Zem Master, Author
Yogi Brahmasamhara has practised Authentic Meditation for more than 37 years.
In the mid 1990s, he began teaching meditation and established the first Sanctuary in Leichhardt, Sydney, 15 years ago. Today, the Meditation Sanctuary attracts hundreds of students each year.
Brahmasamhara initially spent five years studying Integral Yoga with Indian Yogi, Misra Bashayandeh, who himself had been a student of the internationally renowned philosopher and Yoga Guru, Sri Aurobindo, at Pondicherry in India. He then refined his practice within the classic Soto-schu Zen tradition of meditation at the monastery of Japanese Zen monk, Suni Kaisan, on both a visiting and full-time basis over three years.
Born in Griffith, NSW, Australia, to farming parents, Brahmasamhara became a radio announcer at 16, before moving to Sydney to study theology. Meeting Bashayandeh gradually shifted his intended ‘spiritual path’ away from formal religion to exploring and studying the ‘enthralling profundity’ of meditation. Later, it was his Zen master, Suni Kaisan, who sent him into the world ‘to experience life to prepare him’ for teaching.
He did just that, working in various fields. He taught English language and literature at the University of New South Wales; produced some 30 documentaries on Australian artists; tasted the corporate world with a three-year stint in an international oil company and then established his own award-winning graphic design company. During that time, he co-authored a book on William Balmain (with Dr Peter Reynolds) and wrote poetry prolifically. He also spent much of his time competing around Australia as a motor racing driver – which he describes as ‘an extremely meditative activity’. In the mid 1990s, he turned to teaching meditation as his teacher had foretold.
Brahmasamhara’s first book, Awakening: A Practical Guide to Zen Meditation, was published in 2008 by Rockpool Publishing.
MEDITATION SANCTUARY
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