Keren has been immersed in Buddhist practice since 1997, practicing with variety of teachers in Asia and the West. Keren also holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies.
Keren teaches retreats and Dharma courses dedicated to the deepening of mindful presence, insight (vipassana), loving kindness (metta) and freedom. Keren teaches at the Israeli Insight Meditation Society (“Tovana”) and she is a co-founder and a teacher at “Nalanda“: an Israeli Buddhist practice and study program for experienced practitioners.
For more than ten years Keren taught Buddhist philosophy and psychology as an adjunct professor in the Department of East Asian Studies at Tel Aviv University. From 2017 Keren dedicates all her time to teaching the Dhamma.
In her dharma practice she is drawn to periods of seclusion and intensive practice. Since 2010 Keren dedicates two months each year for intensive solitary silent retreats.
In her practice and teaching she has a special interest in finding ways to bring depth practice into daily life and deepen our freedom as lay practitioners. She also explores the ways in which the study of the Suttas (the early Buddhist texts) and intensive meditation practice are complimentary aspects.
Keren published two books: one is an annotated Hebrew translation of collection of Suttas from the original Pali into Hebrew.
Her second book Early Buddhist Meditation: the Four Jhanas as the actualization of Insight (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism) explores the relation between the four jhanas and the practice of insight (March 2017). Read a summary of the book here.
Read book reviews by practitioners:
Review by Ulf Wolf:
https://medium.com/illumination/karen-arbel-review-1e7657158077
https://www.amazon.com/product-reviews/0367111373
https://bodhi-college.org/suggested-summer-reading-from-the-faculty/ (the third title)
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Some of Keren’s 2023-4 Teaching Schedule:
Nalanda: A year long program for experienced practitioners (Oct. 2023-July 2024): Nalanda is an Israeli Buddhist practice and study program for experienced practitioners. It strives to integrate theory and practice in a harmonious way.
8-15 of December 2023: Metta, Vipassana & emptiness retreat for experienced practitioners with Yahel Avigur in Kibbutz Ein Dor (Tovana).
5-9 of March 2024: Retreat in Moa with Mati Lieblich.
3-6 of April 2024 – Vipassana weekend with Simi Levi in Kibbutz Ein Dor.
10-17 of May 2024: Vipassana retreat for experienced practitioners with Zohar Lavie in Kibbutz Ein Dor (Tovana).
10-15 of June 2024 retreat for experienced practitioners with Lila Kimhi in Kibbutz Ein Dor (Tovana).
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May all beings everywhere be happy and free,
May our practice will be for the benefit of others,
May the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.
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- My Books
Early Buddhist Meditation: The Four Jhanas as the Actualization of Insight
This book offers a fresh look at the four jhànas and their liberative role in the Buddhist path to awakening, and provides a novel map of the progress of meditation according to the early Buddhist texts.
Published by Routledge (Critical Studies in Buddhism)
The Sayings of the Buddha
An annotated Hebrew translation of collection of Suttas from the original Pali into Hebrew
Published by Tel Aviv University Press