Starkman_Bedard

Contained within the life of Philip V. Starkman, the founding teacher of Spring Rain Sangha, is the harmonious marriage of two formidable journeys: one as the spiritual seeker, and the other as the Psychotherapist and Counsellor.

For over 40 years, in his quest to answer life’s “bigger questions,” Philip has been pursuing an in-depth spiritual development that has taken him to a number of countries on several of the world’s continents. His two-pronged journey began first with youthful backpacking through Europe. Then Philip spent an intense 3-year study period at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied Philosophy, Literature, Art History, Music, and History in an attempt to “shed some light on the dark, vast expanse of my ignorance,” as he puts it. More academic studies in California, work in academia and later in psychiatric and medical settings, preceded his much dreamed of journey to India.

Once in India, Philip immersed himself in a number of Hindu meditation traditions. This brought the focus and discipline that forged a firm spiritual foundation for future practices. The next four years were spent in daily study, meditation and yogic practices with teachers from most of the major Indian spiritual traditions.

His decisive dive into Buddhist teachings occurred in 1981 while in retreat in Burma. Here Philip met the profound Vipassana teacher U Pandita, who introduced him to the Abhidharma teachings. Their profundity gripped him immediately. As his understanding of the human mind deepened from a spiritual point-of-view, so did his psychotherapeutic knowledge of the human psyche.

The 1981-82 Burma retreat was followed by a short stay in a forest monastery in Thailand. Then Philip’s practice took another intense dive, this time into Japanese Zen meditation. The challenge of maintaining a daily Zen practice gave him the discipline that was so crucial to nourishing all aspects of practice. After a 3-year stay in Japan, Philip immersed himself in more Vipassana meditation, followed by Vajrayana practice in North American and India.

Philip’s steadfast devotion to the spiritual path is evident in his 40-year career as a now Toronto-based Lifestyle Counsellor and Psychotherapist. Integrating his Buddhist insights into his understanding of human nature and the human condition, he offers a unique synthesis of mind/body/spirit therapy.

It was Philip’s years of extensive training in Buddhist meditation that prompted teachers, friends and clients to repeatedly request that he begin teaching meditation in a group setting. In 1999, he began teaching weekly Vipassana meditation to a small gathering of people in Toronto. Mounting interest in his teachings eventually led the group to relocate to the Toronto School of Theology. As the numbers of meditators steadily grew, Philip went on to form a small Sangha. In 2000, the non-sectarian, non-profit Buddhist meditation group known as Spring Rain Sangha was founded. People of all faiths were welcome to join. The practices taught by Philip had as their ultimate goal the alleviation of suffering, and the awakening of our innate peace and happiness.

Philip soon expanded his teaching responsibilities to include a number of yearly 1-day and multi-day meditation retreats. He also began giving talks at various Toronto-area venues such as Snow Lion Meditation Store, York University, the University of Toronto, Sunnybrooke Hospital, etc. His compassionate insight into the human psyche, coupled with his seasoned presentation of Buddhist teachings and practices, drew enough weekly meditators that a second teacher, Jim Bedard, was invited to join Spring Rain Sangha in 2006. In September of 2008, Philip and Jim learned that the Sangha had achieved official status as a charitable organization in Canada. Out of the humble beginnings of a handful of eager meditators and one passionate and inspiring founder, grew a thriving Sangha whose numbers continue to steadily grow.

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Philip V. Starkman

Jim Bedard

JIM BEDARD

Spring Rain Sangha’s popularity with new and experienced meditators alike continued to increase with the 2006 arrival of the group’s second teacher, Jim Bedard. Jim’s deep knowledge of and infectious enthusiasm for the Buddha’s teachings, as well as his 30 years of experience in Buddhist meditation, made him the ideal candidate for the job. He also knew a thing or two about helping to run a Buddhist Centre: for over a decade, Jim had sat on the board of directors at the Toronto Zen Centre, was actively involved in their fund-raising, and had worked as their head monitor and group leader before joining Spring Rain Sangha.

As with his predecessor Philip, this personable ex-Catholic-turned-Buddhist began his spiritual journey with a series of deeper questions about the nature of existence and ultimate reality. Jim’s early twenties were spent exploring various religious teachings that would invariably lead him back to the limitations of conceptualization. In the mid 70s, he turned to the experiential practice of meditation for spiritual insight. Initial forays into Christian and then Transcendental Meditation eventually led him to the study and practice of Zen Buddhism, under the guidance of Roshi Philip Kapleau. Jim spent the next twenty years practicing Zen meditation, while still finding time to pursue a successful sales and marketing career.

In 1995, Jim, then a robust man in his early 40s, was hit with a devastating diagnosis: a deadly form of acute leukemia that would give him only 10 days to live. He was determined to combat the disease using the mental discipline and spiritual strength he had acquired through his years of Zen practice. Jim survived the long, agonizing months of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery and bone-marrow transplants, and continues to be in remission from his cancer. In his inspirational 1999 book, “Lotus in the Fire,” Jim chronicles how various Buddhist teachings and practices helped him to cope with life-threatening illness.

After completing his formal training in Zen, Jim felt drawn to practice Vipassana meditation. He found its clear and direct adherence to the teachings of the Buddha instantly appealing. Jim also wished to balance his many years of emphasizing concentration with the therapeutic insights of mindfulness. When asked why he accepted the invitation to teach at Spring Rain Sangha, Jim replies: “I found the style and tone [of the practice] very conducive to peace and equanimity – something not often cultivated in other Buddhist traditions. Peace and profound equanimity are included in the Buddha’s list of factors of enlightenment.”

Those who have the good fortune to have Philip and Jim as their teachers at Spring Rain Sangha, know well the reassuring sense of peace and equanimity that comes from belonging to such a unique spiritual community.

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