Culadasa’s Support
For Mind Muar
My Relationship with Culadasa
Culadasa (John Yates, PhD), the author of The Mind Illuminated, was my teacher from 2017 until his passing in 2021.
He knew about the founding of Mind Muar, encouraged it, and gave it his blessing. He also supported my intention to teach and to continue refining the practical application of his work.
We first met while I was on a 13-day self-retreat at Culadasa’s home in Cochise Stronghold, Arizona. During our private interviews, I praised the quality of his teaching and also raised questions and proposed changes to several practical instructions. Culadasa considered these proposals openly. His willingness to engage with my ideas and his non-dogmatic relationship to his own work were among the principal reasons I chose to follow him as my teacher.
In 2018, while practicing under his guidance, I had an experience that I understood as Awakening. After hearing my detailed account, Culadasa agreed with that assessment, congratulated me, and asked what I planned to do next. I told him that I intended to dedicate myself professionally to teaching samatha-vipassanā and helping others pursue liberation. He approved of this direction, encouraged me to teach, and invited me to join his Teacher Training Course.
The Teacher Training Course began in early 2019. During that period, I founded the meditation group Mind Muar, originally named ha’Mind Muar, Hebrew for “The Mind Illuminated,” with Culadasa’s awareness and encouragement.
My Teacher Training Course (the Passaddhi cohort) was discontinued later that year amid the conflict between Culadasa and the Dharma Treasure Board. Since I was already considering substantial changes to TMI’s practical instructions, I ultimately chose not to enroll in a second course to pursue certification as a TMI teacher. I no longer intended to teach strictly “by the book.” Instead, I wanted to build on Culadasa’s instructions and refine the method, incorporating my ideas with the aim of improving efficiency and clarity in the mind-training process. Over the following years, I dedicated myself to developing The Playful Path to Awakening. It complements TMI on both the pedagogical and practical levels, while remaining faithful to TMI’s underlying theoretical models and principles.
Culadasa’s Public Legacy
After Culadasa’s death, his family published his wishes on the official Culadasa website: that, apart from his published book The Mind Illuminated, his work be made freely and equally available to students; that his contribution be acknowledged when his work was used; and that he have many successors rather than one. The same statement describes him as especially supportive of innovative uses of his material.
This public statement provides broader context. It should not, however, be understood as Culadasa’s endorsement of work produced after his death. He did not review the present forms of The Playful Path to Awakening or The Meditative Training Cycle, both of which continued to develop after his passing. Responsibility for those developments, including every reorganization, modification, and addition, is mine.
I do not use Culadasa’s support to claim authority for methods he did not review. My later work should be assessed independently, on its own merits.
Throughout Mind Muar’s method materials, I explicitly acknowledge Culadasa and The Mind Illuminated as major foundations of my work. I also distinguish what is inherited from TMI from what I have reorganized, modified, or added. For source-grounded examples, review The Comparison Project.
For me, Culadasa’s blessing means that he encouraged me to teach and supported my intention to refine the practical application of his work. It does not remove my responsibility for what I subsequently developed. Mind Muar is my effort to honor his legacy and help make the path available to all. May all beings be happy.
Happy Eternal Now,
Oded
