Awareness, Insight and Liberation
Daylong Retreat with Visiting Senior Teacher, Steve Armstrong
The day will focus on integrating the mindfulness meditation instructions of Mahāsi Sayadaw with the practical mindful awareness guidance of Sayadaw U Tejaniya. This event is suitable for both new and experienced meditators. People of all walks of life are warmly welcome.
Steve will offer a clear path for developing clarity of awareness with each arising moment. This leads to stability of mind and the insightful knowledge of liberation. Such knowledge weakens deeply conditioned habits of mind that cause unhappiness, and strengthens conditions for an enduring sense of well-being.
Please plan to bring a lunch so there’s no need to leave the SDC building while at the retreat.
Steve Armstrong has studied the dhamma and practiced insight meditation since 1975. He served for years at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts as Executive Director, Board member and a senior teacher of the annual three-month retreat. As a monk in Burma for 5 years, he undertook the intensive, silent practice of insight and lovingkindness meditations under the guidance of Sayadaw U Pandita, as well as studying the abhidhamma with Sayadaw U Zagara of Australia. He continues his practice under the guidance of Sayadaw U Tejaniya in Rangoon.
He has been leading meditation retreats internationally since 1990 and is a co-founding director and teacher of the Vipassana Metta Foundation dhamma sanctuary on Maui. He was the Managing Editor of the translation committee that in 2016 brought to publication the much anticipated Manual of Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw, previously unavailable to the international meditation community in English.
Registration Details
Those who register and attend this one day retreat will receive an initial priority registration opportunity for the 2018 SIM residential retreat with Steve in a forest retreat center near Foresthill (September 7 to 14.) Pre-registration is required to secure your space at this retreat. Registration is $35.00 per person due before the start of the event. In addition to the registration fee, at the retreat there will be an opportunity to offer dana (in the form of a financial donation) to support the retreat presenter and Sacramento Insight Meditation. You may also offer dana online at the bottom of this webpage.
For the registration fee, we accept checks and cash. No one will be turned away for lack of funds; please contact the registrar for more information. Day-of registration will be on a first-come first-serve basis, contingent on availability of space.
Summary of Important Dates
- 12/05/2017- Registration opens.
- 01/24/2018 – Registration fee paid on or before this date.
- 01/26/2018 – Registrations online closed; come to the retreat on Jan 27 and register in person as space permits.
- 01/27/2018 – Attend and enjoy the wonderful retreat.
Questions for the Registrar?
Use the form below only if you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions. Expect a reply within 48 hours. If you are ready to register for the retreat, use the REGISTER button shown above.
[contact-form to=”website@sactoinsight.org, rhowarda@gmail.com” subject=”Question about January Daylong Retreat ({name})”][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Comments/Questions” type=”textarea”][contact-field label=”Yes, subscribe me to the eNews.” type=”checkbox”][/contact-form]
Retreat Dana
At the event a “Dana Bowl” will be provided so you may provide additional financial support via cash or check. Or you may submit a donation online using the DONATE button below.
[give_form id=”6404″ show_title=”false” show_content=”none” display_style=”reveal”]
*Sit & Dharma Talk – Dennis Warren – Another Piece of the Map
Weekly MeditationAnother Piece of the Map: The Meaning and Practical Importance of “Causes and Conditions”.
Sit & Dharma Talk with Dennis Warren
This will be the third in a series of talks on the basic map of Buddhist practice.
The principle of “conditionality” is central to Buddhist practice = “Everything that happens has causes and conditions, proceeds according to causes and conditions, and leads to results in line with causes and conditions.” If you were to remove this principle from practice, the remaining teachers would no longer make sense.
Understanding causes and conditions provides us with the wisdom to see into the true nature of our suffering and the way out of suffering. They are the dynamic elements that hold the comprehensive, inter-related Buddhist teachings together in a single, living presence. Causes and conditions replace the casual agency occupied by a deity or god figure in traditional religions.
But what are causes and conditions from a Buddhist perspective? What is the difference between a cause and a condition? As a completely practice matter, why are they important to the issues of daily life and suffering? He can we use these as a central element of our practice?
Dennis’ talk will use a number of specific, familiar situations as practical illustrations in answering these questions and in responding to questions at the end of the talk.
