Schedule
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November 13, 20 (Sundays): Marin Sunday Sangha, Larkspur, 6 to 8 p.m.: Meditation, talk, discussion, meditation. Usually led by Phillip Moffitt and held at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church,10 Bayview Drive, San Rafael, CA 94901. For further info, go to www.marinsangha.org/sangha/.
November 30 (Wednesday morning class), Spirit Rock. 9 to 11 a.m. (class description at end of listings).
December 2-4 (Friday to Sunday), Tucson Community Meditation Center: Walking the Talk: Wisdom and Compassion in Action, Weekend Non-Residential Retreat. What is the connection of contemplative practice with responding to the needs of our communities and our world? If we have been using meditation especially as a place of refuge and healing, what perspectives and practices help us to take steps towards skillful, compassionate action? How do we bring mindfulness, lovingkindness, and wisdom into our action? And for those of us who are already involved in service or social change, how can the resources of spiritual practice help strengthen and sustain us? Through talks, silent meditation practice, interactive exercises, and group discussion, we will explore these questions, providing principles to guide us, and practices to take home. To help us deepen our understanding of the interplay between inner and outer transformation, we will explore themes such as: the importance of “wise speech” for skillful and mindful action; opening to suffering and compassion, while avoiding burnout; working skillfully with conflict; and developing equanimity and commitment for the long haul. For further information: http://tucsonmeditation.org/mambo/.
December 4 (Sunday), Tucson: Tucson’s Community Yoga Center, 7 to 8.30 p.m. (tentative): Meditation and talk at community led by Frank Jude Boccio. For further information:: http://tucsonyoga.com/frankjudeboccio.html.
December 7, 14, 28 (Wednesday morning class), Spirit Rock. 9 to 11 a.m. (class description at end of listings).
December 19-23 (Monday to Friday), Spirit Rock: Insight Meditation at the Solstice: Embracing the Dark, Inviting the Light (with Heather Sundberg and John Travis), 4-day retreat. In this retreat, we will emphasize centering ourselves at the time of the holidays and the New Year, quieting our minds, grounding in our bodies, opening up our hearts, and using inquiry to help give energy to our practice. There will be a special emphasis on opening to the darkness, including to our difficulties and challenges, as well as to the coming light--such as beauty, joy and love. We will have a winter solstice ceremony. The retreat will include complete meditation instructions, sitting and walking meditation, daily lovingkindness practice, evening talks, and interviews. More info on Spirit Rock retreats at end.
December 30 (Friday evening): Singles Sangha, 7.30 to 10 p.m. An evening of meditation, conscious communication, and connection. Requested donation $15 at the door. Please bring a snack or beverage to share, if you wish.
January 6-13, 2012 (Friday to Friday), Spirit Rock: Metta Retreat (with Sylvia Boorstein, Heather Martin, Konda Mason, Heather Sundberg, and Larry Yang), 7-day retreat. Metta, or lovingkindness, is the practice of cultivating the intention of benevolence as the orientation of heart and mind. It is also a path to wisdom. We cultivate metta as a meditation (practiced steadfastly on retreat) in order for it to manifest in an ongoing way in our daily lives. In this retreat, we will learn the formal practice of metta along with its companion practices of compassion, joy and equanimity. All four of these practices--known as the Brahma Viharas or Divine Abidings--strengthen self-confidence, self-acceptance, and steadiness of mind and heart, revealing our fundamental kindness. More info on Spirit Rock retreats at end of listings. Full with waiting list, still room for commuters.
