ROCKLAND On Thursday, March 2, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Rockland Public Library and the Rockland Shambhala Meditation Center will present an evening talk "Why Meditate?" with shastri Christopher St. John. The program, which is free and open to the public, will take place at the Library.

St. John will open with a discussion about the benefits of meditation and a synopsis of the most common reasons people have undertaken meditation throughout history. He will introduce the Shambhala Buddhist teachings on basic goodness and mindfulness-awareness, as well as share a brief history of the Shambhala lineage. After a discussion of these topics, St. John will provide instruction on shamatha meditation; there will be time to practice and reflect on the experience together.

St. John has been meditating in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition since 1982, and he has been resident director of Shambhala Training at the Brunswick-Portland Shambhala Center since 1995. He was named shastri, or senior teacher, by Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche in 2016.

The Rockland Shambhala Meditation Center is affiliated with the Brunswick-Portland Shambhala Center, as well as Shambhala International, a nonprofit organization with more than 200 Shambhala Meditation Centers worldwide. Chogyam Trunga Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist master, founded Shambhala in the United States in 1970.

For more information, visit maineshambhala.org or contact Rachel Nixon at rachelanixon@gmail.com or 594-1694.

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Why meditate? ... with Shastri Christopher St. John - PenBayPilot.com