of academic research is early Buddhism, with a special interest in the topics of meditation and women in Buddhism. At the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies he regularly teaches residential study & practice courses, participates in online programs and undertakes research into meditation-related themes.
Bhikkhu Anālayo has designed the course curriculum and program structure, and is supporting the facilitating teacher team. There will be no live contact with Bhikkhu Anālayo during the program.
Facilitating Teachers
Rachel Lewis
Rachel Lewis began practicing insight meditation in 2003, while completing her physics PhD at Yale. Since 2011, she has taught dharma and meditation classes and retreats in British Columbia and beyond. She completed the IMS/IRC 4-year teacher training in 2021, and is a guiding teacher of the British Columbia Insight Meditation Society. Her dharma teaching interests include the power of music, humour, and creativity to increase our capacity for learning, as well as the way that practice supports and is supported by social justice work. To learn more about Rachel please visit: http://rachelmeditates.ca/.
Valeria Galetto
Valeria Galetto began practicing insight meditation in 2012, under the supervision of Gil Fronsdal and Andrea Fella at the Insight Meditation Center (IMC). She is a mentor in the Noble Eightfold Path Program and a support teacher of the online course Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation, both offered through IMC. She is a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher (UMass) and an adjunct mindfulness professor in health care at Samuel Merritt University’s School of Nursing.
Dawn MacDonald
Dawn MacDonald is deeply grateful for opportunities to study and teach the dharma. She is certified as a trainer and a teacher of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Mindful Self Compassion and teaches Compassion Cultivation Training. She lives on Treaty 1 Territory in the middle of Canada and is committed to decolonization - working hand in hand, heart to heart towards a more just, equitable, and loving world.
Jan Rosamond
Jan Rosamond leads the Dharmatown Insight Meditation Group in St. Louis, Missouri. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner, Community Dharma Leader, and Advanced Practitioner Programs. She loves chanting the Metta Sutta in Pali and the Great Compassion Mantra. Jan has sat more than 500 nights of silent residential retreats at Spirit Rock, IMS, the Forest Refuge, Gaia House in England, Dharmagiri in South Africa, and SweOoMin Monastery in Burma (Myanmar).
Sue Bennett
Sue Bennett has been practicing and studying Buddhadharma since 1998. Her primary teachers have been Arinna Weisman and Ruth Dennison. Prior to being introduced to Vipassana meditation through Spirit Rock’s LGBT retreats in 2001 she also studied in Tibetan and Zen lineages. Sue has participated in Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program and was a founding organizer of the SF LGBTQ Sangha. Her current dharma home is the East Bay Meditation Center.
Yenkuei Chuang
Yenkuei Chuang 莊琰珪 (she/her) lives near Boston, USA. As an immigrant woman of color, she is keenly interested in building a beloved inclusive community. Yenkuei began her daily life dharma practice with Zen Masters Thich Nhat Hanh and Sr. Annabelle in 1998. Ordained in TNH’s Order of Interbeing, she has also incorporated Vipassana and Early Buddhism teachings into her practice. In addition to teaching mindfulness meditation and facilitating sanghas, she works as a trauma-sensitive psychotherapist and somatics life coach. Currently she is part of the Community Dharma Mentors Program led by Narayan Liebenson, and the Insight Dialogue Teacher Development Cohort. Yenkuei loves to cook, dance, and mother her four children. For more information, please visit her website.
Stephanie Swann
Stephanie Swann, Ph.D., began practicing insight meditation in 2008 after many years of practicing in other traditions. Stephanie is a guiding teacher for the Atlanta Insight Meditation Community and a certified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) instructor. She currently serves on the advisory board of Dharma Voices for Animals, aligning with her compassion for all beings. Stephanie enjoys using gentle humor in her teaching. She invites her students to embrace the beautiful messiness of life and use this as a loving connection to fellow human beings.
Course Curriculum
| Pre-launch week | Orientation |
| Week 1 | Mindfulness, Satipaṭṭhāna |
| Week 2 | First Satipaṭṭhāna (Body): Contemplation of Anatomical Parts |
| Week 3 | First Satipaṭṭhāna (Body): Contemplation of Elements |
| Week 4 | First Satipaṭṭhāna (Body): Contemplation of Death |
| Week 5 | Second Satipaṭṭhāna (Feeling): Contemplation of Feelings |
| Week 6 | Third Satipaṭṭhāna (Mind): Contemplation of Mind |
| Week 7 | Fourth Satipaṭṭhāna (Dhammas): Contemplation of the Hindrances |
| Week 8 | Fourth Satipaṭṭhāna (Dhammas): Contemplation of the Awakening Factors |
| Week 9 | Conclusion and Integration |
Course Participation
This course requires considerable commitment from participants and is not a self-study course. We require attendance at weekly virtual meetings, as well as completion of writing prompts and course assessments throughout the program. The required time commitment is roughly 7-10 hours per week.
Each week includes:
- 1 hour of reading
- 90 minutes of a small group video meeting**
- 20-30 minutes of video lectures
- 30 minutes of daily practice with guided meditations
- Contribution to written discussion boards
- Additional time for personal study and completion of course assignments
**The small group meeting is the only course component which happens at a fixed time, and meetings will occur at same day/time every week. A list of the Fall 2023 meeting times can be found here. Applicants will select the times that they are available for on the application. Attendance is mandatory.
Ethical Commitment
In early Buddhist thought, tranquility and insight are complementary dimensions of meditative cultivation, traditionally based on a solid foundation in moral conduct and part of a gradual process of training. This online course will follow the Buddha's principle of ethics as the foundation for Satipaṭṭhāna practice. Participation in this course is supported by group commitment to respect and non-harming, applying to both communication with others and also to one's personal relationship with the practice.
Program Fee, Teacher Dāna and Scholarships
The course fee is $450. This does not include financial support for the facilitating teachers. As is customary at BCBS, there will be an opportunity to offer dāna to the teachers at the end of the program.
We are committed to making this program accessible to all. Financial assistance is available to help supplement the course fee. Requests for financial assistance may be made in the registration process. If accepted into the course, a 30%, 40% or 50% scholarship can be selected on the registration page, and it will be applied directly. If the financial assistance need is over 50% of the course fee, there is a space to indicate what amount of the course fee would be affordable, and we will offer what we can to accommodate the request. We generally only offer financial assistance one time per person per year so as to make this support available to as many students as possible.
Application Process and Criteria for Selection
In order to maintain weekly study groups to support the intimate nature of the program, space in the course is limited by the number of small groups we can offer. For those who meet the prerequisite experience of having a basic mindfulness practice, applications are processed on a lottery basis, with some spaces reserved for people of color and young adults.
Establishment in a basic mindfulness practice is the prerequisite experience for this course.
As we work to become a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse community, we invite feedback/suggestions you may have regarding ways that we can make participation in the program more accessible and welcoming; please email us at contact@buddhistinquiry.org.
Timeline
Applications Open: January 15, 2024
Applications Close: February 26 (5pm ET)
Initial Accepted Applicants Notified: March 4
Registration: March 4 - 22
Orientation Week: April 1 - 6
Course Dates: April 6-June 8, 2024
