Awareness Practice and Inquiry
Daylong Retreat with SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard
“Awareness knows” says Burmese monk and meditation teacher Sayadaw U Tejaniya. Sounds simple – is it? With all the approaches to mindfulness floating around, it may be a challenge to know how to practice a simple yet effective form of awareness that leads to insight and eventually freedom. Let’s spend a day of practice and inquiry into the nature, feeling, and function of awareness. With reminders from Sayadaw’s two most recent books, “Collecting Gold Dust” and “Relax and Be Aware” as support, we will practice sitting, standing, and walking meditation, with some guided meditations. There will also be periods for questions and answers. The day will otherwise be held in noble silence. Bring a lunch and plan to spend all day on site to support continuity of awareness. Copies of Sayadaw U Tejaniya’s book “Dhamma Everywhere” will be offered to the first 20 people who register.
RICH HOWARD has been an active practitioner and volunteer at SIM since 2004. His area of interest is bringing meditative awareness into everyday life. He participated in SIM’s 2007 India Pilgrimage and is a graduate of SIM’s second Practice Development and Leadership (PDL) program. He served on the Board from 2010 until 2015, the last two years as president. He was one of the SIM representatives to the Inter-Sangha Coordinating Committee, predecessor to the Sacramento Dharma Center Board, which now runs our shared space for Buddhist sanghas in Sacramento. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in southern Africa in the 1970s and is fluent in Spanish. His teachers are Dennis Warren, Tony Bernhard, and Steve Armstrong. Rich completed online courses with Steve on the Abhidhamma (the Buddhist psychology) and the Manual of Insight. He took Gil Fronsdal’s online course on the Majjhima Nikaya (Middle-length Discourses of the Buddha). His interest in the environment led him to the One Small Planet training with Kerry Nelson and the Ecosattva training with One Earth Sangha. In 2018, he completed a 10-month Dhamma Awareness Training with Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters called Touching the Earth. He is currently enrolled in Meg Gawler’s 8-month course Preparing the Ground for Samadhi.
Sacramento Insight Meditation events are sustained by the generosity of instructors in offering teachings freely and on the generosity of students and members of the meditative community in the form of financial support, service and participation in events. With our practice of dana, we support our Sangha. If you prefer to make a donation for this event online using a credit card or PayPal account, click here to DONATE ONLINE.
Summary of Important Dates
- 01/19/2020 – Registration opens.
- 02/28/2020 – Registration via this website will close at 3:00 pm however you may register in person at least 15 minutes before the retreat begins.
- 02/28/2020 – Attend and enjoy the wonderful retreat.
Registration Details
Registration is $15.00 per person due before the start of the event. If you are able and interested in further supporting SIM financially, you have the option of a registration fee of either $25 or $35 dollars. To pay the registration fee online, use the “Tickets” section at the bottom of this page. Specify the number of people you are registering to this retreat and click the button “Get Tickets”. You’ll be automatically directed to a secure web-page where your registration payment can be made by credit card as a guest (no PayPal account required) or payment can be made by PayPal after you sign-in to your PayPal account if you have one.
For the registration fee, we accept checks and cash. No one will be turned away for lack of funds; please contact the registrar for more information. Day-of registration will be on a first-come first-serve basis, contingent on availability of space.
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Volunteer Opportunities
It “takes a village” to put on a large event for our community. If you would be available to assist in set-up, take-down, tea service, providing flowers or other duties for the event, please contact the retreat registrar for more information..
Questions for the Registrar?
If you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions, click here.