In Pragmatic Buddhism, our primary tool for generating a deeper understanding of our world is the practice of awareness cultivation, or mindfulness meditation (zazen; "just sitting"). This is a method that has been used since the time of the historical Buddha—Siddhartha Gautama—some 2400 years ago.

Mindfulness practice is an intentional, non-judgmental embracement of our own personal contingency and the experiences we have of our world. It is the moving away from a state of average everydayness, where we are largely unaware of our motivations and habits of bodymind. In mindfulness, we engage our world directly and, becoming aware of it, accept it for what it is: a world of causal relationships that are made possible through an interconnected, interdependent reality. After accepting this holistic and causal reality, we can determine the best possible actions to take based on an ethic that seeks to maintain local and global harmony for all sentient beings.

Another vital element of awareness cultivation in Pragmatic Buddhism is the social component, for the social setting is the locus of the agreements necessary to build a meaningful understanding and knowledge base of the world around us. It is through the intertwining of different perspectives and ideas that we learn about our world and come to know how best to approach it, reflecting CPB's priority of pluralism. As this social agreement occurs, it is refined through the cultivated awareness in the individuals who engage our world directly.

CPB has established an online resource for you to begin building your own personal practice so that you, too, can partake in the cultivation of awareness to benefit you and those around you.

Daily practice of Pragmatic Buddhism

On our quest for personal development, we must not just hope or believe that we are good; we must actually do good. Modern science confirms that behavioral modification is a necessary requisite to actualizing the positive changes we seek. This is the basis of cognitive behavioral therapy, for example, which is currently a popular approach in mind-body health.

But long before Western psychology discovered the priority of behavioral modification, Siddhartha Gautama (the historical Buddha) advocated the same strategy to improve our personal and social lives. At the Center for Pragmatic Buddhism, like all Buddhist traditions, practice (action) is central. We hope to provide a foundation here for you to begin developing a practice of your own. Please read the information listed below, and contact our Monastic Director if you have any questions along the way.

The Center for Pragmatic Buddhism adopts a view of Buddhist education and practice that values contemporary relevance, historical analysis, personal development and social virtuosity. It is our view that Buddhist practice is relevant when it can be applied to one's daily life. Our primary motivation is to offer an approach to Buddhism that carries practical application and benefit for the American and Western lifestyle. We perceive a qualified Buddhist education as one that includes a proper survey of Buddhism's historical and cultural milieu, and embraces a contemporary understanding that offers informal and formal study and practice at CPB. This offering of both informal and formal study allows us to offer Buddhist practice to a wide audience. The ability of our participants to embrace their practice while maintaining a normal lifestyle out-in-the-world is seen as the preferred example of personally relevant and socially engaged Buddhism. Our weekly practices and online communication are intended to provide the practical tools necessary to apply what our members and guests value in the Buddhist approach to their own lives, to benefit self and other.

Weekly practice at CPB

The cornerstone of CPB's public outreach is its weekly practice, currently held at the First Unitarian Church of St. Louis. This communal setting is an important supplement to the personal practice that acts as the nexus from which authentic Buddhist practice is made meaningful to one's daily life. CPB helps bridge the personal and the social to create the holistic Buddhist experience.

Members and guests of CPB have the opportunity to practice with us as often as they like, and need not be Buddhist to participate and benefit from our approach to personal development. In fact, most of our participants do not consider Pragmatic Buddhism a religion. Our weekly practices are designed to suit the needs of our participants, and no prior training or background is necessary. A simple interest in meditation and its health benefits are reason enough to join us. An interest in Buddhist thought and its ability to enhance one's current understanding is an equally valid reason for participating with CPB. Once one determines that our practice at CPB is an effective way to cultivate positive self-transformation, we encourage him or her to join us in regular practice.

In addition to weekly practice for its members and guests, CPB aims to become a major resource for the public by helping to educate Americans about Buddhism and Buddhist practice. Through regular workshops and social events, CPB is available to those who are seeking a general understanding of Buddhism, a structured personal practice, and a community of like-minded friends (the CPB Sangha). CPB is already a leader in the American Buddhist community because of its full embracement of the internet as a fundamental resource to its outreach. Indeed, for CPB, the internet is not just a convenient contemporary resource, but a vital component to its function as a Buddhist school. CPB provides online training, group interaction through our social networking site, CPB on Ning, and one-on-one communication with lay and monastic members.

CPB offers several "primer" documents to help its guests and new members orientate themselves to Pragmatic Buddhist thought and practice. The first document, "Meditation at CPB" answers the basic questions about the Chan/Zen approach to meditation known as "mindfulness meditation." It also discusses the importance of consistency in one's practice. The second document, "CPB: A Guide for Beginner's and New Members" explains the goals and values of CPB and the benefits of lay membership. Please email the Guest Prefect, Ren Cheng for these documents.

