Tag: What’s New

New Berkeley IMC Sitting Group starting Monday April 20th

Posted April 4, 2026 - Events, IMC Announcements

Mondays starting April 20, 2026: 7:00 – 8:30 pm In-person at Berkeley Finnish Hall Meeting Room: 1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley, CA Our IMC community is growing in the East Bay! We are starting a weekly sitting group in Berkeley. We will begin with a five-week Introduction to Meditation class taught by Yanli Wang and Lily Huang from April 20 – May 18. The weekly sitting group starts Monday May 25, after the intro class. Evenings will include a lightly…

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Wednesdays, Apr 15 – May 7: Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation with Lydia Ridgway and Lauren Silver

Posted March 30, 2026 - Events, For Beginners

Five Wednesdays: April 15 – May 13, 2026: 7:00 – 8:30 pm In-person at IMC Offered by: Lydia Ridgway and Lauren Silver 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 life,…

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Thursdays 4/16 – 5/21: Mindful Self-Compassion Series with Hilary Borison

Posted March 30, 2026 - Events

Six-Week Series: 4/16 – 5/21. Thursdays, 6:30 – 8:00pm In-person at IMC Registration encouraged — see below. Mindfulness practice teaches us to be present in the moment with non-judgmental awareness, creating more ease with what is. However, many of us are plagued by judgments, often quite self-critical. We may find it’s much easier to have compassion for others than for ourselves. In this course, we learn to turn our compassion inwards, cultivating the conditions that allow us to accompany overwhelming…

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Starts Sunday Apr 26: In Chinese: 4-Month Series on Heart Qualities, 4月26日開始四個月的心靈品質（四梵度）課程

Posted March 30, 2026 - Special Events

A Journey into the Heart’s Natural Qualities 4-Month Series, on last Sunday of the month Four Sundays: April 26, May 31, June 28 & July 26, 2026, 1:30 pm to 3:00 pm Offered by: Lydia Ridgway and Yanli Wang In-person at IMC In Chinese (Mandarin) The Brahmavihāras—often translated as the “Divine Abodes”—are four beautiful qualities of the heart taught by the Buddha: loving-kindness, compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. These qualities are not something we have to create from scratch; they…

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Saturday May 2: Mindfulness of Thinking Daylong with Kodo Conlin

Posted March 30, 2026 - Daylong Retreats

Saturday, May 2, 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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Sunday May 3: Vesak — Buddha’s Birthday Celebration during the Sunday Sit with Kim Allen

Posted March 30, 2026 - Special Events

Sunday, May 3, 2026, 9:25 – 10:45am In-person at IMC Vesak – Buddha’s Birthday Celebration Today’s meeting will include a Vesak celebration to honor the Buddha’s birthday. The adults will listen to the first part of the dharma talk and chant the refuges before the children join the sangha, bringing in the flower-laden pagoda to celebrate the Buddha’s birth. Families with children are encouraged to attend. Kids are welcome to come at 9:30 with a few flowers to decorate the…

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Saturday May 23: Intensive Daylong with bruni dávila

Posted March 30, 2026 - Daylong Retreats

May 23, 2026 6:00 am – 9:00 pm In-person only at IMC Offered by: bruni dávila This is a great opportunity for a full day of immersion in silent Dharma Practice. 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…

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Monday May 25: IMC Cancer Survivors: Honoring Strength and Community with Ying Chen and Sylvie Leotin

Posted March 30, 2026 - Special Events

Monday, May 25, 2026 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm In-person at IMC Offered by: Ying Chen and Sylvie Leotin Join us for a special gathering of cancer survivors at IMC. Whether you are newly navigating survivorship or are many years beyond treatment, your presence is warmly welcome. There will be space for mingling, acknowledging, and celebrating the strength and resilience each of us carries. The gathering will begin with a brief guided meditation — a quiet moment to breathe and ground ourselves. Following this, we…

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Saturday May 30: Daylong Retreat on the Burmese Roots of Insight Meditation with Kristina Isberg and Peter Fenczik

Posted March 30, 2026 - Daylong Retreats

Saturday, May 30, 2026 9:30 am – 3:30 pm In-person only at IMC Offered by: Kristina Isberg and Peter Fenczik In this daylong retreat, we will explore the teachings of Burmese Vipassana teacher Mahasi Sayadaw through his foundational instructions on mental noting, walking meditation, and mindfulness of the four elements. This retreat is an opportunity to learn about Vipassana history, strengthen mindfulness and concentration, practice with the IMC community, and ask questions of the teachers. The day will include guided meditation,…

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IRC Winter-Spring 2026 Newsletter is available

Posted February 21, 2026 - IMC Announcements

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.

IMC 2026 Winter Newsletter is available online

Posted December 1, 2025 - IMC Announcements

The IMC Winter 2026 Newsletter is available online. You can read past newsletters in PDF format on the Newsletter page of the Insight Meditation Center website. You can also find the Winter Schedule of Events — called the Jan to Mar Schedule of Events — under the CALENDAR link on the IMC website.

Individual Practice Discussions with IMC Teachers/Dharma Leaders

Posted January 25, 2025 - News

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…

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YouTube: Sitting and Dharmette with Matthew Brensilver — Weekly starting Wednesday April 3

Posted March 26, 2024 - Events

Wednesdays 7:30 pm – 8:15 pm starting April 3, 2024 Offered by Matthew Brensilver On YouTube YouTube Livestream | IMC Website Livestream William James said the aim of all education is to make one’s nervous system an ally rather than an enemy. Given the sensitivity of our body and mind, given the changingness of all things, given imperfection — what is possible for us? The dharma path is an honest exploration of the human condition and a discovery of the…

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Zoom: Weekly Sunday Sangha Meeting Following the Dharma Talk

Posted October 9, 2021

Weekly on Sunday: 10:45 – 11:30 am on Zoom Build and maintain community by connecting online with other IMC sangha members to discuss the Sunday dharma talk and share about our Buddhist practices. Please join us on Zoom each Sunday following the dharma talk at approximately 10:45 am for about 45 minutes for breakout rooms and/or large group discussions. Facilitated by Jan Messer and Barry Rothman, IMC sangha members. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84009542053?pwd=V09IOXJhOHZ2TnovMGpiK2s3V243Zz09 Meeting ID: 840 0954 2053 Passcode: Sangha…

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IMC Speaks Out Against Anti-Asian Violence

Posted May 7, 2021

This statement is also available in PDF format We are heartbroken by the horrific surge in relentless, unprovoked harassment and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Since March 2020, the Stop AAPI Hate organization reports nearly 4,000 incidents of anti-Asian hate, of which nearly 44 percent occurred in California—and many more cases go unreported. The Insight Meditation Center (IMC) and its community open our hearts to the pain of anti-Asian hate, bearing witness to the suffering and…

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