Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Visiting Mentor, Heather Sundberg

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The specific topic of Heather’s talk is to be announced. The talk is part of a series of talks on “Suttas that Speak to Us”.

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Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Diane Wilde

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Thursday, March 10, 7-9:00 pm. Sitting and Dharma Discussion with Diane Wilde, SIM Community Mentor
Suttas that speak to us…

King Pasenadi and his worldly challenges

King Pasenadi was a contemporary of the Buddha and apparently became a treasured acquaintance as well as a supporter of the early sangha. An entire section of the Samyutta Nikaya (one of the “books” in the Pali Cannon) is devoted exclusively to twenty-five conversations Pasenadi had with the Buddha. King Pasenadi spent a great deal of time thoughtfully dissecting his everyday life, relating to the Buddha his challenges and reflections. His issues certainly stand the test of time! Marriage difficulties, over-eating, corruption, tolerance of other faiths, dealing with grief, hypocrisy… Pasenadi lived fully in the world with all of its concerns. We will explore King Pasenadi’s world, and specifically the suttas where he raises questions about the “self” and how to hold our sense of self. Taking it one step further, how does an inherent sense of “me” coexist with the training of “anatta’” i.e. the absence of a permanent abiding self? It should be an interesting discussion.

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

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Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Rich Howard

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Thursday, March 24, 7-9:15 pm. Sitting and Dharma Talk with Rich Howard, SIM Community Mentor
Satipatthana Sutta – WITH SIM COMMUNITY MENTOR RICH HOWARD – THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 – 7:00-9:15 PM

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 will approach the Satipatthana Sutta as if in conversation with a good friend, looking literally at how it speaks to us as practitioners of insight meditation.

This evening’s talk will lead into SIM’s monthly daylong retreat on Saturday March 26 (see description below under Upcoming Events).

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

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Sit & Dharma Talk with Long Time SIM Community Member, Laura Rosenthal

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Thursday, January 14, 7-9 pm. Sitting and Dharma Talk with Laura Rosenthal

“Views and Opinions: With Friends Like This Who Needs Enemies?”

According to the Pali suttas (discourses, or “sutras” in Sanskrit), the historical Buddha was asked to teach about many topics, including lofty questions about the nature of the universe – but refused. Why is this? And what can it teach us about a fruitful attitude toward practice? Join Laura Rosenthal, a long-time SIM participant and graduate of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program, for a discussion of a few Buddhist texts that cast light on these questions.

This is the beginning of a SIM series highlighting some suttas we have found particularly meaningful.

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Sit & Dharma Talk with SIM Community Mentor, Rich Howard

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The talk is part of a series of talks on “Suttas that Speak to Us”. The specific topic of Rich’s talk is to be announced.

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Introduction to Meditation with Long Time SIM Community Member, Laura Rosenthal

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A 45-minute introduction to meditation with SIM Community Mentor, Laura Rosenthal. All are welcome!

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