Toronto Meditation Guide

Phone: (416) 410-0251
Email: philipvs@yahoo.com
Website: www.springrainsangha.com
Tuesday Night Meditation: The Friends House (Quaker), 60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, ON (7:15 pm to 9 pm)
Mailing Address: 365 Roncesvalles Ave. #224, Toronto, ON, M6R 2M8

We are endeavoring to provide fundamental teachings and practice opportunities, in a warm, welcoming manner, for all sincere yogis. Spring Rain Sangha was founded in 2000 by Philip V Starkman.

Background

Lineage

Non-sectarian; mainly Burmese Theravada with some Mahayana and Vajrayana influences (Tonglen and Phowa practices)

Activities

Weekly sittings; one day, weekend and 10 day retreats

Biography

Philip Starkman: A Psychotherapist in private practice in Toronto, Philip has over 40 years experience in many forms of meditation. Twelve years of his training were done in Asia.

Jim Bedard: As a child growing up in a Christian home Jim was quickly labeled a “doubting Thomas”. He questioned everything. In his early twenties he began to search various religious teachings but again and again came to the inevitable dead end of conceptualization. His spiritual angst led him to the experiential practice of meditation. In the mid 1970’s Jim began practicing Christian, then Transcendental meditation. His search for a realized teacher brought him to the Buddhist tradition. In 1980 Jim began practicing Zen meditation and soon after became a student of Roshi Philip Kapleau of the Rochester Zen Center. After practicing for many years with Roshi Kapleau and his dharma heirs, Jim became a disciple of Sunyana Graef-Sensei in 1996. In August of 1995, Jim was diagnosed with AML Leukemia and given just weeks to live. His book: “Lotus in the Fire” (Shambhala 99) chronicles how meditation and the Buddha’s teachings on impermanence helped him deal with this long harrowing ordeal and the threat of imminent death. After completing his formal training in Zen, wanting to broaden and deepen his experience, Jim began practicing with senior Vipassana teachers in the Theravada tradition. Today, Jim offers a balanced, direct approach to practices that point directly to the heart of the teachings.

Comments

There is no other pursuit in life as important as the inner exploration of the mind. World peace cannot occur unless there is inner harmony.