This section outlines the Terms of Use for this website. By using this website you are agreeing to comply with, and be bound by, the following terms and conditions of use
Content. The content of this website is for your general use, information and enjoyment. It is subject to change without notice.
Purpose—No Warranties. SIM does not provide any warranty or guarantee as to the accuracy, completeness or suitability of the information on this website for any particular purpose. You acknowledge that inaccuracies or errors may be present and waive any related cause of legal action to the fullest extent possible permitted by law.
Use—Assumption of Risk. It is your responsibility to determine whether the information of this website is appropriate for your specific interests and needs. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. You waive any legal cause of action against SIM related to such risk.
Products. We do not sell or ship any products.
Refunds. As a general rule, we do not refund registration or administrative fees. In those cases where a refund is possible, the specific terms and conditions will be stated on the webpage for that event and on related promotional material.
Donations. SIM is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Tax deductible donations made to SIM through this website are for the fixed operating expenses of the organization; the development of new programs; and to extend support to those providing teachings.
Ownership & Copyrights. This website contains material which is owned by SIM. This includes the design, layout, look, appearance, graphics, essays, poems and audio talks, among others. Reproduction is prohibited without advanced written approval from SIM or the designated copyright holder.
Links. Links to other websites may appear on this website. These links are provided for informational purposes and do not signify SIM’s endorsement of the website(s). SIM assumes no responsibility for the content of linked website(s).
Privacy Statement. SIM may retain your identify and contact information for purposes of communicating with you about a donation you make or our relationship with you. Such information may be retained if you supply that information in response to a request on this website or through a donation. We do not share identity and contact information third parties.
Governing Law. Your use of this website and any dispute arising out of such use are subject to the laws of California, United States of America.
Contacting SIM. You can contact us at info@sactoinsight.org or at our office in the Sacramento Dharma Center located at 3111 Wisseman Dr., Sacramento, California, 95826.
08/26/23 “Mind and mirage – A neurodharma perspective on the five aggregates (skandhas)” with Rick Maddock
Audio DharmaThis is a teaching and practice daylong that will include dharma talks alternating with sitting & walking meditation periods. Today’s theme will be the early Buddhist teachings on the aggregates and how they converge with the insights of modern neuroscience. There will be a particular focus on feeling (Vedanā), perception (Sañña), and intention (Saṅkhāra), and on ways of practicing with our experiences of these aggregates in meditation and in daily life.
Invitation to All Sanghas – an afternoon with Hozan Alan Senauke (Canceled)
SDCSeptember 10, 2023 @ 12:30 pm – 5:30 pm PDT
Envisioning the Future of SDC and Our Sanghas, Now and For the Next Generation
Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group, Valley Streams Zen Sangha, Sacramento Insight Meditation, and the Sacramento Dharma Center invite EVERYONE to an afternoon with Hozan Alan Senauke.
Hozan Alan Senauke will lead a discussion on the future among all of our sanghas and the Sacramento Dharma Center. Bring your questions, concerns, and thoughts about YOUR vision of the future of the Sacramento Dharma Center.
Hozan is also a musician, and as a bonus, promises some musical entertainment!
Hozan Alan Senauke has been an engaged Buddhist activist for many years. He is currently Abbott of the San Francisco Zen Center and was the director of Buddhist Peace Fellowship for many years. Alan was a founder of Think Sangha, a group of writers and intellectuals that are affiliated with the BPF and the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. Think Sangha is a group of individuals who meet together to identify some of the most pressing social issues that they feel engaged Buddhists should be addressing. He is also the founder of the Clear View Project, which focuses on social change and relief efforts in Asia, most recently in Burma.
Sacramento Dharma Center Building
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States + Google Map 916-386-9844
View Venue Website
08/24/23 “How intentions shape our experience: Converging views from neuroscience and early Buddhism” with Rick Maddock
Audio DharmaSaṅkhāra is a word with many levels of meaning in early Buddhism. This talk will focus on its meaning as one of the five aggregates (skandhas), where it is often translated with such terms as volitions and intentions. People often strongly identify with their volitions and intentions. The Buddha taught about the dangers of clinging to and identifying with sankharas. The Foam Sutta describes sankhara with the analogy of a carpenter in need of heartwood who goes to a forest and cuts down a plantain tree. But when he cuts into the tree trunk, he finds it is only layers of sheaths. There is no heartwood there. The perspective of modern neuroscience leads to a similar understanding of volition and intentions.
08/17/2023 “Revisiting Fundamentals: Resolve/Determination” with Dennis Warren
Audio DharmaWhy do some people face serious challenges, then go on to persevere or thrive, while others collapse, give up or quit? Why does facing serious difficulties result in some becoming stronger and more resilient, while seeming to break others?
Revolve or Determination is considered a pivotal skill in Buddhism. It implements and facilitates Intention and Aspiration. That’s what make it a Parami, a special quality of mind essential to deepening and maturing our meditation practice, as well as living a full and satisfying life. It is an elemental tool in working with difficulty, challenge, confusion, and doubt.
Dennis encourages you to watch a two-minute video entitled “Movements as Your Teacher Not as Taskmaster” by Ido Portal in preparation for this Thursday evening. Substitute “practice methods” for the word “movement” as you listen to the session. Then reflect on what, if anything, this has to do with your own meditation practice and your life.
