St. John’s Women and Children Project Dinner Service

Cooks arrive at 3 pm and leave by 5 pm.  Servers arrive at 5 pm and leave by 6:30 pm after dinner service.  Please contact Roseanne as space for volunteers is limited.  She will also provide the location.

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SIM Board of Director Meeting. All are welcome!

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Sit & Dharma Talk with Visiting Teacher Doug Kraft

Infinitely Expanding Self

When the Buddha spoke of selflessness and the impersonal, he never said we don’t have a self, only that we have no independent, permanent self that separates us. By allowing identity to gently expand, the boundaries between self and other thin out and disappear. This leads us to the core of the Buddha’s teaching. Because of the evolution of human consciousness, this practice of expanding our identity is more available to us in the 21st century CE than it was in the 5th century BC when the Buddha taught.

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July 25th, One Day Retreat with Founding Instructor Dennis Warren.

The theme of the one day will be Anatta. Remember that we are attempting to approach this from a hands-on, non-intellectual approach. That doesn’t mean that we don’t need to have a good conceptual understanding of Anatta and how it fits into the framework, the infrastructure of Buddhist psychology and practice. We do. But it means that we are not attempting to deal with this topic as philosophy or speculation. That approach is not consistent with the Buddha’s teachings.

For Reflection prior to the Retreat, please review and reflect on the following Questions.

For more information, please see the Flyer

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Sit & Dharma Talk with Founding Instructor Dennis Warren

THE CONDITIONS THAT NURTURE & SUSTAIN COMMUNITY AND INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE – CONTEMPORARY MEDITATION COMMUNITIES AND THE SACRAMENTO INSIGHT MEDITATION MODEL

Please review the two following Sutta’s: Dispute & Cordiality

The community of practitioners that surrounded the historical Buddha were introduced to the teachings, methods and psychology through a consciously created organizational structure and well thought out components.

Western Buddhist meditation centers have begun to create a new model combining traditional structures and components with new elements designed to make practice more welcoming and relevant to Western practitioners.

This evening with SIM’s founding teacher Dennis Warren will examine this fascinating development in Buddhist history and development. He will focus specifically on the structure and components of the Sacramento Insight Meditation model as offering the potential for a combining practice and community into a nourishing, dynamic, unified whole.

Dennis’ presentation on this evening with be the second of two addressing the foundations of community and practice from a Buddhist perspective; what makes them work; and what conditions cause both community and practice to weaken and deteriorate.

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Sit & Dharma Talk with Founding Instructor Dennis Warren.

THE CONDITIONS THAT NURTURE & SUSTAIN COMMUNITY AND INDIVIDUAL PRACTICE – THE HISTORICAL STRUCTURES AND COMPONENTS

The community of practitioners that surrounded the historical Buddha were introduced to the teachings, methods and psychology through a consciously created organizational structure and well thought out components.

This evening with SIM’s Founding Teacher Dennis Warren will examine the historical structure and components of community and practice developed by the Historical Buddha, as well as how they have changed over the last 2500 years.

Dennis’ presentation on this evening with be the first of two addressing the foundations of community and practice from a Buddhist perspective; what makes them work; and what conditions cause both community and practice to weaken and deteriorate.

 

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Everyday Practice With The Aspiration Of Awakening with Dennis Warren

One of the most elusive, yet fundamental, elements of Buddhist psychology and practice is the idea that we can be transformed in some genuinely permanent way through our practice, and that we can be “liberated” from what burdens our minds and hearts. Buddhist practice promises the possibility of a lasting peace and satisfaction that is not dependent on external circumstances.

This one day retreat will focus on the meaning of Awakening or Enlightenment in realistic terms for those practicing at a community, non-monastic, level. We’ll explore the question “What may be possible in this lifetime through practice?” We’ll examine specific daily life, relationship and meditation practices designed to move our practices toward Awakening. The day will involve sitting and walking meditation; practice instruction; a dharma talk; and plenty of time for questions, answers and discussion. The day will be led by SIM’s Founding Teacher Dennis Warren.

This one day retreat will begin at 8:30 and end at 4:00 pm. Please bring a lunch and plan on staying on site during the lunch hour and during the whole day. The event will take place at the Sacramento Friends Meeting house, 890 57th Street.

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