We are pleased to offer a new eleven-month course called A Year to Live: a practical course on living and dying. The course is lead by SIM’s community teacher Reverend Diane Wilde and registration opens December 18th. The class size is limited so register as soon as possible; the course fee is $35 (no one turned away due to lack of funds).

The course meets at the Sacramento Dharma Center from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM the third Monday of the month from February through December 2020. There are also smaller group meetings in between the larger group discussion. In the past, the smaller meetings have met in participants’s homes but this is still to be determined. To register to the course, click here.

“Generosity brings happiness at every stage of its expression. We experience joy in forming the intention to be generous. We experience joy in the actual act of giving something. And we experience joy in remembering the fact that we have given.”
—-the historical Buddha

Dear SIM Friends,

We hope that this letter finds you well. As we reflect back on 2019, we feel pride in and gratitude for our sangha. Together we have created a vibrant, generous community. We now have an active Young Persons’ Sangha, which promises that SIM will continue on with the next generations. Forty people attended our annual retreat, led by Kamala Masters and Vance Pryor. We continue to offer our monthly day-long retreats, Thursday night sits and Dharma talks.

Through these activities, we continue to fulfill our mission as an educational non-profit of providing support to those practicing in the Insight/Vipassana tradition. We are able to provide these activities and others because of the support of dedicated volunteers and generous donors like you.

At this time of year-end giving, we invite you to support two fundraising goals:

First, we want to express SIM’s gratitude to our existing faculty through a year-end dana contribution in recognition of their ongoing commitment and teaching. Without the dedication and wisdom of our faculty – Dennis Warren (SIM Founder), Diane Wilde, and Rich Howard – we would not be the community that we are now.

Second, we want to continue to build our Teaching and Development Initiative, which has increased support for our existing faculty, including additional dana and resources to support them in their practice, as well as dedicated funding to host new teachers for SIM offerings. For 2020, we aim to continue to maintain and nurture relationships with Senior Teachers, develop relationships with new teachers, and work to identify and support potential teachers from within the community.

As you plan your year-end giving, we hope that you will consider supporting SIM by making a one-time, year-end contribution to support our Teaching and Development Initiative and/or signing up for a monthly, automatic on-line contribution to SIM. Monthly contributions are key to our long-term financial health, covering basic operating expenses as well as sustaining our Teaching and Development Initiative.

Please make a donation today at Sacramento Insight Meditation.

Looking forward to continuing to strengthen our community and our practice together in the coming year.

Warmly,

Sara Denzler
Treasurer, SIM Board of Directors

We’re sorry to announce that Dennis Warren will be unavailable November 21, 2019. SIM has cancelled the Introduction to Meditation class scheduled for that evening and the November 21st dharma talk will be presented by Neesha Patel instead.

Thank you for your understanding.

Please join SIM friends and acquaintances (if you are new, you will leave with at least one SIM friend) at our annual Holiday Potluck, Thursday, December 12 during our regular meeting time, more or less– 6:30 pm to 9 pm. Friends and relatives are welcome. Bring a vegetarian dish to share that will serve 8-12. Also bring your own plate, glass, and napkin to minimize our contribution to the local landfill (but don’t worry if you forget.) We hope to see you there.

Click here to send in your RSVP which will help us plan table and chair setup so everyone is comfortable.

Mark your calendars and plan to join the celebration. It’s Sacramento Dharma Center’s (SDC) Third Anniversary Party on Saturday, November 9, 2019 from 1 to 4 p.m.

• Cooking Demonstration ~ 1:30
• Music ~ 2:15 to 3:30
• Some closing words ~ 3:30

SDC wants to remind you to come to the annual celebration of the official opening of our Dharma home which was November 6th 2016. SDC has a great party planned for you with a food demonstration from Jay Nair, and music by Kent Lacin. Isn’t it wonderful to have such talented sangha members who share their talents with us? SDC will also have the latest proposed landscaping designs on display for your perusal.

Recently Katie Thomas gifted the Dharma Center with a beautiful framed oil pastel painting by her mother, Susan Orr, for the purpose of fundraising. It is called The Anguish, The Grace. It is with a grateful heart that we thank Katie for carrying on her mother’s dream with such a generous act. SDC will be holding a silent auction during the afternoon for the painting, announcing the winner at 3:30.

Here is a photo of the painting and you can see it currently hung in the South lobby of the Dharma Center for all of us to enjoy. If you are unable to attend the party and would like to bid on the painting you may send a proxy or contact the SDC at 916-386-9844 to make other arrangements.

Why do we do all this? That is an easy question to answer, because SDC is proud of what they’ve been able to do in the three years since opening, and mostly they are so grateful to all of you! Yes all of you have put in your time, energy, funds, hopes and dreams and created a beautiful home for the Dharma to thrive in. So bring your family and friends, make new friends, and have some fun!