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 newest Senior Teachers agreeing to join in teaching this meditation course.
Diana Clark
Vance Pryor
Walt Opie
Schedule
Participants meet for six weeks on Tuesday evenings 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm from April 29 through June 3, with a daylong retreat on Saturday, May 24 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 pm. Registration opens two months before the first meeting.
Registration
$50.00 Registration fee
On or after March 1, 2025, 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 for this course, please click here to review SIM’s Registration Refund Policy.
Notify List – Beginning Meditation
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)
3111 Wissemann Drive (or *ZOOM) Sacramento,
CA
95826United States
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 daily life, we have a lot of distractions that can easily cause our minds to be quite scattered and distracted, and lacking in composure or serenity. One aspect of insight meditation practice that we are gently cultivating is what we call concentration, or samadhi in Pali. Buddhist scholar Bhikkhu Analayo says the term samadhi “carries nuances of a bringing together.” He writes that other translations for samadhi include “collectedness” and “composure of the mind.” In this talk, we will explore various aspects of developing greater concentration and how it can help transform our practice and our life.
https://sactoinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SIM-logo-trans.png00David Guerrierihttps://sactoinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SIM-logo-trans.pngDavid Guerrieri2024-08-29 22:00:002024-08-31 18:36:258/29/2024 “Concentration Is Really Composure of the Mind” with Walt Opie
A Practical One Day Exploration with SIM’s Founding Teacher Dennis Warren
For biographical details of the teacher Dennis Warren, click here.
Retreat Theme
My-Self, True-Self, No Self The experience of Anatta (usually translated as no-self or non-self) is the most distinctive, important, and misunderstood feature of Buddhist practice. It is also the experience that can reshape our understanding of suffering, happiness and what may be possible during this lifetime. It is the doorway to deeply experiencing the support and beauty of inter-dependence, embodiment, intuitive wisdom, and the sacredness of being alive on this planet. This day will explore non-self from the perspectives of the Historical Buddha’s psychology, teachings and methods, and their relationship to Western psychology. It will include practices we can integrate into both our daily meditations and lives. The goal of the day is to have a practical, helpful experience of non-self that can act as a foundation for further exploration and development. The subject matter of this one-day will be appropriate for all stages of practice. In person only. No Zoom. Plan on staying on-site for the who day. Bring your own lunch, as well as a pen and note book.
About This Onsite Retreat
The teacher will present in-person at the Sacramento Dharma Center. All participants will attend in-person as the retreat will not be available via Zoom.
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 that you’ll be attending in-person, registering early helps us determine how many people the meditation room should accommodate.
12/28/2024 – Attend and enjoy the wonderful retreat.
12/28/2024 – For registration after the retreat, send a message to the registrar to arrange payment.
Registration
$25 – $50 Registration Fee
After registration opens, select the registration button to indicate you’ll be attending via in-person. The fee is $25.00 per person due before the start of the event. If you are able and interested in further supporting SIM financially, you have the option of a registration fee of either $35 or $50 dollars. Note that fee amounts above the regular rate support Sacramento Insight Meditation and is distinct from teacher dana. 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 for this event, please click here to review SIM’s Registration Refund Policy.
Daylong Retreat with SIM Teacher Reverend Diane Wilde
For biographical details of the teacher Diane Wilde, click here.
About This Hybrid Retreat
The teacher will present in-person at the Sacramento Dharma Center. Participants may attend this Hybrid event via Zoom or in-person at the SDC.
Pre-registration is required and we recommend you pay the registration fee in advance using the registration ATTEND buttons 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.
Death As Our Teacher Just as life is happening all around us, so is death. Human beings appear to be the only species that are conscious of our mortality. Yet most people purposefully ignore this fact of our existence, preferring to put effort, thoughts and practice on “more pleasant things”. We yearn to “wake up”, to let go of our endless attachments and experience contentment and ease in our lives. Paradoxically, facing the death of our loved ones and ourselves, is one of the classic Buddhist teachings for accepting the truth of existence and waking up to impermanence. It is also a teaching that can greatly reduce and perhaps even eliminate the biggest delusion of all… that everyone else will die, except me. By avoiding the reality of our own deaths, we deny ourselves the life-affirming lessons that acceptance of death provides… that life CAN BE lived joyfully and with gratitude. Bring a lunch and plan on staying the entire day.
This daylong may not be suitable for those with anxiety, trauma or those who have recently experienced the death of a loved one.
Summary of Important Dates
09/12/2024 – Registration opens.
10/26/2024 – Attend and enjoy the wonderful retreat.
10/26/2024 – For registration after the retreat, send a message to the registrar to arrange payment.
Registration
Select one of the following registration “ATTEND” buttons to indicate if you’ll be attending via Zoom or in-person. The fee is $25.00 per person due before the start of the event. If you are able and interested in further supporting SIM financially, you have the option of a registration fee of either $35 or $50 dollars. 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.
If you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions, click here.
Teacher Dana
Sacramento Insight Meditation events are sustained by the generosity of instructors in offering teachings freely and on the generosity of students and members of the meditative community in the form of financial support, service and participation in events. With our practice of dana, we support our Sangha. To make a donation for this event using a credit card or PayPal account, click here to DONATE ONLINE.
