Climate Sangha

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Meeting the 4th Tuesday of each month, the Sacramento Climate Sangha provides dharmic support and a refuge for exploration of our hopes and fears about climate change.

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Climate Sangha

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Meeting the 4th Tuesday of each month, the Sacramento Climate Sangha provides dharmic support and a refuge for exploration of our hopes and fears about climate change.

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*Sit & Dharma Talk – Meg Gawler – Cultivating Joy

Cultivating Joy

Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting teacher Meg Gawler

Buddhists on the path to liberation practice meditation to train the mind in mindfulness and samādhi. The Pāli word, samādhi, although often translated as ‘concentration,’ is better rendered into English as ‘unification.’ While concentration is an essential skill, the Buddhist practitioner cannot produce a state of samādhi through concentration alone. This is because the self needs to get out of the way. Rather, the Buddha teaches that samādhi arises naturally when the supporting conditions – all positive mind states – are in place. Joy is one of these positive mind states.

MEG GAWLER began practicing Buddhism in 1968 as a disciple of the Zen Master, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, including over three years of monastic training. She earned a Master’s in Applied Ecology, moved to Europe, pursued an international career in nature conservation and human development, and began practicing in the Theravāda tradition. She has trained with Gil Fronsdal, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and others. Authorized as a Dharma teacher by Jack Kornfield and then by Gil Fronsdal, Meg teaches retreats in both English and French in Switzerland, and serves as a guest teacher at the Insight Meditation Center and elsewhere. Meg also holds a Master’s in Buddhist Studies, specializing in early Theravāda studies. In addition, she teaches Radiant Heart Qigong in the tradition of Teja Bell.

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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Introduction to Meditation with SIM Community Teacher, Rich Howard

This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is no fee.

RICH 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. The pilgrimage and the PDL program led to an interest in establishing the SIM Kalyana Mitta (Pali for spiritual friends) groups. He coordinated SIM’s network of Kalyana Mitta groups until he joined the SIM Board in 2010. 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. He is a past president of the SIM Board. His teachers are Dennis Warren and Steve Armstrong.

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.

At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.
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Introduction to Meditation with SIM Community Member, Laura Rosenthal

This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is no fee.

LAURA ROSENTHAL has participated actively in SIM since 2004, when she was first introduced to Insight Meditation (Vipassana) after meditating in other traditions. She served on the SIM board of directors for five years, from 2010 to 2015. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP4) and Advanced Practitioners Program (2016-17). In addition, she participates in Heather Sundberg’s Committed Students Program in Nevada City. Her teachers are Andrea Fella and Heather Sundberg. Laura practiced law in the public sector for almost 40 years, with an emphasis on access to health insurance and health care. Her other loves include Jewish text study and writing.”

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.

At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.
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Introduction to Meditation with Matt Russell

This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is no fee.

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.

At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.
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*Sit & Dharma Discussion – Diane Wilde – Reflections after the elections

Reflections after the mid-term elections and what’s next

Sit & Dharma Discussion with SIM Community Teacher, Rev. Diane Wilde

“There is a widespread attitude among Buddhists, especially Western Buddhists, that politics is an arena to be avoided as if it were a toxic pit. It’s seen as a detour from our spiritual quest, a distraction and an entanglement, a falling away from our aspirations for purity, enlightenment, awakening, and liberation. But in the face of today’s multiple crises, we can’t turn away.”

– Bhikkhu Bodhi

With Bhikkhu Bodhi’s admonition in mind, we will discuss the timeless teachings of the Buddha in regards to the outcome of the mid-term election… whatever those results might be.

Bring your concerns, your hopes and intentions for what comes next.

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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08/30/2018 “Impermanence” with Noliwe Alexander

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

Is it possible to find ease and grace in a world full of change?
It is possible to trust the mind of non-clinging and so find our liberation within the world of impermanence. ~ Gil Fronsdal
We will explore this question of finding refuge in the truth of change in our uncertain and often turbulent times. While letting go of our fixed views and opening to the possibilities of freedom, we have the opportunity to deepen our understanding of living with clarity and ease in each moment.

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*Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Heather Sundberg

Listen Deeply, Let Go of the Struggle, Respond with Compassion

Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Heather Sundberg

 

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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(Remote) *SIM Community Meeting

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The Paradox of Physical Distancing…Finding Connection
SIM Community Meeting

Join online meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84076922953
Passcode: 100502
Join by phone: 1-669-900-9128 ( Meeting ID: 840 7692 2953 )
For tips and instructions on how to use the access methods listed above, check this news blog.

Thursday Night Talk Dana

“Generosity is the virtue that leads to peace.” – The Historical Buddha
For remote meetings, please use the form above to donate by credit card or your PayPal account. Enter the amount you’d like to give and your donation will be shared with Diane Wilde, Rich Howard, and SIM.

Join co-hosts Rev. Diane Wilde and Rich Howard on Zoom for a community evening looking at how we can connect in this extraordinary time of physical distancing and potential isolation. After we sit together, Diane and Rich will give short “dharmettes” to introduce the theme. The rest of the evening will be a chance for community members to share their experience and wisdom on how we are using the practice of meditative awareness in this time and what we are learning about our attachments in the process.

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