(Hybrid) Beginning Meditation (6-week course)
Meditation Course, Online Remote, Upcoming ClassesFebruary 13 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm PST
Overview
This Beginning Meditation is a 6-week course that provides the basic techniques for learning Insight Meditation (vipassana), both during sitting meditation and in daily life. This is insight meditation that has been handed down from the time of the Buddha. This course is intended as an introduction to the practice of meditation as it is taught at the Sacramento Insight Meditation group. As an introduction to meditation, it is meant to support and encourage you to take up the practice of meditation and to see if meditation is a worthwhile activity in your life. Visit our course overview page for more information about the course format and content.
An exciting development for this particular offering includes
SIM’s Legacy Project teachers agreeing to join in teaching this meditation course.
Schedule
The class meets for six weeks on Tuesday evenings 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm from February 13 through March19, with a daylong retreat on Saturday, March 16 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 pm.
Registration
Select the “REGISTER” button to indicate you’ll be attending. If you have any questions, please contact the registrar for information or assistance.
Before registering to this course, click here to review the terms of use for this website.
Registration – Beginning Meditation Course
$50.00
Sold OutWait List
If registration isn't open yet, use this form to add your name to the notify list and we'll send you a reminder email as the registration open date approaches.
Hybrid (in-person and online)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States
(Zoom) Introduction to Meditation with Rich Howard
Meditation Course, Upcoming ClassesAugust 24, 2023 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm PDT
This 45-minute course is suitable for beginners or anyone who would like a refresher. It is offered on the fourth Thursday of every-other-month before the regular sitting and dharma talk. There is a $10 registration fee.
RICH HOWARD has been an active practitioner and volunteer at SIM since 2004. His area of interest is bringing meditative awareness into everyday life. He participated in SIM’s 2007 India Pilgrimage and is a graduate of SIM’s second Practice Development and Leadership (PDL) program. He served on the Board from 2010 until 2015, the last two years as president. He was one of the SIM representatives to the Inter-Sangha Coordinating Committee, predecessor to the Sacramento Dharma Center Board, which now runs our shared space for Buddhist sanghas in Sacramento. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in southern Africa in the 1970s and is fluent in Spanish. His teachers are Dennis Warren, Tony Bernhard, and Steve Armstrong. Rich completed online courses with Steve on the Abhidhamma (the Buddhist psychology) and the Manual of Insight. He took Gil Fronsdal’s online course on the Majjhima Nikaya (Middle-length Discourses of the Buddha). His interest in the environment led him to the One Small Planet training with Kerry Nelson and the Ecosattva training with One Earth Sangha. In 2018, he completed a 10-month Dhamma Awareness Training with Steve Armstrong and Kamala Masters called Touching the Earth. In 2019, he completed Meg Gawler’s 8-month course Preparing the Ground for Samadhi.
Registration
Use the “Register Now” button to visit our secure online payment page. For the registration fee, we also accept personal checks; contact the course registrar for more information.
Before registering to this course, click here to review the terms of use for this website.
Intro to Meditation
$10.00
Register NowHybrid (in-person and online)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States
(Onsite) A Year to Live – 2024
Meditation Course, Upcoming ClassesDecember 17, 2023 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm PST
This is a 12-month course lead by SIM Community Teacher Diane Wilde. The course meets in-person, monthly in 2024 from January through December on the third Sunday of each month from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. There will be an introduction to the course on December 17, 2023 (2:00 pm to 4:00 pm). For more information, visit the course overview page at A Year to Live.
Registration Closed
Use the “Register Now” button to visit our secure online payment page. For the registration fee, we also accept personal checks; contact the course registrar for more information.
Before registering to this course, click here to review the terms of use for this website.
A Year to Live 12-month Course
$35.00
Sold OutNotification List
If the registration payment page shows SOLD OUT, use this form to add your name to the wait list and we’ll contact you should space become available.
Hybrid (in-person and online)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States
SIM 2023 Residential Retreat
NewsJoin us for our Residential Retreat at the beautiful Mercy Center in Auburn, CA from Sunday, November 12 through Sunday November 19, 2023. We are fortunate to have Senior Teacher Greg Scharf (who is a Guiding Teacher at the Insight Meditation Society) leading our retreat this year.
We’ve posted additional information about this retreat – registration opens on Saturday, September 9, 2023. For more information visit https://sactoinsight.org/event/2023-sim-residential-retreat/.
(Hybrid) Young Persons Sangha
Online Remote, Young Person SanghaAugust 23, 2023 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm PDT
The Young Persons Sangha is a meditation group for people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The group meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays in a hybrid format. Attend in person at the Sacramento Dharma Center or online via Zoom.
Join online meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/join ( Meeting ID: 870 3074 5197) Passcode: 501883
Join by phone: Dial 1-669-900-6833. For tips and instructions on how to participate, check this news blog.
Young Person Sangha Dana
Please use the form above to donate by credit card or your PayPal account. Enter the amount you’d like to support our Young Persons Sangha.
Hybrid (in-person and online)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States
(Hybrid) Young Persons Sangha
Online Remote, Young Person SanghaAugust 9, 2023 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm PDT
The Young Persons Sangha is a meditation group for people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The group meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays in a hybrid format. Attend in person at the Sacramento Dharma Center or online via Zoom.
Join online meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/join ( Meeting ID: 870 3074 5197) Passcode: 501883
Join by phone: Dial 1-669-900-6833. For tips and instructions on how to participate, check this news blog.
Young Person Sangha Dana
Please use the form above to donate by credit card or your PayPal account. Enter the amount you’d like to support our Young Persons Sangha.