Sit & Dharma Talk with Senior Teacher John Travis

Sit & Dharma Talk with Senior Teacher John Travis
The topic of the talk is to be announced.

JOHN TRAVIS is the founding teacher of Mountain Stream Meditation Center and a member of the Senior Teachers Council of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He studied in Asia for many years with many of the Buddhist masters who have influenced a generation of American meditation teachers—Thubten Yeshe, Kalu Rinpoche, Anagarika Munidra, S.N. Goenka, and Traungpula. He has also trained with and received teaching authorization from Jack Kornfield.
John was a critical force in the early growth of the Sacramento meditation community through his regular presence, guidance, and teachings during the 1990s. His sound and thoughtful advice has been instrumental to the development of Sacramento Insight Meditation. He now teaches regularly in various meditation centers in the United States and overseas. His teachings are characterized by his kindness, compassion, the depth of his meditation experience, and his ability to see deeply into the minds and hearts of those with whom he is working.

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 – Evaluating Your Practice

A Practical Model For Evaluating Your Practice.
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren

We seldom talk about evaluating how we are practicing or what model might be used for doing an evaluation.
This evening will be devoted to examining a practical, experiential and hands-on evaluation model that we can use to evaluate how we are practicing, regardless of the stage or sophistication of our practice. A handout of the model will be used as the outline for the evening.

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 with Visiting Teacher Tony Bernhard

Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Tony Bernhard
The topic of the talk is to be announced.

Tony Bernhard is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s first Community Dharma Leadership training program, and the Sati Center’s Chaplaincy program. He is also a Sati Center board member. Along with being the founder/ teacher at Davis Middle Path, he offers his unique perspective on the Dharma throughout Northern California.

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 – The Third Precept, #MeToo, and what happens now

The Third Precept, #MeToo, and what happens now.
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor Rev. Diane Wilde

The Five Precepts are the training in moral conduct for the individual as well as providing safety for all sentient beings. The third precept is; “I will train in refraining from sexual misconduct”. This precept is generally recited along with the other four, but rarely discussed in great length. Dharma teachers sometimes find it to be an uncomfortable topic and even amongst Buddhist scholars, there are differences on its interpretation.

Contemporary society is now contending with the ramifications of sexual misconduct (and alleged sexual misconduct) at all levels of society, and Buddhist teachers and students are not immune. Reports of allegations of predatory behavior are now being openly discussed in all three major Buddhist traditions, Theravada, Mahayana and Vajryana. Currently, recognized teachers in all three are being accused of sexual exploitation of students and others.

Tonight we will look at the actual teachings regarding the Third Precept, how it is effecting our teachers and our own lives, and how do we as a community contend with what is taking place.

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 Discussion – Rev. Diane Wilde – Taking Refuge … in the sangha

Taking Refuge … in the sangha
Sitting and Dharma discussion with Rev. Diane Wilde

As Buddhist practitioners, we take refuge in the Buddha (and our own potential for Buddhahood), the Dharma (how life unfolds) and the sangha, (a supportive community of practitioners.) On August 16, we’ll take a closer look at sangha.

There are activities going on “behind the scenes” at SIM that you most likely don’t know about, as well as other supportive programs which will be offered in the future. We will also discuss what YOU would like to see offered at YOUR sangha.

Cookies and other treats will be featured during the break. Be sure to be there!

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 – Present Moment

What’s so great about the present moment anyway?
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor Rev. Diane Wilde

“Be mindful.” “Stay in the present.” “Bare attention.” We’ve all heard one of these phrases. And if you’re more experienced in insight practice, these may be the watchwords that chime in the back of consciousness from morning till night, reminding you that everything genuine in the spiritual path is to be found in the now. So, if this is such an important practice, why is it so hard to stay present and what’s so great about it anyhow? We’ll discuss the reasons for staying present according to Buddhist teachings, and offer some practical techniques for staying present that you will find helpful.

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 MBSR with SIM Community Member Matt Russell

This evening will provide an introduction to Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in anticipation of the 8-week MBSR course which will be offered at SIM starting September 2018. 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. This work was featured in Bill Moyers’ television special, “Healing and the Mind” in a dated but still compelling piece.

Matt Russell is a UMass Med School Center for Mindfulness qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and has been a member of the SIM community since 2010. He has sat over a dozen multi-day silent retreats with teachers such as Joseph Goldstein, Steve Armstrong, Kamala Masters, John Travis, Bhikkhu Anālayo, Dennis Warren, and others. Matt is a graduate of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies’ Chaplaincy Training Program in Redwood City. He has completed trainings with Mindful Schools and taught mindfulness to teenagers.

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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