A One Day Retreat– with Ayya Santacitta and SIM’s Community Teacher Rev. Diane Wilde

The Buddha’s advise on what is insanity and how to cultivate a sound mind

We human beings, in this human realm, rarely realize that we operating in a state of of delusion.Not only are we operating in a deluded state, we expect this current mind state to provide us a sense of happiness and well-being. Because we really have no idea what we are doing, the goal of happiness is illusive and frustrating. This is also the Buddhist view of mental disease. Delusion is a mental illness that causes all sorts of suffering; mental health can be restored by correcting the flaws in how the mind operates. We will investigate our “mental disease” in both classical terms as well as our contemporary daily life and how we can cultivate “sanity” both for ourselves and the larger world itself.

Please bring a meal to share with others which includes a lunch offering to Ayya Santacitta.

AYYA SANTACITTA was born in Austria and has a multifaceted background in hotel management, ethnology and avant-garde dance theater. Her first teacher was Ajahn Buddhadasa, who sparked her interest in Buddhist monastic life. She has practiced meditation for 30 years and trained as a nun in both the East and West since 1993, primarily in the lineage of Ajahn Chah. Since 2002 she has also received teachings in the lineage of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. Ayya Santacitta is co-founder of Aloka Vihara Forest Monastery, where she has resided since 2009 and took Bhikkhuni Ordination in 2011. She is particularly interested in creating sanctuary close to nature, practicing in community, and bringing wisdom traditions to the environmental movement.

DIANE WILDE has studied meditation in various traditions since 1990. In 2001 she was a founding member of Sacramento Insight Meditation. She founded Buddhist Pathways Prison Project (BP3) in 2010. Since 2003, she has been a BP3 prison chaplain and aids in coordination of 75 volunteers who offer Buddhist services at numerous California prisons and jails. She is a graduate of Sati Center’s Buddhist Chaplaincy program and graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Community Dharma Leadership Training Program. She is a board member of Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, Sacramento Dharma Center, Buddhist Pathways Prison Project and California Dept. of Corrections Volunteer Advisory Board. In 2015 she was lay-ordained as a Buddhist minister by her teacher Gil Fronsdal.

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

• 06/04/2019 – Registration opens.
• 07/26/2019 – Registration via this website will close at 4:30 pm. There is still space available so come and register in person.
• 07/27/2019 – 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.

We’ve closed the online payment which is why the “Tickets” section at the bottom of this page shows “Tickets are no longer available” however there is still space at the retreat so come and register in person; we accept checks and cash. No one will be turned away for lack of funds; please contact the registrar for more information.

Before registering to this event, click here to review the terms of use for this website.

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.