Spirit Rock News

Transcription

Spirit Rock News

Spirit Rock News
& Schedule of Events
May - August 2015
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Interconnection - Spirit Rock
Scholarship Program
PAGE 3
Sharda Rogell: Equanimity
PAGE 8
Spirit Rock News
PAGE 9
Upcoming Highlights
PAGE 12
Schedule of Events: May - August 2015
PAGE 14
spiritrock.org
2
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS & SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Roots Are Flowers That Bloom Underground
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
IN THIS ISSUE
3 Interconnection - Spirit Rock
Scholarship Program
6 Everday Generosity,
Transformative Practice
8 Equanimity: Sharda Rogell
9 Spirit Rock News
10 Spirit Rock Updates
12 Upcoming Highlights
13 Residential Retreats At-a-Glance
14 Schedule of Events
It’s lovely to turn the corner towards springtime at Spirit Rock, exploring
what’s obvious to the eye—what is clearly flowering—as well as
what’s less obvious: the roots in our soil. These seasonal teachings are
generously offered by the land, further supporting our dharma practice.
What’s “obviously” flowering? Buildings to support a COMMUNITY
are taking form on our lower campus! A COMMUNITY meditation
hall, COMMUNITY classrooms, a residential COMMUNITY of
permanent staff and visiting retreat teachers, a COMMUNITY
of administrative staff working together in one building. All of these buildings support
the vision of COMMUNITY started by Jack Kornfield and many others back in 1989—a
permanent lower campus to support the practice of daily life in COMMUNITY.
What’s less “obvious,” but forms the critically important roots in our soil? We continue to
move our key programs and initiatives forward simultaneous with our capital build-out. The
values behind these “root” investments include ACCESS to the dharma, our dedication to
DIVERSITY, and our commitment to living the Dharma in how we support our PEOPLE both
behind the scenes and on the cushion.
DAILY LIFE: Teaching all of our daylongs and classes during construction to support
35,000 people last year in accessing the teachings of the Dharma.
DEPTH: Leading residential retreats throughout construction to support 4,000 people
sitting retreats last year, ranging in length from 3 to 60 days.
GENEROSITY: Dedicating more funding to scholarships than we have ever given in our
history! Please read the article by Co-Guiding Teacher Sally Armstrong on the next page
to understand this profound impact.
WAKING UP: Preparing ourselves as an institution for organization-wide training (2016)
focused on awakening from the ignorance and delusion of racism.
LEADERSHIP: Developing our next Teacher Training program (2017) to support a
majority of teacher trainees from communities of color in order to continue diversifying
our teaching leadership.
ONLINE: Increasing the number of online classes to create online communities and
support those with geographic barriers to visiting Spirit Rock.
FOCUS: Exploring Wise Communication as our year-long theme with staff in our dharma
programs to support our internal and external speech and relations.
The critical choices above are the nutrients that feed the root system of Spirit Rock—deep
below the surface of what is “easily seen” (construction) yet is profoundly felt (in our
offerings). Roots indeed are flowers that bloom underground.
SPIRIT ROCK NEWS
© 2015 Spirit Rock Meditation Center
May - August 2015
Published three times a year by
Spirit Rock - an Insight Meditation Center
P.O. Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973
(415) 488-0164
The only way we are able to do all of this is by doing it together—combining our committed
leadership with the support of our community of donors and practitioners. It is an
incredible partnership, and we are so grateful for your continued devotion to the Dharma
unfolding at Spirit Rock.
May the spring bloom for all.
Much warmth,
Special Thanks: All the staff and teachers
at Spirit Rock
Cover and other photos by Sharon Aronowitz,
Felicity Crush, Walt Opie and Michael Wilson.
Michelle Latvala, Executive Director
MAY - AUGUST 2015
3
Interconnection - Spirit Rock Scholarship Program
BY SALLY ARMSTRONG, CO-GUIDING TEACHER
We are held by an invisible web of support. At the most basic
level, the air we breathe, the food we eat, the very earth we
move on sustains us in a complex and beautiful way. Our daily
interactions with family, friends, coworkers and community
also comprises this web. When I’m teaching retreat, I’m acutely
aware of this support. The food that is prepared, the hall and
dorm room that offer shelter, the time to sink into the refuge
of the practice and the generations of yogis and teachers who
carry the legacy and beauty of these teachings.
As a sangha and as an organization dedicated to the Buddha’s
teachings of wisdom and compassion, our scholarship program
can be seen as a strand in that web of support. While our fees
for events and classes are kept as low as possible, we continuously seek to offer partial and full scholarships for those who
cannot afford the fee. In this next year alone, 1 in 5 yogis will be
supported by scholarship.
For our Mindfulness Yoga and Meditation Training (MYMT)
multi-year program we partnered with the Yoga Dana
Foundation, Phillip Moffitt’s Life Balance Institute and other
donors to create the Yoga Service Scholarship. This scholarship provided full tuition, room, and board to yoga teachers
(or teachers-in-training) who demonstrated financial need,
a proven commitment to teaching yoga to disadvantaged or
under-served communities, and a strong intention to bring the
benefits of their MYMT experience to those communities upon
completion of the program.
Through the overwhelming generosity of our sangha
members and Spirit Rock’s commitment to ensure these
teachings of wisdom and compassion are available to more
diverse communities, we have extended an unprecedented
amount of scholarship funding to young adults and individuals
from communities of color.
[Continued on page 4]
4
[Continued from page 3]
Ensuring access to teachings of wisdom and compassion to
these historically under-represented members of the sangha
has long been a priority. A multi-cultural sangha is not only a
more accurate reflection of Buddhism in the west, but ultimately
the seed for uprooting the causes of greed, hatred and delusion
in our world.
For our month-long, extended practice retreats, we also increased scholarship funds for young adults and individuals
self-identified from communities of color. With direct scholarship
support from my husband, Guy Armstrong, and me, more
young adults were able to attend the February and March
month-long retreat. And, because Spirit Rock is aware that
we live in a society where racial inequity has often resulted in
socioeconomic inequity, we actively seek to reduce the financial
barriers to participation for people of color. In total, approximately 41% of the participants for our month-long retreats
“
this year were scholarship recipients—an incredible practice of
generosity in our midst.
At Spirit Rock, providing scholarships to those in need is one of the
most important things we do. The generosity and kindness of our
donors have allowed Spirit Rock to offer more than $2.3 million
in scholarships over the last nine years. Thanks to you, no one is
turned away from many Spirit Rock events for lack of funds.
I often reflect when I’m teaching retreat that any one of the
yogis practicing near me might be a donor or a recipient of a
scholarship. Each offers their practice as a strand in the web of
interconnection and support that surrounds us.
May you benefit from the web of support your practice has
created, that Spirit Rock offers, and may you continue to scatter
the seeds of generosity widely.
I credit Spirit Rock’s generous scholarship opportunity with giving me hope during my darkest hours, and though
I still look forward to the day when I can attend the retreats without the scholarships, I am so grateful that during
these harsh economic times, there are generous and kind beings who give of themselves so those of us who are not
financially buoyant are able to grow their spiritual lives with the advantage of these sublime retreats. In gratitude, I
bow to that which never dies, and that which continues to emerge in each of us. Thank you for the gifts that you
have extended over the years, and for the loving attention that you bring to the land at Spirit Rock."
MEMBER
SANGHA
MAY - AUGUST 2015
5
“
I’m writing to express my gratitude in receiving a scholarship for the Fall Insight Meditation retreat. I
recently began to attend retreats at Spirit Rock this summer. As someone who has recently experienced
profound grief as a result of being a survivor of a brutal violent crime, my practice has truly become my
refuge. Having access to retreats at Spirit Rock through financial assistance has been a priceless asset in this
healing process. And you can be sure that the ripples of this generosity continue to abound – since I am able
to heal myself I can continue to be present for the young people I work with as a yoga/mindfulness teacher
in the Richmond schools and juvenile hall. Thank you."
GRATEFUL YOGI
New Program at Spirit Rock: Advanced Practitioners' Program (APP) - Spring 2016
For a number of years, Spirit Rock has offered a training program for its most senior students called the
Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP) and the Community Dharma Leader Program (CDL). As a result of these
training programs, we have a large pool of students who have committed to deepening their practice, and their
understanding of the Dharma. In response to the success of these multi-year, multi-retreat courses and to further
support these graduates, we are pleased to announce our newly developed Advanced Practitioners’ Program
(APP) beginning in the spring of 2016.
APP is intended for students who have completed DPP, CDL or the equivalent. This year-long program will consist
of three retreats; Emptiness in the spring 2016, Awareness in the fall 2016 and an interactive study retreat in
the spring of 2017. The first two retreats will mainly be held in silence to allow for a deepening of practice with a
small component of interactive study. The third retreat will have daily intervals of interactive study and practice
sessions throughout the week. The emphasis of this retreat will be to deepen the relationship of Sangha and to
explore how to continue practice after the program ends.
In addition, participants commit to maintaining both meditative and daily life practice, working with monthly
homework that includes readings, reflections and meditation instructions, regular meetings with study/practice
partners and APP teachers via quarterly conference calls.
Spirit Rock is excited to offer a program like this to our senior students, and hope that those of you who
have done DPP or CDL will join us. The program will be led by Sally Armstrong and Susie Harrington,
and the faculty will include Gil Fronsdal, Phillip Moffitt, Guy Armstrong, and other senior teachers.
Applications for APP will open in the spring of 2015, and people will be notified of acceptance by November 2015.
6
Everyday Generosity, Transformative Practice
BY RACHEL URIS, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Fund for Spirit Rock, Scholarships—offering
support to friends on this path
Capital Campaign—building for the present
and envisioning the future together
As you can see from Michelle’s letter on page 2, Spirit Rock’s
commitment to providing access to teachings of wisdom and
compassion runs deep.
Wow! I remain in awe of this community’s generosity to
support this phase of our capital campaign – building our
new Community Hall, Offices and Teacher/Staff Village.
We’re nearing the home stretch and hope to finish funding
this phase by the time we open the doors of our new
Community Hall in September. From gifts of $1,000 Sangha
of Thousands of Buddhas membership to gifts of a lifetime,
all of us together are making these buildings possible. In
these next few months we’ll ask you to consider supporting
the final elements of the buildings—they are framed and
ready for walls and then fixtures and carpeting. So exciting!
Thank you for your continued investment and the myriad
ways you step forward to support and strengthen this
community.
As always, thank you…. Each of us helps make this access
possible by offering as much as we can towards the cost
of a retreat or class via our sliding scale, by supporting our
operating Fund for Spirit Rock, and by offering direct aid to
our Scholarship Fund.
This year in particular we’ve increased our commitment to
scholarships ($526,000!). We’re offering these scholarships
because we believe this is the ‘right thing to do’ so that more
people have access to the Dharma, and because we believe
in the incredible generosity of this community that has and
continues to step forward in so many ways. Feel free to
contact us at [email protected] to ask a question or go
to spiritrock.org/giving to make a gift.
For those of you who have had the experience of sitting
retreat or coming onto the land even for a day, you know how
transformative this place and practice can be—we glimpse
the truth and reconnect to our heart. Again, thank you for
your contributions which make this possible for so many.
With deep gratitude and love,
Rachel Uris, Director of Development
MAY - AUGUST 2015
7
“
I was an early supporter of Spirit Rock, contributing to the original building campaign in the late 1980’s.
During my working years, giving to Spirit Rock and the scholarship fund was an integral part of my
dana practice. When I became disabled due to a life threatening condition, I suddenly found myself the
beneficiary of the scholarship program. After having been a giver for so many years, it was not easy to ask
for assistance: it didn’t fit my idea of myself. But I would not have been able to continue to attend retreats
without the help of this program. Dissolving the distinction between “giver” and “recipient” has been a
profound lesson. I cannot begin to express the support that my practice has provided me in facing old age,
disease and the prospect of death, and Spirit Rock continues to support my practice in a myriad of ways.
Now I include the Spirit Rock community in my gratitude practice: the staff, teachers, donors, and my
fellow yogis. Thank you all for your practice."
—GRATEFUL YOGI
Ways to Give
No matter which forms of generosity appeal to you in your support of Spirit Rock, please know that many practitioners are profoundly
grateful. Your generosity allows Spirit Rock to provide transformative experiences. If you have any questions, please call
Rachel Uris, Director of Development, at (415) 488-0164 x286 or email [email protected].
The Envelope in This Issue
Use the remit envelope included in this issue to make a gift of any size.
Online
Go to www.spiritrock.org/giving
Stewardship Circle
Join our monthly gift circle by offering $25 or more per month to support Spirit Rock day-to-day and
into the future; receive special monthly practice offerings in gratitude.
Respond to an Appeal
During the year we send out appeals via mail or email. Take a moment to read and respond with
whatever level of generosity feels right to you.
In Honor or Memory
Make a gift in honor or in memory of a loved one.
Matching Gifts
Find out if your employer will match your charitable contributions.
Bequests
Planned gifts are a way of leaving a legacy of support to Spirit Rock, and passing on your values.
Gifts of stock and IRA distributions
A simple way of offering gifts to Spirit Rock is through appreciated securities and IRA distributions.
8
Equanimity
BY SHARDA ROGELL, SPIRIT ROCK TEACHERS COUNCIL
People often struggle with the word
equanimity (uppekha in pali), wondering
how to understand what it means and
how to practice it in the face of our
human existence. We might be asking
ourselves, “How can anyone find peace
and calm when we live in a world with
such pain and suffering arising out of
cruel and insane acts of violence?” It’s
not like we live in a different world from the time of the Buddha.
Some studies say that in our country there is evidence of fewer
acts of cruelty happening at this time in our history than in
the past. What IS different is the speed of information coming
through newsfeeds on smartphones and tablets. Many of us
have access to what’s happening in the world instantly.
I encounter students again and again who think that equanimity
is a state of mind that means we should not have strong
feelings about things, that we should be calm and relaxed all the
time. Trying to maintain
this state, they judge
themselves and think
something is wrong with
them when they aren’t
able to. But I don’t think
equanimity is about the
way we feel at any given
time. I think it’s more
about our attitude, about
how we are relating to
what’s happening in our
experience.
Primarily, equanimity is
a radical acceptance of
the way things are. It’s
radical because it asks
us to accept everything
— no matter what. And
when this acceptance
comes into fruition it ultimately brings the greatest peace. So
from this point of view a practice of acceptance is always our
starting point. But this is where it gets tricky because Buddhist
practice is accused of being passive, even indifferent to worldly
concerns. It can seem like we are being ask to detach and even
turn away from the world. But to think this is true would be an
unfortunate and mistaken view of the Buddha’s teachings.
