8/7/2025 “Embodied Compassion: Loving Awareness of the Aging, Ailing, and Mortal Body” with Jeff Hardin

To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

The Buddha named old age, sickness, and death as divine messengers—undeniable truths that call us to practice and open the path to awakening. In this Dharma talk, we will explore how embodied compassion can become a liberating practice as we face the realities of an impermanent and mortal body.


Drawing from the early teachings of the Buddha, guided reflections, and stories from Jeff’s work as a physician, we’ll investigate how cultivating kind and mindful awareness of the body can support insight, soften fear, open the heart, and deepen our capacity to meet life and death with wisdom and love.

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The Buddha’s Antidotes for Challenging Times (6-week talk series)

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August 21, 2025 @ 7:00 pm – September 25, 2025 @ 9:00 pm PDT

About the Talk Series

This Thursday evening talk series offers practical teachings on timeless qualities that can help us meet difficult times with wisdom and care:

Thursday, August 21 — Introduction & Karuṇā (Compassion)

Thursday August 28 — Mettā (Loving-kindness)

Thursday, September 4 — Gratitude

Thursday, September 11 — Forgiveness

Thursday, September 18 — Generosity

Thursday, September 25 — Equanimity & Wrap-up

Invitation to Connect

SIM is offering an opportunity to help our community connect more deeply with the Dhamma and with each other. As part of the series, we invite you to join a Kalyāṇamitta group — a small circle of spiritual friends who will explore these teachings together.

Kalyāṇamitta Groups for The Buddha’s Antidotes for Challenging Times

Sacramento Dharma Center Building

3111 Wissemann Drive
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States + Google Map
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7/31/2025 “How Practice Changes Us, with a View from the Brain” with Rick Maddock

To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

In his teaching on the four foundations of mindfulness, the Buddha describes beneficial changes that result from cultivating these practices. This talk will explore many of the ways the mind can be shaped or transformed by our practice, including findings from modern neuroscience that converge with what the Buddha taught.

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Kalyāṇamitta Groups for The Buddha’s Antidotes for Challenging Times

This August, SIM is launching a new opportunity to help our community connect more deeply with the Dhamma and with each other. As part of our upcoming six week talk series, The Buddha’s Antidotes for Challenging Times, we invite you to join a Kalyāṇamitta group — a small circle of spiritual friends who will explore these teachings together.

About the Talk Series
The series will offer practical teachings on timeless qualities that can help us meet difficult times with wisdom and care:

  • August 21 — Introduction & Karuṇā (Compassion)
  • August 28 — Mettā (Loving-kindness)
  • September 4 — Gratitude
  • September 11 — Forgiveness
  • September 18 — Generosity
  • September 25 — Equanimity & Wrap-up

How it works

  • Groups can meet weekly or biweekly during the series.
  • Groups can meet in person, on Zoom, or a mix — whatever works best for everyone.

Why try it?
Gathering in spiritual friendship helps bring the teachings to life, creates connection, and reminds us that we don’t walk this path alone — especially in challenging times.

How to join
If you’d like to be part of a kalyāṇamitta group for this series, please sign up by August 15 by filling out the form below. We’ll create the groups and send out an email with your other group members.

Questions? Please reach out to David Guerrieri, davidg@sactoinsight.org

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7/24/2025 “Working with Fear and Anxiety” with Seth Castleman

To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.

The dharma has much to teach us on how to work with the “afflictive emotions.” While fear and anxiety are a natural response to danger, they are often rooted in a misinterpretation of reality and become a habitual reaction. With practice, we can cultivate a more wholesome and healthy response, becoming more effective in managing the challenges we face, individually and collectively.

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(Hybrid) Mini-Retreat (Friday and Saturday) – Applying the Buddha’s Antidotes in Daily Life

October 24, 2025 @ 9:00 am – October 25, 2025 @ 4:00 pm PDT

SIM OFFERING – A mini-retreat with four teachers over two days on the theme of Applying the Buddha’s Antidotes in Daily Life

Each session will include dharmettes, sitting and walking meditation and an opportunity for Q&A.

Friday Retreat Overview
  • Friday, October 24, daylong session with Rich Howard and Walt Opie.
  • For biographical details of the teachers Rich Howard and Walt Opie, select the links.
Rich Howard
Walt Opie

Saturday Retreat Overview

  • Saturday, October 25, daylong session with Dennis Warren and Diana Clark
  • For biographical details of the teachers Dennis Warren and Diana Clark, select the links.
Dennis Warren
Diana Clark
About This Mini-Retreat
  • All teachers will present in-person at the Dharma Center.
    Registered participants will attend this Hybrid event in-person at the SDC or attend via Zoom.
  • We encourage everyone to sign up for both days but you may register for a single day if needed.
  • Pre-registration is required and we recommend you pay the registration fee in advance using the registration button shown below. Since your registration choice indicates if you’ll be attending via Zoom or in-person, registering early helps us determine how many people the meditation room should accommodate.
  • After you’ve registered you may later offer a donation in gratitude of the teachings.