January 15 (Sunday), Oakland: East Bay Meditation Center, 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Working with Judgments (with Shahara Godfrey): Judgments of a reactive and compulsive nature are very strong in most of our lives, and in the dominant culture. They can distort our perceptions, make relationships with others difficult and undermine our work in the world. In this daylong, we will examine what judgments are and how to work with them, using mindfulness and lovingkindness practices (and a number of periods of silent practice), inquiry, dyad work, and role play. These will help us to transform the energy of judgments--preserving the intelligence and discernment often found in judgments, while working through the destructive and compulsive aspects of judgments. We will also include exploration of how we may also internalize the prevailing judgments of our society in a number of ways, particularly related to race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, employment status, etc. Those attending the daylong will have an option of continuing with monthly evening follow-up sessions. 2147 Broadway, Oakland (near 19th St. Oakland BART), 510-268-0696, http://www.eastbaymeditation.org/, no fee/support for center and teachers on a dana (generosity) basis. Please register starting on December 15.
February 18 (Saturday), Menlo College, Atherton: Association for Transpersonal Psychology Conference on “Spirituality: Promises and Pitfalls” (February 17-19), 10 to 11.30 a.m.: Transforming the Judgmental Mind: Integrating Spiritual Practice and Psychological Work: Judgments of a reactive nature are strong in our culture. They can distort our perceptions, make relationships difficult, and undermine our work. In this workshop, we will explore such judgments (and their difference from non-reactive discernment) and how to transform them. The approach offered combines meditative practices with psychologically- and somatically-based work, as well as training in skillful speech, helping us to preserve the intelligence and energy often found in judgments, to act more compassionately, to work through judgments' destructive aspects. The workshop will provide an overview of the approach, experiential work with some foundational practices, and discussion. For further information on the conference, go to http://www.regonline.com/builder/site/default.aspx?EventID=973319.
February 25 (Saturday), Spirit Rock: Cultivating Wise Speech: Becoming More Skillful in Your Speech Practice, Including in Difficult Situations. 9.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Connecting our meditation practice with our speech and communication is one of the main ways to bring spiritual values into our everyday lives and our action in the world, and can help enliven and energize our practice, since we have so many chances for practice! This daylong retreat will integrate periods of sitting and walking meditation with talks, discussion, and interactive exercises. It will cover three main areas. In the morning, we will focus on (1) the basic teachings of the Buddha on wise speech and (2) foundational mindfulness practices for our speech. In the afternoon, we will apply these perspectives and tools to (3) learning how to practice wise speech in difficult conditions (when there are difficult emotions, when there is conflict, etc.). See below for general information about Spirit Rock daylongs and half-day retreats.
March 1-28, 2012 (Thursday to Wednesday): Second month of Two-Month Retreat (with Sylvia Boorstein, Konda Mason, Mary Grace Orr, Heather Sundberg, John Travis, Larry Yang). An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained and dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness combined with training in lovingkindness and compassion, through a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, dharma talks and interviews. Prerequisite: Completion of 2 previous silent 7-day Vipassana retreats led by Spirit Rock or IMS teachers, or the equivalent. You will need to provide the teachers’ names, dates, location and length of the retreats when applying along with a questionnaire.
April 7 (Saturday), Spirit Rock: Working with Judgments: Judgments of a reactive and compulsive nature are very strong in most of our lives, and in the dominant culture. They can distort our perceptions, make relationships with others difficult and undermine our work in the world. In this daylong, we will examine what judgments are and how to work with them, using mindfulness and lovingkindness practices (and a number of periods of silent practice), inquiry, dyad work, and role play. These will help us to transform the energy of judgments--preserving the intelligence and discernment often found in judgments, while working through the destructive and compulsive aspects of judgments. We will also include exploration of how we may also internalize the prevailing judgments of our society in a number of ways, particularly related to race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, employment status, etc. Those attending the daylong will have an option of continuing with monthly evening follow-up sessions. See below for general information about Spirit Rock daylongs and half-day retreats.