The Buddha invites us to keep our heart and mind open to
whatever is occurring, moment-to-moment and to not act out
of our anger and confusion; to not engage in actions that will
cause more pain and suffering but rather to approach situations
with wisdom and compassion. (As a friend said to me the other
day, “It means saying ‘yes’ to whatever is happening.”) So how
do we stay connected to experience with a clear mind and an
open heart when we know there is so much pain in the world?
This is what the entirety of the teachings point to.
Equanimity practice is a good starting point because it begins
by paying attention to whenever we are getting reactive and
resistant, or dull and withdrawn and employing tools and
resources to help ourselves connect and be more present.
Firstly, it involves refraining from judgment about ourselves
and accepting that having emotional responses to things is part
of our human condition. (As a support, we can quietly repeat
this phrase to ourselves – “May I accept things just as they are.”)
Understanding that unless we are present with a clear mind
and an open heart and refrain from acting out we are likely to
reinforce more pain and suffering not only for ourselves but for
others too. Only then can we begin to see the situation at hand
with some clarity. When we
remove the reactive filters
from our mind and heart
it’s more likely we will have
a sense of what would be
a wise and compassionate
response to the situation at
hand.
The Buddha teaches us
about the eight worldly
winds – praise and blame,
pleasure and pain, gain and
loss, success and failure - and
asks us to reflect on their
impermanent nature. He said
that these winds are “spinning
the world.” His teachings
point to a way to be free of
this spinning, so that over
time we develop a steadiness
within ourselves where the winds of the world can no longer
topple us over in the same way. We are anchored, secured,
grounded, as if our body has a ballast running down our spine
and into our legs. We feel sturdy and protected from the turmoil
of the world.
This sets the ground for us to engage in wise and compassionate
action that can more effectively bring about the changes that
are so desperately needed in our world. In this way, equanimity
becomes the starting point as well as the end point for
generating a peaceful existence for all beings everywhere.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
9
Spirit Rock News
Welcome new Board members!
Marlena Byrne is a San Francisco
City Attorney and a California native
from a large Irish-Mexican family. Her
dedication to the Dharma grew from
a 12-year yoga practice, volunteering
at Spirit Rock, supporting the Capital
Campaign, attending retreats and
participating on the Planning Committee
for Mission Dharma in San Francisco.
Renee Rivera has been a student of
the Dharma since 2004, and has
been a part of the EBMC Alphabet
Sangha since 2008. She is an EBMC
board member and helped to launch
the “Friends of EBMC” monthly giving
program as part of the Generosity
Committee. She is the Executive
Director of Bike East Bay (formerly
the East Bay Bicycle Coalition).
Lyle Poncher is a co-founder of
Voyager Management, an investment
organization. Lyle has had a daily
meditation practice since 1967, and is
a long-time practitioner of the Taoist
internal martial arts. Lyle serves on
the Board of Trustees and is former
Board President of Wildwood School in
Los Angeles, was a Board member at
Esalen and is also a trustee of Metivta,
a Los Angeles non-profit organization.
Tempel Smith is a member of the
Spirit Rock Teachers Council. He
spent a year as a monk in Burma
with Sayadaw U Pandita and Pa
Auk Sayadaw. Tempel organizes
the Dedicated Practitioner Program
(DPP) and Living Dharma retreats
for Spirit Rock and teaches classes
in the East Bay.
Compassion, Presence and Resilience (CPR)
Mind Training for Health Care Providers and the Healing Professions
An 8-week course with Mark Coleman starting May 13, 2015
For 2 hours a week, the program involves experiential learning and practice including:
•
Meditation practices including mindfulness, kindness, compassion, equanimity
and appreciative joy;
•
Reflective journaling exercises;
•
Lectures on the various heart qualities essential for CPR Mind Training;
•
Interactive themed discussions;
•
Instruction in short practices applicable for use in the workplace;
•
Cultivation of a daily meditation practice; and
•
Homework practices on mindfulness and compassion.
Please visit spiritrock.org to register.
CE Credit Available
Available online
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Spirit Rock Updates
The Community Hall is slowly taking shape (above.) Every day we see more
progress toward the creation of beautiful light-filled rooms for the sangha to
practice together.
Here Comes the Sun!
In February, we were able to switch on our solar array. The new
solar energy system allows us to generate enough electricity for
the entire campus. The amount of carbon offset is equivalent to
removing 50 tons of harmful greenhouse gases annually. Over
the next 30 years, the air pollution saved will be equivalent to
eliminating almost 3 million miles of driving.
Next Teacher Training Approved
In an effort to support inclusivity and diversity in western
Buddhism, Spirit Rock is working with our sister sangha IMS
to support the development of more Teachers of Color. Our
aspiration in 2017 is to ensure the next Teacher Training
program is 75% self-identified individuals of color as a step
toward diversifying teaching leadership.
The administrative offices are nearly complete (above.) We hope to move
staff into the new space in early summer.
Everyday Life as Mindfulness Practice
An 11-segment course on how to make your day-to-day experience a
basis for mindfulness practice. This unique online course offers video
teachings and monthly live teleconference calls with Sylvia.
Please visit: spiritrock.org/online-events.
An online course with Sylvia Boorstein
MAY - AUGUST 2015
11
The Passing of a Beloved Teacher
Volunteer Profile
Nina Heimlich
When my husband and I moved to the
Bay Area 3 years ago a friend of ours,
who knew that I was on a spiritual path,
suggested I visit Sprit Rock. I attended
an "Introduction to Insight Meditation"
daylong and not only loved the workshop
but also fell in love with the place! There is
such a spirit of peace and clarity here.
RUTH DENISON
September 29 1922 - February 26 2015
I had been very active in a yoga and meditation-based spiritual
community in New York. It had become such a pillar of my life
that I was looking for a spiritual community to connect with
and I found volunteering to be the best way to do that. I missed
having that in my life and I am happy to have become a part of
the community here. I also like to take part in movements that
support the awakening of humanity.
Most spiritual traditions place an immense value on service
and I am starting to understand why. It purifies the mind and
the heart. Joy and happiness come up when I can be helpful
and useful. There are the joys and challenges of working with
different people as a team and there is also the diminishing
of ego when doing tasks that you would rather not do, like
cleaning toilets etc. I have experienced a great opening of the
heart while cleaning toilets. What a wonderful lesson!
Volunteering keeps me connected to my spiritual community,
grounded and motivated in my spiritual practice. Coming to
Spirit Rock is my quiet time, my rejuvenation, kind of like a spa
day for the soul. It is the scaffolding that keeps the rest of my
life in place. I have met wonderful people and taken part in
insightful and nourishing workshops through volunteering at
Spirit Rock. All around an incredibly enriching experience!
Spirit Rock relies on the generosity of our many volunteers. We offer
a range of volunteer opportunities from one-time projects to ongoing
service. Check our website to find out more about our volunteer
program or contact our Volunteer & Community Coordinator, Marya
Mayer, at [email protected] or (415) 488-0164 ext. 224.
“
Each moment is different,
there is a hidden jewel in every one."
—RUTH DENISON
Ruth was a real bodhisattva — she was the first woman
to teach vipassana in the West, supporting teachers and
dharma communities for more than 45 years. Burmese
teacher U Ba Khin authorized very few people to teach
and Ruth was the only western woman in a handful of
authorized teachers.
As the first Buddhist teacher to lead an all-women’s retreat
and the first teacher to use movement and dance to train
her students in mindfulness, Ruth created a quintessentially
female, masterfully accessible, body-centered way of
teaching the Dharma.
Ruth's personal journey began in Nazi Germany where, as a
young woman, she struggled to survive the challenges that
befell her after the war. After immigrating to California, she
met and married Henry Denison, a spiritual seeker and former
Advaita Vedanta monk. Through the sixties and seventies
their home hosted a wide variety of luminaries - Alan Watts,
Aldous and Laura Huxley, Fritz Perls, U.G. Krishnamurti, and
Timothy Leary to name a few. Ruth and Henry also traveled
extensively throughout Asia and Europe to study with the
foremost spiritual teachers of the twentieth century. This
experience became the rich foundation for Ruth's flowering as
an imminent Buddhist teacher from the 1980s onward.
Through her years of intense spiritual practice and
teaching, Ruth ripened into a mature, wise, and delightfully
unpredictable teacher. Her presence and depth of insight
will be greatly missed.
12
Upcoming Highlights
Experienced Student Daylong The Seven Factors of Awakening
Monastic Day: Desire or Aspiration?
Wanting Mind versus Spiritual Direction
(Dana - By Donation)
SATURDAY, MAY 9, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
PHILLIP MOFFITT
SUNDAY, JUNE 14, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
In the Buddha’s teaching of the Satipatthana Sutta, his
key teaching on mindfulness, the Seven Factors of
Awakening are exceeded in importance only by the
pinnacle teaching of the Four Noble Truths. Developing
a thorough understanding of the Seven Factors of
Awakening and learning how to apply them in our
practice prepares us to be able to realize the insights of
the Four Noble Truths. (See page 17)
AJAHN PASANNO
Writing Your Heart Out:
Voicing Your Loves, Desires and Longings
Can a Buddhist want anything? This daylong will focus
on desire versus interest or aspiration, and how to
establish spiritually-oriented direction. We will explore
the question of "What is enough?" and look at the
qualities of contentment and gratitude. (See page 25)
Being Present in the Body: Using Mindfulness to
Work with Trauma (A Day for People of Color)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
PAWAN BAREJA
SATURDAY, MAY 23, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Mindfulness helps us recognize the influence of
past traumatic events which inhabit our daily life,
here and now, through response patterns of stress
and anxiety. Working directly with our bodies, we
begin to heal old trauma wounds by discharging the
unresolved traumatic energy that gets bound in the
nervous system. (See page 33)
ROGER HOUSDEN
What do you long for? What really moves you? How
have your losses touched and affected the way you
move in the world? Investigate your deepest desire
by writing your passions, loves, losses and deepest
longings. (See page 20)
Bouncing Back:
Rewiring Your Brain for Resilience and Well-Being
Loving What Is:
A Day with Byron Katie & Stephen Mitchell
SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
LINDA GRAHAM
BYRON KATIE & STEPHEN MITCHELL
Mindfulness and compassion practices are amongst
the most powerful agents of brain change known to
modern science. Buddhist contemplative practices
and tools from modern relational psychology can help
practitioners let go of unwholesome coping strategies
and cultivate wholesome ones. (See page 23)
Byron Katie has one job: to teach people how to
end their own suffering. Her simple yet powerful
process of inquiry —The Work, transforms stressful
beliefs. (See page 34)
ONLINE COURSE/CLASS SERIES
LIVE VIDEO STREAM EVENTS
Compassion, Presence and Resilience (CPR): Mind
Training for Health Care Providers and the Healing Professions
Opening into Allness: The Practical Neuroscience of Wholeness
and Oneness Experience
MARK COLEMAN | 8 Wednesdays, May 13 - July 15, (see page 18)
RICK HANSON | Sunday, July 19, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm PST (see page 31)
In person and online
Loving What Is:
A Day with Byron Katie & Stephen Mitchell
Everyday Life As Mindfulness Practice
SYLVIA BOORSTEIN | Course available at spiritrock.org/online-events
Online only
BYRON KATIE & STEPHEN MITCHELL |
Saturday, August 22, 10.00 am - 5:00 pm PST (see page 34)
FAMILY & TEEN EVENTS
Family Practice Day
Family Retreat (4 nights) (LOTTERY)
Abhayagiri Teen Weekend (2 nights)
VENERABLE PANNAVATI
GIL FRONSDAL, AYYA ANANDABODHI,
AJAHN PASANNO, FOREST FEIN August 28 - 30
Sunday, June 7 (See page 36)
KATE JANKE, OFOSU JONES-QUARTEY
(See page 36)
| July 29 - August 2 (See page 36)
MAY - AUGUST 2015
13
Residential Retreats At-a-Glance
Please register online or download the forms, when available, for the specific retreat you plan to attend. Each retreat has unique details and
pricing. If you do not have access to the website, please call (415) 488-0164, or e-mail [email protected].
Please note that in April 2014, construction began on the lower campus for our permanent Community Hall. The upper retreat hall is not
directly affected by the construction. While some ambient sound may travel, it will not be continuous. Teachers will give guidance on how to
use any construction sounds you might hear as a basis for your practice.
MAY
page
1-8
Sacred Tenderness: Exploring the Energies of Our
Hearts (Yucca Valley) (LOTTERY)
Larry Yang, Tara Brach, Gina Sharpe, Thanissara, Kittisaro,
Ruth King, Konda Mason (yoga)
16
10 - 17
May Insight Meditation Retreat
Gil Fronsdal, Mary Grace Orr, John Travis, Heather Sundberg,
Rebecca Kronlage (yoga)
17
18 - 25
A Field Guide to the Mind:
Practical Abhidhamma for Meditators
Steve Armstrong, Mark Nunberg
18 - 25
Natural Liberation: Buddhist Insight Retreat (UWH)
Wes Nisker, Grove Burnett
20
25 - 31
Reclaiming the Wisdom of the Mother of All
Buddhas: A Women’s Retreat (Santa Rosa)
Joanna Macy, Debra Chamberlin-Taylor, Anna Douglas,
Erin Treat 21
29 - 31
An Intimate Benefit Weekend for Spirit Rock: Living
with Awareness
Jack Kornfield, Sylvia Boorstein
1-7
Essential Teachings of the Path of Awakening
Sally Armstrong, Tempel Smith, Adrianne Ross
23
8 - 14
Aging, Dying and Awakening
(for age 55 & over)
Anna
Anna Douglas,
Douglas, Eugene
Eugene Cash,
Cash, Ruth
Ruth King
King
2/10
24
8 - 14
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness:
A Study, Discussion and Practice Retreat (UWH)
Tempel Smith
24
15 - 21
From Breath to Spacious Awareness
Donald Rothberg, Susie Harrington,Teja Bell (qigong)
25
15 - 21
Loving the House that Ego Built (UWH)
Howard Cohn, Erin Treat
25
17 - 21
Mindfulness of the Body (Santa Rosa)
Anushka Fernandopulle, Lila Kate Wheeler, Chas DiCapua
22 - 28
Awakening Mindfulness & Compassion in
our Work as Educators and Mental Health &
Healing Arts Professionals (Santa Rosa)
Lesley Grant, Gary Buck, Richard Shankman (CEs available)
22 - 28
Mindfulness Facilitators Retreat
Diana Winston, Mark Coleman, Bob Stahl, Jill Satterfield (movement)
(CEs available)
28
29 - July 5
Annual People of Color Retreat:
Deepen Your Dharma, Deepen Your Freedom
Larry Yang, DaRa Williams, Nikki Mirghafori, Jaya Rudgard,
Konda Mason (yoga)
29
8 - 17
July Metta Retreat
Sally Armstrong, Sylvia Boorstein, Larry Yang, Tempel Smith, Kate Johnson (yoga)
29
17 - 26
July Insight Meditation Retreat (Lottery)
Joseph Goldstein, Kamala Masters, Pascal Auclair, Anushka Fernandopulle
30
29 - Aug 2
Family Retreat (LOTTERY)
Gil Fronsdal, Ayya Anandabodhi, Kate Janke, Ofosu Jones-Quartey
36
3-9
Insight Meditation Retreat for Young Adults (ages 18-32)
Tempel Smith, Teja Bell (qigong), Spring Washam, Pascal Auclair, La Sarmiento,
32
10 - 19
Concentration Retreat
Phillip Moffitt, Sally Armstrong, Eugene Cash, Andrea Fella,
33
20 - 23
It’s Closer Than You Think - Monastic Retreat
24 - 30
Meditation & Yoga Retreat
20
22
JUNE
26
27
JULY
AUGUST
Marcy Reynolds (qigong)
Ayya Anandabodhi, Ayya Santacitta
34
Anna Douglas, Pascal Auclair, Janice Gates (yoga),
35
Leslie Booker (yoga)
UWH = Upper Walking Hall
14
Schedule of Events
May - June - July - Aug 2015
Please consult the Spirit Rock website at spiritrock.org for a full listing
of classes, retreats and events. All classes and daylongs are held in
the Community Meditation Hall unless otherwise noted.
