To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

A message from the Sacramento Insight Meditation Board of Directors

The SIM Board is continuing to monitor developments regarding the Delta AND the Omicron variants of Covid19. After careful review of the latest available evidence, we have decided that it continues to be safe to maintain a hybrid program of in-person and Zoom attendance for now. We want to share with you not only our decision, but also the thinking behind it.

  • VACCINATION PROVIDES OUR GREATEST PROTECTION – Vaccination continues to provide good protection from infection and serious illness due to both Delta and Omicron, and we strongly urge all members of our community to be vaccinated. We also recommend you receive a booster vaccination, according to the CDC guidelines, no later than seven days before attending events in person. Booster vaccines are recommended after 2 months for everyone vaccinated with the J&J vaccine and 6 months after either their second Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. If anyone would like to be vaccinated but hasn’t been able to do so, we would be glad to help. We want to send a clear message that anyone who is not fully vaccinated should NOT attend SIM events in person for their own safety and the safety of others. Those who choose to remain unvaccinated are welcome to participate remotely on Zoom and not attend in person.
  • MASKING, DISTANCING AND AIR FILTRATION PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PROTECTION – To maximize safety, we will continue to require indoor masking, and high quality KN95 masks will be available at the door to anyone who would like one. We will continue to arrange socially distanced seating, and for lunch time and break periods to make maximal use of our two high-quality HEPA air filters. All of this creates a low-risk environment in which we feel that we can safely practice together.
  • PRACTICING TOGETHER PROVIDES IMPORTANT SUPPORT FOR OUR COMMUNITY – We do not want the focus on minimizing risk to overshadow the benefits that we are striving to provide to our community, namely the opportunity for us to practice together. After this long period of isolation and loneliness, coming together to practice as a sangha is an opportunity that we truly value.

We understand that each of us, including our teachers, will need to evaluate the personal risks and benefits of in-person attendance and make individual decisions about how to attend SIM. All of us on the Board want to support you in whatever you choose to do. We extend sincere thanks to the members of our audiovisual and set-up teams who have agreed to participate in making in-person attendance possible.

With deep gratitude to all of you who have remained faithful supporters of our sangha,


Jon Siiteri, for the SIM Board of Directors, December 7, 2021

(For other related resources posted by SIM, visit https://sactoinsight.org/pandemic-news/)

Virtual Event

January 13, 2022 @ 7:00 pm 9:15 pm PST

Have a Little Faith!

Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Rabbi Seth Castleman

Join online meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86043707674
Passcode: 591726
Join by phone: 1-669-900-9128 ( Meeting ID: 860 4370 7674 )
For tips and instructions on how to participate, check this news blog.

Thursday Night Talk Dana
[give_form id=”16677″ show_title=”false” show_content=”none” display_style=”reveal”] “Generosity is the virtue that leads to peace.” – The Historical Buddha
For remote meetings, please use the form above to donate by credit card or your PayPal account. Enter the amount you’d like to give and 75% of your donation will be shared with Seth Castleman.

RABBI SETH CASTLEMAN is a teacher, writer, and storyteller with over twenty years experience teaching mindfulness and spiritual practice. Castleman is trained in both the Jewish and Buddhist traditions. After 20 years of meditation practice and two years of silent retreat as a lay-person in the US, India, and Nepal and as a monk in Burma, Seth was trained as a teacher by Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. He was authorized as a meditation/dharma teacher in 2008. Following eight years of rabbinical studies in the US and Israel/Palestine, Castleman was ordained in 2011 as a rabbi by one Orthodox, one Conservative, and one Reform rabbi. Castleman has published in two dozen newspapers, periodicals, and anthologies on the intersection of contemplative practice and social justice and the transformational power of brokenness. As a storyteller, Seth has performed in theaters, on radio and television, and at countless kitchen tables. Seth uses myth, storytelling, and humor as central tools in his teaching and counseling work. Seth Castleman is married to Reverend Elizabeth Griswold, making them, quite possibly, the only rabbi—Christian minister married couple in the US. Seth and Elizabeth live in Davis, CA with their three children.

Details

Remote Meeting Zoom

Virtual Event

March 24, 2022 @ 6:00 pm 7:00 pm PDT

To join this remote meeting, note the following:

Join Online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87269584502
Passcode: 008185
Join by phone: 1-669-900-6833 ( Meeting ID: 872 6958 4502 )
For instructions on how to join the meeting, click here.