Friday Schedule

  • 9:00 am to 12:00 – Rich Howard teaching on Compassion
  • 12:00 to 1:00 – Lunch
  • 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm – Walt Opie teaching on Metta

Friday Donation

  • Visit the retreat donation page (click here) where the drop-down menu default donation states “Choose the retreat…“.
  • Select “Fri 10/24 Mini-Retreat” to indicate SIM will receive 25% of your donation and the remaining 75% will be split between Rich Howard and Walt Opie.
  • If you select “Both days Mini-Retreat“, SIM will receive 25% of your donation and the remaining 75% will be shared between all four teachers.

Saturday Schedule

  • 9:00 am to 12:00 – Dennis Warren on teaching on Generosity
  • 12:00 to 1:00 – Lunch
  • 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm – Diana Clark teaching on Equanimity

Saturday Donation

  • Visit the retreat donation page (click here) where the drop-down menu default donation states “Choose the retreat…“.
  • Select “Sat 10/25 Mini-Retreat” to indicate that SIM will receive 25% of your donation and the remaining 75% will be split between Dennis Warren and Diana Clark.
  • If you select “Both days Mini-Retreat“, SIM will receive 25% of your donation and the remaining 75% will be shared between all four teachers.
Registration
$25 – $100 Registration Fee

Select the registration “REGISTER NOW” button and indicate if you’ll be attending in-person or attending on Zoom. The fee is $25.00 per person per day due before the start of the event. If you are able and interested in further supporting SIM financially, you have the option of adding an optional donation above the base rate. For the registration fee, we also accept personal checks. No one will be turned away for lack of funds; please contact the registrar for more information.
Before registering to this event, click here to review the refund policy and terms of use for this website.

Registration, Mini-Retreat 2025

$25.00 – $100.00

Register Now
Questions for the Registrar?

If you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions, click here.

Sacramento Dharma Center Building

3111 Wissemann Drive
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States + Google Map

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(Hybrid) Sit & Dharma Talk – Rich Howard – Greatest Blessings

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Hybrid Event

November 13, 2025 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm PST

Insight Meditation and Dharma Talk with SIM Teacher Rich Howard

For biographical details of the teacher Rich Howard, click here.

* The teacher will present in-person at the Dharma Center.
Hybrid events can be attended via Zoom or onsite at the Sacramento Dharma Center.

Greatest Blessings
In this season of gratitude, Rich will bring reflections on the “greatest blessings” from the Maha-Mangala Sutta (Sutta Nipata 2.4). When asked to tell the greatest blessing, the Buddha gave a short discourse in verse containing 38 blessings. This beloved sutta reminds us that, even in the midst of loss and grief, our ordinary lives contain so many sources of gratitude and happiness. In balancing our awareness of suffering with the uplifting conditions in life, we come closer to seeing things as they are. This awareness provides a balance to our daily life practice and a motivation for skillful action in the world.
Rich last offered a reflection on this sutta three years ago, as we celebrated 20 years of SIM. This evening will be structured differently, as we will explore the Buddha’s examples in small group discussions to find sources of happiness relevant to our lives today. November 13, 2025

Offer a Teacher Donation

Rich Howard will receive at least 75% of your donation.

Use the following donate button and select Talk – Nov 13 Rich from the dropdown list.

DONATE – Thu Talk
How to Attend Remotely
Join Zoom Meeting

Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/join or join by phone at 1-669-900-6833
( Meeting ID: 893 8282 0540 and Passcode: 121034)
For tips and instructions to join the meeting, click here to check this news blog.

Sacramento Dharma Center Building

3111 Wissemann Drive
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States + Google Map
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(Hybrid) Sit & Dharma Talk – Walt Opie – Mindfully Facing Our Own Mortality

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Hybrid Event

November 6, 2025 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm PST

Insight Meditation and Dharma Talk with SIM Teacher Walt Opie

For biographical details of the teacher Walt Opie, click here.

* The teacher will present in-person at the Dharma Center.
Hybrid events can be attended via Zoom or onsite at the Sacramento Dharma Center.

Mindfully Facing Our Own Mortality
One of the keys to understanding the Buddhist practice of death contemplation is remembering that it’s not just about all things being impermanent. Rather, it’s about mindfully facing our own death and understanding it could come at any time. The good news is that this practice can lead to lessening our fear of death and learning to live more fully (and even joyfully) each day.