Daylong, Class Series, Benefit and Special Event Registration
Online registration using a credit card is available at spiritrock.org. For registrations
by mail, send your check to Spirit Rock, PO Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973.
Please include your daytime phone number and e-mail address, and write the
event code on the outside of the envelope and on your check. For registration
by phone, call (415) 488-0164 x266, Monday–Friday. See page 17 for more
information on daylong event fees, volunteer opportunities and reduced rates.
Paths for Awakening
The Practice and Study of
Insight Meditation at Spirit Rock
At Spirit Rock, our mission is to offer a direct
experience of the Buddha’s path of liberation
through a variety of retreats, practices,
teachings and trainings. We have divided
suggested areas of practice into the four
levels listed below; from beginning stages
to more advanced stages. Visit our website
under Programs/Paths for Awakening for
more information and suggested readings
for each level.
In the Schedule of Events, starting on
page 16, look for the color-coded symbols
on many of the events as a guide.
Beginning Insight Meditation
Introduction to Buddhism
Exploring the Buddhist Path
Deepening Practices and Wisdom
For regular dharma teachings, plus
Spirit Rock-related photos and updates,
we encourage you to join us on
Facebook, Twitter (@Spirit_Rock),
Google+ and LinkedIn.
Cancellations for Daylongs, Class Series, Benefits and Special Events
Call (415) 488-0164 x266 or e-mail [email protected] to cancel. You can
request a credit up to two business days before an event; we will credit your
registration fee towards another non-residential event. If you don’t contact us
prior to this deadline, no credit will be issued. All credits must be used within one
year of their date of issue. In order to use a credit, please call our events registrar
at x266. Credits are not transferable to residential retreats.
Registration for Residential Retreats
Please note that retreats open for registration four months before the start
date (five months if a lottery retreat). Check our website for the open date
and register online. You may also download application forms to submit via
fax or mail.
Cancellations for Residential Retreats
There is a $100 cancellation fee if you cancel eight weeks or more before the
retreat. The fee is $175 if you cancel 4-8 weeks before the retreat. The fee is $225
if you cancel 1-4 weeks before the retreat. If you cancel one week before the
retreat, the fee is $300. No refunds as of 3:00pm on the last business day prior
to retreat start day. Cancellation dates and fees vary for each retreat.
Financial Assistance for Residential Retreats
Financial aid is available for residential retreats through our scholarship funds. All
residential retreats have a limited amount of scholarship funding and a limited
number of Young Adult (age 18-26) special rate beds available for $25 per
night on a first-come, first-served basis. Work exchange opportunities are also
available in the kitchen or with housekeeping. For retreat scholarship information,
contact the registrars at (415) 488-0164 or [email protected]
Carpooling to Spirit Rock
To offer or ask for a ride to any event, class or retreat at Spirit Rock, there is
an online bulletin board. The ride-share bulletin board can be found at
spiritrock.org/carpooling.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
Weekly Classes at Spirit Rock
MONDAY NIGHT CLASS 7:15 - 9:15 pm
MARK COLEMAN, MATTHEW BRENSILVER, WILL KABAT-ZINN,
NIKKI MIRGHAFORI
Monday night serves as an introduction to the practices of awareness
and compassion that are the heart of our community. This gathering
also offers support and ongoing teachings to committed students. For
more details and a schedule of teachers, visit our website. For cars
with less than 3 people there is a $10 non-carpooling fee.
Cost of class $8-$10 sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher. A vegetarian
dinner is occasionally served from 6 - 6:45 pm. Cost for dinner is $10-$15 sliding
scale, children $4-$5. Visit our website for dates when dinner will be served.
WEDNESDAY MORNING MEDITATION CLASS 9 - 11 am
SYLVIA BOORSTEIN, DONALD ROTHBERG AND OTHERS
Sitting and practice-oriented discussion, suitable for beginners
as well as engaged practitioners.
Cost $8-$10 sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher.
THURSDAY MORNING MEDITATION CLASS FOR WOMEN-ONLY
Will resume after the opening of the new Community Hall.
FRIDAY MORNING MEDITATION & YOGA 10:00 am - 12:15 pm
DANA DEPALMA WITH YOGA TEACHER ASHLEY SHARP AND OTHERS
Each class begins with an hour of mindful yoga (suitable for all levels)
followed by a guided meditation, and concludes with a dharma talk,
inquiry and discussion.
Cost $8-$10 sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers.
15
Ongoing Classes with Spirit Rock Teachers
Berkeley – James Baraz
Thursdays, 7:30-9:30 pm
Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Ave
www.insightberkeley.org/aboutus
Berkeley – Will Kabat-Zinn
Sundays, 7-9 pm
Ashtanga Yoga Berkeley, 933 Parker St #38, Bay 5
www.ashtangayogaberkeley.com
Berkeley – Wes Nisker
Wednesdays, 7:30-9 pm
Yoga Kula Berkeley, 1700 Shattuck Ave
www.yogakula.com
Marin Sunday Sangha – Phillip Moffitt
Sundays, 6-8 pm. St. Luke Presbyterian Church
10 Bayview Dr., San Rafael
www.dharmawisdom.org
[email protected] or (415) 435-3141
Oakland - Larry Yang (Alphabet Sangha of Oakland)
Tuesdays, 7-8:30 pm
East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th St
For LGBTIQ-SGL (Alphabet) communities
http://eastbaymeditation.org/alphabet
[email protected]
Redwood City - Gil Fronsdal, Andrea Fella
Insight Meditation Center, 108 Birch (at Hopkins)
www.insightmeditationcenter.org
[email protected] or
(650) 599-3456
San Francisco – Anushka Fernandopulle
Mondays, 7-9 pm, CIIS, 1453 Mission St, Rm 216
www.anushkaf.org
Monthly Classes
LIFE BEYOND SIXTY - 55 & OLDER (2 nd Thursday) 2:00 - 4:30 pm
ANNA DOUGLAS AND OTHERS
Join your peers in re-inventing what it means to be old! We will use
the tools of meditation and contemplative inquiry to explore our
actual experience of aging, which may be different from the culture's
prevailing notions.
DHARMA & RECOVERY GROUP (2 nd Friday) 7:30 - 9:30 pm
KEVIN GRIFFIN AND OTHERS
This group meets to explore the intersection of recovery with Buddhist
teaching and practices. We welcome people who identify with any of
the full range of addictions; from substances, to behaviors, to habitual
thought and emotional patterns.
Placerville – Ayya Anandabodhi
Aloka Vihara (see website for information)
www.saranaloka.org
San Francisco – Eugene Cash
Sundays 7-9 pm
First Unitarian Church, 1187 Franklin St (at Geary)
www.sfinsight.org or (415) 994-5951
San Francisco – Howard Cohn
Tuesdays 7:30-9 pm
St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1661 15th St, at Julian
www.missiondharma.org or (415) 447-7761
Palm Springs, CA – Larry Yang
www.desertinsight.org
Sierra Foothills – John Travis
www.mtstream.org
Todos Santos, Baja, Mexico – Robert Hall
www.eldharma.com
16
May
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Sacred Tenderness: Exploring the Energies of Our
Hearts (LOTTERY)
Celebrating the Feminine Divine: A Day with the
Bodhisattva of Compassion Kwan Yin
Joshua Tree Spiritual Center, Yucca Valley
Saturday, May 2, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm
Friday, May 1 - Friday, May 8 (7 nights)
SANDY BOUCHER
LARRY YANG, TARA BRACH, GINA SHARPE, THANISSARA, KITTISARO,
RUTH KING, KONDA MASON (YOGA)
This silent meditation retreat seeks to deepen our connection to the
beauty of our lives and our world through the wisdom and gentleness
of our hearts. The practices of Awareness and Loving-kindness
from the Buddhist tradition deepen our insight into the truth about
our lives and the conditions in which we live, while cultivating a
compassionate heart and a clear mind. Through the silent sitting,
walking, movement, and eating meditations with support from
teachers, we are invited into the wholeness and brilliance that shines
through the full range of our unique and diverse lives.
Held at the Joshua Tree Spiritual Retreat Center in the high desert
near Joshua Tree National Park, about an hour from Palm Springs.
Cost $1780 - $890, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers and the retreat
staff. Code 254R15
In this daylong retreat we may discover that Kwan Yin, the Celestial
Bodhisattva of Compassion, exists most powerfully in our deepest
nature, as well as being a presence and inspiration in the world. We
will be given the opportunity to experience profound rest and peace
as we open to this transcendent female figure.
In exploring some of the feelings and beliefs surrounding our
experience of compassion, we will always begin with nurturance of
ourselves. Guided by Kwan Yin's spacious presence, our practices
cultivate acceptance of all that is human, with tender care for
ourselves, our loved ones, the earth and all beings.
Through sitting and walking meditation, a short writing exercise,
guided visualization, music and chanting, we are invited to awaken in
ourselves the loving playful energy of the "Goddess of Compasssion."
Men and women welcome. Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+
with limited and fixed income) are invited to attend this day for $25.
No one turned away for lack of funds.
Cost $55 - $150, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher. If paying at the
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code SB2D15.
Sandy Boucher, MA, has just published She Appears! Encounters with Kwan Yin
Goddess of Compassion. This rich compendium of writings and artwork features
fifty Western women who have experienced powerful encounters with Kwan Yin.
Sandy has practiced, written about and taught both vipassana and writing for thirty
years. She leads retreats on Dharma and Writing and co-leads the "Meditation and
the Spirit of Creativity" retreat at Spirit Rock. She has published nine books.
Practicing the Foundations of Mindfulness
Sunday, May 3, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
HOWARD COHN
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness are the Buddha’s essential
guide to mindfulness meditation. During this silent day of practice,
we will settle our attention into our bodies, become more attuned
to the triggers that lead to our mental reactions, thoughts and
emotions, and deepen our understanding of what liberates our
hearts from confusion and mental suffering. The Buddha was called
the Happy One and establishing the Four Foundations is central to
realizing the well-being and happiness that is possible in this life.
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited or fixed income)
are invited to attend this event for $25. No one turned away for lack
of funds.
Cost $55 - $150 sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher. If paying at the
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code HC2D15
For complete teacher biographies, please visit spiritrock.org
To carpool visit our online ride-sharing bulletin board at spiritrock.org/forum.
In consideration of others, please do not wear any scented products to Spirit Rock, including natural or essential oils.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
17
Fees/Scholarships/Reduced Rates/Volunteering
Experienced Student Daylong - The Seven Factors of
Awakening
PHILLIP MOFFITT
In the Buddha’s teaching of the Satipatthana Sutta, his key teaching
on mindfulness, the Seven Factors of Awakening are exceeded in
importance only by the pinnacle teaching of the Four Noble Truths.
Developing a thorough understanding of the Seven Factors of
Awakening and learning how to apply them in our practice prepares
us to be able to realize the insights of the Four Noble Truths.
In this daylong, we will explore the essential understandings of
these factors and how to cultivate them, how they balance each
other, and how to work with them simultaneously. The day will
include dharma talks, sitting and walking meditation, and time for
questions and discussion.
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited or fixed income)
of funds.
Cost $55 - $150 sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher. If paying at the
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code PM2D15
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
May Insight Meditation Retreat
Sunday, May 10 - Sunday, May 17 (7 nights)
GIL FRONSDAL, MARY GRACE ORR, JOHN TRAVIS, HEATHER
SUNDBERG, REBECCA KRONLAGE (YOGA)
This retreat follows the usual Insight Meditation (vipassana)
format of sitting and walking in silence, with systematic meditation
instructions. Teachers give daily dharma talks and there will be
time for individual interviews. A good retreat for beginning and
experienced meditators.
Spirit Rock extends a special invitation to young adults (age 18-26)
who wish to attend this retreat at a rate of $25 per night, on a
first-come, first-serve basis. A limited number of special rates are
available, please apply early.
Cost $1430 - $715, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers and retreat
staff. Code 256R15
Spirit Rock's intention is to make these teachings accessible to
all. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Benefits, special
events and residential retreats are an exception to this policy.
Daylongs, Classes, Events & Benefits (Non-Residential)
Pre-registration closes at noon each Friday for weekend events.
For class series and other non-weekend events, pre-registration
closes at 1 pm one business day before the event. In order to
receive the pre-registration price, you must pay in full at the time
you pre-register.
Please contribute at the highest level of the sliding scale that you
can afford. This allows others who need to pay less the opportunity
to attend.
Dana (donations)
Teachers are supported by the offerings made at each event. The
practice of generosity, or dana, in all forms is considered a central
pillar of Buddhadharma practice. We invite you to contribute what
is appropriate for you.
Senior and Young Adult Rates
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited and fixed
income) are invited to attend regular daylong events for $25
(excluding Benefits and Special Events) and class series for half
price (with occasional exceptions).
Scholarships
Full and partial scholarships are available for daylongs, half-days,
and most classes; partial scholarships are available for Special
Events. Scholarships are not available for Benefits. To request a
scholarship, email [email protected] or call (415) 4880164 x224. For more information: www.spiritrock.org/programs.
Volunteering
Volunteers earn credit towards attending events. Volunteers
also work on the day of a program in exchange for attending
the event for free or pay a reduced fee. To learn more, contact
[email protected] or (415) 488-0164 x224.
Residential Retreats
Dana (donations)
Teachers and direct retreat staff are supported by the dana
contributions collected at the end of each retreat. We invite you to
contribute what is appropriate for you.
