The Life and Teachings of the Buddha – a Sutta Study Day
Daylong Retreat with SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard
The study of the original texts is considered an important complement to our meditation, reflection, and daily life practices, and it has been a while since we offered a sutta study day at SIM. Each participant in this daylong class will receive a booklet called “The Life and Teachings of the Buddha: An Introductory Sutta Study Guide,” written by former SIM Community Mentor Dr. Jeff Hardin, provided with Jeff’s permission and through his generosity. Jeff has sent us 30 copies of the third edition, so it is especially important to register in advance to ensure that we have enough copies for everyone*. We will use the booklet to move through an introduction to the Pali canon and its historical context, the life of the Buddha, the first two discourses of the Buddha (which include the Four Noble Truths and the Five Aggregates), and some of the other fundamental teachings of our tradition such as the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and Dependent Origination. Our purpose is best expressed by these words from Jeff’s Introduction: Ultimately, it is my wish that the study of these teachings be not solely an academic exercise, but rather that they be investigated, reflected upon, meditated with and put into practice within one’s life with the intention of assisting all living beings to awaken to a life free from suffering.
There will be some sitting and walking practice, but this will primarily be a study day. Bring a lunch and plan to stay on site all day.
* [The second edition of the booklet is available as a pdf through the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies at this link: https://media.audiodharma.org/documents/Sutta-Study-Guide.pdf (please consider offering dana to the Sati Center if you download it).]
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
- 05/03/2019 – Registration opens.
- 06/28/2019 – Registration via this website closes at 6:30 pm.
- 06/29/2019 – 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. To pay the registration fee online, use the “Tickets” section at the bottom of this page. It’s not necessary to Log in before purchasing and you won’t need to print the ticket on paper. On the left side, specify the number of people you are registering to this retreat. On the right side, click the button “Buy now” and you’ll be automatically directed to a secure webpage 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.