Brief History of My Practice
It was probably mid to late 1990s that I was first introduced to Vipassana meditation. A friend of mine invited me to go listen to Shinzen Young, a teacher who was then based in Los Angeles and had a small following. Meditation itself wasn’t a foreign activity for me, but I couldn’t say I had a particular practice. The teachings I heard from Shinzen sounded very practical — and I was intrigued. It wasn’t until 2000 as I was turning 40 and my father was diagnosed with terminal cancer, I decided I wanted to have something to lean on spiritually and sought a meditation practice, which happened to be Vipassana tradition. It is what is popularized as “mindfulness meditation” today.
The practice has helped me to navigate my life through all the shifting winds of life. Back then, this was rather esoteric in my view, and I had to seek to join a private practice group. Now I realize it was the dawn of this amazing mindfulness movement. Within a few years, there was a peer-led sitting group that met weekly; more Buddhist events started to happen around the city; and of course, centers like InsightLA came about. Within a matter of 10 years, “mindful meditation” became an everyday buzz word.
For more than 10 years, I was happily practicing amongst other practitioners, went to silent retreats as often as I could. I really savor the time to be silent and take in the teachings. It was something I did privately, and I didn’t talk about it much. Only close friends knew I was meditating and would go away every once in a while to retreats. Then it was the end of 2012 when a friend took his life that changed my path. Suddenly, I felt the need to put my practice to use for more than my own benefit. Soon after, I was invited to be a part of the facilitator training program at InsightLA, and I was on track to become a Dharma teacher.
It seemed to me like a noble path to take. I loved the idea that all these years of practice can be of use to help others. God knows we all need help to navigate our life, and it has become a common understanding that meditation can help. Twist in my telling this story is that when I was still in my early 50s, I thought being a Dharma teacher would be something to do in my 60s. Now that I am in my 60s and have been leading practice groups and occasionally teaching for several years now, my focus is shifting… again. I’m craving for more deep practice that I am not able to dedicate at the moment. What life presented to me in my 60s so far is the work I feel important to pursue that can help the world in a different way. Meditation practice is kind of pushed to the background where I’m engaged more as a student rather than a teacher. I love my little practice group that I’m continuing to offer, which gives me so much joy. May be I’ll be more of a teacher when I hit my 70s. The point is to go with the flow gracefully.
#YouCanSitWithUs