Day of Practice at the Buddhist Library with Kynan Tan

About this event

The Day of Practice will provide an opportunity to take a pause from the busyness and complexities of daily life to focus on meditation, awareness, and tranquility. We will minimise interactions with others, put our phones on aeroplane mode, and take a break from our usual concerns. This will create a container that allows us to deepen our meditation and awareness in ways that may not always be possible during daily life.

Uposatha days are a common practice in Buddhism where practitioners reaffirm and renew their commitment to dharma practice. By consciously and intentionally dedicating a period of time to the practice of meditation, keeping precepts, and studying the dharma with others, the practice is developed and strengthened.

This is an opportunity to receive instruction from a teacher and practice with others in conditions similar to a retreat setting. Throughout the day there will be seated and walking meditation, guided group practice, a dharma talk, and a 1:1 meeting with Kynan.

Arrive from 8:45am. Please come on time as we will close the doors before beginning the first session. All attendees will be expected to stay for the whole day.

There are plenty of chairs, zafus, cushions, and benches. There is a dedicated lunch break with time to get food from a local establishment. There are many cafes and restaurants in the area, including Newtown which is a 10-minute walk.

If you have any questions, please contact Kynan on kynantctan@gmail.com

From a past participant:
“I attended the one day with Kynan. It was great for inspiring me to meditate more consistently and refreshed my thinking around the Buddhist texts. Kynan is a thoughtful and very grounded teacher. I trust him and would recommend him to anyone thinking of attending one of his meditation day, whatever level you’re at.”

You must register in advance via the Buddhist Library website.

About Kynan

Kynan Tan is a meditation teacher who takes a collaborative approach to helping students achieve their meditation goals. He came to meditation after struggles with stress, anxiety, and depression and found the practice to be transformative. He believes that meditation has enormous potential for creating positive change and opening up new ways of relating to our experience.

Kynan draws upon a number of different modern and traditional techniques of contemplative and introspective practice. He is a longtime practitioner of the stages of samatha-vipassana (as presented in the book The Mind Illuminated), Rob Burbea’s insight meditation techniques, nondual awareness, and brahmavihara practices (metta, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity).

Kynan studies meditation with Dr. Tucker Peck. He teaches the Pragmatic Dharma Club at the San Francisco Dharma Collective, leads retreats, and teaches one-on-one instruction and online meditation courses. Kynan has sat a number of retreats, including a month-long solo retreat in 2021.

Dana

Cost: Attendance is by dana (generosity). This event is possible through past acts of generosity and anything you are able to offer will help to make more teachings possible. When registering you will be invited to make a donation to support the teacher, the Association of Engaged Buddhists, and the Buddhist Library. You may also offer dana after the event.

All donations to the Buddhist Library of $2 and over are tax deductible.

Dana is the traditional practice of generosity, the extending of one’s goodwill, which is fundamental to Buddhism and other spiritual traditions. The dana you give helps to maintain the Library and allows it to offer more teachings on the Dhamma so that others may benefit in the future. It is up to each person to determine the amount of dana they’d like to offer. We understand that this is a difficult time financially for many, and people will give what they can. An appropriate dana can’t be prescribed but requires sensitivity to its intent and to the individual’s own situation, as well as awareness of the cost of organising events and supporting teachers who spread the Dhamma.