What’s New At Insight Meditation Center
Saturday, March 7, 9:00am – 1:00pm In-person only at IMC Offered by Matthew Brensilver Meditation is a subtle art, and even seemingly simple instructions are easy to misunderstand or misapply. We often repeat the same habits in meditation that operate in daily life. There is no endpoint at which we have finally understood the instructions and can simply go about implementing them. In other words, we are always discovering how to practice. During our time together, Matthew will provide a…
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Saturday March 14, 2026 8:30 am – 5:00 pm In-person only at IMC Offered by: bruni dávila Practicing mindfulness on retreat is one of the foundations for maturing insight meditation. The simplicity, silence and support of retreats contribute to letting go of many of the distractions that get in the way of clear seeing. Retreats also are a wonderful environment for developing a continuity of awareness for an extended period. This particular daylong retreat is meant for people who already…
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Friday, March 20, 2026: 11:10 am Where: Let’s meet in the Edgewood Park parking lot on Edgewood Rd, San Carlos at 11:00 am for a 3+ mile hike — approximately 3 hours. What: We will celebrate this celestial event walking through local ecosystems with some periods of silence bringing our awareness to the present, paying attention to our senses. There will be a time of sitting with a ritual and a gathering together. Join: Kristen Benson, anEco Buddist Chaplain through…
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Saturday, March 21, 9:30am – 4:00pm In-person only at IMC Part of a Series: Foundation in Freedom: Progressive Instruction in Mindfulness Meditation with Kodo Conlin and Ying Chen Offered by Kodo Conlin and Ying Chen Part and parcel of the Buddha’s path to liberation is the cultivation of mindfulness. Our Insight tradition is rich in ways to grow mindfulness in relationship with all aspects of our experience, no part left out. Let’s share in four Saturday daylong retreats for the…
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Saturday, March 28, 2026: 9:30am – 4:30pm In-person at IMC only Offered by: Kim Allen In a world of AI, virtual interaction, and constant information flow, it is easy to lose touch with what is reliable and what is spiritually nourishing. Meditation can help us attune to a natural intelligence that resides within and includes both wisdom and heart qualities. This day of practice will support cultivating this Dharma intelligence. Learning to trust it supports our engagement with both the…
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IRC 2026 Winter-Spring Newsletter is available online . You can read past newsletters in both HTML and PDF formats on the Newsletter page of the Insight Retreat Center website.
In 2026, I am bringing many areas of my long time interests and activity to focus on Buddhist Peace and Conflict Chaplaincy by starting two new programs through the Sati Center: Peace Chaplaincy Speaker’s Series for dialogues we people working in directly or indirectly in the field of Peace and Conflict Chaplaincy. It continuous the conversations I had with the Palestinian Dharma teacher Muna Shaheen and Israeli Dharma Stephen Fulder and with Mohsen Mandawi The next conversation will…
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Thursday, January 1, 2026: 9:00 am – 10:50 am In-Person at IMC Please join us in-person at IMC on New Year’s Day. The session will use a variety of asanas (poses) to focus and calm the mind, enhance breath and overall awareness, and develop flexibility, balance and strength. Beginners are always welcome. The class is a mixed level and everyone is encouraged to work in accordance with their own needs and abilities. Bring a large towel and sticky mat, if you…
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Saturday, January 24, 9:00am – 4:00pm In-person at IMC Offered by: Ying Chen, David Lorey, Diana Clark and Kim Allen Connection grows when our words are wise. In the passages on wise speech in the Pali Canon, the Buddha encourages us to speak from the heart – in ways that support our practice and our engagement with the world. This daylong retreat will include periods of sitting meditation, teachings, small group discussion, and Q&A. This event is intended for people…
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Saturday, January 31, 2026: 8:30 am — 10:00 am On Zoom in conjunction with the Sati Center Topic: Finding What Is Ours to Do: From Personal Calling to Collective Power Offered by: Kaira Jewel Lingo In this 90-minute session, we will explore how Buddhist practice can guide us toward climate action that is rooted in clarity, care, and steadiness rather than urgency alone. Drawing on Movement Ecology and the ‘Block, Build, Be’ framework, we will reflect on where our skills,…
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Saturday, January 31, 9:30am – 4:00pm In-person only at IMC Part of a Series: Foundation in Freedom: Progressive Instruction in Mindfulness Meditation with Kodo Conlin and Ying Chen Offered by Kodo Conlin and Ying Chen Part and parcel of the Buddha’s path to liberation is the cultivation of mindfulness. Our Insight tradition is rich in ways to grow mindfulness in relationship with all aspects of our experience, no part left out. Let’s share in four Saturday daylong retreats for the…
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Five Saturdays: January 31 – February 28, 2026: 10:00 – 11:30 am on Zoom Offered by Mei Elliott Mindfulness meditation, also known as insight meditation or vipassana, is a simple technique that calms the mind and supports the growth of wisdom. At the heart of mindfulness meditation is the practice of moment-to-moment observation, which cultivates a clear, stable and non-judgmental awareness. While mindfulness practice can be highly effective in supporting relaxation and clarity in daily life, it is also a…
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Saturday, February 28, 2026: 8:30 am — 10:00 am On Zoom Topic: Transform Climate Distress to Collective Action: Climate Reliance Course at UC Offered by: Gail Wright In keeping with last month’s teaching and conversation with Kaira Jewel Lingo on finding “what is ours to do”, this month we will learn about a UC Climate Resilience course putting those key concepts into action across all 10 UC campuses. This UC system wide course aims to transform climate distress to collective…
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Saturday, February 28, 9:30am – 4:00pm In-person only at IMC Part of a Series: Foundation in Freedom: Progressive Instruction in Mindfulness Meditation with Kodo Conlin and Ying Chen Offered by Kodo Conlin and Ying Chen Part and parcel of the Buddha’s path to liberation is the cultivation of mindfulness. Our Insight tradition is rich in ways to grow mindfulness in relationship with all aspects of our experience, no part left out. Let’s share in four Saturday daylong retreats for the…
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Saturday, February 28, 2026, 9:45am – 4:00pm Location: Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St Berkeley, CA Registration required. The teachings on self and selflessness are traditionally considered wisdom teachings. Yet, insight into self requires love and generates tremendous love. During this day of silence and reflection, we’ll explore how the perception of the innocence of the self diffuses shame and entanglement with self-view. As this insight deepens and territoriality recedes, our love becomes deeper and more…
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