Offer a Teacher Donation

Walt Opie will receive at least 75% of your donation.

Use the following donate button and select Talk – Nov 6 Walt from the dropdown list.

DONATE – Thu Talk
How to Attend Remotely
Join Zoom Meeting

Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/join or join by phone at 1-669-900-6833
( Meeting ID: 893 8282 0540 and Passcode: 121034)
For tips and instructions to join the meeting, click here to check this news blog.

Sacramento Dharma Center Building

3111 Wissemann Drive
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States + Google Map
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(Hybrid) Sit & Dharma Talk – Dennis Warren – Demystifying the Two Dimensions of Reality

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Hybrid Event

October 30, 2025 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm PDT

Insight Meditation and Dharma Talk with SIM Founding Teacher Dennis Warren

For biographical details of the teacher Dennis Warren, click here.

* The teacher will present in-person at the Dharma Center.
Hybrid events can be attended via Zoom or onsite at the Sacramento Dharma Center.

Demystifying the Two Dimensions of Reality
The Historical Buddha’s teachings invite us to explore two profound dimensions of reality. Traditionally known as the Relative and Absolute (or Conventional and Ultimate) “truths”.  They are often misunderstood as abstract philosophical concepts.
Instead, these two dimensions offer us complementary and inter-dependent ways of understanding our lived experience here on planet earth, in this universe. They also open two distinct pathways for practice that can enrich and deepen our journey.
Join us this evening as we explore together: what each dimension really means; the unique role each plays in our practice; how each relates to the other; and why weaving both experiences into our daily lives is essential for moving towards greater satisfaction, peace, and awakening.
Whether you’re just beginning your practice or have been on the path for years, you’ll find something helpful in this exploration. We welcome you to join us either in person or via ZOOM. Dennis will be presenting in person. He encourages you to be there in person too to meet with old as well as new friends, and enjoy an evening of community and exploring the Buddha’s teachings.

Offer a Teacher Donation

Dennis Warren will receive at least 75% of your donation.

Use the following donate button and select Talk – Oct 30 Dennis from the dropdown list.

DONATE – Thu Talk
How to Attend Remotely
Join Zoom Meeting

Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/join or join by phone at 1-669-900-6833
( Meeting ID: 893 8282 0540 and Passcode: 121034)
For tips and instructions to join the meeting, click here to check this news blog.

Sacramento Dharma Center Building

3111 Wissemann Drive
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States + Google Map
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(Hybrid) Sit & Dharma Talk – Diane Wilde – Mudita: “Finding joy in the happiness and well-being of others.” Why can it often be so difficult?

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Hybrid Event

October 23, 2025 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm PDT

Insight Meditation and Dharma Talk with SIM Teacher Diane Wilde

For biographical details of the teacher Diane Wilde, click here.

* The teacher will present in-person at the Dharma Center.
Hybrid events can be attended via Zoom or onsite at the Sacramento Dharma Center.

Mudita: “Finding joy in the happiness and well-being of others.” Why can it often be so difficult?
Thursday October 23 is the first in a series of talks prepared for the SIM mini-retreat which takes place on October 24 and 25. The mini-retreat is entitled, “Applying the Buddha’s Antidotes in Daily Life.”  


The first talk is on Mudita, also known as Sympathetic Joy. Mudita can be defined as enjoying the good fortune or happiness experienced by others as well as ourselves. In today’s fast-paced, phone-obsessed, competitive society, we bypass much of the joy in our lives as well as in the lives of others. Additionally due to societal polarization, as well as the emphasis on winning—no matter what it takes—we often find ourselves engaging in mind states that are the direct opposite of mudita.  Due to jealousy, anger, and toxic competitiveness, we find ourselves taking delight in the misfortune of others.  This “dark glee” is called schadenfreud and continually engaging in this mind state has severe repercussions including the exacerbation of depression and anxiety. Tonight we will learn practical methods for decreasing schadenfreud and for elevating mudita in our lives, thus increasing our own contentment, ease and a sense of true connection with others.

Offer a Teacher Donation

Diane Wilde will receive at least 75% of your donation.

Use the following donate button and select Talk – Oct 23 Diane from the dropdown list.

DONATE – Thu Talk
How to Attend Remotely
Join Zoom Meeting

Join online meeting: https://zoom.us/join or join by phone at 1-669-900-6833
( Meeting ID: 893 8282 0540 and Passcode: 121034)
For tips and instructions to join the meeting, click here to check this news blog.

Sacramento Dharma Center Building

3111 Wissemann Drive
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States + Google Map
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