What’s New At Insight Meditation Center
Offsite Daylong: Importance of Equanimity: A Day of Practice with Matthew Brensilver in Berkeley Sunday, February 16, 2025: 9:30am – 4pm Location: Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Education Building Upper Floor, Connie Barbour Room,1606 Bonita Ave, Berkeley, CA Registration required. Simply using attention doesn’t generate wisdom. In other words, attention isn’t wholesome in itself. Wise attention is connected to wholesomeness; it is conjoined with, among other things, equanimity. Equanimity is a kind of inner balance. It is not the absence…
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Awareness and Wisdom Integrated Home Retreat (Online Zoom format) Taught by Andrea Fella Assisted by Dawn Neal Inspired by the teachings of Sayadaw U Tejaniya. March 9-15, 2025 (Sunday through Saturday) with two online sessions daily Registration is required: To register: Register here. After registration, you will receive the retreat details, including Zoom link information. For questions, contact Yosh Haggerty at yosh@insightretreatcenter.org. This retreat is designed to integrate our mindfulness practice with our everyday activities. During this weeklong online retreat we…
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The IMC Winter 2025 Newsletter is available online. You can read past newsletters in PDF format on the Newsletter page of the Insight Meditation Center website. The IMC 2025 Winter Newsletter
by Gil Fronsdal Some years ago, early in IMC’s growth, I asked if anyone was interested in volunteering for our center. To my surprise, many people expressed a strong interest. While I was happy with the reply, I was troubled that we did not have enough volunteer roles to meet the big interest. I knew from personal experience that volunteering at a Buddhist center can be a significant form of Dharma practice and a means for a deeper connection to…
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Saturday December 28, 2024: 8:30 – 10:00am on Zoom Elaine Salinger will demonstrate a global climate solutions simulator, En-ROADS Climate Interactive, a website created by MIT and Sloan. This website will compare the effectiveness of global solutions. And Elaine will discuss possible legislation in the US, as well as simple actions we can take personally, locally, and nationally. And we will also discuss hope and a path forward. Elaine leads the Citizens Climate Lobby San Mateo County chapter and is…
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Dear Friend, Thank you for your participation in IMC and IRC’s offerings, in person and online. Your engagement—whether it’s listening to our talks, participating in our meditation and training sessions, attending our retreats, or meeting with a teacher or mentor—is invaluable to our success. Your engagement in our programs has inspired and encouraged us to continue to expand what we offer. We founded IMC with the motto, “Donations follow the practice.” This guiding principle has led us to prioritize creating…
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IMC/AudioDharma $ .00 Insight Retreat Center $ .00 Continue
In-person at Insight Meditation Center Saturday, November 16⋅8:30am – 5:00pm, with Gil Fronsdal This silent daylong retreat is meant for people already familiar with 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 one-on-one practice discussions to talk about the practice will be available with Gil. Previous experience is recommended. Practicing mindfulness on retreat is…
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Saturday, November 23, 2024: 9:30 am – 12:15 pm In-person only at IMC Offered by: Maria Straatmann This half-day of mindfulness practice will include guided or lightly guided meditations, a brief dharma talk, group discussion, and mindful activity. This is an opportunity to deepen your meditation practice and daily life practice, ask a teacher questions and practice with other sangha members. Mindfulness meditation half-days are appropriate for beginners and those with more experience. Registration is not required. Bring lunch. 9:30 –…
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The greater our ups and downs, the greater the value of Buddhist practice. Rather than a practice to avoid challenges or to avoid celebration, it is a practice that prepares us to meet them wisely and calmly. We can meet all our inner life with honesty and goodwill so we can be wise and skillful. In all challenges, it is possible to find inner peace and freedom, equally open to grief and heartbreak as to joy and love. We can…
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As we participate in our democracy, may we be guided by the ten virtues of political leadership: May we be generous, so everyone is supported. May we have integrity, so everyone trusts us. May we renounce selfish interest, so everyone benefits. May we be honest, so everyone hears what is true. May we be kind, so everyone can relax. May we have self-control, so everyone will be safe. May we be free of ill-will, so everyone can speak freely….
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Saturday, October 26, 2024: 8:30 am — 10:00 am on Zoom Offered by Alex Julie Topic: Reconnecting with Nature Through Water to Create a Life-Sustaining Society for All Beings The Ocean is the source of all life on our planet, and it can also be a fertile ground for deep embodied insight. With our Ocean on the brink of climate induced collapse, the urgency of reconnection has never been greater. Join Awake in the Wild meditation teacher Alex Julie as…
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Thursday, October 17, 2024: 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm on Zoom Longtime IMC member Mick Bennett died on August 4. Mick served on the IMC Board and was the much loved founding teacher for the Chronic Disease Support Group and the Life-Threatening Illness Support Group. IMC’s support group, which is a continuation of what Mick started, will offer an open Online ZOOM session on Oct 17th 1-2:30pm PT to remember the founding leader, Mick Bennett. All are welcome to join….
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Saturday, October 19, 2024: 9:30 am – 4:30 pm In-person only at IMC Offered by: Dawn Neal
This daylong retreat will include guided meditations, dharma talks, and alternating periods of sitting and walking. Instructions and guidance on mindfulness of breathing, body, emotions, thoughts, and open attention will be provided. This daylong retreat is an opportunity to strengthen mindfulness, develop concentration, practice with the IMC community, and ask a teacher questions. Appropriate for beginners and those with more experience. Bring lunch.
The…
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by Gil Fronsdal To care and offer care are fundamental expressions of Buddhist life. The Buddha himself was called “The Caring One” who taught out of his care for others. After his first students became enlightened, he instructed them to live for the welfare and happiness of others out of “care for the world.’ In the Buddha’s teachings “care” is the basic attitude and motivation for benefiting others. As such, it can be seen as the foundation for both compassion…
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