Oded Raz

Oct 3

MEDITATION TEACHER

I'm the developer of The Playful Path to Awakening, the founder of the meditation group Mind Muar, and a student of Culadasa. I've been professionally teaching and developing training programs for almost three decades, for groups and individuals.

I was born in Israel in 1979; I live in Ramat Gan (a walking distance from Tel Aviv), my native language is Hebrew, and I'm glad to share the story of my spiritual journey.

Meet Your Guide

Whenever we’re about to go out on a long and challenging journey, it’s always good to know the person guiding us up the path. Should you choose me as your guide to Awakening, I’m happy to share my story.

I’ll tell you how I was suffering despite my apparent success, searched for answers, entered the world of meditation, Awakened (just like you can!), founded this meditation group, ‘Mind Muar’, and what I’ve been doing since.

Self-Development and the Chase for “Success”

When I was a young and impressionable 24-year-old, I was first exposed to the concept of self-development in its Western form, that’s closely related to the American coaching culture, and its ideas completely captivated me: “be an achiever,” “get out of your comfort zone,” “follow your dreams,” “set lofty goals,” “do more,” “get more,” “be more.”

Inspired by this attitude, I left my day job and started my own business, doing what I loved most back then: teaching how to produce electronic music, which is a passion I carried since my early teenage years. I built my dream studio, met talented musicians, built myself a reputation, made lots of money, had the best toys, and I even got the “six-pack” I always wanted.

It seemed as if, by Western standards, I managed to check all the boxes necessary to be considered a “true success story”!

However...

Tragedies Strike

throughout those years, while I was pushing onwards to get bigger and better in every possible way, my worldview began to crack in response to some tragic events: In 2007, I lost my father to cancer, later caught a nasty virus that impaired my vision, and the fragility of life became even more evident as three of my students passed away at the very young age: one was lost to a terminal illness, another perished in a car accident, and the youngest of them all was taken in an act of hatred.

Questions That Shattered My Worldview

These traumatic experiences made me question the value of the way I was living my life. Okay, so I’m running like a little hamster ever more efficiently on my exercise wheel, but where is it all going? What meaning does it have, if even under the best circumstances, everybody (myself included) is inevitably heading towards old age, sickness, and death? And what is this weird existence, anyway? What kind of game are we playing? Who am I, and how on earth did I get here?

Descending Into Existential Depression

Tormented by these questions, I found myself at the beginning of a challenging, depressive existential crisis that went on for well over two years.

Searching for Answers and Reaching Despair

During that period, I tried anything that promised some kind of relief: Maybe the answers lie in psychology? Perhaps philosophy? Maybe science? Maybe I should make art or travel the world? Enjoy the pleasures of the senses, meet new people, or work on my leadership skills?

Each of these directions provided me with valuable gifts and meaningful insights for which I am truly grateful. And yet, after every peak experience, as I was going back to bed and turning off the lights, I found myself time and time again facing the same sinking feeling: “It’s all for nothing and I’m hopelessly alone.”

Learning About Buddhism and Meditation

Things began to change for the better in late 2015 when I first heard about Buddhism and meditation. I learned that the Buddha was a flesh-and-blood teacher (not a God) who dealt with the very same questions 2,500 years ago and apparently found a permanent solution to human suffering.

Motivated by that promise, I began meditating an hour a day, learned as much as I could about Buddhist wisdom, and went to several long retreats every few months.

As part of my search, I explored different traditions and approaches: First of many, a 10-day Goenka Vipassana Course, then, Korean Zen, some Theravada (early Buddhism), and some Mahayana (later Buddhism). I read many books and listened to countless hours of recorded dharma talks.

Discovering The Mind Illuminated

In the summer of 2017, I was fortunate enough to discover The Mind Illuminated, written by Culadasa, who was soon to become my teacher.

The book is remarkably detailed and instructive, and it profoundly transformed my practice. It’s based on a 1,500-year-old model called The Elephant Path, which divides the process of training the mind into ten distinct stages: starting from establishing a meditative practice, all the way to awakening and the end of suffering.

It felt like I was finally navigating the meditative landscape with a clear map and a GPS.

Meditative Breakthroughs

Once I started working with The Mind Illuminated, the progress was rapid and exponential: In less than two months of practice, I was first able to sustain my attention on the sensations of the breath for one continuous hour without getting distracted or lost in mind wandering, a feat I first feared to be utterly impossible.

Meeting Culadasa in Person

During that time. I was living and working in California, about half an hour south of San Francisco, so I had a golden opportunity to fly over to Arizona and meet Culadasa in person. I stayed at his home for a 13-day self-retreat and meditated under his direct guidance.

During that retreat, I went through a powerful process called ‘Purification of Mind’ where the mind brought up my deepest fears, traumas, anxieties, and insecurities while I was meditating and even when I wasn’t. Luckily, Culadasa was there to assure me that it’s perfectly normal and expected, giving me just the support I needed with lots of patience, compassion, and wisdom.

Nirvana and the Taste of True Peace (Stage 8)

I did exactly as instructed, and on the 10th day of that retreat, the practice matured to Stage Eight of the Elephant Path. It’s characterized by perfect Equanimity, profound Tranquility, intense Joy, bright Awareness, and very stable Attention that’s sustained without any effort. It’s the first stage of Nirvana, a direct experience of True Peace.