This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is no fee.

DENNIS WARREN is SIM’s Founding Teacher and has been teaching mindfulness, meditation and contemplative practices since 1998. He recently completed his 11th year as a Volunteer Clinical Professor in Mindfulness in the Division of Pain Medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center. He is certified as a Mindfulness Teacher, Professional Level (CMT-P), by the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. He is a graduate of the professional trainings in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. He also is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Medication Center’s Dharma leaders training program. You can learn more about Dennis’ background and activities at https://www.denniswarren.net/ .
Dennis has been participating in residential meditation retreats, and has maintained a daily meditation practice, in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition for over 30 years. 2018 was his 20th year of teaching Insight Meditation and mindfulness practices in residential, retreat, educational, medical, corporate and community settings. In 2007 and 2014, Dennis led month long pilgrimages and moving retreats in Thailand, India and Nepal. A third is being planned for late 2021.

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 wish to make a donation, click here.

At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.

Details

Remote Meeting Zoom

February 24, 2022 @ 6:00 pm 7:00 pm PST

Our apologies: this course is canceled.

Join Online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82116767613
Passcode: 510576
Join by phone: 1-669-900-6833 ( Meeting ID: 821 1676 7613 )
For instructions on how to join the meeting, click here.

This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is no fee.

TONY BERNHARD is a Buddhist chaplain and teacher. He maintains an active practice with inmates in Folsom Prison and hosts sitting groups in Davis. He sits on the board of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and teaches regularly around the bay area and central valley. His practice is non-traditional, guided by his chaplaincy work in prison, his teaching and by his study of the early Pali scriptures.

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 wish to make a donation, click here.

At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.

Details

Remote Meeting Zoom

Virtual Event

January 27, 2022 @ 6:00 pm 7:00 pm PST

Rich Howard

To participate, note the following:

Join Online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82514332127
Passcode: 807915
Join by phone: 1-669-900-6833 ( Meeting ID: 825 1433 2127 )
For instructions on how to join the meeting, click here.

This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is no fee.

 

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. In 2019, he completed 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 wish to make a donation, click here.

At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.

Details

Remote Meeting Zoom

Who's coming?

One person is attending (Remote) Introduction to Meditation with Rich Howard

Edwin Gonzalez
Hybrid Event

March 26, 2022 @ 9:00 am 4:00 pm PDT

Rich Howard

Daylong Retreat with SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard

About This Hybrid Retreat

  • Hybrid events can be attended via Zoom or in-person at the Sacramento Dharma Center.
  • Pre-registration is required and we recommend you pay the registration fee in advance. This helps us determine how many people will attend and how many people the meditation room should accommodate.
  • To pay now, you’ll find at the bottom of this page registration ticket choices to attend via Zoom or attend onsite. If you attend onsite, you do have the option to pay the registration fee in-person on the day of the retreat or pay online after the retreat starts.
  • If you buy a ticket for onsite attendance you may still attend the retreat via Zoom.
  • The link to attend the retreat via Zoom appears in three places:
    • The Zoom link is at the bottom of this page – select the button “Join Retreat Online” to connect to the meeting.
    • The Zoom link is included in the automated email sent with your ticket purchase (email subject is “You have tickets!“).
    • The Zoom link is https://joinconferencing.zoom.us/join, with Meeting ID: 898 3289 4334 and Passcode: 412666
  • To give a donation after attending this retreat, click here.

Retreat Theme – Cultivating the Heart: A Day of Practice 

Cultivating positive qualities of heart and mind brings a balance and depth to Insight practice, and to our daily lives. Boundless friendliness (aka “lovingkindness”), compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity – known together as the Brahmaviharas – can be strengthened by formal practices taught by the Historical Buddha and later Buddhist commentators. For this day of practice, we will touch briefly on the role of these heart practices in supporting concentration and insight, then practice together using guided meditations, silent sitting meditation, and walking meditation. We will also reflect on their role in daily life, including how to choose the practice appropriate to a given situation.

 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. In 2019, he completed 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

  • 01/09/2022  – Registration opens.
  • 03/26/2022 – Attend and enjoy the wonderful retreat.
  • 03/28/2022 – Registration closes the Monday after the retreat at 11:00 am PST.