Young Adult / Senior Rates
For all residential retreats, we offer a limited number of Young
Adult special rate beds available for $25 per night, on a first-come,
first-served basis. We do not have a Senior rate for residential
retreats; however, we strongly encourage you to apply for a
scholarship if you require financial assistance.
Scholarships & Work Exchange
See 'Financial Assistance for Residential Retreats' on page 14.
18
CLASS SERIES
Working With Judgments
CPR: Compassion, Presence and Resilience
Mind Training for Health Care Providers & the
Healing Professions
Sunday, May 10, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
DONALD ROTHBERG
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
loving-kindness practices, inquiry, dyad work and role play. These
will help us to transform the energy of judgments — preserving the
intelligence often found in judgments, while working through the
destructive and compulsive aspects of judgments. Those attending
the daylong will have an option of continuing with monthly evening
follow-up sessions in Berkeley.
Teachings are appropriate for individuals as well as health care
professionals. Continuing Education (CE) credit available.
income) are invited to attend this day for $25. No one turned away
for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code DR5D15
Awakening in Nature - A Day of Meditation
Outdoors
Sunday, May 10, 9:00 am - 4:30 pm
MARK COLEMAN
Nowhere is the power of contemplative silence and meditation
more profound than in the beauty of nature. Like the Buddha and his
students, we will explore how awareness is profoundly supported by
the natural world as we spend a tranquil day in sitting and walking
meditation in the hills and meadows of Spirit Rock land. Through
various Buddhist and nature meditation practices we will explore
mindfulness meditation - the capacity to be present and awake to
ourselves, our environment and reality.
Nature is the teacher par excellence of impermanence, constantly
revealing the ebb and flow of life in seasons, changing light, weather,
death and regeneration. It also teaches us beautifully how to
appreciate this fragile and vulnerable life and how to let go when
things do change. Through deepening our sensitivity to this truth
we can touch profound experiences of peace as we meet this reality
without struggle, and discover that which is beyond time and change
in this fleeting world. In this day there will be talks, discussion,
guided meditations and group exercises. The day will be held in
spacious silence. No previous meditation experience necessary.
8 Wednesdays, May 13 - July 15, (no classes June 17 or July 1)
7:00 - 9:00 pm
MARK COLEMAN
Available in person and as an online class
CPR Mind Training is a skills-based, experiential program designed
to train health care and healing profession providers with qualities
that support wisdom, kindness and inner sustainability. The
course will enable you to bring a more kind-hearted attitude and
compassionate presence to yourself and to working with others by
integrating these three key components:
Compassion—Cultivating self-compassion for one’s own pain, the
development of empathy for others (patients, clients, etc.) and a
caring compassion towards the suffering of others.
Presence—Training in Mindfulness, the cultivation of self-awareness,
the development of focused attention, and open awareness of
one’s inner and outer experience as well as the cultivation of clarity,
curiosity and calm while working with others.
Resilience—An exploration of ways to stay steady and balanced in
the face of workplace stress, competing demands, time pressures
and challenging emotional situations. We will also look at how
equanimity sustains us in the face of the immensity of suffering in
our lives and in the world.
The program takes place for 2 hours a week for 8 weeks and
involves experiential learning and practice including:
•
A variety of meditation practices including mindfulness,
kindness, compassion, equanimity, and appreciative joy;
•
Reflective journaling exercises;
•
Lectures on the various heart qualities essential for CPR Mind Training;
•
Interactive themed discussions; and
•
Instruction in short practices applicable for use in the workplace.
professionals. Continuing Education (CE) credit will be available for
those who complete the entire course. No partial or per class credit
will be offered. See website for more information.
Young Adults (18 - 26) and Seniors (65+ with limited and fixed
income) are invited to attend this class series for $100.
Cost $250 - $200 sliding scale, includes teacher dana. Code MC1C15. Online
class Code MC1N15
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited and fixed income) are
invited to attend this day for $25. No one turned away for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Code MC2D15
MAY - AUGUST 2015
19
Continuing Education (CE) Credits
Grateful Heart, Joyful Heart
JAMES BARAZ, JANE BARAZ
Research shows that those who practice gratitude increase their
feelings of joyfulness, enthusiasm, interest and energy. Gratitude
also activates other positive emotions such as kindness, compassion,
generosity, joy, love, and contentment. With gratitude we tend to see
what is filling and fueling our lives rather than what is missing. You can
consciously cultivate gratitude through practice. When we pause to
notice what we usually take for granted, a new world of possibilities
opens up.
We will explore a variety of practices from Buddhist psychology as
well as neuroscience and contemporary psychology, including guided
meditations, journaling and interactive exercises. They help establish
the habit of noticing what's good in our lives and learning to let it register
deeply in our awareness.
These events meet the qualifications for continuing education
for MFTs and LCSWs as required by the CA Board of Behavioral
Sciences, provider #PCE1851. These events also meet the
qualifications for continuing education for psychologists and
nurses through the Spiritual Competency Resource Center
(SCRC). SCRC is approved by the American Psychological
Association to offer continuing education for psychologists and
SCRC maintains responsibility for approving the program as
being suitable for psychologist CE credits.
SCRC is a California Board of Registered Nursing Provider
(CEP11909). In order to qualify for CE credit, you must arrive and
sign in within 15 minutes of the start of the event and stay until
the end of the event.
5/10
Working with Judgments
5/13
Compassion, Presence and Resilience (8-week class)
5/24
Healing Trauma using Loving-Kindness and Compassion
5/31
Loving Presence - The Union of Mindfulness & Compassion
6/6
Bouncing Back: Rewiring your Brain for Resilience and Well-Being
6/13
Radiant Intimacy
6/21
Working with Anger: Developing Skill in the Midst of Intense Feeling
For James Baraz’s bio please see page 37.
6/22
The Tao and the Dharma: Practices of Qigong and
Vipassana
Awakening Mindfulness and Compassion in our Work as Educators and Mental Health & Healing Arts Professionals (Retreat)
6/22
6/28
Mindfulness of Aging (Age 55 & Older)
Sunday, May 17, 9:30 am - 4:30 pm
7/5
Introduction to Meditation - Transforming Reactivity through Presence
Join Franz and Wes for a wonderful day learning the most elegant
of the traditional Buddhist and Taoist exercises of breath and mind.
Through these ancient practices, we will explore our nature as
nature and enter more intimately into the flow of life itself. As we
come to feel ourselves as part of the movement of creation, our
lives gain new meaning and we find relief from the suffering of a
separate, disconnected self. The daylong will offer time for discussion,
reflection, and plenty of humor, crazy wisdom and poetry. Franz will
offer qigong practices outdoors in the meadow as weather permits.
7/12
Transforming Emotions: Qigong Sound Healing and Meditation
7/19
Opening into Allness: The Practical Neuroscience of Wholeness and Oneness Experience
7/22
Dependent Origination as a Buddhist Psychology (9-week class)
7/26
Loving the House That Ego Built
8/9
Being Present in the Body: Using Mindfulness to Work with Trauma (A Day for People of Color)
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ on limited and fixed income) are
invited to attend this event for $25. No one turned away for lack of funds.
8/15
Anxiety and MIndfulness
8/30
The Neuro-Dharma of Love - Using Brain Science and Buddhist Wisdom to Illuminate the Heart of Important Relationships
Cost $55 - $150, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers. If paying at the
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code JB2D15
Jane Baraz has been practicing meditation since 1976. She served on the Board of Directors
at Spirit Rock, helped start the Spirit Rock Family Program, completed the Dedicated
Practitioners Program and led Kalyana Mitta groups. She currently leads Awakening Joy
workshops internationally and teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Berkeley.
WES NISKER, FRANZ MOECKL
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code WN2D15
Franz Moeckl, has practiced Taiji and Qigong for more than 30 years. He has been
a Buddhist monk in Burma and Thailand and lived in a Taoist hermitage in the
Rocky Mountains. He also trained and taught at Jon Kabat-Zinn's Stress Reduction
Clinic in Worcester, MA. Franz now lives at the holy mountain of Arunachala in
Southern India and teaches worldwide.
Fees for CE credits:
5-6 hrs= $45; 3-4 hrs= $30; 1-2 hrs= $20
For Wes Nisker’s bio please see page 37.
20
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
A Field Guide to the Mind: Practical Abhidhamma
for Meditators
Monday, May 18 - Monday, May 25 (7 nights)
STEVE ARMSTRONG, MARK NUNBERG
Prerequisite: Three, 7-day silent mindfulness vipassana retreats.
PLEASE NOTE: Various teachings and dharma talks will be video
recorded. By signing up for this retreat, you understand and agree to
be part of this process.
The teachings on this retreat will present the Abhidhamma or Buddhist
psychology. Through daily readings, dharma talks, discussions and
meditation, we will discover the dynamic nature of the stream of
consciousness by examining the synthesis of mind, mental states and
material elements in each moment of experience. We will practice the
development of mind to understand the tranquility of jhanic absorption,
and to discern the path of liberation that realizes nibbana.
by the experience and often report a new sense of enchantment and
connection with the world. This retreat will be held in silence and follow
a traditional schedule of sitting and walking meditation. Movement and
dharma teacher Nina Wise will be assisting.
The dharma talks and discussions will present both traditional
Buddhist views of self and reality, as well as some of the latest
information from evolutionary biology, deep-ecology and
psychology to support and guide the meditations. The retreat is
suitable for both beginning and advanced meditation students.
Spirit Rock extends a special invitation to young adults (age 18-26) who wish
to attend this retreat at a rate of $25 per night, on a first-come, first-serve
basis. A limited number of special rates are available, please apply early.
staff. Code 261R15
SPECIAL EVENT
•
The Terrain of Consciousness;
Writing Your Heart Out: Voicing Your Loves,
Desires and Longings
•
The Soundboard of the Mind;
•
Living with a Human Body;
•
The Stream of Life through Birth and Death;
•
What Goes Around Comes Around: Kamma;
•
The Wheel of Life: Past to Present to Future;
•
The Infinite Web of all Conditioned Things; and
•
The Progression of Insight that Realizes the Unconditioned.
Topics will include:
ROGER HOUSDEN
Vance Pryor will be assisting. There will be Abhidhamma
presentations, readings and discussion with Q & A, and silent
meditation practice. We will emphasize material that supports
deepening practice through knowledge of the Buddha's
understanding of mind.
Spirit Rock extends a special invitation to Young Adults (age 18-26)
staff. Code 260R15
All the particles in the world
Are in love and looking for lovers.
Even straw trembles
In the presence of amber.
—Rumi
This is a unique opportunity to explore the nature of your deep
desire: to investigate in writing your passions, your loves, your
losses, and your deepest longings. What do you long for? What
moves you? How have your losses touched and affected the
way you move in the world? In which ways do your personal
relationships serve as mirrors for your connection with the
dimension of spacious awareness in which we are an intrinsic
part of a universe of love?
In this class you will learn to:
• Identify your deep desires;
• Identify the ways you hide from what you most deeply desire;
• Experience the hidden gift in longing;
• Value the inevitability of loss;
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
• Celebrate your desire as the energy that joins you to all of life; and
Natural Liberation: A Buddhist Insight Meditation
Retreat
• Open to the gift of love.
Upper Walking Hall
Monday, May 18 - Monday, May 25 (7 nights)
WES NISKER, GROVE BURNETT
This workshop is for non-writers and writers alike: those interested
in using writing to deepen their relationship to self and others,
occasional writers who want to go deeper, and practiced writers
wanting to use their craft to explore their inner journey.
Please Note: Parts of this retreat will be held outdoors - weather permitting.
Cost $70 - $150, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher. If paying at
the door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code RH1S15
During this traditional Insight Meditation retreat we will follow the advice
of the Buddha and hold many of our sessions at the base of a grand old
California oak tree in the beautiful natural setting of Spirit Rock. People
who have done meditation practice in nature are profoundly moved
Roger Housden is the author of twenty books on poetry, art and pilgrimage,
including the best-selling Ten Poems to Change Your Life series. He teaches
writing classes in Marin County and online on a variety of themes. His latest
book is Keeping The Faith Without a Religion.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
21
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Healing Trauma using Loving-kindness and
Compassion
Reclaiming the Wisdom of the Mother of All
Buddhas: A Women's Retreat
Sunday, May 24, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Angela Center, Santa Rosa, CA
PAWAN BAREJA
Monday, May 25 - Sunday, May 31 (6 nights)
In this daylong, you will start to work with the traumatic
responses in your body, which can inhibit your daily life through
stress and anxiety. You will be empowered to hold your trauma
responses using somatic (body-based) skills and mindfulness
meditation tools. Specifically, the mindfulness practices of
Loving-kindness, Compassion, Sympathetic Joy and Equanimity
will be used to help you free up your energy so you feel more
settled, grounded, and calm in your everyday life.
JOANNA MACY, DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR, ANNA DOUGLAS,
Working directly with your body, you may begin to heal the
trauma by discharging the unresolved traumatic energy that gets
bound in the nervous system. With the somatic and mindfulness
tools offered in this daylong, your nervous system can begin to
regain its innate capacity to self-regulate.
The day will include didactic presentations, discussion,
movement, and meditation. This daylong is appropriate for those
who are new to meditation and for experienced meditators. All
are welcome!
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited or fixed
income) are invited to attend this class series for $25.No one
turned away for lack of funds.
Cost $55 - $150, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher. If paying at
the door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code PB1D15
Pawan Bareja, PhD, has a body-oriented counselling practice based on Peter
Levine’s Somatic Experiencing® work for coping with trauma and life changes,
in which she incorporates mindfulness techniques. Pawan is an active member
of the Marin Vipassana Sangha and has assisted in the annual Care Providers
daylong at Spirit Rock for several years.
ERIN TREAT, JENNIFER BEREZAN (MUSICIAN)
At this retreat we will be introduced to Prajnaparamita, the mother
of all Buddhas, and be empowered to embody her wisdom and
compassion for the sake of all life. Using meditation as well as
powerful teachings and interactive processes developed by
Joanna Macy, we will experience the truth of our interbeing,
made real to us by our love and pain for the world. Opening to
our true nature will help us see with new eyes and bring a fresh
understanding of who we really are and how we are related to each
other and the universe. We will begin to comprehend our power to
change, heal, and awaken. The strength and beauty in our circle of
women will support us to uncover the immensity of our heartmind, which helps free us from fear.
Come with the intention to meet women you will continue to know
and work with to benefit the web of life. Silent mornings will be for
instruction and practice of mindfulness meditation. Afternoons
will be experiential teachings with Joanna. Silent evenings will
include loving-kindness meditation, and/or dharma teachings, and
silent meditation. Small groups will be offered by dharma teachers
to support opening and understanding. No prior experience is
necessary.