The link to attend the retreat via Zoom appears in three places: The Zoom link is on this page – select the button “Join Retreat Online” to connect to the meeting.
The Zoom link is included in the automated email sent with your “Attend on Zoom” registration.
To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.
Discursive, subtle states of mind are difficult to isolate which makes it difficult to utilize methods to lessen their negative impact on us. They just seem to be “us”, who we are. Even though they are almost always “invisible”, you can count on experiencing their results… anxiety and more anxiety! The Buddha describes these troubling subtle states of mind as the Ten Fetters. He offers an approach, a sort of “To-Do List” on how to mentally address the Fetters, and what happens when we undertake the process of recognizing them. Tonight we will do a brief overview of the Ten Fetters and their unique properties. We’ll spend additional time on the first fetter, which is the illusion we each have concerning our own personality, or “personality view”. We will explore this first fetter through a few brief mental exercises.
https://sactoinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SIM-logo-trans.png00David Guerrierihttps://sactoinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SIM-logo-trans.pngDavid Guerrieri2024-08-22 22:00:002024-08-22 21:36:188/22/2024 “Walking the Path”with Rich Howard
To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.
Discursive, subtle states of mind are difficult to isolate which makes it difficult to utilize methods to lessen their negative impact on us. They just seem to be “us”, who we are. Even though they are almost always “invisible”, you can count on experiencing their results… anxiety and more anxiety! The Buddha describes these troubling subtle states of mind as the Ten Fetters. He offers an approach, a sort of “To-Do List” on how to mentally address the Fetters, and what happens when we undertake the process of recognizing them. Tonight we will do a brief overview of the Ten Fetters and their unique properties. We’ll spend additional time on the first fetter, which is the illusion we each have concerning our own personality, or “personality view”. We will explore this first fetter through a few brief mental exercises.
https://sactoinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SIM-logo-trans.png00David Guerrierihttps://sactoinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SIM-logo-trans.pngDavid Guerrieri2024-08-15 22:00:002024-08-16 05:16:478/15/2024 “The Buddha’s To-Do List for a Happier Life” with Diane Wilde
To download this talk, right-click and select ‘save audio as’ or select the 3-dot menu to the right of the speaker icon.
How can we find balance and acceptance in the face of suffering, loss, and injustice, in our lives and in the world? Through our practice we find the middle path between complacency and worry.
https://sactoinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SIM-logo-trans.png00David Guerrierihttps://sactoinsight.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/SIM-logo-trans.pngDavid Guerrieri2024-08-01 22:00:002024-08-16 05:17:538/1/2024 “These Are A Few Of My Least Favorite Things” with Seth Castleman
Notice: As of August 2024, this course is full; the course start date has been moved to January 7, 2025 and we invite you to add your name to the wait list.
SIM’s Founding Teacher Dennis Warren will be teaching a new three-month course “Experiencing Insight: The Defining Characteristic of Theravada/Vipassana Buddhism“.
(Hybrid) Beginning Meditation (6-week course)
Meditation Course, Online Remote, Upcoming ClassesApril 29, 2025 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm PDT
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 newest Senior Teachers agreeing to join in teaching this meditation course.
Schedule
Participants meet for six weeks on Tuesday evenings 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm from April 29 through June 3, with a daylong retreat on Saturday, May 24 from 8:30 AM to 4:30 pm. Registration opens two months before the first meeting.
Registration
On or after March 1, 2025, 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 for this course, please click here to review SIM’s Registration Refund Policy.
Notify List – Beginning Meditation
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
8/29/2024 “Concentration Is Really Composure of the Mind” with Walt Opie
Audio DharmaIn daily life, we have a lot of distractions that can easily cause our minds to be quite scattered and distracted, and lacking in composure or serenity. One aspect of insight meditation practice that we are gently cultivating is what we call concentration, or samadhi in Pali. Buddhist scholar Bhikkhu Analayo says the term samadhi “carries nuances of a bringing together.” He writes that other translations for samadhi include “collectedness” and “composure of the mind.” In this talk, we will explore various aspects of developing greater concentration and how it can help transform our practice and our life.
No Monthly November Retreat
Online Remote, RetreatNovember 30 All day
SIM will not be holding the regular end-of-month retreat for November.
(Onsite) Daylong Retreat – Dennis Warren (My-Self, True-Self, No Self)
Online Remote, RetreatDecember 28 @ 9:00 am – 4:30 pm PST
A Practical One Day Exploration with SIM’s Founding Teacher Dennis Warren
For biographical details of the teacher Dennis Warren, click here.
Retreat Theme
My-Self, True-Self, No Self
The experience of Anatta (usually translated as no-self or non-self) is the most distinctive, important, and misunderstood feature of Buddhist practice.
It is also the experience that can reshape our understanding of suffering, happiness and what may be possible during this lifetime. It is the doorway to deeply experiencing the support and beauty of inter-dependence, embodiment, intuitive wisdom, and the sacredness of being alive on this planet.
This day will explore non-self from the perspectives of the Historical Buddha’s psychology, teachings and methods, and their relationship to Western psychology. It will include practices we can integrate into both our daily meditations and lives.
