| |
Special Events
Last Updated: April 20 2008
Buddhist Precepts Class
with Andrea Fella
5 Thursdays, April 3, 10, 17, 24 & May 1, 7:30 - 9:00 pm
This series will explore the Five Precepts — guidelines for virtue
and ethical behavior formulated by the Buddha, not based on
ideas of good and bad, but on the observation that some actions
lead to suffering and some to happiness and freedom.
- April 3: Overview and the first precept: Refraining from killing
- April 10: Refraining from taking what is not given
- April 17: Refraining from sexual misconduct
- April 24: Refraining from false speech
- May 1: Refraining from intoxicants that confuse the mind
Introduction to Buddhism
This class will lead beginning and experienced meditators through the tenets of Buddhist teachings, history and tradition. The aim is to provide students with a basic overview and grounding in Buddhist teachings that will help deepen their meditation practice. Topics include: The life of the Buddha, core teachings, history and development of the different schools, the Pali Canon, and traditional meditation practices.
This event is presented by Sati Center. For more information visit the Sati Center website or contact Sati Center at (650) 223-0311. Pre-registration preferred.
Meditation Retreat Discussion
with Ines Freedman
Sunday, April 6, 11:15 am - 12:45 pm
For those who have never sat a retreat, and those who have but are interested in extended retreat practice. We will discuss:
- A typical retreat day, retreat “etiquette”, interviews, accommodations, food
- Kinds of retreats: Vipassana, metta, monastic, study, abroad, self-retreat
- Preparing for a retreat and post-retreat integration
- Helpful physical hints, including for physical challenges
Mindfulness of the Dharma: The Liberative Process
with Gil Fronsdal
Saturday, April 12, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm
The focus of the day will be the fourth foundation of mindfulness which includes awareness of the inner process which leads to liberation. This will be a standard IMC daylong retreat with instruction and some guided meditation.
The schedule will be alternating periods of 35 minutes sitting and walking meditation separated with brief teachings. Bring lunch.
The Tao & the Dharma: Qigong Retreat
with Franz Moeckl
Saturday, April 19, 10i:00 am - 5:00 pm
In Qigong we experience our body as a pulsating field of energy, through slow, gentle movements in harmony with the breath. In Vipassana we see thoughts and emotions as simple energetic structures. Learn simple movements for strengthening immunity, increasing vitality and well-being.
Franz has practiced Qigong and Taiji for more than 25 years, is a longtime practitioner of Vipassana and teaches internationally.
Dharma Practice Days: Anapanasati
Fridays, April 25, May 30, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
A nine-month program centered around the Friday Dharma Practice Days, focused on the development of Anapanasati, Mindfulness of Breathing. The Anapanasati Sutta details the Buddha's instructions for using the breath as a focus for developing insight and understanding into the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, the Seven Factors of Awakening and ultimately Liberation. A combination of meditation, teachings, and discussions. You may attend any part of the series.Bring lunch.
Recommended readings:
Parenting & Teaching Series:
Mindfulness Workshop for Parents and Teachers
with Lesley Grant
Sunday, April 27, 1:00 - 4:00 pm
An afternoon workshop on mindfulness practice for parents and teachers. Included will be ideas of how children can benefit from mindfulness.
Lesley directs and teaches a mindfulness-based and Waldorf-inspired co-operative program for children.
IMC Board Meetings
Tuesdays, May 6, June 3, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
IMC board meetings are open to the sangha, all are welcome.
Wholesome & Unwholesome Roots Series:
Greed, Hatred & Delusion and their Opposites
Known as the defilements or torments of the mind, greed, aversion or hatred, and delusion are central forces that Buddhist
practice is meant to overcome. The series will focus on these unwholesome roots and their opposites.
Focused & Fearless:
A Meditator’s Guide to States of Deep Joy, Calm and Clarity
Reading and Book-Signing with Shaila Catherine
Friday, May 9, 7:30 - 9:00 pm
In her new book Shaila shares insights, and offers a wise approach to establishing ecstatic meditative states that lead to liberating insight. This is a rich step-by-step guide to the jhanas – a powerful meditative technique that leads us to fearless and
deep joy, radiant calm and a truly abiding happiness. Please join us to celebrate Shaila’s new book.