Formal (Monastic) Practice & Study of Pragmatic Buddhism

If one decides that a more "formal" path in Buddhist practice and study is a goal, CPB has designed a curriculum of Buddhist education that will provide the proper training for such an endeavor. Our Buddhist education program is designed to train qualified teachers in Pragmatic Buddhism. This program is a modern version of a monastic path; while retaining a socially engaged lifestyle, it is not the monastic setting that we value, but one's commitment to Buddhist living and the life he or she leads. The historical record indicates that the Buddha taught that it is one's embracement of a positive and harmonious lifestyle that allows the fruits of one's practice to most directly benefit oneself and the rest of society. Given the need for dedicated practitioners of American Buddhism, the Center for Pragmatic Buddhism's formal study of Buddhism embraces an educational experience that is fully compatible with modern societal demands. As such, our training is accessible to anyone interested in applying a Buddhist lifestyle. The accessibility of our formal Buddhist education is among the revisions CPB has made through Pragmatic Buddhism. Local training takes place at one of our chapters of CPB, and "distance learning" education is also available through our multimedia online training for formal students and monks.

The emphasis of our Buddhist training is on learning how to manage oneself to the best of one's ability and circumstances in light of contemporary life in the United States. Persons in the St. Louis area or those who have online access may declare their intention to study Pragmatic Buddhism as a formal student. While we do embrace important traditional elements in our formal education, we do not retain elements that are no longer culturally relevant to us today.

Three levels of formal education are used for regulative purposes by CPB: novice, cleric and master. Each stage of education is characterized by a particular emphasis on practice. A novice focuses on the fundamental skills of meditative practice and on the foundations of Buddhist thought, while a cleric spends time learning how to appropriately facilitate Pragmatic Buddhist practice, including an intensive study of the major issues pertaining to contemporary American Buddhism. Once a cleric has had substantial experience guiding others in Pragmatic Buddhism, he or she may be determined to be competent as a teacher, thus being granted the opportunity for continued training towards the master rank. This final tier of education includes additional readings in more detail and an original thesis that is presented to the entire monastic body of the Order of Pragmatic Buddhists (OPB). Each level of training is associated with daily practice (zazen), weekly communication with the other members of OPB, study of required readings and completion of associated written assessments. Also important to the formal training process is refining our students' communication skills, so that they may communicate effectively to others. CPB certifies teachers of Pragmatic Buddhism according to strict educational standards, corresponding to one's level of Buddhist education. Proof of certification is available from the Center for Pragmatic Buddhism, as well as individual teachers of Pragmatic Buddhism. This formal route is CPB's approach to training qualified novices, clerics and masters in Pragmatic Buddhism.

If you are interested in becoming a formal student (monastic path) and have undertaken an appropriate personal discernment process, please download and fill out an application (will be re-posted soon; in the meantime email the Abbot and he will send you a copy) and email it to the Abbot of OPB, Jim Eubanks (Shi Yong Xiang).

Meditation & Health

Meditation has been practiced for millennia by Eastern religious practitioners and philosophers in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Although less known, many sects of Christianity in the West have also embraced contemplative practices throughout their history. The practice of sitting in contemplation is essential to a meaningful understanding of our fundamental motivations, and this is necessary when considering personal development. But not only is meditation a key tool for self-understanding, it is also a powerful healing modality. Modern medical and scientific research is continually demonstrating the concrete health benefits of a regular meditation practice. Noticeable, positive changes in mood, concentration, stress levels, blood pressure, heart rate, and immune function are proven by serious scientific inquiry. At the Center for Pragmatic Buddhism, we not only focus on personal understanding and development, but we also emphasize the positive health implications of regular meditative practice.

Meditation and mind research

• "The Physiology of Meditation" (New Scientist).
• "Awareness cultivation leads to long-term increase in awareness" (ScienceDaily).
• "Regular practice is key to brain development" (Scientific American).
• "Meditation changes the structure of your brain" (ScienceDaily).
• "Mindfulness meditation and enhanced immune function" (ScienceDaily).
• "Simple practice, comprehensive results" (ScienceDaily).
• "Plasticity and experience: The brain thrives on new experiences" (ScienceDaily).
• "When it comes to new brain cells, it really is use it or lose it" (New Scientist).
• "It's that rigorous self-honesty thing again" (ScienceDaily).
• "Body-mind meditation boosts performance, reduces stress" (ScienceDaily).
• "Think positive, it matters" (ScienceDaily).