Eric Kolvig, Ph.D., taught meditation for 30 years in the vipassana tradition. He led meditation retreats and gave public talks around the United States and abroad. Eric has a particular interest in “grassroots dharma,” building spiritual community in democratic, non-authoritarian ways. He co-founded wilderness retreats and also Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning and Intersex (LGBTQI) retreats in the vipassana tradition. Now retired, Eric lives in Flagstaff.
“In separation,” the Buddha said, “lies the world’s great misery.” This talk shows how awareness dissolves our personal sense of being separate selves. It also shows how awareness deconstructs the misery-making effects of social constructions that cause us to feel separate, and that we also take to be “self”: race, gender, sexual identity, and class.
Why do we do or spiritual practice, and what exactly do we do? In this talk Eric Kolvig attempts to sum up the living essence of the Buddha’s teachings and practice in the vipassana tradition, so that we have a clear motivation for our practice and can make clear effort in it.