Shaila Catherine has been practicing meditation since 1980, with seven years of accumulated silent retreat experience. In recent years she has focused on developing concentration, completing a one year jhana retreat at the Forest Refuge.
Daylong Retreat
with Richard Shankman
Saturday, May 10, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
A retreat emphasizing both concentration and mindfulness, with alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation. Concentration and mindfulness develop together, supporting each other to deepen insight. There will be direction in mindfulness of the breath, body, emotions, and thoughts. The day will be held mostly in silence with one or two short talks. Recommended for both beginners and experienced practitioners. Bring lunch.
Creative Mind, Meditative Mind Retreat
with Carolyn Dille
Saturday, May 17, 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
During this day we’ll explore some of the mental faculties used in meditation and in art-making through meditation, writing and drawing, and inquiry. We’ll focus on the Buddha’s Four Noble Truths and on creative insights. Please bring materials for writing and drawing, and a lunch if you like.
Cooking Class at IMC: Cooking Your Life
with Edward Espe Brown
Sunday, May 18, 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Food is mystery, source, and sustenance. Cooking is seeing, smelling, tasting, touching, and meeting oneself, food, and others. To eat with enjoyment is a blessing. This class will be a way to enhance your capacity to cook, to trust and develop your own sensibilities. We will make a few dishes, perhaps bake bread, study cutting techniques, and partake in structured tastings. We will share what it is to do spiritual practice in the kitchen. Class is limited to 20; contact Surja.
Edward Espe Brown is a Zen priest and author of The Tassajara Bread Book and Tomato Blessings & Radish Teachings. A teacher of meditation and cooking, he is also a student of Vipassana, yoga, cranio-sacral, handwriting change, and chi gung and a lover of poetry. Most recently he is featured in the movie How to Cook Your Life, directed by Doris Dorrie, released in the fall of 2007. Teaching schedule is listed at www.peacefulseasangha.com.
Taking Refuge: Class & Ceremony
with Gil Fronsdal
5 Wednesdays, May 21, 28, June 4, 11, 18, 7:30 - 9:00 pm
For those who would like to formally take refuge in the Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha, we will have four classes exploring the
meaning of “taking refuge.” Then, on the evening of June 18, we
will meet for a sitting, dharma talk, and refuge ceremony. Those
who have been in the refuge ceremony before are encouraged to
come again to provide support and inspiration.
Taking refuge is one of the most common rituals a lay practitioner
performs in Theravada Buddhism. While it is done as a matter of
course at ceremonies during retreats and when visiting a temple,
it can be a pivotal moment when, for the first time, one takes
refuge with a conscious intent of orienting one’s life in accordance
to one’s deepest values and aspirations. Relating our practice
to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, helps insure that our
practice is not limited only to intellectual concerns or issues of
personal therapy. It helps solidify a wide foundation of trust and
respect from which true mindfulness practice can grow.
Spirit Rock 20th Anniversary Retreat: Emptiness & Compassion
with Gil Fronsdal & Guy Armstrong
Saturday, May 31, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
A benefit for Spirit Rock's capital campaign.
Parenting & Teaching From the Inside Out
with Amy Saltzman, M.D.
Sunday, June 1, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
An evening to explore the application of mindfulness to the complex, sometimes overwhelming responsibilities of daily life with children, and to discuss what is happening nationally in teaching mindfulness to children.
Improv the Buddha Would Love
with Nina Wise & Jim Bronson
Saturday, May 31, 7:30 - 9:30 pm
An evening of games and philosophy that focuses on improvisation as a mindfulness practice. When players improvise on stage they
agree to support each other wholeheartedly, to pay careful attention
to what is happening in the moment, and to act constructively. Not
about comedy, but instead about common sense, about mining the
moment. You need no special talent, training or ability to take part.
Just show up, dressed to move comfortably and be ready to laugh.
Nina Wise is known for her provocative and original performance
works. Her pieces have garnered seven Bay Area Critics' Circle Awards,
and she has received, among other prestigious honors, three NEA
fellowships. Her written pieces have appeared in numerous magazines
and anthologies and Nina has presented many workshops at Spirit Rock.