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, specify if you plan to attend in-person or attend remotely via Zoom. In the “Tickets” section, specify the number of people you are registering to this retreat and click the button “Get Tickets”. You’ll be automatically directed to a secure web-page 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 also accept personal checks. 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.

Questions for the Registrar?

If you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions, click here.

Details

Hybrid (in-person and online)

3111 Wissemann Drive (or *ZOOM)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States

Tickets

Who's coming?

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking “Get Tickets” will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
Tickets are no longer available
Hybrid Event

February 26, 2022 @ 8:30 am 4:15 pm PST

Daylong Retreat with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren

About This Hybrid Retreat

  • Hybrid events can be attended via Zoom or in-person at the Sacramento Dharma Center.
  • Pre-registration is required and we recommend you pay the registration fee in advance. This helps us determine how many people will attend and how many people the meditation room should accommodate.
  • To pay now, you’ll find at the bottom of this page registration ticket choices to attend via Zoom or attend onsite. If you attend onsite, you do have the option to pay the registration fee in-person on the day of the retreat or pay online after the retreat starts.
  • If you buy a ticket for onsite attendance you may still attend the retreat via Zoom.
  • The link to attend the retreat via Zoom appears in three places:
    • The Zoom link is at the bottom of this page – select the button “Join Retreat Online” to connect to the meeting.
    • The Zoom link is included in the automated email sent with your ticket purchase (email subject is “You have tickets!“).
    • The Zoom link is https://joinconferencing.zoom.us/join, with Meeting ID: 870 0449 8847 and Passcode: 521898
  • To give a donation after attending this retreat, click here.

Retreat Theme: Building, then Transcending, A Constructive, Healthy Sense of Self

From a Buddhist perspective, “Self” can be misunderstood as dualistic and problematic: “Self” equals bad & suffering. “No self” equals good and becomes a cure for all our ills. This over-simplified model leaves out the foundational elements of learning how to build a constructive, healthy sense of self and how to live in a way that transcends any sense of self.

This approach to Buddhist practice provides a larger, inclusive, unified view of identity and self that fills life with possibilities, satisfaction and a sense of belonging. This one day will be a relaxed, practical, relevant look at our lives and practices from this perspective. We’ll examine the teachings, psychology and practices that support this approach to practice.

At the moment, it is unclear if this will be a hybrid event – both Zoom and in person. If possible, Dennis wants to have in-person attendance and will encourage as many people as possible to attend in person. Watch for updates on this issue which will be based on our best available assessment of health guidance and safety.

DENNIS WARREN is SIM’s Founding Teacher and has been teaching mindfulness, meditation and contemplative practices since 1998. He recently completed his 11th year as a Volunteer Clinical Professor in Mindfulness in the Division of Pain Medicine at the UC Davis School of Medicine and Medical Center. He is certified as a Mindfulness Teacher, Professional Level (CMT-P), by the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. He is a graduate of the professional trainings in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. He also is a graduate of the Spirit Rock Medication Center’s Dharma leaders training program. You can learn more about Dennis’ background and activities at https://www.denniswarren.net/ .
Dennis has been participating in residential meditation retreats, and has maintained a daily meditation practice, in the Theravadan Buddhist tradition for over 30 years. 2018 was his 20th year of teaching Insight Meditation and mindfulness practices in residential, retreat, educational, medical, corporate and community settings. In 2007 and 2014, Dennis led month long pilgrimages and moving retreats in Thailand, India and Nepal. A third is being planned for late 2021.

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

  • 12/09/2021 – Registration opens.
  • 02/26/2022 – Attend and enjoy the wonderful retreat.
  • 02/28/2022 – Registration closes the Monday after the retreat at 11:00 am PST.

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, specify if you plan to attend in-person or attend remotely via Zoom. In the “Tickets” section, specify the number of people you are registering to this retreat and click the button “Get Tickets”. You’ll be automatically directed to a secure web-page 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 also accept personal checks. 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.

Questions for the Registrar?

If you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions, click here.

Details

Hybrid (in-person and online)

3111 Wissemann Drive (or *ZOOM)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States

Tickets

Who's coming?