Spirit Rock extends a special invitation to Young Adults (age 18-26)
staff. Code 262R15
22
BENEFIT RETREAT
Living with Compassionate Awareness
Introduction to Insight Meditation
Friday, May 29 - Sunday, May 31 (2 nights)
JACK KORNFIELD, SYLVIA BOORSTEIN
SALLY ARMSTRONG
An Intimate Weekend Retreat with Jack Kornfield and Sylvia
Boorstein.
On the weekend of May 29-31, a small group of Spirit Rock capital
campaign supporters will gather to ask provocative questions about
how wisdom and compassion can arise right now, right here in our
busy lives. This is a special opportunity to engage in an intimate
three-day retreat with Spirit Rock Co-Founders Jack Kornfield and
Sylvia Boorstein. Attendance will be limited.
This retreat is a benefit for our Capital Campaign to support Spirit
Rock in building a new light-filled Community Meditation Hall and
Staff/Teacher Village. These new facilities will allow us to expand
programming, increase access to teachings, and ensure the next 25
years of service and beyond. The base donation for this very special
retreat is $5,000.
Bring A Friend for Free! (if you pre-register)
In this traditional Insight Meditation (vipassana) daylong, the emphasis
is on deepening into the silence that allows for the awakening of the
heart. The foundation practice for Insight Meditation is mindfulness,
the cultivation of an intimacy with our present moment, which can
bring understanding, wisdom, greater freedom and happiness into
our lives. There will be systematic instructions in sitting and walking
meditation, and discussion and dharma talks. Senior student Practice
Guides will offer private practice support interviews during the day.
This daylong is especially good for beginning meditators and for
those wanting a refresher in traditional instruction.
for lack of funds.
We will gather to connect with our values and intentions, and to
reaffirm our practice, guided by Sylvia and Jack, two of the most
influential and revered dharma teachers in the U.S.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code SA1D15
Natalia Straus, Senior Development Manager, is personally taking
applications for this retreat. Please call 415-488-0164 x281 or email
[email protected] to reserve your spot.
Loving Presence - The Union of Mindfulness &
Compassion
Sunday, May 31, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
MARK COLEMAN
"Awareness is the foundation of kindness - Kindness is the expression of
awareness." —6th Zen Patriarch
“
What's liberating about mindfulness is
its ability to see through the temporal
appearance of confusing, alarming and
distracting thoughts and feelings so that they
disappear and allow our natural goodwill
and compassion to express themselves."
— SYLVIA BOORSTEIN
Mindfulness, awareness and love are essential and beautiful
qualities of an awakened life. Awareness leads to clarity, insight and
understanding. Compassion is a loving heart that cares deeply about
life's struggles. It allows a kind embrace of ourselves and connects
us intimately with each other and the world. In this day of practice
we will discover how these qualities are intimately related, mutually
supportive and why they are necessary in any journey of awakening
and in learning to live wisely and kindly.
We will learn to cultivate mindful-awareness and compassion
through sitting and walking meditations and heart opening practices.
Participants will learn about the integration of love and awareness
so that mindfulness practice is fused with a kind, receptive presence.
Suitable for people new to meditation and for experienced students
wishing to deepen and broaden their practice of mindfulness.
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ on limited income) are invited to
attend this event for $25. No one turned away for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code MC3D15
MAY - AUGUST 2015
23
June
Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your Brain for Resilience
and Well-Being
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Saturday, June 6, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
Essential Teachings of the Path of Awakening
LINDA GRAHAM
Monday, June 1 - Sunday, June 7 (6 nights)
SALLY ARMSTRONG, TEMPEL SMITH, ADRIANNE ROSS
Essential Teachings of the Path of Awakening retreats provide an
opportunity to explore the teachings and practices of Buddhist
meditation in a supportive environment. Through the combination of
mindfulness meditation, wisdom teachings, silence and community, we
can develop calm, kind-heartedness and a sense of well-being.
In this silent retreat, we will explore essential Buddhist teachings and
meditation practices. There will be systematic instructions in Insight
Meditation, as well as in loving-kindness (metta) practice. Talks will
highlight the central teachings of the Buddha and their practical
application to our lives. During the retreat there are meetings with
teachers to support you in your practice. There is a daily practice of
mindful yoga that deeply supports the body and the meditation process.
This is an excellent retreat for those wishing to refresh their meditation
practice or deepen their understanding of Buddhist teachings in
supportive company.
staff. Code 266R15
Mindfulness and compassion practices are among the most
powerful agents of brain change known to modern science. A wise
use of Buddhist contemplative practices and tools from modern
relational psychology can help practitioners let go of unwholesome
coping strategies and cultivate wholesome ones, leading to more
clarity, response flexibility, resilience and less greed, hatred,
delusion and suffering.
Participants will learn practices that skillfully harness the innate
neuroplasticity of the brain to reduce the impacts of stress and
trauma. These practices also deepen the habits of generosity,
kindness, compassion, forgiveness, equanimity, tranquility, and
inner peace that lead to freedom and liberation.
for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code LG2D15
Linda Graham, MFT, is an experienced psychotherapist and meditation teacher
who integrates neuroscience, mindfulness practices, and relational psychology
in her nationwide trainings. She is the author of Bouncing Back: Rewiring Your
Brain for Maximum Resilience and Well-Being.
Summer Family Practice Day
Sunday, June 7, 10:30 am - 3:00 pm
VENERABLE PANNAVATI
(See Family & Teen Programs on page 36 for more information.)
24
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Aging, Dying and Awakening (for age 55 & over)
ANNA DOUGLAS, EUGENE CASH, RUTH KING
Prerequisite: Age 55 years or older and attended at least one 5-day
to 7-day silent residential Insight Meditation (vipassana) retreat.
Living life fully includes aging and dying. It's a natural process, and
ripe with spiritual possibilities. Aging brings loss - what we once
assumed to be "ours" slips away, revealing the pervasive truth of
impermanence. But even as our memory slides, our cognitive speed
slows down, and our bodies become more fragile, qualities of the
heart reveal themselves. We see that the potential for wisdom and
compassion does not depend on the state of the body or on our age,
but rather on the training of the mind to abide in timeless awareness.
It is best to begin this training before you are ill or dying. Then, like
a treasured friend, your own mind can accompany you through
the challenges of aging, loss, illness and dying. Through engaging
in a variety of contemplations on death in the space of retreat, our
confidence in our capacity to meet death peacefully increases.
Join a group of your peers who are interested in life after 55 as a new
stage of life, one which offers opportunities for deepening in wisdom
and compassion and loosening our fears around dying. Teachings will
offer a blend of the traditional ancient wisdom of the Buddhadharma
with more contemporary views and resources for helping us prepare
for death. This is a silent retreat with one period a day of interactive
contemplative inquiry in small groups, and a closing ceremony in
appreciation of the mystery and intimacy of living and dying.
staff. Code 268R15
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness: A Study,
Discussion and Practice Retreat
Upper Walking Hall
TEMPEL SMITH
Prerequisites: You must have attended at least one 7-day silent residential
vipassana retreat, or longer, led by a Spirit Rock or IMS teacher.
In the Satipatthana Sutta the Buddha describes a direct path to
liberation by meditating on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness.
Through 2,500 years this teaching has been become the central
path of meditation to dispel deeply held confusion and habits of
craving leading to suffering. With the development of mindfulness
within the four foundations (body, pleasure/pain, mind states,
and mental processes) the practitioner has the direct experience of
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and non-self. From this, wrong views
drop away and with this, unqualified peace and contentment arise.
To support the study aspect of the retreat we will read and discuss
texts from the Pali Canon as well as readings from Venerable
“
The glorious chariots of kings shatter.
So also the body turns to dust.
But the spirit of purity is changeless
And so the pure instruct the pure."
—THE DHAMMAPADA CH.11 V.151
Analayo's book Satipatthana. There will be formal silent practice
periods before breakfast, during the meals, and each afternoon, with
shared group dialogue in the morning and evening.
Marlena deCarion will assist on this retreat.
Cost $1230 - $615, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher and retreat staff.
Code 269R15
Radiant Intimacy: Partner Practices that Awaken
Joyful Love
DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR
Relationships thrive when we learn to deeply connect with others
in the radiance of joy and love. Luminous intimacy is not just for the
"honeymoon" stage or limited to romantic partners. It is a quality
of presence that can deepen over a lifetime when any two people
choose to practice together. Boundless love and joy shine within
each heart but are often veiled by layers of protection. Radiant
intimacy is awakening, healing, fulfilling and builds the foundation
for authentic trust.
Partner practices offer profound support for recognizing and
embodying our deeper nature of loving awareness. The day will
include guided partner meditations, communication exercises and
movement. This daylong will be valuable for couples or pairs of
family or friends that want to share the path of growth together.
Please attend with a practice partner.
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ on a fixed or limited income)
of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code DG2D15
MAY - AUGUST 2015
25
MONASTIC DAY (DANA - BY DONATION)
Desire or Aspiration? - Wanting Mind versus
Spiritual Direction
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
From the Breath to Spacious Awareness
AJAHN PASANNO
DONALD ROTHBERG, SUSIE HARRINGTON, TEJA BELL (QIGONG)
Can a Buddhist want anything? This daylong will focus on desire
versus interest or aspiration, and how to establish spirituallyoriented direction. Also, we will explore the question of "What is
enough?" and look at the qualities of contentment and gratitude.
There will be periods of sitting and walking meditation, dhamma
reflections, and time for questions and answers. Please bring
lunch and, if you wish, food to offer the monastics. As in the time
of the Buddha, fully-ordained Theravada monastics (bhikkhus and
bhikkhunis) do not grow, store or buy food and are completely
dependent on daily donations of food. The monastics eat one main
meal a day in late morning and monastic regulations require that they
finish by midday.
This daylong is offered on a dana basis. The word "dana" means generosity and
simply translates into heartfelt donation. Volunteers are needed to support this
program and earn a free future daylong, for more information please contact
[email protected] or call 415 488 0164 x224. Code AP1D15
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Upper Walking Hall
HOWARD COHN, ERIN TREAT
During this retreat, we will explore the nature of ego and the
enormous stress that comes with trying to be "someone." Using
Insight Meditation with Loving-kindness we will make peace with
our various self views. With sustained mindful attention, we can
greet the activity of self, not as a problem, but as an ally in our
aim of happiness and well-being. We can all "love the house that
ego built." The retreat is appropriate for meditators of all levels of
experience.
Prerequisite: One retreat (at least a weekend retreat; either
residential or non-residential) in mindfulness practice or permission
of the coordinating teacher.
In this retreat, we will explore, both through teachings and through
silent meditation practice, a sequence of training that has three
main parts, connecting our foundational mindfulness practice with
opening to deeper awareness and greater freedom:
(1) Stabilizing attention and cultivating concentration, particularly
through mindfulness of breathing;
(2) Developing insights into where and how the mind fixates or
grasps, leading to suffering and a lack of a sense of the flow of
experience, particularly related to our sense of self and our habitual
patterns, and learning to deconstruct and release such fixations;
and
(3) Opening to awareness beyond fixation and grasping, to
moments of freedom, through a number of specific steps and
practices, informed by teachings from the Buddha as well as the
Thai Forest tradition and other Buddhist traditions.
We will explore several practices for each of these three training
areas, and ways to bring such practices into daily life, as our
awareness, compassion, and responsiveness deepen. There will
be ongoing emphasis on and attention to the embodiment of our
practice through qigong, guided meditations, and instructions,
allowing us to more easily carry the practices into our daily lives.
Spirit Rock extends a special invitation to young adults (age 18-26) who
wish to attend this retreat at a rate of $25 per night, on a first-come,
first-serve basis. A limited number of special rates are available, please
apply early.
staff. Code 270R15
Retreat objectives include:
•
Define ego according to Buddhadharma;
•
Distinguish between idea of self and felt sense of self;
•
Explain common ways of soothing oneself that add to distress;
•
Demonstrate ways of soothing oneself that bring reliable
relief; and
•
Develop the practices of Mindfulness and Loving-kindness to
gain self-awareness and self-compassion.
staff. Code 271R15
26
CLASS SERIES
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Releasing Trauma's Hold on our Meditation: Joining
Meditation and Somatic Skills
Mindfulness of the Body
5 Mondays, June 15 - July 13, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
SAKTI ROSE
Wednesday, June 17 - Sunday, June 21 (4 nights)
This class is designed for meditators who have met with barriers in
their meditative experience. This 5-week class will add to the body
of skills learned and practiced in the Trauma and Mindfulness series
and will deepen what’s already been learned. We will continue to
explore traumatic experiences which give rise to stuck patterns of
fight, flight and freeze. Traumatic events leave physiological and
emotional scars that alter neurological structures and functions.
By developing somatic skills, individuals can recognize and help
regulate the painful effects of trauma and thereby free up energy
for meditation. With the educational tools taught in this class, one's
nervous system can begin to regain its capacity to self-regulate.
ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE, LILA KATE WHEELER,
This class is offered for meditators who have taken the first 5-week
class offered at Spirit Rock and for meditators with a body-based
meditative understanding. This class requires people who are
willing to participate in their personal unfolding through experiential
exercise, sharing and inquiry. This is not a professional training.
These skills are based on the body of teachings by Dr. Peter Levine.
We will use Dr. Levine's book, Healing Trauma, as the reference for
this course.
Registration for this class closes at the second class. No 'drop ins' will
be accepted. Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited and
fixed income) are invited to attend this class series for $25. No one
CHAS DICAPUA
Our body can be a vehicle for pleasure, for pain, and for
complete liberation. During this retreat we will explore the
true nature of the body through mindfulness in stillness, in
walking, while eating, resting, and engaging in daily
activities of care.
We will connect with the body as part of nature, made up of
the elements of the natural world. We will develop the
ability to read emotions and moods in the body, and to
cultivate compassion for the suffering of physical existence,
including the challenges of sickness, aging and death. Our
retreat practice will facilitate an embodied awareness that
will be of service in daily life. The retreat will be supported
by Dharma talks, time for questions, and small group
guidance.
This retreat is suitable for beginners or experienced
meditation practitioners, though we recommend you attend
a daylong meditation retreat prior to this retreat if possible
Cost $870 - $435, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers and
retreat staff. Code 272R15
Cost $50, plus a donation to the teacher. If paying at the door, add $5.
Code SR2C15
Sakti Rose, MA, S.E.P., is a senior Somatic Experiencing ® Practitioner and has taught
mindfulness meditation in hospitals and meditation centers for more than 13 years.
She has a private practice in Marin County working with individiuals suffering from
trauma and stress-related illness. Her work is informed by 35 years of Buddhist
meditation with her root guru Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Tsoknyi Rinpoche,
Ven. Ruth Denison and numerous Buddhist and non-dual masters in US and Asia.
