Mindfulness Meditation · Perception
This week’s meditation session is led by Jon Aaron and the theme is Perception.
Photo by David De Armas Photography
Much of Buddhism is about deconstruction. The most important thing to deconstruct is the very notion of an eternal and permanent self, which Buddhism rejects. Rather than find a self, the Buddha discovered the five skandhas, or aggregates, that give people the perception of a self. These are form, sensation, perception, volition, and consciousness. Perception in particular gives people the ability to recognize their experiences and label them.
Jon Aaron is a Dharma and mindfulness teacher based in New York and Chicago. Since 2006 he has taught at the New York Insight Meditation Center, offering Dharma and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) classes. He regularly leads retreats around the US. He is primarily grounded in the Theravada tradition, alongside non-dual and Mahayana approaches. His teaching emphasizes integrating Dharma and mindfulness into daily life to foster clarity in addressing personal and social challenges. His teachers include Matthew Flickstein and, more recently, Kittisaro and Thanissara through their Dharmapala program. Jon also studied contemplative care at the Zen Center for Contemplative Care and completed the Integrated Study and Practice program at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. He is a certified MBSR teacher and teacher trainer and a Somatic Experience Practitioner® In response to the pandemic, he and his partner, Upayadhi, launched the Space2Meditate community, offering daily meditation since March 2020. Additionally, he co-hosts the podcast Diggin’ the Dharma with scholar Doug Smith.
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