During that Nibbanic state, I remember being amazed: nothing physical had changed in the universe: not my health, not my bank account, not my circumstances, and surely not the facts of life that had caused me to be anxious for so many years.

And yet - there I was: completely at peace, joyous, and fully content. Not wanting anything, not needing anything, not rejecting anything. For me, it was conclusive evidence that the Buddha truly knew what he was talking about.

Before the retreat, I thought Nirvana was only there in fairy tales meant for someone else, but not for me. And then I saw her face and became a believer. Not a trace of doubt in my mind.

Right there, I decided to do whatever it takes to complete The Path, and the meditative practice became the most important aspect of my life.

Peak Effort to Reach and Complete Stage 9

Confident in my ability to continue independently, I thanked Culadasa, said goodbye, and returned home filled with optimism and motivation.

It was the peak of my daily practice, where I meditated for three hours every day, 90 minutes in the morning and 90 minutes in the evening.

These efforts were fruitful, as in early 2018, the first arrival at Stage Nine of The Elephant Path, and that’s been repeating for every long retreat I’ve taken since, and occasionally, in daily practice.

Awakening and the End of Suffering

And then, on the 3rd of October, with cinematic precision, on the very last evening of an 8-day retreat, precisely one year after meeting Culadasa, the practice matured to Stage Ten.

Ever since that day, there’s a continuous experience of liberation from suffering that’s not subject to passing away. Seven years now, and it’s still rock solid, withstanding everything the universe sent my way: Gain and Loss, Pain and Pleasure, Praise and Blame, Fame and Infamy, Fame and Obscurity - It works as advertised.

Overflowing Gratitude

As the Awakening experience unfolded back then, three things became crystal clear:

First, the purest, most sincere meaning of gratitude as it radiates from within, pouring out into the world - to the Buddha, and Culadasa, and Asanga (creator of The Elephant Path), and my Sangha (fellow meditators), and my teachers - Thank you, dear God, dear interdependent universe, for shifting from hellish pitch-black darkness to this blissful peaceful abundant light! What a privilege to experience it directly!

Seeing Through the Illusion of “Self”

Secondly, this was not “a personal achievement.” The so-called ‘Self’ was revealed to be nothing more than an illusion. Awakening didn’t happen because I was wiser, holier, more intelligent, or more special than anybody else. It was the inevitable result of the meditative process itself reaching maturity like a flower in bloom or a tree yielding fruit. There is no one to applaud, and no applause is necessary.

Seeing Through the Illusion of “Other”

Lastly, it became evident that if there is no ‘Self’, then logically there is no ‘Other’. To clarify this counterintuitive point, let me tell you about my first Vipassana retreat back in April 2016:

It took place at a Goenka Meditation Center, and on its second evening discourse, Goenka mentioned that once someone reaches enlightenment, all they do is teach the Dharma. When I first heard that, I remember thinking (from the depths of my then present depression): “What on earth is he talking about? If I ever get out of this suffering, I’ll be at the beach drinking margaritas!”

But when awakening did occur, and the suffering finally stopped, it became evident that it’s not enough to have the neural network within “my” specific skull unified and liberated. Anywhere in the world where suffering occurs, that’s “me” right there hoping to be saved! It’s exactly the same phenomenon!

Therefore, the best thing I could possibly do with my time is indeed guide the way out of misery to all those seeking to find it; all instances of “me” asking for relief.

Culadasa’s Confirmation of Awakening

A few weeks later, I contacted Culadasa, asking him to verify that it was truly an Awakening experience and not just another illusory trick of the mind. I describe my journey and experience in great detail, and Culadasa confirmed that it was indeed genuine.

Invitation to the Teacher Training Course

After congratulating me, he asked what I planned on doing next, so I expressed my desire to become a teacher and actively share the path to liberation with others. Culadasa told me that’s what he too would like to see me do and invited me to join his Teacher Training Course.

Founding the International Meditation Group: Mind Muar

The Teacher Training Course began in early 2019, during which I founded the meditation group ‘Mind Muar’ (originally named “ha’Mind Muar”; Hebrew for “The Mind Illuminated”), where I taught Culadasa’s method to Israeli students.

In late 2020, the group grew international, and I began providing online guidance in English to meditators from various countries around the world.

Teaching The Mind Illuminated

At first, I used to teach The Mind Illuminated to the letter. Then, gradually, with full disclosure to my students, I began building upon its core instructions and expanding them, adding structure, clarity, and my own insights to the training process.

Developing The Playful Path to Awakening

In 2022, my approach to The Mind Illuminated matured enough to be shared with the world as a new method, and in 2023, it became known as The Playful Path to Awakening. It’s a living, ever-evolving method that I continue to develop and improve to this day.

You can get your free copy of its latest version HERE, where you’ll also find its introduction video.

The Vision That Leads Me

The Playful Path project and Mind Muar are means for realizing my vision: Complete Liberation for all who seek to end their suffering with a Clear and Simple Path inevitably resulting in Awakening that’s Freely Accessible to everyone in the world.

If you resonate with this sentiment, send me a message.

Thanks for listening. 🪷