*Sit & Dharma Talk – Dennis Warren – Give Yourself A Break: You’re Not a Nun or Monk
This talk is will be rescheduled for a future date.
Give Yourself A Break: You’re Not a Nun or Monk
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren
The historical Buddha taught that there were different models of practice. One for monastics – nuns and monks – and another for community level practitioners with families whose lives are filled with obligations and responsibilities.
The practice model we’re developing here in the West is unique. It is actually an experiment. We are studying and practicing from teachings from the historical Buddha that were, for the most part, intended for monastics. These individuals were engaged in intense, deep and sophisticated practices in protected environments shielded from the pressures, stresses and responsibilities each of us routinely face every day. The monastic model, as well, did not involve any form of responsibility for addressing the real-life social, economic and other conditions that contribute so significantly to the suffering of community level practitioners.
This evening will examine the different models of practice offered by the historical Buddha and explore questions about our current attempt to blend these models: Does this create expectations for community level practitioners that are unrealistic? Does this result in a number of unstated assumptions about practice that are the potential conditions for stress, frustration and disappointment? Has these created an environment of practice that is overly serious and ignores or devalues the satisfaction, happiness and joy practice should bring us every day?
Dennis will also discuss a new 2020 SIM course entitled “Living and Practicing on the Other Side of Suffering” that is directly related to these questions and their 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
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RESCHEDULED – Sit & Dharma Talk – Dennis Warren
Weekly Meditation*Sit & Dharma Talk – Dennis Warren – Give Yourself A Break: You’re Not a Nun or Monk
This talk is will be rescheduled for a future date.
Give Yourself A Break: You’re Not a Nun or Monk
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren
The historical Buddha taught that there were different models of practice. One for monastics – nuns and monks – and another for community level practitioners with families whose lives are filled with obligations and responsibilities.
The practice model we’re developing here in the West is unique. It is actually an experiment. We are studying and practicing from teachings from the historical Buddha that were, for the most part, intended for monastics. These individuals were engaged in intense, deep and sophisticated practices in protected environments shielded from the pressures, stresses and responsibilities each of us routinely face every day. The monastic model, as well, did not involve any form of responsibility for addressing the real-life social, economic and other conditions that contribute so significantly to the suffering of community level practitioners.
This evening will examine the different models of practice offered by the historical Buddha and explore questions about our current attempt to blend these models: Does this create expectations for community level practitioners that are unrealistic? Does this result in a number of unstated assumptions about practice that are the potential conditions for stress, frustration and disappointment? Has these created an environment of practice that is overly serious and ignores or devalues the satisfaction, happiness and joy practice should bring us every day?
Dennis will also discuss a new 2020 SIM course entitled “Living and Practicing on the Other Side of Suffering” that is directly related to these questions and their 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.
(Remote) *Sit & Dharma Talk – Dennis Warren
Online Remote, Weekly MeditationThe Foundational Role of “Sensory Awareness” and “Intuition” In Practice & Daily Life
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren
Join online meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81917699261
Passcode: 009649
Join by phone: 1-669-900-9128 ( Meeting ID: 819 1769 9261 )
For tips and instructions on how to use the access methods listed above, check this news blog.
Topic details: This evening will be devoted to exploring the meaning and indispensable roles of “Sensory Awareness” and “Intuition” in formal meditation practice and enriching our daily life.
For many, the practice of Mindfulness as described in beautiful detail in the teachings of the Historical Buddha seem rational, logical and linear. While having a clear intellectual understanding and framework for practice is essential, in actual application we open our experience to the vast and multi-dimensional world of direct experience through Sensory Awareness and Intuition. We go far beyond the limited potential of language, concept and thought when we move in the direction of becoming fully human through the cultivation and integration of these experiences in our practice and life.
The importance of this examination is focused by our reaction to, and relationship with, the current international health crisis. It must be clear to all of us that logical and rational problem solving, by itself, will not be enough for each of us to get through this situation with a sense of wholeness, healing and meaning.
If you have time, it might be helpful to listen to Dennis’ last talk on March 26. The discussion on this Thursday will be an extension of the themes in his prior talk.
We’ll examine these issues and more on this Thursday evening.
Introduction to Meditation with Dennis Warren
Meditation CourseThis 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.
At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.
*Sit & Dharma Talk – Tony Bernhard – Exploring the Refuges
Weekly MeditationExploring the Refuges as an Investigative Practice
Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Tony Bernhard
Calling to mind The Three Refuges is usually done as a devotional practice. This discussion will look into the nature of refuge itself and ask how Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha might serve as a sanctuary for Buddhist practitioners.
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.
Introduction to Meditation with Diane Wilde
Meditation CourseThis 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.
At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP“.
Introduction to Meditation
Meditation CourseThis 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.
*Sit & Dharma Talk – Matt Russell – MBSR and Secular Mindfulness
Meditation Course, Weekly MeditationMBSR and Secular Mindfulness
This talk will provide an introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in anticipation of the 8-week MBSR course which will be offered at SIM beginning August 21, 2019. This presentation should be of interest both for individuals considering participating in the MBSR course, as well as those interested in the place of secular mindfulness in contemporary culture and its connections with Buddhism.
Designed by Jon Kabat-Zinn in 1979, MBSR is an integrative and scientifically validated approach that combines mindfulness practices with group processing and psycho-education around stress. MBSR helps participants mobilize their inner resources to alleviate suffering associated with chronic pain and illness, as well as conditions such as anxiety, depression, headaches, high blood pressure, sleep disturbances, gastrointestinal problems and the stresses of everyday life. MBSR was featured in Bill Moyers’ television special, “Healing and the Mind.”
At the bottom of this page, you may enter the number of people planning to attend and select the button “Confirm RSVP”.
07/27/2019 “Insanity and Sound Mind” with Ayya Santacitta and Rev. Diane Wilde
Audio DharmaThe Buddha’s advise on what is insanity and how to cultivate a sound mind
Daylong Retreat with Ayya Santacitta and Rev. Diane Wilde; Two audio files:
If you would like to download this Ayya Santacitta talk, please right click and select “save as” here.
If you would like to download this Diane Wilde talk, please right click and select “save as” here.
We human beings, in this human realm, rarely realize that we operating in a state of of delusion.Not only are we operating in a deluded state, we expect this current mind state to provide us a sense of happiness and well-being. Because we really have no idea what we are doing, the goal of happiness is illusive and frustrating. This is also the Buddhist view of mental disease. Delusion is a mental illness that causes all sorts of suffering; mental health can be restored by correcting the flaws in how the mind operates. We will investigate our “mental disease” in both classical terms as well as our contemporary daily life and how we can cultivate “sanity” both for ourselves and the larger world itself.
07/25/2019 “Seeking Nothing, Fearful of Nothing, Being Free” with Dennis Warren
Audio DharmaIf you would like to download this talk, please right click and select “save as” here.
Some of the most fundamental instructions we heard about practice – “Seek nothing, Be fearful of nothing, and You will be free” – seem to conflict with other fundamental instructions such as not striving for any particular results of state of mind. How do we explain this situation?
This evening we’ll explore the answer to this apparent contradiction in fundamental instructions. Understanding why such fundamental instructions are not contradictory and not in conflict is key to a sound practice. This will be the important territory we’ll investigate Thursday evening.
SDC Summer News is here
NewsVisit https://sacdharma.org/our-summer-news-is-here/ or for direct access to the issue in PDF format, click here.