Sit & Dharma Talk – Rich Howard – Reconciliation: The Truth Beyond Forgiveness
Weekly MeditationReconciliation: The Truth Beyond Forgiveness
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Rich Howard
Reconciliation is a process that has been used in areas torn by violence, from Argentina to Yugoslavia. Perhaps the best known example is the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa led by Bishop Desmond Tutu. The website of the Greensboro (North Carolina) Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the first in the United States, defines the process this way: “Truth and reconciliation promotes the belief that confronting and reckoning with the past is necessary for successful transitions from conflict, resentment and tension to peace and connectedness.” Does this not sound like the process each of us needs to engage in our own meditation practice? You may prepare by reading an article by Thanissaro Bhikkhu:
“Reconciliation, Right & Wrong“. Access to Insight (BCBS Edition), 18 July 2011. The article states, “Reconciliation — patisaraniya-kamma — means a return to amicability, and that requires more than forgiveness. It requires the reestablishing of trust.”
On this evening, we will explore reconciliation, truth, and forgiveness, in our own hearts and the wider world.
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.
*Sit & Dharma Talk – Rich Howard – Bringing Tranquility to the Land
Weekly MeditationBringing Tranquility to the Land
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Rich Howard
For all his teachings on ultimate liberation, the Buddha offered many teachings to laypeople and rulers on practical matters. SIM Mentor Rich Howard has chosen the story of King Mahāvijita and his chaplain to illustrate the compassion of the Buddha towards humans struggling with every day matters. This short selection from the Kūtadanta Sutta (DN 5), offers a vision of society that may sound different from the approaches in current headlines. Our discussion will focus on how we can bring these principles into our every day lives.
In preparation, you may read the last paragraph of Bikkhu Bodhi’s introduction to Chapter IV of “In the Buddha’s Words” (page 114); the sutta selection is on pages 141-142.
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.
Daylong Retreat with SIM Community Mentor, Diane Wilde
RetreatWhat have you learned from your “teachers”, and what lessons do you provide others.
Daylong Retreat with SIM Community Mentor, Diane Wilde
We will start the morning off with gentle movement and move into periods of sitting and walking meditation throughout the day.
During this daylong we will go into further depth about what we look for in our teachers. We will also discuss the various teachers we have met and the lessons they have offered that supported us along the path. It’s important to remember that lessons come in all shapes and sizes… and often are not the ones we expected or even wanted! We will also spend time on reflecting on the lessons and legacies we leave to others.
Come for all day or for a portion of the day. Please bring your lunch.
Registration Details
Pre-registration is required to secure your space at the retreat. Registration is $15.00 per person due before the start of the event. If you are able and interested in further supporting SIM financially, you have the option of a registration fee of either $25 or $35 dollars. In addition to the registration fee, at the retreat there will be an opportunity to offer dana (in the form of a financial donation) to support the retreat presenter and Sacramento Insight Meditation.
For the registration fee, we accept credit cards, checks and cash. No one will be turned away for lack of funds; please contact the registrar for more information. Day-of registration will be on a first-come first-serve basis, contingent on availability of space.
NOTE: Registration via this website is closed however you can register in person on the day of the event.
Summary of Important Dates
Questions for the Registrar?
Use the form below only if you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions. Expect a reply within 48 hours.
[contact-form to=”website@sactoinsight.org” subject=”Question about Feb 24 Daylong Retreat ({name})”][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Comments/Questions” type=”textarea”][contact-field label=”Yes, subscribe me to the eNews.” type=”checkbox”][/contact-form]
Volunteer Opportunities
It “takes a village” to put on a large event for our community. If you would be available to assist in set-up, take-down, tea service, providing flowers or other duties for the event, please mention this in the comments of contact information form shown above.
Introduction to Meditation with SIM Community Mentor, 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.
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“.
*Sit & Dharma Talk – Diane Wilde – Who Teaches?
Weekly MeditationWho Teaches?
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Diane Wilde
We do not learn the Dharma in a vacuum. Many of us when starting this practice assumed by reading a few books and attempting a solo meditation practice was all needed to do. Unfortunately, that is not the case. We need guidance and support as we take on a meditation practice as well as the skills of daily mindfulness. The Buddha stated we learn the Dharma three ways: From a Dharma teacher, from the support of our spiritual friends, and from our own experience. Tonight we will discuss the characteristics of what we should look for in a Dharma teacher, in our spiritual friends, and how these two categories create the most skillful teacher of all… ourselves.
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.
