The importance of focusing our attention and investigation on Effort in meditation, practice and life is frequently overlooked or minimized. “Right Effort,” or “Right Energy,” is foundational to our understanding and development of all the core elements of Buddhist practice. It is essential to integrating practice into daily life and relationships. And the way we use Effort is a significant factor in whether the way we conduct our practice and lives is practical and pragmatic, or informed as “spiritual” or “dharmic” in nature. Join us this evening to explore these questions:
What is Right Effort? What makes it “Right?”
Is Right Effort different from Right “Energy?”
Why is Right Effort considered foundational?
What are specific, practical, useable examples of how to work with Right Effort in meditation?
Other aspects of practice? Daily life? Relationships?
What makes Right Effort a significant factor in informing practice and life as spiritual or dharmic?
Whether you’re just beginning your practice, or have been on the path for years, you’ll find something helpful in this evening investigation. We welcome you to join us either in person or via ZOOM. Dennis will be presenting in person. He encourages you to be there in person to meet with old as well as new friends, and enjoy an evening of community and exploring the Buddha’s teachings.
What is Nibbāna? What does it look like when someone is fully enlightened? What might it look and feel like when you are fully enlightened, and how might you practice for this highest of all happiness?
GRACE TALICE LEE is a queer, nonbinary, autistic, direct descendant of immigrants and refugees. Grace has loved the Dhamma for several lifetimes, but in this current birth they began meditation training in 2016, started teaching in 2025, and co-led their first residential retreat in 2026. She offers several books about Dhamma practice, including a travelogue about a 2-week pilgrimage to the Thai Forest Masters which is freely available for download at www.karunabv.org/books.
A long hike requires many resources: a healthy body, food and water, the right clothing and gear, not to mention motivation and a sense of direction. The practice of mindfulness, meditation, and ethical living has been described as a noble path, and it may not be a straight line! For many of us, it is a long and winding path that requires physical, emotional, and spiritual supports. Let’s take this evening to discuss and share some of the supports we have found for our practice.
After a dharmette by SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard, we will break into small groups in person and online to consider a series of questions to explore where we are on the path, where we are headed, and what resources might support us on the way.
Question 1:
What benefits have you noticed from your practice? Name one former unwholesome habit or mind state that has weakened or disappeared. Or one relationship that has healed (including with yourself!) If you are new to the practice, what conditions in your life brought you here?
Question 2:
How do you integrate the dharma into your daily life? What aspirations do you have for your practice?
Question 3:
What resources support your practice most right now? What is the balance of practice, study, and community in your life?
Anger creeps into our lives uninvited, disguised in a variety of forms. it is a multi-faceted emotion that is on the continuum of “ill-will,” (dosa in Pali) the second of the “Three Poisons” or kilesas that keep us in a state of samsara. The first kilesa is greed (lobha) and the third is delusion.(moha).
There are a wide range of behaviors that signal anger, yet we don’t usually consider ourselves as being “angry.” Traditionally anger is defined as an explosion of violent behavior, either verbally or physically. Explosive anger is the extreme form of ill-will on the continuum of emotional manifestations of dosa.
One of the many difficulties of dealing with anger is that it is inculcated throughout our society. Movies, podcasts, social media, TV shows and politics all have expressions of anger.
Another aspect of anger is when it is self-directed, and may be experienced as disappointment, guilt, jealously as well as a variety of other emotions. Continually experiencing anger in its variety of forms creates sadness, withdrawal and confusion.
Tonight we will discuss anger, its traditional antidotes and some advice from contemporary teachers.
We take up meditation and engage in dharma study to cultivate morally skillful behavior in our speech and action. Ethical conduct is not an adjunct to practice, it is at the heart of practice and, in the end, is the very point of practice.
Perception is one of the proximate causes for mindfulness to arise. Perception is also the source of concepts, confusion, and papanca, the proliferation of thoughts that causes us to suffer. This evening, we will explore the many facets of perception and the distortions of perception, with the intention of allowing this powerful capacity of the mind to free us from clinging.
Equanimity, and the unique form of happiness that accompanies it, is considered one of the most important qualities of mind and heart in Buddhist practice. It is frequently misunderstood. And how to be Equanimous can sometimes seem confusing or beyond our skill or capacity. Understanding how to cultivate a realistic, practical form of Equanimity seems like something that could help all of us given the conditions in our country and the world.
Join us this evening to examine these questions:
What are the characteristics and qualities of Equanimity? And Equanimous Happiness?
Why is this quality of mind and heart considered so valuable in meditation, daily life and relationships?
In what ways does Equanimity differ from, and is related to, the other three “higher emotions” of Loving Kindness, Compassion and Sympathetic Joy?
How do we develop Equanimity as a readily available resource for dealing with the challenges of life?
You might want to review the essay on SIM’s website entitled “The Practice of Equanimity – The Balanced Embrace of All Experience.” This basic essay will serve as a jumping off point for our exploration on Thursday evening.