11/10/2022 “An Introduction to the Abhidhamma” with Tony Bernhard

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11/03/2022 “Finding the Middle Way in Practice” with Rich Howard

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The Buddha described the path of awakening as the “Middle Way.” This Middle Way is key to the most basic and important teachings of the Buddha – the Noble Eightfold Path, Dependent Origination, and the practice of meditation. On this evening, we will explore how understanding the Middle Way informs our practice all along the path.

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10/27/2022 “Revisiting Fundamentals: Mindfulness of Direct Experience v Ideas” with Dennis Warren

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Buddhist practice is based on the idea of “directly” exploring experiences and events that come into our awareness. What does “directly” experiencing or “direct experience” really mean? How does it relate to thinking and conceptualizing? Is it different, and in what way, from the experience of ideas? The answers to these questions influence and shape our understanding of, and our ability to work with, all of the teachings and methods in practice. This will be the focus of our discussion this evening.
This subject is appropriate for all stages of practice. You can attend in person or by ZOOM. Dennis will be presenting in person and encourages you to be there in person as well.

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Holiday Fundraiser – Adopt a Family

Shown below is a post from Vicki about the gifts shopped for and delivered:

Update on gifts for St. Johns
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10/20/2022 “Reflections on Letting Go” with Gullu Singh

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Event Attendance Policy Update

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A message from the Sacramento Insight Meditation Board of Directors

The SIM Board is continuing to monitor developments regarding the Delta AND the Omicron variants of Covid19. After careful review of the latest available evidence, we have decided that it continues to be safe to maintain a hybrid program of in-person and Zoom attendance for now. We want to share with you not only our decision, but also the thinking behind it.

  • VACCINATION PROVIDES OUR GREATEST PROTECTION – Vaccination continues to provide good protection from infection and serious illness due to both Delta and Omicron, and we strongly urge all members of our community to be vaccinated. We also recommend you receive a booster vaccination, according to the CDC guidelines, no later than seven days before attending events in person. Booster vaccines are recommended after 2 months for everyone vaccinated with the J&J vaccine and 6 months after either their second Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. If anyone would like to be vaccinated but hasn’t been able to do so, we would be glad to help. We want to send a clear message that anyone who is not fully vaccinated should NOT attend SIM events in person for their own safety and the safety of others. Those who choose to remain unvaccinated are welcome to participate remotely on Zoom and not attend in person.
  • MASKING, DISTANCING AND AIR FILTRATION PROVIDE ADDITIONAL PROTECTION – To maximize safety, we will continue to require indoor masking, and high quality KN95 masks will be available at the door to anyone who would like one. We will continue to arrange socially distanced seating, and for lunch time and break periods to make maximal use of our two high-quality HEPA air filters. All of this creates a low-risk environment in which we feel that we can safely practice together.
  • PRACTICING TOGETHER PROVIDES IMPORTANT SUPPORT FOR OUR COMMUNITY – We do not want the focus on minimizing risk to overshadow the benefits that we are striving to provide to our community, namely the opportunity for us to practice together. After this long period of isolation and loneliness, coming together to practice as a sangha is an opportunity that we truly value.

We understand that each of us, including our teachers, will need to evaluate the personal risks and benefits of in-person attendance and make individual decisions about how to attend SIM. All of us on the Board want to support you in whatever you choose to do. We extend sincere thanks to the members of our audiovisual and set-up teams who have agreed to participate in making in-person attendance possible.

With deep gratitude to all of you who have remained faithful supporters of our sangha,


Jon Siiteri, for the SIM Board of Directors, December 7, 2021 (republished on 10/17/22)

(For other related resources posted by SIM, visit https://sactoinsight.org/pandemic-news/)

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10/13/2022 “Contemplating Impermanence through our Relation to Time” with Andrea Castillo

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“All conditioned things are impermanent.
They arise and they pass away.
Understanding this deeply brings
the greatest happiness, which is peace.”

The insight into impermanence, the first of the three universal characteristics, is essential in developing wisdom. In this talk we will be contemplating impermanence through the perspective of time and how we relate to time. 

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10/06/2022 “Fear of Freedom” with Diane Wilde with Eric Clark

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Everybody talks about freedom, demands freedom, struggles for freedom and are willing to fight for freedom. Freedom is in the news; people make stirring speeches insisting they be given their freedom. Demanding freedom is a much easier task than actually experiencing and practicing true freedom. Perhaps this is because true freedom can be frightening, painful and disorienting.  As Janice Joplin sang: “Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.” There is a lot of wisdom in that phrase.

Incarcerated people and ”returning citizens” who crave freedom may be the best source of understanding how we long for freedom, and yet find in the traditional sense, it is not what we/they expected.  Please join us for this important discussion.

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New 9-Month Course : The Noble Eightfold Path

SIM’s Community Teacher Diane Wilde will be teaching a new nine-month course “The Noble Eightfold Path: A Path for Living with Contentment, Compassion and Purpose“. This 2023 course offering runs monthly from March 19 through November 19, meeting in-person at the Dharma Center. For more information or to register now, visit the course overview page listed below.

The Noble Eightfold Path
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09/29/2022 “Settling the Mind” with Diana Clark

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Having a mind that is collected and settled is not only a pleasant experience, but it is also a support for greater wisdom and letting go.  Given this, how can we encourage the mind to settle without straining or bearing down?

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