Sit & Dharma Talk – Dennis Warren – Resolving Conflicting Teachings (Part II)
Weekly MeditationSit & Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher, Dennis Warren
Resolving Conflicting, Contradictory or Paradoxical Teachings –Part II
This will be the second in a series of talks on the process of working through and unwinding confusion over what appear to be conflicting, contradictory or paradoxical teachings. What do we do? How do we do it? What are the conditions that need to be in place to help us do this exploration skillfully?
Dennis’ talk will use a number of specific, familiar situations as practical illustrations of the fundamental issues involved in working with issues from a Buddhist, rather than a conventional perspective.
If you’d like to review Part I of the talk, click here.
*Sit & Dharma Talk – Diane Wilde – Clear Comprehension
Weekly MeditationClear Comprehension… How Can We See Clearly, AND Do the Right Thing?
Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Diane Wilde
Most of us consider ourselves rational, caring human beings who can be counted on to do the right thing. We rarely consider that this “rationality” is a bundle of views, opinion, experiences and even genetics! Without hesitation, we assume our actions, whether in personal relationships or large political movements, are wise and undertaken for all the right reasons. But are they? In an interesting commentary on the Satipatthana Sutta, clear comprehension in everyday life is addressed through a series of steps that are recommended to come to a rational, helpful solution to any situation. With this guidance we do our best to leave views and judgement behind and ACT with wisdom and compassion for ourselves and all other sentient beings.
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.
*Sit & Dharma Talk – Rich Howard – Refinement of the Mind
Weekly MeditationRefinement of the Mind – Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Rich Howard
Sometimes we forget that this path of awareness has been described as a “gradual training.” We get impatient or expect our progress to look a certain way and are disappointed when it doesn’t turn out that way. Tonight we will discuss a discourse that likens the refinement of the mind to the purification of gold. The Pansadhovaka Sutta (Anguttara Nikaya 3:100 1-10) makes it clear that this is a gradual training with many steps. We will look at how these steps relate to our householder practice and offer reassurance (if we can avoid comparing mind!) to keep on practicing without expecting results.
Please read the introduction to Text VIII,4 on page 260 of “In the Buddha’s Words” (ed. Bhikkhu Bodhi) and the sutta on pages 273-275. You may find a different translation online at Access to Insight (Pansadhovaka Sutta: The Dirt-washer).
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.
Daylong Retreat with Visiting Senior Teacher, Steve Armstrong
RetreatAwareness, Insight and Liberation
Daylong Retreat with Visiting Senior Teacher, Steve Armstrong
The day will focus on integrating the mindfulness meditation instructions of Mahāsi Sayadaw with the practical mindful awareness guidance of Sayadaw U Tejaniya. This event is suitable for both new and experienced meditators. People of all walks of life are warmly welcome.
Steve will offer a clear path for developing clarity of awareness with each arising moment. This leads to stability of mind and the insightful knowledge of liberation. Such knowledge weakens deeply conditioned habits of mind that cause unhappiness, and strengthens conditions for an enduring sense of well-being.
Please plan to bring a lunch so there’s no need to leave the SDC building while at the retreat.
Registration Details
Those who register and attend this one day retreat will receive an initial priority registration opportunity for the 2018 SIM residential retreat with Steve in a forest retreat center near Foresthill (September 7 to 14.) Pre-registration is required to secure your space at this retreat. Registration is $35.00 per person due before the start of the event. In addition to the registration fee, at the retreat there will be an opportunity to offer dana (in the form of a financial donation) to support the retreat presenter and Sacramento Insight Meditation. You may also offer dana online at the bottom of this webpage.
For the registration fee, we accept checks and cash. No one will be turned away for lack of funds; please contact the registrar for more information. Day-of registration will be on a first-come first-serve basis, contingent on availability of space.
Summary of Important Dates
Questions for the Registrar?
Use the form below only if you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions. Expect a reply within 48 hours. If you are ready to register for the retreat, use the REGISTER button shown above.
[contact-form to=”website@sactoinsight.org, rhowarda@gmail.com” subject=”Question about January Daylong Retreat ({name})”][contact-field label=”Name” type=”name” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Email” type=”email” required=”1″][contact-field label=”Comments/Questions” type=”textarea”][contact-field label=”Yes, subscribe me to the eNews.” type=”checkbox”][/contact-form]
Retreat Dana
At the event a “Dana Bowl” will be provided so you may provide additional financial support via cash or check. Or you may submit a donation online using the DONATE button below.
[give_form id=”6404″ show_title=”false” show_content=”none” display_style=”reveal”]