IMSB's former volunteer director Kristi organized a volunteer appreciation event at her home last weekend. There were about 30 volunteers who help out at both the Mountain View and Saratoga locations, and do many tasks behind the scenes. This was a great opportunity for volunteers to meet and mingle over Mediterranean food. Shaila offered a [...]
Sharon Allen offered a lovely guided meditation at the Thursday Class. Her instructions support the recognition of impermanence. She encourages students to notice how things pass away, maintain a balanced mode of mindful observation, and note them as "gone". Listen to the recording here.
Shaila led a fabulous meditation retreat at Redwood Glen--a stunning and serene location in the redwoods, not far from Pescadero Beach. We are delighted to have found such a comfortable, and glorious site for our retreats. The site and the food was highly praised in our end of retreat evaluations. The teaching focus of this [...]
Welcome back Shaila!
On May 29, 2019 the IMSB community, guided by Sharon and Laura, celebrated the Buddhist holiday called Wesak. It was a joyous opportunity to celebrate the birth, Enlightenment, and death of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. The evening program included a guided reflection on the qualities of the Buddha, a meditation on virtue, reaffirming of our [...]
The talks from our inspiring autumn guest speaker series about the Great Disciples of the Buddha are now available at IMSB's portal to DharmaSeed. Enjoy stories about these great masters, and hear the teachings that characterize the legacies of some of the great names in Buddhism: Venerables Ananda, Kisa Gotami, Mahakaccana, Rahula, Angulimala, and the [...]
Mindful Self-Esteem – Cultivating Self-Acceptance and Self-Compassion course at IMSB’s Saratoga location on Thursday nights has developed into a close-knit and dedicated group. The instructor, Dr. Janetti Marotta, skillfully leads the class with guided meditations, small group exercises, and easy homework assignments that help the participants to learn positive attributes and simultaneously build mindfulness skills [...]
Due to the fires that devastated Santa Rosa last year, our annual spring ten-day retreat relocated to Saratoga Springs Retreat Center in Upper Lake, CA— about 15 minutes from Clear Lake, just north of the wine country. The retreat center is nestled in a narrow valley, protected from outside noise by 2 ridges with hiking [...]
We drew our grand prize raffle winner on the beautiful Buddha statue at the conclusion of our guest speaker series on the Awakening Factors. Congratulations to our winners: Chetan - Grand Prize Laura - Second Intermediate Prize Soorej - First Intermediate Prize Thanks to Steve Finkelman for the wonderful donations of the [...]
It was a great joy to host Bhikkhu Bodhi this week when he led our monthly sutta study class. We have been studying the Numerical Discourses of the Buddha (Anguttara Nikaya) for the last few years, and 20 members of our Friday and Wednesday groups joined together to meet with Bhikkhu Bodhi. He offered us [...]
Addressing the topic of Joy in IMSB's series on the Awakening Factors, guest speaker Misha Merrill gave an especially powerful and inspiring talk. You can listen to it at: https://imsb.dharmaseed.org/teacher/582/talk/48941/
Our winter guest speaker series on the seven factors of awakening was a rousing success! Chris Clifford gave an especially clear and comprehensive talk on Mindfulness that you can download here: https://imsb.dharmaseed.org/teacher/662/talk/48429/. More recordings of our guest speakers will soon be posted at: https://imsb.dharmaseed.org/talks/
It is with deep appreciation that we report the wonderful news that this year's annual appeal met, and in the final days of 2017 actually surpassed, our goal of raising $30,000 for annual operating expenses. The IMSB community stepped up with hearts and wallets open, with 63 donors giving $34,486. Much appreciations to all!
Between each series class on Thursdays in Saratoga IMSB offers a drop-in evening that provides an opportunity to practice meditation together. It is a great way of introducing a friend to meditation, and deepening your own practice with an evening of guided meditations, sitting and walking practice, or other mindfulness exercises. People leave smiling, and [...]
Today a group of IMSB members and friends enjoyed a private tour of the collection of Buddha Statues at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The guided tour highlighted exquisite examples of Buddhist art from India, Thailand, Korea, China, Cambodia, Tibet, and Japan. It was a lovely day event!
