Special Events

Series: Body and Mind with Andrea Fella

Series: Body and Mind with Andrea Fella

Five Thursday Evenings:  February 10,17, March 3, 10, 17 In this five week series, we will explore how mindfulness of the body can help us to become more familiar with our minds.  We will begin with mindfulness of the elemental nature of physical experience. Over the weeks of the course, we will explore a variety of mental processes, such as emotions, feeling tone, perception and knowing, and look at how we can become mindfully aware of these processes in relationship…

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Refuges Class with Gil Fronsdal & Andrea Fella

Refuges Class with Gil Fronsdal & Andrea Fella

Tuesdays, May 3 to June 14, 7 to 9pm No meetings on May 17, June 7 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 14, 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…

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Creativity & Meditation with Carloyn Dille

Creativity & Meditation with Carloyn Dille

Saturday, April 2, 2011, 9:30am – 4:00pm In this day we’ll explore some of the practices that meditation and the creative arts share.  Through concentration, mindfulness, imagination, and energy we’ll deepen an open awareness of both meditation and creativity.  Bring materials for drawing and writing and a lunch. Carolyn is a poet and teacher, a Sati Center board member, and a Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader.

Practicing Sila; The Precepts, Karma and Liberation with Tony Bernhard

Practicing Sila; The Precepts, Karma and Liberation with Tony Bernhard

Thursdays, January 13, to February 3, 2011, 7:30pm – 9:00pm A 4-week series on Sila (virtue, moral conduct), the cornerstone upon which the entire Noble Eightfold Path is built. Tony Bernhard is one of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders. He sits on the board of the Sati Center, is a member of the Spirit Rock Planning Committee and hosts sitting groups and teaches dharma in Davis, CA.

Women’s Daylong with Andrea Fella

Women’s Daylong with Andrea Fella

Saturday, March 5, 9am to 4:30pm Offers a space for women to gather in silence and community.  Alternate periods of sitting and walking meditation, with instruction, questions, and a Dharma Talk. At the end of the day, we will gather in community to share refreshment  and mindful speech. Bring your own lunch (in silence) and refreshment to share for the afternoon gathering, if you wish.

Mindfulness of Mind Daylong with Andrea Fella

Mindfulness of Mind Daylong with Andrea Fella

Saturday, February 26, 9:30am to 4:30pm Taught in the style of U Tejaniya.  The simplicity, silence and support of retreats contribute to letting go of many distractions that get in the way of clear seeing and for developing a continuity of awareness.  We will explore relaxed open awareness with an emphasis on qualities of mind, and the attitude towards one’s experience.. The retreat will alternate periods of sitting & walking with instructions & discussion. The day will be primarily in…

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End-of-Life Training, A Two-Day Workshop

End-of-Life Training, A Two-Day Workshop

Saturdays, January 29 and February 5, 2011, 9am to 5pm Contemplating death and dying are important subjects that can deepen Buddhist practice.  What is really important in the face or our inevitable death? What can we do to prepare ourselves to face our death and to skillfully help others face theirs?  What can help us be mindful and peaceful when we are dying or when we are attending to others who are dying?   This two-day workshop will address these (paradoxically) life-enhancing questions. To participate, please…

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Sati Center: Sutta Study, The Discourse on the Buddha’s Last Days with Gil Fronsdal

Sati Center: Sutta Study, The Discourse on the Buddha’s Last Days with Gil Fronsdal

Friday, January 21, 2011, 9:30am – 3:30pm The Discourse on the Buddha’s Last Days: One of the most important of the early Buddhist discourses is the one that narrates the last days of the Buddha’s life. Knowing his death is approaching the Buddha gives some of his most significant and direct teachings.

Sati Center: Learning from the Ancient Buddhist Nuns – Buddhist Teachings in the Therigatha with Nona Olivia

Sati Center: Learning from the Ancient Buddhist Nuns – Buddhist Teachings in the Therigatha with Nona Olivia

Saturday, January 15, 2011, 9am to 4:30pm The Therigatha, or the Verses of the Nuns, is the oldest collection of teachings from Buddhist women teachers.  The verses give important insight into the lives of the nuns who lived at the time of the Buddha.  In this daylong class we will examine how the verses reveal the close relationships among these early nuns.  We will focus closely on the verses which reveal how the nuns taught the Buddha’s teachings to each…

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“A Monastery Within”: Celebration and Book Signing with Gil Fronsdal

“A Monastery Within”: Celebration and Book Signing with Gil Fronsdal

Wednesday, January 5, 2011, 7 to 8:30pm 7:00 pm  Reception 7:30 – 8:30 pm Talk and Reading Gil will give talk about the role of stories in teaching the Dharma and then read from his new book of Dharma tales, many of which he composed for use in his Dharma talks. Gil’s new book will be available for purchase and he will be happy to sign the book.

Thanksgiving Morning Yoga and Sitting Meditation with Terry Lesser

Thanksgiving Morning Yoga and Sitting Meditation with Terry Lesser

Thursday, November 25, 2010 8:30 – 10:15 am “Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy – because we will always want to have something else or something more.” -Brother David Steindl-Rast Certainly we can be thankful for the precious opportunity to practice together. In silent sitting and movement, this morning is appropriate for all, regardless…

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Sati Center: Dependent Origination with Leigh Brasington

Sati Center: Dependent Origination with Leigh Brasington

Saturday, March 19, 2011, 9am to 5pm “He who sees dependent origination sees the Dhamma; he who sees the Dhamma sees dependent origination.” Majjhima Nikaya 28. The teachings on the interdependence of phenomena are the heart of the Buddha’s wisdom teachings. Dependent origination is often described as a chain of 12 links – which we will look at in detail. But it also has many other important implications which we will also discuss. Leigh Brasington has been practicing meditation since…

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Daylong Retreat with Gil Fronsdal

Daylong Retreat with Gil Fronsdal

Saturday January 22, 2011 9am to 4:30pm This is a daylong retreat with alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation,  instruction in mindfulness practice, particularly in mindfulness of the body and a dharma talk. It is recommended for both beginners and experienced practitioners. No interviews.  Bring lunch. Gil is the primary teacher for the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA; he has been teaching since 1990. He has practiced Zen and Vipassana in the U.S. and Asia since 1975,…

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Daylong Retreat with Gil Fronsdal

Daylong Retreat with Gil Fronsdal

Saturday, February 12, 2011 8:30am to 5pm This particular daylong retreat is meant for people who already understand the basic practice of mindfulness; no instruction will be given.This particular daylong retreat is meant for people who already understand the basic practice of mindfulness; no instruction will be given.The schedule consists of alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation. At the end of the day Gil gives a Dharma talk. Brief interviews to talk about the practice will be available with…

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Series On the Basics of Buddhism with Richard Shankman

Series On the Basics of Buddhism with Richard Shankman

Thursdays October 21 – November 18, 7:30 to 9pm A series on the fundamental teachings of the Buddha designed to provide an overview of the key concepts that are discussed in talks given at IMC. We will discuss both the theory and practice of the teachings, and how they relate to our day-to-day lives. Through an exploration of the Four Noble Truths, the Three Basic Facts of Experience, Karma, and the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, we will touch most of the key teachings of the Buddha. Richard…

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