| "Double Star Dance" © Ruth Gendler www.ruthgendler.com |
Donald Rothberg is a leading teacher and writer on meditation, the intersection of psychology and spirituality, and socially engaged spiritual practice. He has taught and practiced Buddhist meditation for over 45 years, and his teaching and trainings have helped to pioneer new ways of connecting inner and outer transformation. He is a member of the Teacher's Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in the San Francisco Bay Area, a guiding teacher for the Marin Sangha, and a regular teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, Southern Dharma Retreat Center in North Carolina, the Louisville Vipassana Community, InsightLA, and New York Insight, and the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World.
Selected upcoming Events: Talks, Daylongs, and Retreats (see schedule for more details):
August 30 (Sunday morning): San Francisco, Gay Buddhist Fellowship 10.30 to 12 noon, held at San Francisco Buddhist Center, 37 Bartlett Street (near 21st St. between Mission & Valencia).For further information: https://gaybuddhist.org. In-person and likely on Zoom.
September 3 (Thursday evening), Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Meditation, talk, and discussion. Potluck at 6 p.m.! Go to: https://www.insightberkeley.org/events/09032026. Hybrid: In-person and online.
September 9, 16 (Wednesday morning), Spirit Rock, 10 to noon. Meditation, talk, and discussion. Go to: https://www.spiritrock.org/programs/wednesday-morning. Online.
September 25 (Friday) - October 8 (Thursday): Southern Dharma (north of Asheville, North Carolina): Residential Retreat: The Heart of Our Practice: From Ordinary Mind to Awakening. In-person.
October 16-18 (Friday to Sunday): Louisville, Kentucky: Awakening the Heart: Practicing the "Divine Abodes" (Lovingkindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity): A Weekend Non-Residential Retreat. Friday, 7 to 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time. In-person.
December 1-5 (Tuesday to Saturday): Spirit Rock: Residential Retreat: Transforming the Judgmental Mind, Cultivating the Wise Heart (with Eve Decker). In-person.
January 11-18 (Monday evening to Monday morning): Spirit Rock: Metta Retreat: Teachings and Practices Cultivating to Cultivate a Wise, Compassionate, and Resilient Heart (with Gullu Singh, Beth Sternlieb, Diana Winston, and Jonathan Relucio). In-person.
February 16-21 (Tuesday to Sunday): Tovana: The Non-Dual Buddha (with Stephen Fulder): Online. Details forthcoming.
Links to talks and interviews:
Recent talks (on Dharma Seed at https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/55/) include:
- Responding to Our Times on the Basis of Our Practice: Developing Caring and Compassionate Responses
- Responding to Our Times on the Basis of Our Practice: The Bodhisattva
- The Nature and Challenges of Metta Practice and How It Deepens
- Practicing Metta in Daily Life (with Diana Winston)
- Practicing with Intentions
- Skillful Desire
- The Three Ways of Seeing That Bring Liberating Insight (Seeing into Impermanence, Dukkha, and Not-Self)
- Developing Samadhi (Concentration)
- Bringing Our Practice to Challenging Conversations and Communications
Bringing Our Practice to the Current Difficult Times: An Eightfold Path” from July 7, 2025 on Dharma Seed, at: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/91299/. For the Buddha, practice was understood as involving three trainings, in wisdom, meditation, and ethics (sila). Ethics, typically under-emphasized in much of Western Buddhism, with sometimes clear negative consequences, had as its horizon helping others. The Buddha said: “Wander forth . . . for the welfare of the multitude, for the happiness of the multitude, out of compassion for the world.” The later emphasis on the bodhisattva develops this emphasis further. In this talk, we suggest a contemporary “Eightfold Path” for understanding and responding to the current difficult times in the society and world. It’s outlined in terms of three wisdom guidelines, two meditation guidelines, and three ethics guidelines.
October and November, 2023: Donald’s talk series on “Practicing with Differences and Conflicts” can be found on Dharma Seed (https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/55/). In the last of the four talks (November 29), Donald applies his framework of “Ten Foundations for Practicing with Conflicts" (available as a pdf on Dharma Seed) to Israel/Palestine, on Dharma Seed at https://dharmaseed.org/talks/81349/.
See also Donald's two talks on "The Dharma in the Holy Land" from July 2017 (https://dharmaseed.org/teacher/55/?search=Holy+Land), the first more personal and the second more analytical about the Israel/Palestine conflict in the context of intergenerational trauma on both sides, along with a severe power asymmetry. Included at the website are a number of photos, both historical and those taken by Donald in Israel and the West Bank.
December 20, 2023: Stephen Fulder (senior Insight Meditation teacher in Israel and a long-time collaborator with Palestinians) in conversation with Donald Rothberg, “The Dharma in Times of Crisis”: Dharma Seed recording at https://dharmaseed.org/talks/81655/. Stephen’s October 29 statement on what is happening in Israel/Palestine can be found at: https://www.stephenfulder.com/post/a-statement-on-the-current-tragic-situation-in-the-middle-east.
Donald Rothberg and Yassir Chadly in Dialogue on Buddhist and Sufi Perspectives and Practices: A Gathering of Wisdom, Love, and Respect (February 9, 2022). Yassir Chadly is a long-time friend of Donald who is a Sufi teacher, musician, and former Olympic swimmer, originally from Morocco: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/69417/.
Video of the February 6, 2022 fundraiser (Donald was one of the speakers) for the "Garden of Hope" project for a center in the West Bank for mindfulness practice, cultural exchange, and training in nonviolent action, guided by Issa Souf: https://vimeo.com/675262166/67591afe67. Donald's 10-minute or so talk starts around 59:40. Here’s the link for the GoFundMe page for the project: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-build-the-garden-of-hope-mindfulness-centre?qid=b6f630c89354cf8dbc570801f48dc4bc.
"Honoring the Great Teacher of Interbeing and Engaged Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh" (February 2, 2022) with personal stories: https://dharmaseed.org/talks/69277/. Slide show of photos of the life of Thich Nhat Hanh from age 16 to 92: https://media.dharmaseed.org/documents/TNH_Photos.pptx
"A Guided Meditation in the Manner of Thich Nhat Hanh" (February 2, 2022): https://dharmaseed.org/talks/69276/
See "Schedule" page for more information on upcoming events and talks.
Donate to Donald on Venmo (@Donald-Rothberg and 4718 if asked)