April 18-25 (Wednesday to Wednesday), Spirit Rock: Transforming the Judgmental Mind (with Heather Sundberg). Judgments of a reactive and often automatic nature are very strong in most of our lives, and in the dominant culture. They can distort our perceptions, make relationships with others difficult, and undermine our work in the world. In this retreat, we will explore the nature of such judgments (and their difference from non-reactive discernment) and how to transform them. We will cultivate mindfulness, inquiry, and heart practices such as lovingkindness, forgiveness, gratitude, joy, and compassion. We will also explore the somatic dimension of judgments, the role of cultivating awakened qualities in transforming judgments, and how to cultivate skill in speech and interaction in the midst of situations involving judgments, whether our own or those of others. These tools will help us to preserve the intelligence and energy often found in judgments, using them for discernment and compassionate action, while working through judgments' destructive and compulsive aspects. The retreat will be held mostly in silence (with the first day fully in silence), with some periods of discussion (small and large group) and some interactive exercises (particularly the last full day), along with group and individual interviews. Those attending the retreat will have the option of continuing with monthly follow-up sessions after the retreat. Prerequisite(s): One retreat (at least a weekend, residential or non-residential) in mindfulness practice or permission of the coordinating teacher.
May 21-28 (Monday to Monday), Spirit Rock: Awakening in Service and Action: A Study Retreat on Socially Engaged Buddhism (with David Loy). This retreat will include, after a first mostly silent day, two talks a day, discussion, guided meditations, and interactive exercises, all in the larger context of over half of the day dedicated to sitting and walking meditation. We will particularly focus on the connections between traditional Buddhist practices and teachings, and socially engaged practices and understandings. We will also explore a number of central themes related to contemporary socially engaged Buddhism, such as understanding the historical roots of the separation between the spiritual and social; the nature of a Buddhist social analysis (including a Buddhist economics and ecology); how the three poisons (greed, hatred, and delusion) are institutionalized; developing socially engaged Buddhist practices related to speech, opening to suffering, and non-dual approaches social action; and visions of the dharmic society.
David Loy is a Zen teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage. His books include Nonduality, Lack and Transcendence, A Buddhist History of the West, The Great Awakening, Money Sex War Karma, and The World Is Made of Stories.
July 20-22: Reno/Carson City, Nevada: Themes to be determined.
The Dancing Buddha: Meditation, Movement, and the Divine Abodes of the Heart (with Heather Munro Pierce), Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California. Second half of 2012 (tentative), dates to be determined.
During our time together, we will combine traditional Buddhist practice of the “Divine Abodes” (brahmavihara)—lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity—with movement meditation and ecstatic dance to help us access and cultivate these wonderful and beautiful qualities of the open heart. We will particularly focus on developing embodied expressions of these four abodes as a key to making the qualities real in our daily lives.
Most of the workshop will involve silent practice, guided freeform movement meditation, and ecstatic dance to music. These practices will be complemented by talks. There will also be some time for discussion and interactive exercises. We will begin with a foundational emphasis on mindfulness and embodiment. We will then build on this foundation by bringing in teachings and practices on the “Divine Abodes,” and we will explore these themes through dance. We will emphasize especially how lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity interpenetrate each other as they become more mature, and how these qualities might be further expressed in our daily lives. We anticipate having much fun as we evoke the depths of our hearts through silence and sound, stillness, and movement. Movers and meditators of all levels are welcome. This workshop is useful for health care professionals in their practices.
Please note: Some mornings will be held in silence, and optional sessions will be offered before breakfast.
Ongoing Wednesdays Class, Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA: 9 to 11 a.m. morning class: Co-teach with Sylvia Boorstein (most Wednesdays, either Sylvia or I will teach): 45 minute meditation, talk and discussion. Class cost $8-10, teaching is by donation (dana). Donald will be teaching November 2, 9, 30; December 7, 14, 28. 2012 schedule not yet determined.
Information for Spirit Rock Retreats and Daylongs: Registration: For more information, call 415-488-0164 or go to www.spiritrock.org. Daylongs cost $50-108 sliding scale, plus a donation (dana) for the teacher. Volunteer opportunities are available; contact the Spirit Rock volunteer coordinator, Sarah Laitinen, 415-488-0164, x224.
Donald’s Talks Are Available at
--Dharma Seed (www.dharmaseed.org)
--Audio Dharma (www.audiodharma.org/),
--Benicia Sangha (www.bsangha.net), and other sites.
