Past Events › Weekly Meditation

Egos Found and Lost: The Role of Compassionate Interdependence in a Prison Garden Program with Lisa Benham This talk discusses recognizable patterns of Dharma found in new paths taken, as described through quotes from the inmate participants of the Insight Garden Program at San Quentin. The stories and details shared come directly from Lisa Benham’s recent Environmental Studies thesis research:  "From Utility to Significance: [...]

The Construction Of Identity And The Five Clinging Aggregates. A Five Week Series with Shaila Catherine. January 13—Focus on Matter January 20—Focus on Feeling January 27—Focus on Perception February 3—Focus on Mental Formations February 10—Focus on Consciousness This Tuesday evening series will explore a classic Buddhist model of identity construction: the five aggregates affected by [...]

Effortless Mindfulness: Genuine Mental Health Through Awakened Presence by Lisa Dale Miller Published by Routledge April 2014 The event will include meditation and the author's talk. 7:30-9:00 Evening Program includes meditation and a talk. 9:00-9:30 Reception with tea and treats. Effortless Mindfulness promotes genuine mental health through the direct experience of awakened presence—an effortlessly embodied, fearless understanding [...]

Developing a Kind Heart – A series that will open the heart and bring balance in relationships. This series will nurture the development of four profound qualities of heart: loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. These four qualities express a powerful and immeasurable intention of kindness toward ourselves and all beings. They are traditionally called the Divine [...]

Eight Great Thoughts: An 8-week speaker series based on Anuruddha Sutta. March 10 — Fewness of Wishes—with Misha Merrill March 17 — Seclusion—with Carla Brennan March 24 — Contentment—with Jason Murphy March 31 — No meeting this evening. St. Timothy's Church community will be having an event in our usual meeting space. We will resume meeting the following [...]

Eight Great Thoughts: An 8-week speaker series based on Anuruddha Sutta. March 10 — Fewness of Wishes—with Misha Merrill March 17 — Contentment—with Jason Murphy March 24 — Seclusion—with  Carla Brennan March 31 — No meeting this evening. St. Timothy's Church community will be having an event in our usual meeting space. We will resume meeting the following [...]

Strengthening Mindfulness – A series dedicated to cultivating genuine insight. This series will expand on instructions offered in basic mindfulness courses, offering new depths of understanding, integrating the practice with life situations, and helping students establish a daily meditation practice. Mindfulness training is a practical tool that can support wisdom in any activity, and it [...]

Cultivating skills and insight that will transform habits of mind.  Meditation practice cultivates inner peace, clarity, concentration and joy. In order to experience these beautiful qualities, we must overcome the obstacles of agitation, dullness, distraction, obsessive thinking, and painful emotions, and we must learn to work skillfully with pain, illness, fear, and a wide range [...]

Venerable U Jagara will be our guest speaker tonight. Topic: Wise Attention (part 2) Insight Meditation South Bay meets every Tuesday evening for a sitting and Dhamma talk. The principal teacher is Shaila Catherine and guest speakers are featured regularly. See also weekly sitting. IMSB relies upon the generosity of participants to support our teachers and cover organizational expenses. Dana is [...]

Tonight's guest speaker is Misha Merrill. Insight Meditation South Bay meets every Tuesday evening for a sitting and Dhamma talk. The principal teacher is Shaila Catherine and guest speakers are featured regularly. See also weekly sitting. IMSB relies upon the generosity of participants to support our teachers and cover organizational expenses. Dana is a word in the ancient Pali language [...]

A series for those curious about what the Buddha taught. Buddhist tradition offers a rich tradition of wisdom teachings, many of which are remembered as lists. This series will focus on the philosophy, principals, practices, and instructions that are fundamental to developing a meditative or Buddhist practice. It is intended as an introduction to Buddhism [...]

This series will explore virtue as the indispensable foundation of Buddhist practice. The series is structured according to the five training precepts. These precepts are not rules to be obediently followed; they serve as guidelines for the intentional development of compassion, mindfulness, and wisdom. These five precepts offer us a joyful method to cultivate the [...]

A series for those curious about what the Buddha taught. Buddhist tradition offers a rich tradition of wisdom teachings, many of which are remembered as lists. This series will focus on the philosophy, principals, practices, and instructions that are fundamental to developing a meditative or Buddhist practice. It is intended as an introduction to Buddhism [...]

The Three Jewels and Refuges Where the mind rests with trust. What do you turn to when your enthusiasm for practice fades? Taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha can focus our intentions and inspire our practice. The potential for awakening, a clear path of training, and ongoing support of the community are three [...]

Don’t miss this inspirational event with Lama Surya Das, a best selling author and dharma teacher! Lama Surya Das will speak about his latest book Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist Meditations to Awaken from the Illusion of Separation “If you’ve ever felt ‘at one’ with something—your beloved or your child, a forest trail or a favorite song,” [...]

The Three Jewels and Refuges Where the mind rests with trust. What do you turn to when your enthusiasm for practice fades? Taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha can focus our intentions and inspire our practice. The potential for awakening, a clear path of training, and ongoing support of the community are three [...]

What we can do to improve our lives... Three core practices support growth in Buddhist practice generosity (dana) virtue (sila) mental development (bhavana). These Three Pillars are sometimes called sources of merit because they are actions that lead to beneficial results. Practicing generosity we nurture an open, kind heart; practicing virtue we live happily, free from [...]

This mini two part series will explore the variety of ways that awakening occurred in the days of the Buddha. Reflecting on various approaches to awakening, and inspired by the example of early Buddhists who have awakened, we might value a wider range of practices. There are many ways to liberate the mind and heart! Insight Meditation South Bay meets [...]

Fostering the sacred in a busy life. with Pastor Erik Swanson  and Shaila Catherine How can we nurture a sacred and contemplative experience of our lives in the midst of the pressures and demands that are characteristic of Silicon Valley? This evening program will include mindfulness meditation and discussion with two local spiritual leaders who [...]

This mini two part series will explore the variety of ways that awakening occurred in the days of the Buddha. Reflecting on various approaches to awakening, and inspired by the example of early Buddhists who have awakened, we might value a wider range of practices. There are many ways to liberate the mind and heart! Insight Meditation South Bay meets [...]

This week's guest teacher is Ron Purser. His topic is: Exploring Nondual Mindfulness You can find his biography on our guest teacher page. Insight Meditation South Bay meets every Tuesday evening for a sitting and Dhamma talk. See weekly sitting. Everyone is welcome. Chairs are provided. Bring a cushion and mat if you prefer to sit on the [...]

The Eight-Fold Path of Awakening Living with clarity and peace This series will explore the Noble Eight-fold Path as a liberating practice. The Eight-fold Path is among the most practical and powerful core teachings of the Buddha. It offers practitioners a comprehensive approach for training the mind in the context of meditation, action, relationship, and [...]

A six week series with Shaila Catherine This series will introduce five factors that intensify concentration and support the deeply blissful states of meditative absorption, called jhana. We will examine the powerful role that right concentration plays in the path of awakening, and discover ways to strengthen our capacity to focus attention. November 17 – Cultivating Five Factors that [...]