“
In this world
Hate never dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible."
— THE DHAMMAPADA CH.1 V.5
Kalyana Mitta/Spiritual Friends Half-Day Workshop
Wednesday, June 17, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
ELAD LEVINSON
Whether you are a current member of a Kalyana Mitta or similar group
or are just curious, please feel free to join us. Everyone is welcome!
This half-day focuses on goodwill as rooted in authentic
communication. It is impossible to maintain goodwill without having
a tool box ready for dealing effectively with differences of opinion
when emotions run hot and high. You will learn how to generate
goodwill through intent; what to do when it is time to speak up
assertively; and how to deal with important conversations that have
a strong emotional component and differences of opinion without
resorting to withdrawal or aggression.
This is a "Dana" event, and we need volunteers! Please contact
[email protected] or 415-488-0164 x224 for more information.
Your volunteer service can be used toward attending another program at
Spirit Rock. Code KM1H15
Elad Levinson has 35 years of experience in leadership roles in companies as diverse
as ICANN, Growth Sherpas and Stanford University. He is a longtime Buddhist
practitioner and is a board member of Dhammadharini, a monastic community in
Sonoma County.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
27
MONASTIC DAY (DANA – BY DONATION)
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Heart Opening
Awakening Mindfulness and Compassion in our
Work as Educators and Mental Health & Healing
Arts Professionals
AYYA SANTACITTA, ISABELITA PAPA (QIGONG)
The Buddha’s words in the Metta Sutta give us ample food for
contemplation and provide a rich ground for practice. Looking
through this text together, we will connect with the depth that these
words point to. There are places within our own hearts that are
already aligned, and we will look at how this teaching can support us
in meeting the darker corners with greater strength and openness of
heart. Isabelita Papa will offer qigong in the early afternoon.
Please bring lunch and, if you wish, food to share/offer to the nuns. As
in the time of the Buddha, the bhikkhunis do not grow or buy food and
are completely dependent on donations of food. Monastics eat one
main meal a day in late morning and monastic regulations require that
they finish by midday. Offering prepared food to the monastics during
the daylong provides an opportunity to participate in the tradition.
This daylong is offered on a dana (donation) basis. Volunteers are needed to
support this program and earn a free future daylong, for more information please
contact [email protected] or call 415 488 0164 x224. Code AP1D15
Working with Anger:
Developing Skill in the Midst of Intense Feeling
Sunday, June 21, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
MATTHEW BRENSILVER
LESLEY GRANT, GARY BUCK, RICHARD SHANKMAN
This retreat is designed especially for those who facilitate and serve
others, either as therapists, teachers, group leaders or mental health
and healing arts professions. In the retreat, we will spend time
cultivating mindfulness, as well as loving-kindness, compassion,
joy and empathetic joy and equanimity, both toward ourselves and
those we serve. Through guided meditations and practical exercises,
participants will be offered specific tools and methods leading to
clear awareness and receptivity. The intention is to enhance our
ability to be authentically present with those we serve.
We will follow the usual format of an Insight Meditation (vipassana)
retreat, with daily meditation instructions, periods of sitting and
walking practice, and evening Dharma talks, as well as meetings
with the teachers to clarify and support your practice. This retreat is
suitable for experienced and beginning meditators and teachings are
appropriate for all, including health care professionals. Continuing
Education (CE) credit available.
income) are invited to attend this day for $25.
staff. Code 274R15
Bring A Friend for Free when you pre-register
The Buddha said that anger has "a honeyed tip and poisoned root."
From minor irritation to intense rage, anger has important effects
on our lives, our families and our society. If we are to be deeply
happy and nourish the happiness of others, we must include anger
as part of our spiritual path. Together, we seek ways of meeting the
experience of anger with wisdom and compassion and creating
conditions for kindness to grow.
During this day, we’ll consider the role anger plays in our lives and
how mindfulness can be helpful. We will learn meditative strategies
to untangle the complex experience of anger into its component
parts, namely emotional feeling and thought. Teachings will also
aim to remind us of the dimension of ourselves that urgently seeks
a life of non-harming. Lastly, the daylong will describe how Buddhist
perspectives on self-cherishing are relevant for working with anger.
As habits of self-cherishing are weakened, the causes for anger to
arise are weakened too. All are welcome.
professionals. Continuing Education (CE) credit available. No one
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code MB1D15
Matthew Brensilver, PhD, began practice in the Tibetan tradition and since 2003
has studied with Shinzen Young. He served as a Buddhist chaplain at USC for
four years and teaches about the intersection of mindfulness and psychotherapy
at UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center. Matthew was trained by Noah
Levine, with whom he teaches at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society
and is currently in the Spirit Rock/IMS/IRC Teacher Training program.
28
CLASS SERIES
The Intimate Journey of Aging, Awakening,
and Dying (Age 55 & Older)
8 Tuesdays, June 23 - August 11, 10:00 am - 12:30 pm
ANNA DOUGLAS
Aging, dying and awakening are universal experiences which
can open us to a new way of seeing (wisdom) and being with
life (compassion). Consciously engaging with our aging or
dying can gently prod us into a deeper investigation of our
lives in the following areas:
• The need for healing, completing and forgiving;
• The precious fragile fleeting nature of our time on earth;
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
• Our capacity for courageous presence even in the midst
of unwanted or painful conditions;
• The discovery of solitude and silence as precious resources;
DIANA WINSTON, MARK COLEMAN, BOB STAHL,
JILL SATTERFIELD (MOVEMENT)
This retreat is for those who are currently facilitating or plan
to facilitate mindfulness, or for clinicians using mindfulness in
therapeutic interventions. Cosponsored by UCLA's Mindful
Awareness Research Center.
This unique retreat will offer an experiential understanding of
mindfulness practice through retreat format as well as tools,
exploration, guidance and support around facilitation.
On this retreat you will:
• Deepen your understanding of mindfulness meditation in an
intensive retreat format;
• The potential we have to free ourselves from the "story"
we tell of the fictitious, deficient self;
• Compassion and humility for our many failings and
mistakes; and
• Gratitude for our guides and life companions.
Join a group of your peers for a mindful exploration of the
universal experiences of aging, dying, and awakening as
they reveal themselves to you. Through guided meditations,
interactive contemplations, dharma teachings and
discussion we will practice together, learning from each
other, and giving support to our aspirations.
• Refine your capacity to facilitate mindfulness meditation and its
related disciplines;
Seniors (65+ on a fixed or limited income) are invited to
attend this event for $40. No one turned away for lack of
funds.
• Study issues and themes relevant to facilitation such as diversity,
presence and embodiment;
Cost $80, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher. Code AD1C15
• Understand latest scientific research on mindfulness and its
efficacy; and
• Enjoy a rich community of like-minded mindfulness practitioners
and facilitators.
During this mostly silent Insight Meditation retreat we will
contextualize contemporary mindfulness approaches within the
Buddhist tradition. Additionally, there will be several non-silent
workshop sessions to explore key issues related to mindfulness and
its pedagogy, as well as interactive time for community-building.
Yoga will be offered daily as a support for embodying the principles
of mindfulness.
Teachings are appropriate for all, including health care professionals.
Continuing Education (CE) credit available.
staff. Code 276R15
The Tao & the Dharma:
Mindfulness Meditation and Qigong
WES NISKER, TEJA BELL (QIGONG)
Join Teja and Wes for a wonderful daylong, learning the most
elegant of the traditional Buddhist and Taoist exercises of breath
and mind. Through these ancient practices we will learn how to
be more at ease in our bodies, allowing us to enter intimately into
the flow of life itself. Once we come to feel ourselves as part of
the movement of creation our lives gain new meaning, and we find
relief from the suffering of a separate, disconnected self.
The daylong will offer time for discussion, humor, crazy wisdom and poetry
and is accessible and relevant to both beginning and advanced students.
income) are invited to attend this day at a rate of $25. No one
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code WN3D15
MAY - AUGUST 2015
Mindfulness of Aging (Age 55 & Older)
ANNA DOUGLAS
This is a daylong retreat for those over 55 who would like to refresh (or
begin) their practice of mindfulness and discover its relevance to the
challenges of aging. With mindfulness we discover that our biography
is not the sum total of who we are. Current research on the positive
effects of mindfulness on the aging body and brain, on mood and
cognitive functioning are unambiguous. Even with a small amount of
regular practice, you will experience benefits. In this daylong retreat,
you will learn and practice a simple four-step process to explore your
experience with mindfulness and discover its benefits. There will
be periods of guided meditation and silent walking, short periods
of contemplative inquiry, dharma teachings, and plenty of time for
questions.
Seniors (65+ with limited and fixed income) are invited to attend this
day for $25. No one turned away for lack of funds.
29
July
Meditation: Transforming Reactivity through
Presence
Sunday, July 5, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
ERIN SELOVER
Bring A Friend for Free when you pre-register
Mindful presence is about being radically awake in one’s life. Insight
Meditation, known as vipassana meditation, is the 2500 year-old
practice of cultivating wise presence by bringing a caring, curious
and discerning attention to what is happening moment-to-moment.
Combined with our biological impulses to go after what we want, and
avoid what we don’t want, we are often acting from habit and reactivity
instead of love and wisdom. With mindful presence we cut through
habitual reactivity and access innate states of well-being, creativity and
liberating insight through personal and universal understanding.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code AD3D15
for lack of funds.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Cost $55 - $150, sliding scale. If paying at the door, add $5. Please bring your
lunch. Code ES1D15
Annual People of Color retreat - Deepen Your
Dharma, Deepen Your Freedom
Monday, June 29 - Sunday, July 5 (6 nights)
LARRY YANG, DARA WILLIAMS, NIKKI MIRGHAFORI, JAYA RUDGARD,
Erin Selover teaches mindfulness-based classes throughout the Bay Area in
schools, mental health settings and the private sector. She is a psychotherapist in
private practice in Oakland and is currently being trained in the Spirit Rock and
IMS Teacher Training program.
KONDA MASON (YOGA)
All people who self-identify as People of Color are invited into this
beautiful opportunity to be together in spiritual community. Insight
Meditation (vipassana) means seeing things as they really are. The
practice of mindfulness develops insight into the truth about our
lives in order to create a Path to Freedom.
This silent meditation retreat for Communities of Color explores
cultivating wisdom, compassion, a clear mind, an open heart, and
the possibility of experiencing greater happiness and less suffering
in an often oppressive society. You do not have to call yourself a
Buddhist to benefit from meditation.
All participants observe Noble Silence throughout the program.
You will be asked to let go and refrain from all communication and
participants will be required to attend the entire duration of the
retreat. There will be evening talks to support the sitting and walking
meditations, Q & A sessions with teachers, and group and individual
meetings to support your experience. Solwazi Johnson will assist on
the retreat.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
July Metta Retreat
Wednesday, July 8 - Friday, July 17 (9 nights)
SALLY ARMSTRONG, SYLVIA BOORSTEIN, LARRY YANG,
TEMPEL SMITH, KATE JOHNSON (YOGA)
Metta is the Pali term for friendship, goodwill or loving-kindness. In
this retreat we will develop metta as a meditation practice which
cultivates our natural capacity for an open and loving heart, towards
ourselves and all other beings. We will also develop the practices
of compassion, joy and equanimity. Metta practice leads to greater
acceptance of ourselves and others, revealing our fundamental
connectedness to all life.
The schedule will include regular periods of mindful movement, a
helpful complement to the loving-kindness meditation.
John Martin will assist on this retreat.
Spirit Rock is offering this retreat on a sliding scale. Please pay at the
highest level you can afford as this allows others who need to pay
less the opportunity to attend.
Cost $615 - $150, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers and retreat staff.
Code 278R15
staff. Code 280R15
30
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Mindfulness & Leadership: Clarity and Compassion
July Insight Meditation Retreat (LOTTERY)
Saturday, July 11, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday, July 17 - Sunday, July 26 (9 nights)
ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE
JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN, KAMALA MASTERS, PASCAL AUCLAIR,
Being a successful leader calls upon many strengths. Mindfulness
helps you develop greater clarity of vision. Cultivating compassion
leads to better understanding and decisions.
ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE
Come join us for a day of reflection and meditation, applying
Buddhist practices of awakening to your life and leadership. No prior
meditation experience necessary, we invite you to come with an
open mind and heart!
for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code AF2D15
Transforming Emotions: Qigong Sound Healing and
Meditation
The emphasis during this retreat will be on the continuity of
awareness in all activities, which stabilizes and balances the mind.
Relaxed acceptance of our moment-to-moment experience becomes
the platform for investigation and wisdom. Particular attention will
be paid to the attitudes in the mind that condition our understanding.
This retreat is suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.
We welcome people from all life experiences, backgrounds and
diverse communities.
staff. Code 282R15
Writing as a Path to Awakening
MINGTONG GU, DEBRA CHAMBERLIN-TAYLOR
On this day we will explore how qigong sound healing, movement
and meditation can help us awaken and bring healing to emotional
and physical challenges. Master Mingtong Gu will teach and guide
an extensive practice of ancient sound healing to fully awaken
your energy centers and emotional body. You will learn how to
transform the unprocessed energy of previous emotional pain into
more vibrant healing resources. This energy practice will transform
your consciousness, support healing, and access abundant source
energy of life.
Through qigong and meditation dharma methods, we will practice
self-acceptance meditations and cultivate unconditional love. We
will strengthen and connect the five organs' energy to transform
fear, anger, sadness and worry into love and happiness. We will
enhance whole body energy flow in order to return to a deep sense
of cellular aliveness, joy and wholeness.
No previous experience in qigong or meditation necessary.
for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code DC2D15
Master Mingtong Gu is an internationally recognized teacher and healer who
received his training from a variety of Grandmasters of China and Tibet and at the
world's largest Qigong hospital. This "medicine-less" hospital, Zhineng Qigong
Center, has treated over 200,000 patients with over 185 different illnesses. He is
the founder of the Chi Healing Center and Wisdom Healing Foundation, and has
taught qigong to thousands in the USA, China and Europe.
ALBERT FLYNN DESILVER
The practice of writing is an exploration of consciousness, a practice
toward deeper self-awareness, and moves us along the path of
awakening to our true nature. From Sappho in the 7th century BC
and Rumi in the 13th century, to Thomas Merton and Pema Chodron
—the written word has the power, not only to inspire, but also to
awaken the very best in the human heart.
Join us for a day exploring your inner and outer creativity. The day
will include innovative writing exercises, readings, periods of sitting
meditation, creative visualization, Q&A, sharing and discussion.
Come be inspired by your own innate creativity, and experience
deeper levels of awareness through the practice of meditation,
inquiry, writing and listening to words.
for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code AS1D15
Albert Flynn DeSilver is an internationally published poet, author, teacher, and
speaker. He served as Marin County's very first Poet Laureate from 2008-2010.
