What’s New At Insight Meditation Center
The results of the Sept-Oct 2009 IMC Community Survey are in. They are broken into three parts and are available in PDF: Results from all respondents Results from people that attend IMC in person Results from online sangha members Our survey received 322 responses – 242 (75%) from people who attend in person, and 80 (25%) from people who primarily interact with IMC online. Fully 98% report that Buddhist practice has had a positive or very positive effect on their…
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Saturday, February 27, 2010, 9am to 4:30pm Beside insight meditation, metta or lovingkindness meditation is a foundational practice of our Buddhist practice. It is the opening to a compassionate heart, the heartfelt wish for the well-being of oneself and others. A day dedicated to cultivating friendliness and goodwill. Greg Scharf began meditation practice in 1992. He has studied with a variety of teachers both in Asia and the west, and has trained as a Buddhist monk in Burma. Greg has…
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Saturday, February 20, 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.
Saturday, February 6, 2010, 9am to 4:30pm This will be a day of silent and verbal exploration of our own dying process beginning now. In a safe, caring environment we will offer the Buddhist teachings on death as well as our own experiences, fears, hopes, concerns. Together we will share our process and do an exercise to help us get more in touch with the reality of our dying and begin to demystify the whole aura around death. Please bring…
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Friday, January 15, 9:30am to 1pm This morning class will offer an in-depth study of an important discourse by the Buddha. In a dramatic narrative context, a king asks the Buddha about what benefits come from the religious life. The Buddha responds by describing the stages of Buddhist practice. The sutta is the second discourse in Long Discourses. A translation can be found online at http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.02.0.than.html.
Saturday, January 30, 8:30am to 5pm 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 understand the basic practice of mindfulness; no instruction will be given….
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Third Friday of the Month Evenings, 7pm to 9pm On the Monastic Evenings one or more Theravadan nuns will be offering traditional Buddhist chanting, silent or guided meditation, and sharing the Dhamma from the heart. This may take the form of a Dhamma reflection, Dhamma dialogue, taking refuge, or questions and answers. The Saranaloka Foundation was established in 2004 to support nuns from Chithurst and Amaravati monasteries in England to come to the United States to teach. With the blessing…
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Saturday, December 5, 9am to 4:30pm For Young Adults, Ages 20-35 Come join us for a day of practice and experiential investigation into our shadows—dark and light, individual and collective—and how “shadow work” can be a major part of our spiritual practice! Carl Jung spoke of the shadow of the individual as “the ‘negative’ side of the personality, the sum of all those unpleasant qualities we like to hide.” Yet, he thought, the shadow also carries energies and insights necessary…
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Dear friend of IMC, Twenty-five years ago a few people began to meet in Menlo Park on Monday evenings to practice mindfulness meditation and listen to Buddhist teachings together. They planted the seed that grew to become IMC. Not only do we have an active center, we also have a “virtual community” of thousands who listen to our talks online through Audiodharma, iTunes and other websites. This is remarkable given that all our programs, publications, and online Dharma talks are…
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Tuesdays, January 12, 19 and 26, 2010, 7:30 to 9pm A 3-week series Pain can color every aspect of our lives, but our relationship with pain can be retrained. We will explore different methods of working with the physical, emotional, and cognitive aspects of physical pain both in meditation practice and in daily life. The core principles of mindfulness training can be adapted to a practical process that can be effectively used for both intense and chronic pain. Contact Ines…
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Sunday, October 17 to Sunday, October 24, 2010 Hidden Villa Retreat Center, 26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 Gil has practiced Zen and Vipassana since 1975 and has a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. He has trained in both the Japanese Soto Zen tradition and the Insight Meditation lineage of Theravada Buddhism of Southeast Asia. Gil was trained as a Vipassana teacher by Jack Kornfield and is part of the Vipassana teachers’ collective at Spirit Rock Meditation…
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Sunday, September 19 to Sunday, October 3, 2010 Hidden Villa, 26870 Moody Road, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 This retreat is currently full. New applicants will be placed on a waiting list and notified if spots open up. Application Information Flier For senior students, minimum pre-requisite two 10-day Vipassana retreats Gil has practiced Zen and Vipassana since 1975 and has a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. He has trained in both the Japanese Soto Zen tradition and the Insight…
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Wednesday, August 4 to Sunday, August 8, 2010 Jikoji Retreat Center, 12100 Skyline Blvd, Los Gatos CA 95033 Application Information Flier Andrea Fella has been practicing Insight Meditation since 1996, and, under Gil Fronsdal’s guidance, began teaching meditation classes in 2003. She is particularly drawn to intensive retreat practice, and has done a number of long retreats, both in the U.S. and Burma. During one long practice period in Burma, she ordained as a nun with Sayadaw U Janaka. Andrea…
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Memorial Weekend, May 28–31, 2010 Jikoji Retreat Center, 12100 Skyline Blvd, Los Gatos CA 95033 This retreat is currently full. New applicants will be placed on a waiting list and notified if spots open up. Application Information Flier Registration opens January 28, 2010. This is a silent mindfulness retreat with alternating sitting and walking meditation, as well as instruction, Dharma talks, and interviews with the teachers. It will be conducted at the rustic Jikoji Retreat Center on Skyline Boulevard in…
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Six Wednesday evenings January 6 to February 10, 2010, 7:30 to 9pm Insight Meditation or Vipassana, is a simple technique, beginning with focusing the attention on the breath. The practice concentrates and calms the mind. At the heart of Insight Meditation is the practice of Mindfulness, a practice of moment-to-moment observation which cultivates a clear, stable and non-judgmental awareness. While mindfulness practice can be highly effective in helping bring calm and clarity to the pressures of daily life, it is…
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