*Daylong Retreat – Rich Howard – a Sutta Study Day

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 HowardRICH 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.

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.

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May 14th, first meeting of Young Person’s Shangha

Save the date! The first Young Person’s Shangha meeting will be on May 14, 2019 at 7 PM at the Sacramento Dharma Center (SDC). You can find details about this new sangha in the news post “Young Persons Sangha forming at SIM“. The meeting is also posted to the SDC calendar.

 

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05/02/2019 “Difficult, Problematic and Obsessive Thinking – Part II” with Dennis Warren

Audio Player

If you would like to download this talk, please right click and select “save as” here.

This is the second talk, in a series of two, on working with difficult, problematic and obsessive thinking. A useful four page handout accompanied Dennis’ first talk on this topic on March 7th. The discussion this evening will look at the differences between working with thought during meditation and working with thought during daily lives. These are two different approaches.
For example, the traditional instruction is to “not go into the content of thought” during meditation. Is that the whole instruction? Doesn’t the Insight Meditation process involve some form of evaluation of thought while one is meditating? How does this basic meditation instruction apply to thought in daily life?
Among other thing, the evening will explore the five strategies the historical Buddha recommended for dealing with difficult, problematic and/or obsessive thoughts that distract us for seeing into their implications or true nature of being either harmful or unhealthy nature.

(Note: This talk does not cover the same materials present in the talk on the “Two Types of Thinking” presented earlier this month on April 18 by Community Teacher Diane Wilde.)

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Sit & Dharma Talk – Diane Wilde – Is Forgiveness Always the Right Response?

Is Forgiveness Always the Right Response?

Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Diane Wilde

We read often of the power of forgiveness and are inspired by those who, even after suffering the devastating loss of loved ones and community members, still forgive. Is this always the right response? In the Buddha’s teachings, patisaraniya-kamma or reconciliation — means a return to amicability, and that requires much more than forgiveness. What are the criteria for reconciliation that the Buddha set out and what do we do if we feel reconciliation is impossible?

There are right and wrong ways of attempting reconciliation: those that skillfully meet the necessary requirements for reestablishing trust, and those that don’t. To encourage right reconciliation among his followers, the Buddha formulated detailed methods for achieving it, along with a culture of values that encourages putting those methods to use.

We will discuss forgiveness, reconciliation and what needs to take place for these conditions to occur… or not.

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.

Thursday Night Talk Dana
“Generosity is the virtue that leads to peace.” – The Historical Buddha
We recognize that donating by cash or check at the time you attend this event may not always be convenient for you. If that’s the case, please use the form below to donate by credit card or your PayPal account. Enter the amount you’d like to give and your donation will be shared with Rev. Diane Wilde and SIM.

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Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Noliwe Alexander

Talk topic and date to be announced
Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Noliwe Alexander.

 

NOLIWE ALEXANDER has been a student of Vipassana meditation for over 15 years. Throughout this time of deep devotion to the Dharma, Noliwe has become a dedicated practitioner, teacher of various sitting groups around the Bay Area, facilitator of community workshops and Buddhist meditation day longs and class series programs. She is a Life & Business Coach dedicating both her coaching & Dharma practice to the POC, LGBT, At Risk and Elder communities. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s CDL4 program and completed EBMC’s Commit 2 Dharma program in 2010. Noliwe is participating in the Spirit Rock Teacher Training from 2017-2020. Noliwe is a wisdom keeper and humbled by the presence of her ancestor’s spirit that lives within and walks beside her.

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.

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*Sit & Dharma Talk – Matt Russell – Psychedelics and Buddhism

Psychedelics and Buddhism: Hindrance or Skillful Means?

Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Member Matt Russell

You may have heard, there is a “new science of psychedelics” and major studies are showing that these substances, when properly used, can help relieve human suffering, including depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction. Some proponents claim that psychedelics have the potential to revolutionize health care as well as our understanding of the mind.

Psychedelics and Buddhism have a long, if seldom discussed, overlapping history in this country that continues into the present day.

This talk will offer an inquiry into the implications of the current state of “psychedelic science” on dharma practitioners, exploring the possibilities as well as the potential dangers and perils.

We will inquire into topics such as: psychedelics and the 5th precept, the impact of psychedelics on the formation of the Dharma in the West, academic research into the effects of psilocybin on the brains of long term meditators, the current landscape of contemporary dharma teachers and practitioners who integrate psychedelic use into their dharma practice, how we might think about psychedelics in the context of addiction and recovery.

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.

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*Sit & Dharma Talk – Rich Howard – Can We Be Aware of Delusion?

Can We Be Aware of Delusion?
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard

This evening will be the latest in Rich’s exploration of the three roots of suffering – greed, hatred, and delusion – and how to work with them. Since delusion is always present along with any of the unskillful mind states, it is especially important to recognize it and get to know its unique flavor. But how do we know when we’re deluded? Wouldn’t delusion prevent us from knowing we are deluded? Let’s look at these questions together in a spirit of inquiry.

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.

Thursday Night Talk Dana
“Generosity is the virtue that leads to peace.” – The Historical Buddha
We recognize that donating by cash or check at the time you attend this event may not always be convenient for you. If that’s the case, please use the form below to donate by credit card or your PayPal account. Enter the amount you’d like to give and your donation will be shared with Rich Howard and SIM.

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