Finding Happiness: the Maha-Mangala Sutta
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard
Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/j/98148807545
Passcode: 212082
Join by phone: 1-669-900-6833 ( Meeting ID: 981 4880 7545 )
For tips and instructions on how to participate, check this news blog.
Thursday Night Talk Dana
[give_form id=”10304″ show_title=”false” show_content=”none” display_style=”reveal”] “Generosity is the virtue that leads to peace.” – The Historical Buddha
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Topic details:
As the days wane and the nights get longer, Rich will bring reflections on the “greatest blessings” from the Maha-Mangala Sutta (Sutta Nipata 2.4). This beloved sutta reminds us that, even in the midst of loss and grief, our ordinary lives contain so many sources of happiness. In balancing our awareness of suffering with the uplifting conditions in life, we come closer to seeing things as they are. This awareness provides a balance to our daily life practice and a motivation for skillful action in the world.
Rich last offered a reflection on this sutta four years ago, as we moved into the Sacramento Dharma Center. Now that we are not able to be there in person, let’s bring these blessings to mind again.
(Remote) Sit & Dharma Talk – Rich Howard – Finding Happiness
Online Remote, Weekly MeditationFinding Happiness: the Maha-Mangala Sutta
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard
Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/j/98148807545
Passcode: 212082
Join by phone: 1-669-900-6833 ( Meeting ID: 981 4880 7545 )
For tips and instructions on how to participate, check this news blog.
Topic details:
As the days wane and the nights get longer, Rich will bring reflections on the “greatest blessings” from the Maha-Mangala Sutta (Sutta Nipata 2.4). This beloved sutta reminds us that, even in the midst of loss and grief, our ordinary lives contain so many sources of happiness. In balancing our awareness of suffering with the uplifting conditions in life, we come closer to seeing things as they are. This awareness provides a balance to our daily life practice and a motivation for skillful action in the world.
Rich last offered a reflection on this sutta four years ago, as we moved into the Sacramento Dharma Center. Now that we are not able to be there in person, let’s bring these blessings to mind again.
(Remote) Sit & Dharma Talk – Diane Wilde – How Conceited are YOU?
Online Remote, Weekly MeditationHow Conceited are YOU?
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rev. Diane Wilde
Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92499166835
Passcode: 123816
Join by phone: 1-669-900-6833 ( Meeting ID: 924 9916 6835 )
For tips and instructions on how to participate, check this news blog.
Topic details:
Conceit (“māna” in Pali) has a special meaning in the Buddha’s teachings; it has a broader and more profound definition than “stuck up”… the definition we usually associate with this word. Conceit in Buddhism can mean feeling superior, inferior, or the same as others. In other words, it is our habitual comparison of ourselves to others. Conceit is also the delusion that our experiences ARE ourselves, and that our self has boundaries and solid substance. According to the Pali canon, conceit is among the last defilements to fall away before full awakening. It is subtle and difficult to observe within ourselves… much easier to see in others! When we begin to experience conceit as it really is, we also begin understand and experience anatta: “No permanent self”.
(Remote) *Sit & Dharma Talk – Diane Wilde – Forgiveness…
Online Remote, Weekly MeditationForgiveness… What if you are not forgiven?
A Discussion and a True Story
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rev. Diane Wilde and guest Edwin Paragas
Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92579615275
Passcode: 668643
Join by phone: 1-669-900-6833 ( Meeting ID: 925 7961 5275 )
For tips and instructions on how to participate, check this news blog.
Topic details:
Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness or not. It’s a state of mind that our culture and most faith traditions hold as a positive and worthwhile aspiration. Buddhism sees forgiveness a little differently. We will discuss those differences and the practicality of the Buddhist definition of forgiveness.
Edwin Paragas was recently released from twenty years of incarceration beginning when he was sixteen years old. He will tell the story of his own search for forgiveness from his victim’s family and his life now as a returning citizen.
(Remote) Sit & Dharma Talk – Heather Sundberg – Cultivating Deeper Refuge
Online Remote, Weekly MeditationCultivating Deeper Refuge through Resiliency in the Face of Collective Reactivity
Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Heather Sundberg
Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/j/92810833253
Passcode: 001210
Join by phone: 1-669-900-6833 ( Meeting ID: 928 1083 3253 )
For tips and instructions to join the meeting, check this news blog.
This talk will not be recorded.
10/29/2020 “Art of Being Wrong” with Diane Wilde
Audio DharmaBeing wrong: It is a fact of life that is often difficult to admit to others, as well as to ourselves. There are a myriad of lessons, teachings and inspiring examples of how to be successful in all facets of our life. We are so conditioned to be right, it is a jarring affront when we find ourselves on the “wrong side” of a situation or opinion. To compensate for this assault on the ego, we may even have developed rationalizing strategies in order to minimize or even negate being wrong. True acceptance of our mistakes and our own imperfections can lead to a healing of relationships, alleviation of much personal stress and may even open up to a much deeper understanding of “not self.”
Holiday Fundraiser
NewsSDC publishes – Fall 2020 Update
NewsSacramento Dharma Center News Update (Oct 18, 2020). Topics include: Outdoor Events Now Permitted, Indoor Re-opening Not on the Horizon, and Video Streaming is Here to Stay. For details, click here.
10/22/2020 “Reflections on Kindness” with Gullu Singh
Audio DharmaGullu is inspired to share meditation as a path to freedom; a way to cope more effectively with the challenges of work and life; and a vehicle for bringing more sanity, compassion and wisdom into the world.
Welcome visiting teacher Gullu Singh
NewsSacramento Insight Meditation welcomes Gullu Singh, a special guest presenter this coming Thursday, October 22, 2020.
Gullu is a Dharma Teacher at InsightLA (Insightla.org) and Spirit Rock Meditation Center, as well as a core teacher in the Mindfulness Facilitator Training program with InsightLA. He is a graduate of the four year Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program. He is also a practicing lawyer. In 2009 he was recognized as “California Super Lawyer.” He is a teacher in the Mindfulness in Law Teacher Training program at InsightLA and teaches retreats for lawyers at Spirit Rock.
Gullu is inspired to share meditation as a path to freedom; a way to cope more effectively with the challenges of the work and life; and a vehicle for brining more sanity, compassion and wisdom into the world.
For details about the visit, click on the following link:
10/15/2020 “Where Are We Going?” with Dennis Warren
Audio DharmaIt’s good to step back from time to time and try to place our lives in context. This is one way for us to get a clear picture of where we are headed and whether our meditation and spiritual practices are helping us head in that direction.
This talk will focus on two familiar situations we regularly face in meditation, practice and daily life. This examination should be interesting and helpful no matter your level of knowledge or experience.
We’ll also take a hands-on look at two realities that our minds almost always want to treat as theory or philosophy, rather than real life, tangible, useful experiences: Annica (impermanence) and Anatta (no-self.) What are these two experiences as real-life events? What relevance do they have to our relationships and everyday activities? How can they help us live a richer, fuller, deeper, more vivid life? This is what we’ll explore.