The goal of the day is to have a practical, helpful experience of non-self that can act as a foundation for further exploration and development.
The subject matter of this one-day will be appropriate for all stages of practice. In person only. No Zoom. Plan on staying on-site for the who day. Bring your own lunch, as well as a pen and note book.
About This Onsite Retreat
Summary of Important Dates
Registration
After registration opens, select the registration button to indicate you’ll be attending via in-person. The fee is $25.00 per person due before the start of the event. If you are able and interested in further supporting SIM financially, you have the option of a registration fee of either $35 or $50 dollars. Note that fee amounts above the regular rate support Sacramento Insight Meditation and is distinct from teacher dana. 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 for this event, please click here to review SIM’s Registration Refund Policy.
Hybrid (in-person and online)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States
(Hybrid) Daylong Retreat – Diane Wilde – Death As Our Teacher
Online Remote, RetreatOctober 26 @ 9:00 am – 3:30 pm PDT
Daylong Retreat with SIM Teacher Reverend Diane Wilde
For biographical details of the teacher Diane Wilde, click here.
About This Hybrid Retreat
Retreat Theme
Death As Our Teacher
Just as life is happening all around us, so is death. Human beings appear to be the only species that are conscious of our mortality. Yet most people purposefully ignore this fact of our existence, preferring to put effort, thoughts and practice on “more pleasant things”. We yearn to “wake up”, to let go of our endless attachments and experience contentment and ease in our lives. Paradoxically, facing the death of our loved ones and ourselves, is one of the classic Buddhist teachings for accepting the truth of existence and waking up to impermanence. It is also a teaching that can greatly reduce and perhaps even eliminate the biggest delusion of all… that everyone else will die, except me. By avoiding the reality of our own deaths, we deny ourselves the life-affirming lessons that acceptance of death provides… that life CAN BE lived joyfully and with gratitude.
Bring a lunch and plan on staying the entire day.
Summary of Important Dates
Registration
Select one of the following registration “ATTEND” buttons to indicate if you’ll be attending via Zoom or in-person. The fee is $25.00 per person due before the start of the event. If you are able and interested in further supporting SIM financially, you have the option of a registration fee of either $35 or $50 dollars. 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.
October Daylong registration – Attend in-person
$25.00 – $50.00
Attend In-PersonOctober Daylong registration – Attend on Zoom
$25.00 – $50.00
Attend on ZoomQuestions for the Registrar?
If you need to contact the retreat registrar with any questions, click here.
Teacher Dana
Sacramento Insight Meditation events are sustained by the generosity of instructors in offering teachings freely and on the generosity of students and members of the meditative community in the form of financial support, service and participation in events. With our practice of dana, we support our Sangha. To make a donation for this event using a credit card or PayPal account, click here to DONATE ONLINE.
How to Attend Remotely via Zoom
Hybrid (in-person and online)
Sacramento, CA 95826 United States
8/22/2024 “Walking the Path”with Rich Howard
Audio DharmaDiscursive, subtle states of mind are difficult to isolate which makes it difficult to utilize methods to lessen their negative impact on us. They just seem to be “us”, who we are. Even though they are almost always “invisible”, you can count on experiencing their results… anxiety and more anxiety! The Buddha describes these troubling subtle states of mind as the Ten Fetters. He offers an approach, a sort of “To-Do List” on how to mentally address the Fetters, and what happens when we undertake the process of recognizing them. Tonight we will do a brief overview of the Ten Fetters and their unique properties. We’ll spend additional time on the first fetter, which is the illusion we each have concerning our own personality, or “personality view”. We will explore this first fetter through a few brief mental exercises.
8/15/2024 “The Buddha’s To-Do List for a Happier Life” with Diane Wilde
Audio DharmaDiscursive, subtle states of mind are difficult to isolate which makes it difficult to utilize methods to lessen their negative impact on us. They just seem to be “us”, who we are. Even though they are almost always “invisible”, you can count on experiencing their results… anxiety and more anxiety! The Buddha describes these troubling subtle states of mind as the Ten Fetters. He offers an approach, a sort of “To-Do List” on how to mentally address the Fetters, and what happens when we undertake the process of recognizing them. Tonight we will do a brief overview of the Ten Fetters and their unique properties. We’ll spend additional time on the first fetter, which is the illusion we each have concerning our own personality, or “personality view”. We will explore this first fetter through a few brief mental exercises.
8/8/2024 “Finding Freedom Amidst Difficulties” with Diana Clark
Audio DharmaIn this talk we will explore a well-known Buddhist story, inquiring how we can apply the learnings in the story to our own lives.
8/1/2024 “These Are A Few Of My Least Favorite Things” with Seth Castleman
Audio DharmaHow can we find balance and acceptance in the face of suffering, loss, and injustice, in our lives and in the world? Through our practice we find the middle path between complacency and worry.
New 3-Month Course : Experiencing Insight
NewsSIM’s Founding Teacher Dennis Warren will be teaching a new three-month course “Experiencing Insight: The Defining Characteristic of Theravada/Vipassana Buddhism“.