Hermes Amāra Foundation
The Hermes Amāra Foundation (HAF) was established in 2019 at the request of the late Buddhist dharma and meditation teacher Rob Burbea (1965 - 2020). Its main role is as custodian of his extensive body of teachings, which exist in the form of audio talks, interviews, online seminars, podcasts and the book Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising. HAF also exists to support the teachers and community of practitioners (sangha) engaging with Rob's teachings.
Rob Burbea
Rob was the trailblazing resident teacher at Gaia House retreat centre in Devon, England, for ten years (2005 - 2015) until his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. With his roots in the Western Buddhist tradition of Insight Meditation, Rob developed a unique and radical body of work founded upon his original conception of 'ways of looking' and exposition of the Buddha's teachings on emptiness. His book Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising is a profound and transformative contribution to the Buddhist tradition. During the last seven years of his life Rob put forth an astonishing body of teachings he called A Soulmaking Dharma, which may be seen as a new flowering of the Dharma for our times. Rob was also a jazz musician, composer and poet. He died on 7th May 2020.
Teachings
Rob Burbea has left a wide and deep Dharma legacy, rooted in and extending far beyond Buddha Dharma. This legacy comprises many arenas of teaching - ‘classical’ Buddhist teachings, mettā, psychological approaches, cultivating samādhi and the jhānas, teachings on emptiness and dependent origination, Rob's ground-breaking 'ways of looking' approach, and the vast world of Soulmaking Dharma including ethics and soulful activism. These arenas may initially be viewed and worked with separately, but the teachings fundamentally form one holistic ecosystem. It is a unique and radical body of work, with Rob's seminal book Seeing That Frees: Meditations on Emptiness and Dependent Arising as a central resource and backbone for practice. The large part of this body of work emerged from Rob's Dharma practice, study, and experimentation, indebted to and in dialogical rapport with a whole host of teachers and thinkers, including the Buddha, Mipham Rinpoche, Nagarjuna, Ajahn Thanissaro, James Hillman, and many others. Some of the Soulmaking Dharma teachings emerged also through the collaborations of Rob and Catherine McGee.
Explore Rob's Talks
As part of its custodial remit HAF provides a 'safe harbour' for Rob's entire body of work. All of his many hundreds of recorded audio talks are available and searchable on this site, along with online video seminars, interviews and podcasts, many of which are not published anywhere else. All of the Guided Meditations offered by Rob are grouped together on the talks page as a support for practice.
Sangha
HAF also exists to support the growing international community of practitioners engaging with Rob's teachings, and wishes to offer helpful ways in which practitioners might navigate the wide range of his work. We encourage sangha practice groups and initiatives, and can give significant support should relational issues or conflict arise.
