Thursday Evening Meditation & Talk: Over the next couple of months we’ll explore five faculties that the Buddha suggested would help us to better understand the distress we sometimes encounter in life and to explore ways in which we can decrease it. They include confidence, energy, mindfulness, gathering the mind, and wisdom. These faculties support… Continue reading
News
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Sean Oakes describes the spiritual qualities known as the five faculties or five powers that are especially helpful in meditation. In describing them, he lays out the way in which practicing each of the faculties in meditation encourages the development of the next faculty. He also provides a helpful description of the way in which… Continue reading
Quote for the Week
One of the elegant aspects of the list of the five spiritual faculties is its internal symmetry. With mindfulness as a fulcrum in the center, the rest of the set can be seen as two pairs: faith balancing wisdom, and energy balancing concentration. In this way the whole list becomes an expression of the middle… Continue reading
Tri-Cities Cancer Center Meditation Support Group Meets Feb. 19th
We’ll continue our monthly mindfulness meditation support group meeting at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center in May. The Cancer Center is located at 7350 West Deschutes Avenue, Kennewick and the next meeting will be Thursday,2/19/2026. The sessions, which are held on the third Thursday of each month, are meant for cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their caregivers. The session will begin at 12:00 pm at… Continue reading
Sangha News 2/11/26
Thursday Evening Meditation & Talk: Over the next couple of months we’ll explore five faculties that the Buddha suggested would help us to better understand the distress we sometimes encounter in life and to explore ways in which we can decrease it. They include confidence, energy, mindfulness, gathering the mind, and wisdom. These faculties support… Continue reading
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Gil Fronsdal gives a brief introduction to the role of wisdom as one of the five faculties suggested by the Buddha for the practice of meditation. As Gil explains, the faculties are helpful in developing any skill in life, including the practice of meditation. Wisdom provides us with the ability to know what is helpful… Continue reading
Quote for the Week
A mind that’s confident, engaged, mindful, and focused can develop discernment [wisdom], the fifth faculty. Discernment helps us determine which movements of the mind and heart, which thoughts and feelings, are useful. What can we let go of? What should we develop further? The Five Faculties ~ Gil Fronsdal
Sangha News 1/28/26
Thursday Evening Meditation & Talk: Over the next couple of months we’ll explore five faculties that the Buddha suggested would help us to better understand the distress we sometimes encounter in life and to explore ways in which we can decrease it. They include confidence, energy, mindfulness, gathering the mind, and wisdom. These faculties support… Continue reading
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Shaila Catherine, the principal teacher of Insight Meditation South Bay, is one of the foremost teachers of samadhi, or concentration meditation in the West. She translates samadhi as concentration, the most common translation. Her website includes a good introduction to the meaning of concentration and ways in which to practice it and develop it. You… Continue reading
Quote for the Week
Concentration is a central feature of a contemplative life, cultivated through formal meditation practice and also through many daily activities such as drawing, kayaking, skiing, music, cooking and research. Learning or observing anything — whether a technical repair of a computer, a creative pursuit in art, a masterful move in dance, or simply quieting the mind… Continue reading