What’s New At Insight Meditation Center
Saturday, February 22, 2025: 8:30 am — 10:00 am Topic: Biophilia Presented by: Kristen Benson We are living in challenging times and often rely on our experience with nature to deepen and validate our interconnectedness and oneness with nature. This experience is defined by the term Biophilia. Biophilia, a simple term coined by E.O. Wilson is the emotional bond humans have with the natural world and other living organisms. . Eco Buddhist chaplain Kristen Benson has been leading nature walks…
Read More Read More
Saturday March 8, 2025: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm in-person at IMC only Offered by: Kim Allen The body is a rich resource for mindfulness practice, continually opening and deepening as we explore it. On this day of practice, we will explore practices based in Buddhist teachings that help us connect to the body, experience it freshly, and invite liberating wisdom and compassion to emerge. This silent daylong is appropriate for beginners and those with more experience. It includes sitting,…
Read More Read More
Saturday, March 22, 2025: 9:30am – 3:30pm In-person only at IMC Offered by: Diana Clark Both meditation and poetry can help us step away from the immediate demands of our lives to enter our hearts and minds in a deeper, fuller way. This silent daylong meditation retreat will introduce poems as a support for meditation. The daylong will include poetry readings, silent sitting and walking meditation periods and short talks. It is expected that participants will already have some mindfulness…
Read More Read More
IRC 2025 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.
Several of IMC’s Dharma Leaders are offering an opportunity for an individual practice discussion each month. The sessions provide a chance to process your sitting and daily life practice, ask questions, and be heard and supported. Please sign up for only one practice discussion per month so that everyone has an opportunity. Here is the link to sign-up: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/904044ba9ad2faaf85-imcpractice Please bookmark the link so that you can sign up for a session in future months. New sessions available are posted every two months towards the…
Read More Read More
7:45 a.m., January 24. Everyone who attends the 7:00 a.m. YouTube teaching is welcome to come to this community meeting on Zoom The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82411076883? The passcode is the Buddhist/Pali word for lovingkindness.
Tuesdays Afternoons from January 14 – February 11 — 5 Tuesdays 1:00 – 2:30 pm In-Person: Insight Meditation Center, 108 Birch St, Redwood City, CA 94062, USA Mindfulness meditation, also known as insight meditation or vipassana, is a simple technique that concentrates and calms the mind. 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 helping bring calm and clarity to the…
Read More Read More
Keeping It Simple: A non-residential Insight retreat with IMC teachers Ying Chen, Kim Allen, Diana Clark, and David Lorey Thursday – Sunday, January 23 – 26, 2025: 8:30am – 5pm Location: Los Altos Community Center, Sequoia Room Registration required This retreat offers an intensive retreat experience in a non-residential retreat format. The retreat will include alternate sitting and walking meditation periods, morning instruction, work meditation, and Dharma talks. Teachings will focus on the deep simplicity available in the practice and…
Read More Read More
Topic: COP 29 outcomes and What’s next for us! Saturday, January 25, 2025: 8:30 am — 10:00 am Presented by: Ram Appalaraju On 11/24/2024 the 29th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 29) closed after two weeks of intense discussions on issues relating to climate change and how it has been disproportionately affecting poorer countries. At the end of the meeting participating countries agreed to a set of outcomes. One of the headlines that describes the outcome is “COP29 UN…
Read More Read More
Saturday, February 1, 2025: 9:30am – 12:15pm In-person only at IMC Offered by: Tanya Wiser 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 – 10:15…
Read More Read More
Five Wednesday Evenings, February 5 – March 6, 2025: 7:00 to 8:30pm In-Person: Insight Meditation Center, 108 Birch St, Redwood City, CA 94062, USA Mindfulness meditation, also known as insight meditation or vipassana, is a simple technique that concentrates and calms the mind. 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 helping bring calm and clarity to the pressures of daily…
Read More Read More
Saturday, February 15, 2025: 9:00am – 4:30pm In-person only at IMC Offered by: Ying Chen In this daylong we will practice Dhamma by bringing qualities of mindfulness and heartfulness together. We will learn how to live wisely and lovingly through our practices. The day will include sitting and walking meditation, instructions, a dharma talk, and an opportunity to ask questions of the teacher. Recommended for both beginners and experienced practitioners. Bring lunch. The program is offered freely, with no registration…
Read More Read More
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…
Read More Read More
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…
Read More Read More