SMCE4022 W27 Essential Meditations: An Introductory Online Workshop Exploring Buddhist Contemplative Practices

• Duration: One-Day Workshop
• Day of the Week: Saturday
• Date: April 17, 2027
• Time: 10:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
• Location: Online via Zoom
• Cost: $100

Course Overview

This online day retreat offers an accessible introduction to Buddhist contemplative traditions paired with direct, guided experience of a range of meditation practices. Designed for newcomers and experienced meditators alike, the program helps participants explore different approaches, consider which may be most beneficial for their own lives, and develop practical tools for beginning or strengthening a home practice. It also offers an opportunity to connect with others who share an interest in contemplative practice and to reflect together on the experience of meditation. 

Learning Outcomes

In this workshop you will:

• Develop a basic understanding of meditation practices rooted in the Buddhist tradition.  
• Experience several forms of Buddhist meditation through guided practice.  
• Explore the purposes and potential benefits of different meditation techniques.  
• Reflect on which meditation practices may be most suitable for your own needs and circumstances.  
• Come away with practical tools and confidence to begin or strengthen a meditation practice at home.

Method of Instruction

We will begin with a 50-minute introduction to the Buddhist meditative tradition and participant introductions. Then we will move into four experiential meditation sessions. Each 45-minute session includes approximately 20 minutes of instruction and discussion, followed by 25 minutes of guided meditation. A 15-minute Q&A follows the second session, before a 40-minute lunch break. The afternoon continues with two further sessions, followed by a second Q&A and a concluding 30-minute debrief in which participants can reflect on and share their experiences. 

Dr. Rory Tasker

Dr. Rory Tasker has been a Buddhist monk since 2004 and a Tibetan-English translator of Buddhist teachings since 2011. He trained in Tibetan language at the Lotsawa Rinchen Zangpo Translator Program in Dharamsala India, and holds an MA in Buddhist Studies from McMaster University, and a PhD in Curriculum and Pedagogy from the University of Toronto, OISE. He currently serves as the resident translator at Lama Yeshe Ling Buddhist Centre in Burlington, Ontario and Buddhist representative at McMaster University’s Spiritual Care and Learning Centre (SCLC). 

Rory has been a part of various Buddhist communities since the mid 1990s, and over the course of his years as a practitioner has completed several group and solitary retreats, ranging from weeks to months. Although most familiar with the Vajrayāna tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, he also spent several years with monks of the Theravāda forest tradition of Thailand. Drawing on personal experience as a neurodivergent (ADD inattentive type) meditator, he seeks to present the practices in a flexible and trauma-informed way.  

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