04/07/16: “Working with Anxiety, Fear, Pain & Other Strong Experiences,” with Dennis Warren

This first of two evening discussions about what we all find difficult – strong experiences in daily life that threaten, or do, throw us spinning out of balance. We look at what the historical Buddha had to say about the roots of such strong experiences. We explore a number of important and practical questions including:

  • How do we lay a sound foundation for working with such challenging experiences?
  • How do we directly apply the Buddha’s teachings to our experience in a skillful way?
  • What is reasonable to expect regarding our ability to make real strides in dealing with strong experiences that have proven problematic for us in the past?

Dennis’ two discussions use three teachings of the Buddha as the initial basis for discussion: The Discourse Concerning Malunkyaputta; The Kumma Sutta: The Tortoise; and the Sutta on the Four Establishments of Mindfulness.

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

Dennis also suggested to read the two Suttas he spoke of in his talk. Here are the two links: Malunkyaputta Sutta and Kumma Sutta

To listen to Part 2 in the series, click here.

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03-24-16: “Satipatthana Sutta,” with Rich Howard

Looking at the Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness (MN 10, the Satipatthana Sutta), we arrive at perhaps the single most important description of how and why we practice meditation. The many practices described in this discourse form the basis for SIM’s Introduction to Meditation course and most Vipassana (insight) meditation retreats. SIM spent almost two years from March 2009 through December 2010 examining this subject in depth, and many excellent book-length studies are available (including Joseph Goldstein’s Mindfulness, Bhikkhu Analayo’s Satipatthana: The Direct Path to Realization, and U Silananda’s Four Foundations of Mindfulness). So what could be gained from looking at this text for a single night? In our continuing exploration of the Suttas That Speak to Us, SIM Community Mentor Rich Howard approaches the Satipatthana Sutta as if in conversation with a good friend, looking literally at how it speaks to us as practitioners of insight meditation.

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

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Half-Day Retreat with SIM Community Mentor, Sandra Sigrist

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Saturday, July 30, 8:30-12:30. Daylong Retreat with Sandra Sigrist, SIM Community Mentor. A half day of silent sitting and walking.

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Introduction to Meditation with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren

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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.

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Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren

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Thursday, July14, 2016 – 700-915 PM. Sitting and Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher DENNIS WARREN  – “WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF LIVING THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE?” – Part II –  

“What is the benefit of living the contemplative life?”

This is the question put to the historical Buddha by King Ajatasattu. The dialogue that continues is one of the most comprehensive and eloquent presentations of the Buddha regarding his teachings; a comparison of his teachings to the other major spiritual and philosophical theories of the time; the original Sangha’s code of ethics; the Buddha’s own lifestyle, and more.

This evening will be part of a continuing discussion of this fascinating Sutta that began during Dennis’ talk on June 9th. You might listen to that talk at as a way of preparing for this evening at https://sactoinsight.org/category/audio-dharma/ .

The evening will explore the specifics of this sutta and how they have direct application to our practice and daily life today in an urban setting.

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Sit & Dharma talk with SIM Founding Teacher, Dennis Warren

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“WHAT IS THE BENEFIT OF LIVING THE CONTEMPLATIVE LIFE?” – Part II –  

“What is the benefit of living the contemplative life?”

This is the question put to the historical Buddha by King Ajatasattu. The dialogue that continues is one of the most comprehensive and eloquent presentations of the Buddha regarding his teachings; a comparison of his teachings to the other major spiritual and philosophical theories of the time; the original Sangha’s code of ethics; the Buddha’s own lifestyle, and more.

This evening will be part of a continuing discussion of this fascinating Sutta that began during Dennis’ talk on June 9th. You might listen to that talk at as a way of preparing for this evening athttps://sactoinsight.org/category/audio-dharma/ .

The evening will explore the specifics of this sutta and how they have direct application to our practice and daily life today in an urban setting.

This event will begin at 7:00 pm at Sacramento Friends Meetinghouse, 890 57th Street.

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Day-long Retreat With Long Term Community, Laura Rosenthal

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This will be a beautiful peaceful day of Practice including both Sitting and Walking Meditation.  There may also be time for questions, answers and reflections.  All are welcome.

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Introduction to Meditation with SIM Community Mentor, Rich Howard

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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.

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Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Rich Howard

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Thursday, June 23, 7-9 pm. Sitting and Community Evening with Rich Howard, SIM Community Mentor.Bringing Awareness to Everyday Life

We may practice formal meditation for some period each day, but what do we practice the rest of our waking hours? Bringing mindful awareness into everyday life is essential to developing our practice and transforming our lives. We will gather in a circle as a community this Thursday to share our experiences in spreading awareness into every aspect of our lives. Please come prepared to share your wisdom with the group. Rich will facilitate the evening. Dana offered on this evening will be shared with SIM and the Buddhist Pathways Prison Project.

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