Retirement & the Second Half of Life
with Maria Straatmann
Saturday, June 14, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm
This will be an interactive day exploring the questions that arise
at this transition: “Who am I now that I am no longer [fill in the
blank]? Where do I find meaning in my life?” What are we retiring from and what do we retire toward? In coping with the natural
challenges of an aging body to the possibilities of elderhood,
encompassing loss and unexpected joys, how does Buddhist
practice shape/encourage the answers to these and other questions about our changing lives? What role does our spirituality
embrace in this transition? Join us for a day of quiet reflection,
discussion, meditation and exercises of discovery and sharing
with others in this stage of our lives. Bring a lunch.
Maria Straatmann is a former scientist and businesswoman. A
graduate of the Sati Center Buddhist Chaplaincy Program and
Metta Institute End of Life Counselor Training, she volunteers
with Zen Hospice Project, West Marin Senior Services and the
Commonweal Support Group for People with Heart Disease.
IMC Community Meeting
Wednesday, June 25, 7:30 - 9:00 pm
Everyone who participates at IMC is welcome to come to a community meeting. Gil will speak for ten minutes on being part of a Buddhist community and for another few minutes on news of things happening at IMC. This will be followed by an open discussion about a variety of issues related to our IMC community.
Weekend Program With Bhante Gunaratana
Saturday - Sunday, July 12 - 13
Bhante
Henepola Gunaratana is the founding abbot of the Bhavana Society. Born in rural Sri Lanka, he has been a monk since age 12 and took full ordination at age 20 in 1947. He came to the United States in 1968. “Bhante G” has written a number of books, including the now-classic meditation manual Mindfulness In Plain English and its companion Eight
Mindful Steps to Happiness.
- Saturday 7/12: Discourse on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness
- Sunday 7/13: The Dhammapada
This event is presented by Sati Center. For more information visit the Sati Center website or contact Sati Center at (650) 223-0311. Pre-registration preferred.
Online Course: Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation
with Gil Fronsdal & Ines Freedman
July 14 - September 1
Click here for details.
Polishing the Mirror: Relationships As Practice
What helps us to take our relationships—with friends, at work, in our communities, with our partners—as spiritual practice? How do we cultivate the qualities of mindfulness, wisdom, compassion, and skillful action in the midst of interaction? In this daylong, we will explore how our relationships can nourish our awakening. Along with periods of silent practice, we will introduce a number of relational practices that participants can take home, involving speech; mindfulness of self, other, and the relationship itself; working with interpersonal challenges; community.
Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program
with Jennifer Block, Gil Fronsdal, Paul Haller, and a variety of guest teachers
One Friday a month from September 19, 2008 to July 2009
The Sati Center for Buddhist Studies is offering a year-long training in Buddhist chaplaincy and spiritual caregiving, oriented to Buddhist practitioners with at least four years of committed practice. Its aim is to provide a strong foundation in Buddhist chaplaincy for volunteer chaplains, those working toward being professional chaplains, and those serving the pastoral needs of their local sanghas.
For more information visit the Sati Center website or contact Sati Center at (650) 223-0311.
Sutta Study Program
with Gil Fronsdal, presented by Sati
Center
One Friday a month from October 5, 2007 to June 27, 2008, 9:30 am
- 3:30 pm
(note: two Fridays in June)
2008: April 4, May 2, June 6, June 27
2008 - 2009 series starts October 3
In this 9-month Sutta
Study Program, Gil Fronsdal will lead a systematic study of
the Middle Length Discourses (Majjhima Nikaya),
one of the most important collections of the Buddha’s teachings.
As both a Buddhist teacher and a Buddhist scholar, Gil’s lectures
will be both practical and scholarly. The course is designed for
those who have already been introduced to the basics of Buddhist
teachings and practice and have the time and motivation to carefully
read through the assigned readings from this collection. Participants
will be expected to come to the classes having read and reflected
on the readings assigned for that day. There may also be some short
written assignments.
Ten classes will be organized around the themes of The Dharma,
The Buddha, The Path of Practice, Karma, Right Effort, Renunciation,
Meditation, The Four Noble Truths, Not-clinging, and Liberation.
Reading: The Middle Length Discourses
translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi. Please read MN # 95, 63, 58,
and 21 before the first class meeting.
Registration: Send an email stating your intention
to participate to suttastudy@sati.org.
Provide an email address we can use to contact you as there may
be additional readings or instructions.
|
|
