September 19 and 26

The inner critic is a challenging, difficult, and painful pattern for many people living in the globalised world. It may appear as imposter syndrome, a lack of self-acceptance, perfectionism, or a feeling that whatever we do is never quite good enough. It’s the voice that says we “should” be doing more, or that we “should” be better, or somehow other than what we are. This two-part series of talks will engage with this idea and how we can practise to work with, and find freedom from, the inner critic. The goal here is to make the mind a nicer place to be – eventually finding the “inner coach” with a sense of self-guidance, self-acceptance, and unconditional self-worth. With practice it is possible to be free from the difficulty and suffering of these internal patterns.

Kynan will talk about practices that have helped him to work with these patterns, particularly insights gained during a month-long retreat. Each session will involve guided meditation, talks, discussion, and Q+A. The first session will focus on understanding the inner critic and the practices of metta (loving-kindness) and vipassana (insight). The second session will focus on the more subtle forms of judgement and engaging with psychological content effectively in meditation practice.

This two-part series will explore different aspects of the topic in each talk. Each session will stand alone and you can choose to attend either or both sessions.

Teacher profile

Kynan Tan is a meditation teacher who takes a collaborative approach to helping students achieve their meditation goals. He came to meditation after struggles with stress, anxiety, and depression and found the practice to be transformative. He believes that meditation has enormous potential for creating positive change and opening up new ways of relating to our experience.

Kynan draws upon a number of different modern and traditional techniques of contemplative and introspective practice. He is a longtime practitioner of the stages of samatha-vipassana (as presented in the book The Mind Illuminated), Rob Burbea’s insight meditation techniques, nondual awareness, and brahmavihara practices (metta, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity).

Kynan studies meditation with Dr. Tucker Peck, who teaches the Pragmatic Dharma Club at the San Francisco Dharma Collective. Kynan has sat a number of retreats, including a month-long solo retreat in 2021.

All Sessions are by Donation (Dana) to the Buddhist Library. All donations to the Buddhist Library of $2 and over are tax deductible.

Dana is the traditional practice of generosity, the extending of one’s goodwill, which is fundamental to Buddhism and other spiritual traditions. The dana you give is shared equally with the teacher and the Buddhist Library. This helps to maintain the Library and supports the teacher so that they may offer more teachings on the Dhamma in the future. It is up to each person to determine the amount of dana they’d like to offer. We understand that this is a difficult time financially for many, and people will give what they can. An appropriate dana can’t be prescribed but requires sensitivity to its intent and to the individual’s own situation, as well as awareness of the cost of organising events and supporting teachers who spread the Dhamma.