He is the author several books of poetry, and the memoir, "Beamish Boy (I Am
Not My Story): A Memoir of Recovery & Awakening." Albert has taught at the
Omega Institute, the Esalen Institute and many writing conferences nationally. He
has practiced vipassana and other forms of meditation since 1994.
For Debra Chamberlain-Taylor's bio see page 37.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
31
Opening into Allness:
The Practical Neuroscience of Wholeness and
Oneness Experiences
CLASS SERIES
Dependent Origination as a Buddhist Psychology
8 Wednesdays, July 22 - September 26, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
(no class July 29)
RICK HANSON
GARY BUCK
Live Webcast Available
Modern brain science is beginning to shed light on the
underlying neurological basis of this experience - and how to
stimulate its factors.
This experiential workshop will focus on practical methods,
grounded in neuroscience, for opening into the mind process
as a whole, and from there, opening into an intimation of
nature as a whole, and then material reality as a whole. This
is a progressive process —a path and not a destination.
Bring A Friend for Free!
Prerequisite: Two intensive 7-day silent meditation retreats at Spirit
Rock or equivalent. No basic meditation instruction will be given.
This course assumes a solid foundation in mindfulness practice.
•
Neural factors of steadying attention;
This course will explore the Buddha's teaching of Dependent
Origination from an experiential perspective. There will be
suggested readings between classes as well as experiential
"homework." Readings will present both traditional and
contemporary perspectives. Some talks will explore traditional
teachings while others will be more evocative with the intent to
stimulate the participant's own personal experiential exploration of
this central Buddhist teaching.
•
How mental activity depends on neural activity;
Topics include:
•
Being both mindful of body and body-full of mind;
•
•
The neural networks on the side of the brain that
support present moment awareness, and how to
stimulate and strengthen them; and
Dependent Origination as a teaching that bridges our
psychological and spiritual dimensions;
•
A subtle energy description of the process of Dependent
Origination;
•
Dependent Origination as a context in which to understand the
focus and intent of a range of Buddhist practices and teachings;
•
Dependent Origination and Emptiness.
No background in neuroscience is needed, though some
familiarity with meditation will be helpful. We'll explore:
•
Our egocentric and "allocentric" (oneness) neural
networks, and how to shift in a more allocentric
direction.
Teachings are appropriate for individuals as well as health
care professionals. Continuing Education (CE) credit
available for in person event.
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited and
fixed income) are invited to attend this day for $25. No one
turned away for a lack of funds.
Cost $55 - $150, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teacher. If paying
at the door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code RH2D15. Code
for live webcast RH2L15
Rick Hanson, PhD, is a neuropsychologist, a Senior Fellow of the Greater
Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and a New York times best-selling
author. His books include Hardwiring Happiness, Buddha’s Brain, Just
One Thing, and Mother Nurture. He is the founder of the Wellspring
Institue for Neuroscience and Contemplative Wisdom.
Each session will include a dharma talk, mindful inquiry exercises,
a shorter presentation relating the night's topic to Western
psychology and/or psychotherapy, and Q&A/discussion.
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with a fixed or limited
income) are invited to attend this class series at a rate of $40. No
one turned away for lack of funds.
Cost $80, plus a donation to the teacher. Code GB1C15
For Gary Buck's bio please see page 38.
“
If you want to understand the mind,
sit down and observe it."
—MUNINDRA-JI
32
Discovering Reality - Awareness, Inquiry and
Waking Up
August
EUGENE CASH
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Meditation is not just a passive exercise. The meditative process
includes active exploration of body, heart, mind, self and other —
the whole of Reality. In addition to mindful awareness and kindness,
waking up evokes our curiosity, wonder and intelligence to discover
the fullness of humanity living in each of us. During our day together
we will experientially explore the skill of investigation to uncover the
potential of human life. This includes:
Insight Meditation Retreat for Young Adults (ages
18-32)
• Perceiving your experience of what happens when the
investigative quality of heart/mind is illuminated;
• Discovering how investigation can mature from an intellectual
exercise to a living meditation;
• Uncovering the skillful use of intelligence, creativity and
relatedness in the process of contemplative inquiry; and
• Developing awareness and inquiry to support living our life from
the perspective of the Dharma.
Please bring your interest, curiosity and love of the Dharma to this day.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code EC2D15
HOWARD COHN
During this day we will explore the nature of ego and the enormous
stress that comes with trying to be "someone." With Insight
Meditation, we can make peace with our various self views. Sitting
and walking in silence, supported by instructions and dharma talks,
we will cultivate embodied presence. We will use the healing tools
of mindfulness and loving-kindness to meet the activity of self with
balance and openness, perhaps even "loving the house that ego built."
income) are invited to attend this daylong at a rate of $25. No one
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Wednesday, July 29 - Sunday, August 2 (4 nights)
GIL FRONSDAL, AYYA ANANDABODHI, KATE JANKE, OFOSU JONES-QUARTEY
Monday, August 3 - Sunday, August 9 (6 nights)
TEMPEL SMITH, TEJA BELL (QIGONG), SPRING WASHAM,
PASCAL AUCLAIR, LA SARMIENTO,
Prerequisite: Young adults age 18-32 years.
In this retreat we will quiet minds and open our hearts through the
practices of insight and loving-kindness meditations. Together we
will come to see that freedom is possible through meeting ourselves,
our relationships and our world more fully with deepening wisdom,
compassion and acceptance. This retreat will include silent and
guided meditations, periods of sitting and walking, qigong, practice
discussions with the teachers, dharma talks and a chance to build
community. Devon Rath will assist on this retreat.
staff. Code 286R15
Why Do We Suffer? An Exploration of the Buddhist
Teaching on the Five Khandas, or Aggregates
Saturday, August 8, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
SALLY ARMSTRONG
Prerequisite: Completion of a beginning class, essential dharma
series or one residential retreat.
This daylong will explore the Buddha's answer to the fundamental
question of why we suffer. When he spoke about the experience
and cause of suffering in the First Noble Truth of dukkha or suffering,
he pointed to the ways in which we as human beings cling to and
identify with the five aggregates of form, feeling, perception,
mental formations and consciousness. Because of clinging to
the aggregates, we will sooner or later suffer, as experiences
and even our sense of self proves to be unreliable and inherently
unsatisfactory. He encouraged us again and again to pay attention to
these areas in our lives and in our practice if we wish to find freedom
and ease in our lives.
This daylong will include guided meditations on the aggregates, as
well as interactive talks and discussions to enliven our understanding
of this important teaching.
income) are invited to attend this daylong at a rate of $25. No one
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code SA2D15
MAY - AUGUST 2015
33
Being Present in the Body: Using Mindfulness to
Work with Trauma (A Day for People of Color)
Sunday, August 9, 9:30 am - 5:00 pm
PAWAN BAREJA
This daylong is open to all self-identified people of color with all
levels of meditation experience, including beginners.
Mindfulness helps us recognize the influence of past traumatic
events through response patterns of stress and anxiety which
inhabit our daily life. In this daylong, we will use body-based Somatic
Experiencing® skills that help free up our frozen survival-based
energy, so that we may feel more alive, settled and grounded in our
everyday life. Working directly with our bodies, we begin to heal
old trauma wounds by discharging the unresolved traumatic energy.
This is often exhibited as body constriction and emotional reactivity.
Our nervous system is innately resilient and with the right tools is
able to regain its capacity to self-regulate. This daylong will offer the
participants tools that blend the unique qualities of a mindfulness
meditation practice with the skills of autonomic regulation utilized
in Somatic Experiencing®, a trauma healing modality created by Dr.
Peter Levine.
SPECIAL EVENT
Anxiety and Mindfulness
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code PC2D15
For Pawan Bareja's bio please see page 21.
LEE LIPP, DAVID ZIMMERMAN
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Concentration Retreat
Monday, August 10 - Wednesday, August 19 (9 nights)
PHILLIP MOFFITT, SALLY ARMSTRONG, EUGENE CASH,
ANDREA FELLA, MARCY REYNOLDS (QIGONG)
Prerequisite: Two 7-night or three 5-night Insight Meditation retreats.
Concentration (samadhi) defined as the collection and unification of
the mind, was emphasized by the Buddha as one of the aspects of
the Eightfold Path. It can bring joy to your practice and develop the
skillful use of pleasure in the meditative process. Whatever your level
of practice, you can improve your Insight Meditation (vipassana) by
strengthening your concentration skills. Your ability to concentrate
will develop in response to the attention you give it.
This retreat offers a series of techniques for staying on the meditation
object for extended periods of time. We will explore the factors of
concentration that lead to the deep absorption states known as jhana.
Teachers will also give instruction for utilizing concentration during
insight practice.
Spirit Rock extends a special invitation to young adults (age 18-26) who
wish to attend this retreat at a rate of $25 per night, on a first-come, firstserve basis. A limited number of special rates are available, please apply early.
staff. Code 288R15
Aversion to anxiety is often accompanied by reactivity and
actions that worsen how we feel. We suffer. Instead of running
from anxiety, our focus for this day will be on kind-hearted
mindful awareness and intentional cultivation of non-reactive
attention to this mood state. Guided meditations will be
offered as we practice stopping and quieting the mind so
that we slow down enough to see what is actually happening
internally. The natural state of a quieted mind interrupts
reactivity and offers us freedom to discover a compassionate
and responsive relationship to this element of experience.
Teachings are appropriate for meditators of all levels, as well
as health care professionals. Continuing Education (CE) credit
available.
Cost $70 - $150, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers. If paying at
the door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code LL2S15
Lee Lipp, PhD, has been a member of Thich Nhat Hanh's Order of Interbeing,
practicing Zen and vipassana since 1991. Having taught in psychology graduate
programs for 16 years, Dr. Lipp's most recent work has included being Diversity/
Outreach Coordinator at San Francisco Zen Center. She leads "Transforming
Depression" and "Transforming Anxiety" groups, and has a psychotherapy
practice.
Kanzan David Zimmerman has been practicing Zen for nearly 25 years, half of
which have been in residence at San Francisco Zen Center. Ordained as a Soto
Zen priest in 2006, David currently serves as SFZC's Program Director and is a
co-facilitator for SFZC's monthly Queer Dharma gatherings. He regularly leads
retreats on living an awakened, compassionate life, including supporting the
practice of 'Transforming Depression and Anxiety' with Dr. Lee Lipp.
34
A Good Day to Die
BENEFIT EVENT
Loving What Is: A Day with Byron Katie &
Stephen Mitchell
ANNA DOUGLAS
Few of us contemplate the inevitability of our death, or that it could
happen at any time. The Buddha recommended that we do just that,
not to frighten us but to prepare us while we have time. Surprisingly,
contemplating death also increases our sense of present aliveness.
Contemplating death as a meditation practice and inquiring together
in community encourages us to be more real, clearer about our
priorities, and more courageous. The day will include silent sitting
and walking, dharma teachings, interactive inquiry, and discussion.
Appropriate for all ages.
for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code AD4D15
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT (DANA - BY DONATION)
It's Closer Than You Think - Monastic Retreat with
the Aloka Vihara Nuns
Thursday, August 20 - Sunday, August 23 (3 nights)
AYYA ANANDABODHI, AYYA SANTACITTA
Prerequisite: Participants must have attended at least one 5-day
residential vipassana retreat prior to this retreat.
Please note: This is an Eight Precept Retreat which includes not
taking solid food between midday and the following dawn.
We have great access now to the teachings of the Buddha, through
a danger is to spend time pouring over the 'maps' of these teachings
and not stepping onto the path. Only direct experience and honest
investigation of the many states that arise, will take us more deeply
into the place of peace and insight we are seeking. Using the Four
Foundations of Mindfulness, we will rediscover the truth that is
under our very noses!
The framework of the Eight Precepts, Noble Silence, chanting and
simple ceremonies will provide a monastic container to hold and
inspire us during this retreat.
Spirit Rock is offering this retreat on a sliding scale. Please pay at the
highest level you can afford as this allows others who need to pay
less the opportunity to attend. A $75 refundable deposit is required
to register for the retreat.
Cost $100 - $75 sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers and retreat staff.
Code 290R15
BYRON KATIE, STEPHEN MITCHELL
Available as a Live Webcast
This event has sold out for several years. Register early to
ensure your space.
Byron Katie has one job: to teach people how to end their
own suffering. As she guides people through her simple yet
powerful process of inquiry, called The Work, they find again
and again that their stressful beliefs - about the world, other
people, or themselves - can no longer run their lives. Eckhart
Tolle, author of The Power of Now, says "The Work is like a
razor-sharp sword that cuts through illusion and enables you to
know for yourself the timeless essence of your being."
This workshop is designed to take you on a journey of selfdiscovery. With her humor and lovingly incisive clarity, Katie
will show you how to identify and question the stressful
thoughts that cause all the suffering and violence in the world.
Anyone with an open mind can do The Work. Participants will
have the opportunity to ask questions and do The Work with
Katie in the morning.
In the afternoon, Stephen Mitchell will give readings from his
editions of Tao Te Ching and The Second Book of the Tao and will
talk and answer questions about the Tao, the Dharma, and The
Work. The day is a benefit for The Work and the Fund for Spirit
Rock. Thank you, Katie and Stephen!
Cars with less than three people will be asked to pay a $10
non-carpooling fee.
Cost $200 - $110 sliding scale. If paying at the door, add $5. Please bring
your lunch. Code BK1B15. Webcast code BK1L15
Byron Katie, author of Loving What Is and A Thousand Names for Joy,
woke up one morning in 1986 at the bottom of a ten-year fall into depression,
anger and addiction, and realized that all suffering comes from believing
our thoughts. She saw that no one is separate from anyone or anything.
Questioning every painful thought she had, she developed an amazing way
to pass on her experience, a method of inquiry she called The Work.
Stephen Mitchell is a poet, translator, scholar, and anthologist. His many books
include the bestselling Tao Te Ching, Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey,
The Gospel According to Jesus, Bhagavad Gita, The Book of Job, The
Second Book of the Tao, and The Selected Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke. He
is also co author (with Byron Katie) of two bestselling books: Loving What Is
and A Thousand Names for Joy. He is married to Byron Katie.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
35
Introduction to Insight Meditation
Exploring the Dharma through Poetry
HOWARD COHN
PHILLIP MOFFITT
Bring A Friend for Free (if you pre-register)!
In this traditional Insight Meditation (vipassana) daylong, the
emphasis is on deepening into the silence that allows for the
awakening of the heart. There will be systematic instructions in both
sitting and walking meditation, as well as time for discussion and
dharma talks.
This daylong is especially good for beginning meditators and for
those wanting a refresher in traditional instruction.
