Talk topic and date to be announced
Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Neesha Patel.

 

NEESHA PATEL, PhD is deeply grateful for the liberative teachings of the Buddha. She has been fortunate to have practiced in both Asia and the US. Her practice has been influenced by the guidance of many wonderful teachers including Sayadaw U Tejaniya and Thai Forest Tradition teachers. She teaches mindfulness meditation at UC Davis and is a participant in the 2017-2021 Insight Meditation Society Teacher Training Program.

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.

Longtime SIM participant and Tibetan Buddhist practitioner Gus Koehler will be offering a Thangka seminar at SDC on October 12 starting at 8:30 and ending at 1:00. We will be looking at their origins, how they are made, how to use them, and what the subject matter is. Special attention will be given to SDC’s 3 thangkas, their mantra, and meaning. Attention will also be given to the Wheel of Life.

Gus will be presenting as a longtime Dzogchen practitioner not a thangka expert. This will involve sharing some personal experiences with Thangka.

There is no fee. Attendees may bring their own Thangka to see if we can identify them. Plenty of time will be available for questions and discussion.

This event is sponsored by the Sacramento Dharma Center.

Presentation: Tangkas – history, construction, meaning, and symbols

Longtime SIM participant and Tibetan Buddhist practitioner Gus Koehler will be offering this Thangka seminar. We will be looking at their origins, how they are made, how to use them, and what the subject matter is. Special attention will be given to the three thangkas currently in our meditation space, their mantra, and meaning. Attention will also be given to the Wheel of Life.

Gus will be presenting as a longtime Dzogchen practitioner not a thangka expert. This will involve sharing some personal experiences with Thangka.

There is no fee. Attendees may bring their own Thangka to see if we can identify them. Plenty of time will be available for questions and discussion.

This event is sponsored by the Sacramento Dharma Center.

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The Role of “Framing Experience” In Performance, Satisfaction and Happiness

NOTICE: the first eight seconds of this audio is poor quality and then improves.

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Every day we are presented with circumstances that can be opportunities, challenges or problems depending on how our mind frames the experience that is taking place. The way our mind frames an experience has enormous influence in determining how we relate to the experience, and how we feel about our capacity to deal with it skillfully and how we perform.
This event – how the mind frames what is it about to engage – is critical in guiding how, and whether, we can mobilize our inner resources to take on what life brings to us with determination, patience and satisfaction; or whether we struggle, suffer and are disappointed. This is the difference between feeling empowered and capable vs vulnerable and at risk.
This principle applies whether the circumstances, or life situation, involves our interior life, our relationship with others, or economic, cultural or political events taking place in our community, our country or the work.
Dennis’ talk Thursday night, and the related discussion, with focus on this critical, and frequently overlooked, element of practice. We will examine the what, why and how of framing events from a practice perspective using real life illustrations. How can we use our practice to improve the fundamental way we relate to our experience, improve our performance and feeling better about ourselves?

Mark your calendars and plan to join the celebration. It’s Sacramento Dharma Center’s (SDC) Third Anniversary Party on Saturday, November 9, 2019 from 1 to 4 p.m.

  • Cooking Demonstration ~ 1:30
  • Music ~ 2:15 to 3:30
  • Some closing words ~ 3:30

SDC wants to remind you to come to the annual celebration of the official opening of our Dharma home which was November 6th 2016. SDC has a great party planned for you with a food demonstration from Jay Nair, and music by Kent Lacin. Isn’t it wonderful to have such talented sangha members who share their talents with us? SDC will also have the latest proposed landscaping designs on display for your perusal.

Recently Katie Thomas gifted the Dharma Center with a beautiful framed oil pastel painting by her mother, Susan Orr, for the purpose of fundraising. It is called The Anguish, The Grace. It is with a grateful heart that we thank Katie for carrying on her mother’s dream with such a generous act. SDC will be holding a silent auction during the afternoon for the painting, announcing the winner at 3:30.

The Anguish, The Grace (oil pastel by Susan Orr)

Here is a photo of the painting and you can see it currently hung in the South lobby of the Dharma Center for all of us to enjoy. If you are unable to attend the party and would like to bid on the painting you may send a proxy or contact the SDC at 916-386-9844 to make other arrangements.

Why do we do all this? That is an easy question to answer, because SDC is proud of what they’ve been able to do in the three years since opening, and mostly they are so grateful to all of you! Yes all of you have put in your time, energy, funds, hopes and dreams and created a beautiful home for the Dharma to thrive in. So bring your family and friends, make new friends, and have some fun!

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Where have you heard that before? These words have become as ubiquitous a phrase as “Have a nice day!” How seriously should we take it, and is this directive even possible OR desirable?
This rather prosaic statement is stating in colloquial terms the core Buddhist practice of “non-attachment” — which is often viewed as one of the most confusing and seemingly impossible Buddhist injunctions… especially as a lay practitioner. How can we become non-attached to our children? Personal relationships? The state of the world? The confusion may come from our misunderstanding about what this teaching really means. We will discuss the deeper meaning of this statement, and methods for its practical application — both on and off the cushion.

Talk topic: Wisdom

Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Sue Taylor

The talk will be a short “dharmette” on Wisdom (anchored in the paramis).

 

Sue Taylor, PhD, MSW, is a member of the Sacramento Dharma Center Board, an ordained Theravada Minister, and an Environmental Chaplain. She is a professor at CSU Sacramento in the Department of Social Work.

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
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How does our practice include the warmth of heart, expressed freely in devotion? Sometimes it may seem as if Buddhism’s intention to relieve suffering and be awake to the way things are, in Western practice centers, sidesteps the personal intimacy of devotion that we see in Asian temple life, and in other faith traditions. To whom and what is devotion given? What can we learn from others, and from attending to our own longings and gratefulness? Rich and John have been exploring this topic and will invite our participation in that exploration.
After the presentation, Rich Howard and John “Boogie” Phelps hosted an evening of meditation and chanting as long as people wanted to stay (up to midnight). In many Theravada countries, special practice days are observed in line with phases of the moon, called Uposatha. On this full moon day, folks were are also invited to practice the eight precepts. Chanting books were provided.