11/15/2018 “Talking on the Toll-free Line” with Laura Rosenthal

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

Wise speech – refraining from false speech, malicious or divisive speech, harsh speech and idle speech – is one of the “folds” of the eightfold path toward awakening. For may of us, talking on the phone with consumer service folks – an internet provider or bank, a government agency, or a host of others – can challenge our intention to speak kindly and wisely. What is this all about? And how can we use these frequent, ordinary interactions to hone our awareness and our ethical practice? Join Laura Rosenthal for a talk and group conversation on the topic “Talking on the Toll-free Line“.

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New Teaching and Development Initiative

Update from the SIM Board of Directors: New Teaching and Development Initiative

Building on the strong foundation we have established together over the last two years, the SIM Board is adding a Teaching and Development Initiative as part of SIM’s general budget for 2019.
This portion of our budget will provide:

  • Additional dana for our current teachers,
  • Support for bringing new teachers to our community, which will include travel and accommodation expenses as well as dana,
  • Possible training opportunities for our teachers as well as community members who might be interested in teaching, as recommended by our faculty.

Dana given to SIM’s general fund in the form of monthly donations or a year-end donation will now go directly to supporting current and future teachers, as well as paying for the infrastructure needed to support teaching and practice.

We also continue to encourage you to give from your heart in the dana bowl in gratitude for the teachings and are glad to inform you that we’ve increased the percentage of your gifts that go directly to our teachers as dana.

If you’d like additional information about this initiative, please contact Sara Denzler, SIM Treasurer, or another SIM Board Member.

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Our Annual Potluck Dec 13th

We are looking forward to seeing all of you at our Annual Holiday Event Thursday evening, December 13th at our Sacramento Dharma Center at 3111 Wissemann Dr, Sacramento, CA 95826. Please go our calendar page for details and to RSVP for yourself and guest(s).

As in our past celebrations, we will enjoy together our vegetarian potluck dinner and, afterwards, contributions of “personal dana”.  Do you have a favorite poem or reading, whether one you’ve written or one you just love?  Do you play a musical instrument, paint, sing, write, dance?  Do you have a special travel experience with photos you might share a few of?  We would love you to offer your passion, skill, or art to our group.

“Personal dana” performances/contributions can be no more than 3 to 5 minutes long.  You must pre-register in order to assure yourself a space.  “Personal dana” contributions do not have to be strictly Buddhist in nature, just whatever comes from your heart. This is a great way to get to know and enjoy each other.  It is also a generous act to share yourself with our sangha community in this way. We have room for only about a dozen performances in all, so please respond soon.

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Nurturing Sangha Over Dinner

Nurturing Sangha Over Dinner meets informally at six o’clock on the second Thursday of the month, before the regular dharma talk and sit. Please bring your dinner and something extra to share, if you would like. We can continue to get to know one another and talk more about how SIM can support us in our practice. We’ll try this out for a few months and see if it is something we want to continue.

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Nurturing Sangha Over Dinner

Nurturing Sangha Over Dinner meets informally at six o’clock on the second Thursday of the month, before the regular dharma talk and sit. Please bring your dinner and something extra to share, if you would like. We can continue to get to know one another and talk more about how SIM can support us in our practice. We’ll try this out for a few months and see if it is something we want to continue.

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Nurturing Sangha Over Dinner

Nurturing Sangha Over Dinner meets informally at six o’clock on the second Thursday of the month, before the regular dharma talk and sit. Please bring your dinner and something extra to share, if you would like. We can continue to get to know one another and talk more about how SIM can support us in our practice. We’ll try this out for a few months and see if it is something we want to continue.

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SDC Anniversary Celebration Nov 10th

We closed escrow on the wonderful property on Wissemann Drive on June 13, 2016. The site was ready for occupancy by the three sustaining Sanghas in the fall. On 11/6/2016 the three sustaining Sanghas joined together to dedicate the Center as a sanctuary for Buddha’s teaching and meditation practice. Now it’s 2018 and time to celebrate so please stop by the SDC on Saturday,  –

https://sacdharma.org/event/sdc-anniversary-celebration/

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*Sit & Dharma Talk – Rich Howard – Four Elements, Suffering, End of Suffering

Four Elements, Suffering, and the End of Suffering
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rich Howard

Fire, water, earth, and air have all been conditions for suffering of humans and other beings in 2018. They have also been the basis of inspiring compassionate actions. Let us take time this evening to reflect on the role of the Four Elements in our lives and how we might use them to find a middle way toward the end of suffering.

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 – Dennis Warren – Working With Doubt

Investigation Leading to Liberating Insight – A Practical Model For Working With Doubt
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren

How can doubt based experiences be investigated in a way that leads to liberating insight? This is one of the fundamental skills of a good practice. This evening will be devoted to examining a practical, experiential and hands-on model of working with doubt.
While doubt can appear in many different places in our practice and our life, it usually acts as an undermining factor in our confidence, decision making and behavior. What is doubt? What is its experiential origin? What causes it to be present? What causes it to diminish and no longer be present? What can we do to work with it skillfully while it is present? A helpful handout of the model will be used as the outline for the evening.
As preparation for this evening, reflect on how doubt has influenced your experience and decision making in the last year, and come prepared with questions you have regarding your experiences.

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 – Diane Wilde – How to Ask the Right Question

Knowing How to Ask the Right Question
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Teacher Rev. Diane Wilde

The Buddha taught that how we frame our questions is equally, and usually, more important then the answer.  In other words, the Buddha wasn’t content simply to provide answers to people’s questions. He also wanted to show them how unskillful questions can be recognized through testing, and how skillful questions—conducive to the end of suffering—can be framed and tested in their place.  These skills are applicable to our meditation practice as well as in daily life.  For example, we might begin to see when we or others are asking a question not for an answer, but to enhance a particular self-identity. If we do not know how to frame our questions skillfully, we can find ourselves mired in an untenable situation of our own making. As Voltaire noted, “Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.”

 

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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