05/20/2017 “Attention & Mindful – An Exploration” Retreat with Dennis Warren

Day-long Retreat on the theme: Attention & Mindful – An Exploration

Mindfulness is sometimes described as non-judgmental “bare” attention. As helpful as this general description may be, it tends to cloud the fact that there is a significant difference between attention and mindfulness. They play separate and distinct roles in practice. And, most importantly, it gives no hint of the reality that attention and mindfulness are both purposeful in Buddhist practice. In a period of time when both of these terms are been uncoupled from their historical Buddhist meanings, what do they mean for each of us as 21st century, urban practitioners?

This will be a day of practice, reflection, experimentation and investigation:

  • What is the functional difference between attention and mindfulness?
  • What are we supposed to be paying attention to and being mindful of?
  • What does it mean that attention and mindfulness are purposeful in Buddhist practice?

What is the relationship between the answers to these questions and the underlying psychology of the historical Buddha?

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05/11/2017 “The Practice of Stop, Drop & Ask” with Bruce Pardoe

The Practice of Stop, Drop & Ask

Community Dharma Leader Bruce Pardoe will be with us this Thursday evening. He will talk on the practice of Stop, Drop and Ask. He will also lead a reflection on how wisdom and love are one.
Bruce has practiced Vipassana meditation for the past ten years including numerous 1, 2 & 3 month retreats at Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock. He has been on pilgrimage and practiced in Asia, and sat numerous extended solo retreats. All combined he has spent more than one and a half years in silence. He is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Dharma Leaders Program. Bruce expresses his wonder for awakening and dharma in direct, joyous and experiential teachings. His focus on sensory feeling to convey wisdom derives from his years of Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement and Hakomi Body-Centered Psychotherapy experience. He also draws extensively upon his deep experience with both Advaita and the path of devotion to complement and enrich his offerings. Don’t miss this evening with our friend Bruce Pardoe.

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04/27/2017 “Exploring Attachment and Its Consequences” with Dennis Warren

Exploring Attachment and Its Consequences

All of us have some understanding of the Buddhist element of Attachment. This evening with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren will involve a practical and in-depth exploration of Attachment; its role in Buddhist psychology; its place in the Buddhist description of causation; the phenomenon of “positive” attachment; and Attachment’s consequences, both intentional and unanticipated.

Talk handout: Foundational Qualities of Mind (PDF)

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To listen to Part 2 of the series, click here.

 

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04/20/2017 “Engaged and Aware: Finding a Balance” with Rich Howard

Engaged and Aware: Finding a Balance

For many of us, commitment to justice and ethics leads us to engage in action in the real world. But our practice of meditative awareness calls us to “be” not just “do.” Are these impulses opposed to each other? Or are they mutually supportive? How can we sustain our engagement and connect our mindfulness to the suffering all around (and within!) us? Let’s explore the implications of bringing our practice into every day life.

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04/06/2017 “Forgetting and Remembering” with Dennis Warren

Forgetting and Remembering

The original definition of Mindfulness contains the element of “remembering.” What does this mean? And why is it important? What are we “forgetting?” What are we trying to “remember?” Does it mean remembering to engage in “moment-to-moment non-judgmental awareness”? As difficult as it is to maintain such a state of mind, is that it? Is that all? Or is there more? Or is there much more?
Understanding these questions, and their answers, in the context of the historical Buddha’s teachings, is important to practicing well and developing a progressively maturing practice. Reflect on these questions and come prepared with your questions to supplement the talk and discussion.

To view the handout for this talk, click here.

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03/30/2017 “What about God???” with Diane Wilde

It seems appropriate to discuss god and its compatibility — or not — with the holiest seasons in the Judeo-Christian calendar approaching in April. In the West, there is a widespread assumption that you can’t be a Buddhist and believe in a supreme being.
At prison, inmates — especially people who are new to the practice —frequently ask about Buddhism and its teachings on god. Underlying this question is a concern about being cajoled to “convert to Buddhism.” (As I have stated numerous times to inmates, the only conversion is the desire to investigate your own mind.) At SIM as well, practitioners often embrace the Buddha’s path and simultaneously maintain a strong allegiance to a belief system which defines “God” as the supreme being. Tonight we will discuss the “gods” that were an important component of the Buddha’s culture, as well as the Buddha’s teachings on god. For many westerners, reconciling a belief in god while following the Buddha’s path of alleviating suffering can cause confusion. For others there is no problem at all, with a comfortable marrying of both.
Should make for a lively discussion!

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03/23/2017 “Four ‘Nobel’ Truths: Bob Dylan’s Dharma” with Rich Howard

Bob Dylan received the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” His poetic song lyrics have an ambiguity that allows for many different interpretations. This Thursday night, “far between sundown’s finish an’ midnight’s broken toll,” we will re-visit one of the core teachings of the historical Buddha, through the lens of the words of a Jew who converted to Christianity. Even if Dylan did not have a Buddhist background like Leonard Cohen or Jane Hirshfield, we might learn something about the Four Noble Truths from the lyrics of this important American singer-songwriter-poet. Whether you are a big Dylan fan, or someone for whom he is ancient history from your grandparents’ time, or just one of the “searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail,” join us for an evening of poetry, dharma, and discussion.

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03/16/2017 “I’m right, you’re wrong…end of discussion” with Diane Wilde

During this historic and volatile period in our nations’s history, it is helpful to return to the guidance provided by the basic principles of this practice — Right View or Wise View, “samma ditthi.”  All of us across the political and social spectrums are tenaciously clinging to our views which we summarily declare as “truth.” Too often fear, anger, resentment and even hatred are propelling us in one direction or another.  If we take the time to take inventory, we might discover which closely-held views are wise and compassionate and which promote ignorance and cruelty.  Looking at these beliefs in our lives is practicing Skillful or Wise View in daily life. Clearly seeing how things are is a formidable task, yet this is what is asked of us if we truly desire to decrease, and hopefully eliminate, suffering in our lives.

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03/09/2017 “Revisiting the Meaning, Benefits & Risks of Suffering” with Dennis Warren

Revisiting the Meaning, Benefits & Risks of Suffering

We talk so much about “suffering” in Buddhist practice, we sometimes lost touch with the original meaning of suffering found in the historical Buddha’s teaching. Instead, we turn we slide into a western psychological meaning. And we also lose touch with the tangible benefits and the clear risks or dangers of suffering.
This evening with SIM Founding Teacher, Dennis Warren, will explore the meaning, benefits and risks of suffering from a Buddhist perspective. It will extend a number of the principles outlined in Dennis’s talk on February 16th. You may want to review that talk as a way of preparing for this topic.

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03/02/2017 “Uncertainty and Doubt” with Rich Howard

Uncertainty and Doubt We may come to practice in search of clear answers, but as practice matures, we become more comfortable with uncertainty and ambiguity. Suzuki Roshi wrote, “In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few. ” Maintaining this “beginner’s mind” keeps practice fresh and opens the mind to surprising insights. Too much uncertainty and ambiguity may lead to doubt. Let’s explore this rich territory together and see what it means for our formal and daily practice.

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