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking “Get Tickets” will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
Tickets are no longer available
Virtual Event

January 29, 2022 @ 9:00 am 4:00 pm PST

Diane Wilde

Daylong Retreat with Buddhist Minister and Community Teacher Diane Wilde

About This Online Retreat

  • Pre-registration is required and we recommend you pay the registration fee in advance. This helps us determine how many people will attend and how many people the meditation room should accommodate.
  • To pay now, you’ll find at the bottom of this page registration ticket choices to attend via Zoom or attend onsite. If you attend onsite, you do have the option to pay the registration fee in-person on the day of the retreat or pay online after the retreat starts.
  • The link to attend the retreat via Zoom appears in three places:
    • The Zoom link is at the bottom of this page – select the button “Join Retreat Online” to connect to the meeting.
    • The Zoom link is included in the automated email sent with your ticket purchase (email subject is “You have tickets!“).
    • The Zoom link is https://joinconferencing.zoom.us/join, with Meeting ID: 856 2275 5195 and Passcode: 670277
  • To give a donation after attending this retreat, click here.

Retreat Theme: Hey! Stay on the Path!

When we venture out for a hike in nature, we check first to make sure there is a well-trodden, reliable path we can follow. A path that will keep us safe and will guide us home at the end of the day. information signs posted along the way are helpful. They may tell us us how far we have gone, or suggest we stop for a scenic view ahead, or a warning to stay on the path due to danger ahead. The Buddha too laid out a reliable path that provides guidance for living our lives with ease and safety. It is the Noble Eightfold Path. If we have strayed from the path, or never really followed the path with conviction, we may find ourselves confused and perhaps unsure about the value of our lives. The New Year is a good time for a refresher! The Noble Eightfold Path omits nothing, and nothing is left to chance. The various paths address three different areas of our lives; our deeply held views and the consequences of those views; the truth about how we live our daily lives; and the steps for achieving true freedom through our meditation practice. On this daylong we will review the wisdom found in each pathway. and will also investigate our individual challenges… and which pathway(s) need more focus and effort.

All are welcome.

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 (aka Boundless Freedom Project) in 2010 and has been a prison chaplain for 18 years. 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 at the Sacramento Dharma Center. In 2015 she was lay-ordained as a Buddhist minister by 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

  • 12/09/2021  – Registration opens.
  • 01/29/2022 – Attend and enjoy the wonderful retreat.
  • 01/31/2022 – Registration closes the Monday after the retreat at 11:00 am PST.

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, in the “Tickets” section, specify the number of people you are registering to this retreat and click the button “Get Tickets”. You’ll be automatically directed to a secure web-page 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 also accept personal checks. 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.

Questions for the Registrar?

If you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions, click here.

Details

Remote Meeting Zoom

Tickets

Who's coming?

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking “Get Tickets” will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
Tickets are no longer available
Virtual Event

September 7, 2022 @ 7:00 pm 9:00 pm PDT

Living On The Other Side of Suffering:
An Experiment In Balancing Practice And Becoming More Fully Human

An Eleven Week Course and One Day Retreat with SIM’s Founding Teacher Dennis Warren

The AUTUMN offering of this course runs September 7 through November 16, 2022 (7:00 pm to 9:00 pm), meeting remotely via Zoom. There’s a one-day retreat on November 12; it’s tentatively set as a Hybrid meeting format depending on conditions at the time. For more information about this course, visit the course overview page (click here).

Registration

New Student registration tickets are available starting March 5. If you’ve previously taken this course and you’d like to enroll again, you must first contact the teacher to get permission.

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

New students pay the registration fee online using the “Tickets” section at the bottom of this page. Specify the number of people you are registering to this course and click the button “Get Tickets”. You’ll be automatically directed to a secure web-page 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. After you’ve paid the fee, you’ll receive an email with the subject “You have tickets!”.

Tickets

Who's coming?

The numbers below include tickets for this event already in your cart. Clicking “Get Tickets” will allow you to edit any existing attendee information as well as change ticket quantities.
Tickets are no longer available

Summary of Important Dates

  • 03/05/2022 – New student registration opens.
  • 09/07/2022 – First meeting of all enrolled participants.

Questions for the Registrar?

To contact the teacher Dennis Warren, email dennis@sactoinsight.org. If you need to contact the course registrar with any other questions, click here.

Remote Meeting Zoom