The First Turning
Next Cohort:
January 7th, 2025
“I do not say that you can attain purity by views, traditions, insight, morality or conventions; nor will you attain purity without these. But by using them for abandonment, rather than as positions to hold on to, you will come to be at peace without the need to be anything.”
📖 Training material
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The Four Noble Truths
The Buddha’s first teaching was that there is suffering, there is a cause to suffering, there is freedom, & there is a path.
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The Three Trainings
The three early buddhist trainings of morality, concentration, & insight.
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Renunciative Morality
The morality of harmlessness and the power of the practice of renunciation.
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Several Ways to Meditate
Learn about seven different approaches to meditate, 3 of which we’ll explore in-depth.
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Concentration Meditation
The practice of bringing attention to a single point, the result of which is unification.
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The Eight Jhanas
The progressively subtle states of meditative absorption taught in the early buddhist tradition.
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Mindfulness Meditation
The practice of noticing sensations in real-time, the result of which is clarity.
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The Three Characteristics
The 3 marks of experience include impermanence, suffering, & selflessness.
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The Phases of Insight
Six predictable & trackable phases of insight, which culminate in an initial awakening.
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The Stages of Enlightenment
The four stages of enlightenment culminating in the achievement of perfect enlightenment.
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Heartfulness Meditation
The practice of inclining the mind toward opening the heart, the result of which is love.
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The Sublime Attitudes
The sublime attitudes of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, & equanimity.
👥 The Teachers
Vince Fakhoury Horn
Buddhist Geeks Guiding Teacher
Vince Fakhoury Horn is part of a new generation of teachers bringing dharma, meditation, & mindfulness to life in the 21st century. A computer engineering dropout turned full-time meditator, Vince spent his 20s co-founding the ground-breaking project, Buddhist Geeks, while simultaneously doing a full year, in total, of silent retreat practice. Vince began teaching in 2010 and has since been authorized in both the Pragmatic Dharma lineage of Kenneth Folk, and by Trudy Goodman (InsightLA) & Jack Kornfield of (Spirit Rock Meditation Center) in the Insight Meditation tradition.
Vince has been called a “power player of the mindfulness movement” by Wired magazine and was featured in Wired UK’s “Smart List: 50 people who will change the world.” In 2022 he co-founded a new venture, focused on improving the mental health & well-being of all humans using Multiplayer Meditation, called Interbeing Inc. Vince is rooted in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, with his partner Emily and their son Zander.
Emily West Horn
Buddhist Geeks Guiding Teacher
Emily West Horn is a Certified Mindfulness Teacher via the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. She is also authorized to teach meditation, dharma, and long retreats by Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Insight Meditation Society, and InsightLA.
Emily has been called a “power player of the mindfulness movement" by Wired Magazine. Her work is featured in 10% Happier, Boston Children's Hospital's Comfort Ability Project, Buddhist Geeks, and apps such as Brightmind and buddhify. She's also been mentoring mindfulness teachers in a certification led by Jack Kornfield, Ph.D and Tara Brach Ph.D for over 7 years.
For her, a mindful life is simply learning to dance with all of this human experience: from transcendence to dirty dishes, evolutionary edges to ancient roots, solitary practice to deepening relationships. She lives the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina with her husband, Vince, and son, Zander.
Training in the First Turning
The Three Trainings
A brief overview of the three primary trainings of Early Buddhism, by Vince Fakhoury Horn.
✺ Frequently asked questions
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The next time The First Turning will be offered is on the week of January 7th, 2025. It will run for 10 consecutive weeks.
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There are 2 live cohorts for this training, one which meets on Tuesdays at 7:00pm Eastern Time and the other on Wednesdays at 2:00pm Eastern Time. All cohorts meet for 75 minutes, for 10 consecutive weeks.
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This training is offered on a transparent generosity basis, meaning that if after attending an introduction session, both you and the teacher think this is a good fit, you’ll be invited to set-up a recurring monthly donation over the 3 months of this training, in order to support it. There is a suggested donation of $108/month, but it’s up to attendees to decide exactly how much to give.
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During the 20-minute introduction session with either Vince or Emily you’ll be invited to share a bit about your practice history & aims, and ask any questions you have about the training–we recommend you read through this FAQ first.
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In order to join this training you must first speak with one of the teachers, during a 20-minute introduction session. If you’ve worked with either Vince or Emily prior to this, you can simply contact either of them directly and let him know that you’re interested in attending.
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Neither cohort is capped, in terms of participation, but we anticipate around 15-25 people per cohort.
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There will be opportunities to practice many different forms of meditation during this training, though in The First Turning we’ll be focused primarily on Concentration, Mindfulness, & Heartfulness style practice.
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During the course of this training we’ll be doing a combination of Silent, Guided, & Multiplayer Meditation. Multiplayer Meditation involves practicing out-loud with other people in a social context–often in breakout groups of 3-4 people. This method is especially good for extending meditative awareness into our relationships.
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Though there will be learning material recommended throughout this training, all of it is optional, none is required in order to participate in the live meetings.
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Some parts of sessions will be recorded and shared back with the group. In addition, some learning material from previous trainings will be shared, for those that want to go deeper into the material.