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/)
(Remote) Buddhist Recovery Group
Buddhist Recovery Group, Online Remote, Weekly MeditationOur Buddhist Recovery Group meets every Monday evening. For additional information, visit the 12 Step Sangha page at https://sactoinsight.org/activities/practice-opportunities/12-step-sangha/.
(Remote) Buddhist Recovery Group
Buddhist Recovery Group, Online Remote, Weekly MeditationOur Buddhist Recovery Group meets every Monday evening. For additional information, visit the 12 Step Sangha page at https://sactoinsight.org/activities/practice-opportunities/12-step-sangha/.
(Remote) Buddhist Recovery Group
Buddhist Recovery Group, Online Remote, Weekly MeditationOur Buddhist Recovery Group meets every Monday evening. For additional information, visit the 12 Step Sangha page at https://sactoinsight.org/activities/practice-opportunities/12-step-sangha/.
Not too late to support SIM
NewsIt’s not too late to support Sacramento Insight Meditation! If you’ve already made a year-end donation to SIM, we send you our heartfelt appreciation!
If you’re still finishing up your year-end donations, please consider supporting SIM with a year-end donation or monthly donation for 2022! Your generosity is the key to our success in providing ongoing support for our teachers, community and those practicing in the Vipassana/Insight tradition.
May your New Year be healthy, peaceful and happy!
Sara Denzler, Treasurer
on behalf of SIM’s Board of Directors
It’s easy to donate using the form below or by sending a check to SIM at 3111 Wissemann Drive, Sacramento, CA 95826.
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12/23/2021 “Beginnings and Endings” with Rich Howard
Audio DharmaWhile the end of a calendar year is somewhat arbitrary, it offers us a chance to look back on the previous year and to look forward to the year to come. In terms of practice, we can think of these activities as Wise Reflection and Wise Intention. For this evening, we will be using a beginning – the first section of the Dhammapada, which Jack Kornfield calls “the most beloved of all Buddhist texts, both poetic and profound.” Titled “Dichotomies” in Gil Fronsdal’s translation (Shambhala, 2008), this text contains reminders of the power of our thoughts and actions, and discernment in choosing a path of happiness and away from quarrels.
The placement of a text at the beginning of a collection was not arbitrary when the Pali Canon was assembled – important texts like this one were intentionally placed first. We will take a slow tour through this poem and see what it offers for our year-end reflection and intention. Feel free to have your own copy of the Dhammapada at hand; it is often fruitful to see how different translators approach a text.
(Hybrid) Beginning Meditation (6-Week Course)
Meditation Course, Online Remote, Upcoming ClassesMarch 29, 2022 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm PDT
This class is currently taught by SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard (click here for his biography), assisted by SIM Community Member Sara Denzler and is part of a six-week meditation course offered twice a year. For details, visit the Course Overview page (click here). After you enroll, if you’d like to make a donation to support SIM and the course instructors, consider donating online (click here) via credit card or PayPal.
Registration
Pre-registration is necessary since the course registrar provides follow-up information required prior to this first class meeting.
Before making the $35 registration payment, click here to review the terms of use for this website. On Monday, January 3, online registration opens. 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!” (but no need to print the ticket on paper).
Note that all registrants will receive an email communication from the course registrar on the following dates: Feb 28, and Mar 24. Before the course begins the registrar will ask if you’ll be attending in-person or on Zoom.
* Hybrid events can be attended via in-person at the Sacramento Dharma Center or online via Zoom. You can read our attendance guidelines (click here). For tips on attending with Zoom (click here).
If you need to contact the course registrar with any other questions, click here.
Details
Hybrid (in-person and online)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States
12/16/2021 “Establishing the Wonderful Quality of Beginner’s Mind” with Dennis Warren
Audio Dharma“Beginner’s Mind” is a wonderful quality of mind. It has the potential to significantly improve our practice of meditation and the quality of our mindfulness and experience in daily life. Despite the widespread (and often confusing) coverage it receives in Buddhist, business, athletic, therapeutic and pop culture publications, it is something that remains elusive for many of us.
This evening will explore the following practical questions:
The subject matter of this evening is appropriate for all stages of practice.
Protected: OSOS Meditation Course Registration
Online Remote, Study Group12/09/2021 “Karma is not what you think” with Tony Bernhard
Audio DharmaEvent Attendance Policy Update
COVID-19, NewsA 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.
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/)