Episode #175: Long before it was commonplace in America, Jonathan Crowley’s parents were keen on exploring Eastern philosophy. As for Jonathan, his first exposure to meditation began with a four-day silent retreat led by Larry Rosenberg at IMS. Seeking a deeper experience, he attended a ten-day course at a vipassana meditation center in the S.N. Goenka tradition. The course proved to be incredibly challenging, both physically and mentally.

After taking a second course, Jonathan gained a better understanding of Goenka's teachings, and left him with a lasting experience of mettā (loving-kindness). This newfound understanding also inspired him to look at how to integrate meditation into everyday life.

Still, Jonathan struggled to reconcile these realizations with conventional expectations and societal pressures. He found inspiration from books on renunciation and sought simpler lifestyles, which eventually led to applying for the sit-and-serve program at Dhamma Dhara.

At this point, Jonathan faced a choice between joining the center or pursuing an intensive theater program. Ultimately, he chose the path of Dhamma, immersing himself in the vipassana community around western Massachusetts. His time spent with fellow students, servers, and teachers deeply influenced him, and is explored further in Part 2 of the conversation.

“I was getting to know that world,” Jonathan recalls. “And that period of time certainly had a very deeply conditioned experience on me.”