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited income) are
invited to attend this day for $25. No one turned away for lack of
funds.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Meditation and Yoga Retreat
Monday, August 24 - Sunday, August 30 (6 nights)
ANNA DOUGLAS, PASCAL AUCLAIR, JANICE GATES (YOGA), LESLIE
BOOKER (YOGA)
This silent retreat blends the traditions of Insight Meditation
(vipassana) and hatha yoga to support our awakening. Through
practices that emphasize mindfulness of the body and opening
of the heart, we’ll cultivate our ability to embody compassionate
presence in every moment of our lives.
Two daily periods of yoga—appropriate for all levels—will open,
relax and energize our bodies, creating greater freedom and ease
to support a full schedule of sitting and walking meditation. The
yoga will also be a meditation in itself, grounding our awareness in
a joyful appreciation of the moment-to-moment unfolding of our
embodied experience.
staff. Code 291R15
This daylong will consist of sitting and walking meditation practice
interspersed with dharma discussions based on a selection of
poems. This daylong is suitable for both beginning and experienced
meditation students.
for lack of funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code PM3D15
The Neuro-Dharma of Love - Using Brain Science
and Buddhist Wisdom to Illuminate the Heart of
Important Relationships
RICK HANSON
On the whole, we experience our greatest joys and sorrows in
our relationships. Supported by both Buddhism and Western
psychology, the keys to healthy relationships include empathy,
compassion, kindness, equanimity and appropriate assertiveness.
These states of mind are based on underlying states of your brain.
The emerging integration of modern neuroscience and ancient
contemplative wisdom offers increasingly skillful means for
activating those brain states, and cultivating an open and caring
heart, for effective communication, balance during upsets and more
fulfilling relationships. No prior background with meditation or
neuroscience is necessary. We will cover:
•
A summary of the Buddha's teachings on relationships;
• The underlying neuropsychology of empathy, compassion, lovingkindness, and love, and how to strengthen these factors in your brain;
•
Practical ways to combine kindness and assertiveness; and
•
Expanding the circle of "us" to include the whole world.
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Abhayagiri Teen Weekend
Abhayagiri Monastery, Redwood Valley, Mendocino
Friday, August 28 - Sunday, August 30 (2 nights)
AJAHN PASANNO, FOREST FEIN
Awaken to the dharma wisdom that is contained in poetry and
experience the power of poetry to inspire our spiritual practice. Join
us for this 15th annual poetry day as we explore how poetry can help
deepen our understanding of the dharma and help us meet each
moment of life with awareness, intention, and surrender.
Young Adults (18-26) and Seniors (65+ with limited income) are
invited to attend this day for $25. No one turned away for lack of
funds.
door, add $5. Please bring your lunch. Code RH3D15
For Rick Hanson’s bio please see page 31.
36
Family & Teen Programs
Summer Family Practice Day
“
Our children are our meditation."
VENERABLE PANNAVATI
Family Days are a wonderful opportunity to spend the day connecting
with your children, yourself and a community of supportive peers. Come
play, share, learn and open your heart!
FAMILY PRACTICE PERIOD: A Program for the Whole Family! We start
our morning with a program for the whole family, weaving the theme
of the day into songs, skits and family activities. We have plenty for
your little ones with mindfulness geared toward children ages 4 - 10,
and for older children ages 11 - 14.
YOUTH PROGRAM: During the second half of our day, youth will
attend age-appropriate groups with our experienced Spirit Rock mindful
leaders. They will play, make art, sing songs, and practice mindfulness.
PARENT'S PROGRAM: Parents will have an opportunity to meditate,
hear a talk related to parenting as practice, and connect with one another
through group discussions.
Pre-registration requested so we can plan ahead, especially for the
kids’ activities. Volunteers are needed to assist with the event and
attend free of charge, children are welcome to vounteer alongside
an adult. Contact our Volunteer Coordinator for more information at
[email protected] or call 415.488.0164 x 224.
Cost: $35-55 per family, depending on size, plus a donation to the teachers.
No one turned away for lack of funds. Scholarships are available. 2 person
family $35, 3 person family $45, 4-or-more person family $55. Please bring
your lunch. Code FA3D15
Ven. Dr. Pannavati, is co-founder and co-Abbot of Embracing-Simplicity Hermitage
in Hendersonville, NC. A black, female Buddhist monk ordained in the Theravada
and Mahayana traditions with Vajrayana empowerments and transmission
from Roshi Bernie Glassman of Zen Peacemakers, she is both contemplative and
empowered for compassionate service.
—JACK KORNFIELD
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Wednesday, July 29 - Sunday, August 2 (4 nights)
GIL FRONSDAL, AYYA ANANDABODHI, KATE JANKE,
OFOSU JONES-QUARTEY
This five-day, four-night retreat is for families with children ages
6 - 15 and will include periods of family activities, young people’s
groups, a parent program and free time. Dharma activities include
songs, stories, skits, games, art, time on the land, a campfire,
council practice, parent discussions, meditation for parents and
children, and dharma talks.
The family retreat is a true retreat experience that brings us
face-to-face with our own experience and may bring up deeply
felt emotions. At least one parent/caregiver in each family needs
to have sat one or more silent residential retreats or equivalent
retreat experience. If you do not have this experience, please check
Spirit Rock's web-site at www.spiritrock.org for a list of upcoming
retreats.
Cost $1070 - $535 for adults, $650 - $325 for children, sliding scale, plus a
donation to the teachers and retreat staff. Code 284R15
RESIDENTIAL RETREAT
Abhayagiri Teen Weekend
Friday, August 28 - Sunday, August 30 (2 nights)
AJAHN PASANNO, FOREST FEIN
Prerequisite: For ages 14 - 20 years
A group of teens and Spirit Rock teen teachers will travel from Spirit
Rock to Abhayagiri Monastery in Redwood Valley, Mendocino
County, for a weekend of camping and practice with the monastic
community. Teens participate in the monastic schedule, which
includes periods of meditation and chanting, working and hiking on
the land and teachings from the monastics. To maintain a lifestyle
of simplicity while at the monastery, participants will take the Eight
Precepts, which include not overindulging in sleep and not eating a
full meal after noon.
This retreat is offered on a dana basis. The word “dana” means generosity
and simply translates into heartfelt donation. A retreat of this length
would normally have a registration fee of $200 - $400. If you have
questions regarding this retreat, please call the Family Program Office at
(415) 488-0164 x 227. Code TE1R15.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
37
Spirit Rock Teachers Council
Ayya Anandabodhi has practiced meditation since 1989,
and lived in Amaravati and Chithurst monasteries in the
UK for 18 years. In 2009, she moved to the U.S. to help
establish Aloka Vihara, a training monastery for women,
where she now resides.
Anna Douglas, PhD, has a background in psychology
and art, in addition to more than 25 years of vipassana
practice. She has also studied with teachers in the Zen,
Advaita and Dzogchen traditions.
Guy Armstrong has been practicing Insight Meditation
for more than 30 years and began teaching in 1984. He
spent a year as a Buddhist monk in Thailand. Guy is a
Guiding Teacher of Insight Meditation Society (IMS).
Andrea Fella has practiced Insight Meditation since
1996, and began teaching meditation classes in 2003.
She has done a number of long retreats, both in the U.S.
and Burma, and ordained as a nun. She teaches at the
Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City and centers
around the U.S.
Sally Armstrong began practicing Insight Meditation
in 1981 and began teaching in 1996. She has served at
Spirit Rock in a number of roles and is co-founder and
co-teacher of the Dedicated Practitioners’ Program. She
is a Co-Guiding Teacher at Spirit Rock.
Anushka Fernandopulle has trained for more than 20
years in the Theravada tradition in the U.S., India and Sri
Lanka. She is also on the teaching team at San Francisco
Insight, the Leadership Sangha at East Bay Meditation
Center, and is lead teacher of the San Francisco LGBT
sangha.
James Baraz has practiced Insight Meditation since 1974
and has been teaching since 1980. James leads ongoing
meditation and Awakening Joy classes in Berkeley. He is
the author of Awakening Joy with Shoshana Alexander.
Gil Fronsdal has practiced Zen and vipassana since 1975
and holds a PhD in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. He
is founding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center
in Redwood City, and author of a translation of The
Dhammapada.
Sylvia Boorstein has been teaching since 1985, and
teaches both vipassana and metta meditation. Her many
books include That’s Funny, You Don’t Look Buddhist and
Happiness Is an Inside Job.
Will Kabat-Zinn has practiced vipassana meditation
intensively in the U.S. and in Burma for more than ten
years. He currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area
and teaches regularly at SF Insight, Spirit Rock, and at
meditation centers around the U.S.
Eugene Cash is a founding teacher of San Francisco
Insight. He is also the co-founder and co-teacher of the
Dedicated Practitioners’ Program. In addition, he teaches
the Diamond Approach® in San Francisco and Holland.
Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand,
India and Burma, and holds a PhD in clinical psychology.
He has taught meditation since 1974, and is a founding
teacher of IMS and Spirit Rock. His books include A Path
with Heart and The Wise Heart.
Debra Chamberlin-Taylor has been leading retreats
since 1978. In addition to practicing vipassana, she has
been influenced by Dzogchen and Diamond Heart®. She
also leads workshops on embodiment of awareness and
conscious relationships.
Phillip Moffitt has practiced vipassana since 1983.
He is founder and president of the Life Balance Institute
and holds a weekly Insight Meditation class in Corte
Madera, CA. He is the author of Dancing with Life and
Emotional Chaos to Clarity, and a Co-Guiding Teacher at
Spirit Rock.
Howard Cohn has led vipassana retreats since 1985 and
leads a weekly sitting group in San Francisco. He has
studied with teachers of several traditions, including
Theravada, Zen and Dzogchen, and has been strongly
influenced by H.W.L. Poonja.
Wes “Scoop” Nisker is a meditation teacher, author,
radio commentator and performer. His books include
Essential Crazy Wisdom and Crazy Wisdom Saves the
World Again! He is the founder of “The Inquiring Mind.”
Mark Coleman has been teaching Insight Meditation
retreats since 1997. He also leads wilderness meditation
retreats, integrating mindfulness meditation with nature,
and is the author of Awake in the Wild.
Mary Grace Orr is a vipassana teacher and former
Guiding Teacher of Santa Cruz Insight. She has practiced
many spiritual disciplines for the past 25 years, and has
trained with A.H. Almaas in the Diamond Approach®.
Dana DePalma has practiced Insight Meditation since
1993. She holds a Masters Degree in Counseling
Psychology and is a licensed Marriage and Family
Therapist. She is the Spirit Rock Staff Dharma Teacher
and leads a weekly meditation and yoga class.
Sharda Rogell began teaching Insight Meditation in 1985.
She brings a strong emphasis to awakening heartfulness,
and has been influenced by non-dual teachings,
Dzogchen and the Diamond Approach®.
38
Spirit Rock Teachers Council continued from page 37
Visiting Residential Retreat Teachers
Donald Rothberg has practiced meditation since 1976.
He is the guiding teacher for the Path of Engagement
program. He is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life,
and co-teaches the Wednesday morning class at Spirit
Rock.
Ajahn Pasanno took ordination in Thailand in 1974 with
Ven. Phra Khru Nanasirivatana as preceptor. One of
the early residents of Wat Pah Nanachat, Ven. Pasanno
became its abbot in his ninth year. In 2010 he assumed
the role of abbot of Abhayagiri in CA.
John Travis founded Mountain Stream Meditation in 1993,
and opened a center in Nevada City, CA, in 2013. He has
practiced meditation for almost 50 years, and he spent
a decade living in Asia, studying and sitting retreats with
some of the great vipassana and Tibetan masters of our
time.
Steve Armstrong has been studying and practicing
the Buddha’s teachings since 1975. He is developing a
dhamma sanctuary on Maui and offers a variety of
Buddhist mindfulness practices designed to strengthen
an unshakeable sense of well-being.
Tempel Smith has been practicing metta and Insight
Meditation since 1989, including a year as a fully ordained
monk in Burma. He graduated from Teacher Training
program led by Jack Kornfield at Spirit Rock and has been
leading retreats for more than ten years.
Pascal Auclair has been immersed in Buddhist practices
since 1997. A graduate of the Teacher Training Program at
Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society (IMS), he now
teaches retreats at these two centers and is a co-founder
of True North Insight Meditation Centre in Canada.
Spring Washam has practiced meditation since 1997.
She is a founding teacher of the East Bay Meditation
Center, in Oakland, CA. Spring is considered a pioneer
in bringing mindfulness-based meditation practices to
inner city communities.
Ayya Santacitta is co-founder of Aloka Vihara, a training
monastery for women in San Francisco. She has trained as
a nun in both the East and West since 1993, primarily in
the lineage of Ajahn Chah. She also integrates Dzogchen
teachings into her practice and teachings.
Julie Wester has been a teacher of Insight Meditation
since 1985 and is a senior meditation teacher at Spirit
Rock. A student of sacred feminine wisdom traditions,
her primary teachers have included Ruth Denison, Joanna
Macy, Lama Tsultrim Allione and the women of her own
family lineage.
Tara Brach, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, lecturer, and
popular teacher of mindfulness (vipassana) meditation
throughout the US. She is founder and senior teacher of
the Insight Meditation Community of Washington and is
the author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge.
Diana Winston is the Director of Mindfulness Education
at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center. She has
practiced vipassana since 1989, including a year as a
Buddhist nun in Burma, and is the author of Fully Present
and Wide Awake: A Buddhist Guide for Teens.
Gary Buck, PhD, has been a mindfulness practitioner
for nearly 40 years in the Buddhist Theravadan and
Vajrayana traditions, including three years as a monk in
Thailand. He holds a PhD in Psychology from Meridian
University and a BA in Religion from Princeton University.
Larry Yang is a longtime meditator trained as a
psychotherapist. He is interested in creating access to the
Dharma for communities who have felt the experience of
exclusion or difference. Larry is a teacher at the East Bay
Meditation Center.
Grove Burnett has practiced meditation for more than
25 years and is founder and guiding teacher of the
Vallecitos Mountain Ranch, a retreat center located
west of Taos, New Mexico. He has trained with Joseph
Goldstein, Jack Kornfield and Thich Nhat Hanh.
Teachers Emeritus
Ajahn Amaro trained in Thailand with Ajahn Chah and
Ajahn Sumedho. He is the former co-abbot of Abhayagiri
Buddhist Monastery near Ukiah. He is now abbot of
Amaravati Monastery in England.
Robert Hall, MD, is a physician of the body/mind, a
psychiatrist, poet and meditation teacher. He is a pioneer
in the integration of bodywork, psychotherapy and
spiritual practice. He lives and teaches at El Dharma in
Todos Santos, Mexico.
Chas DiCapua has offered meditation since 2001. He is
interested in how all aspects of life can be used towards
awakening. Currently the IMS Resident Teacher, he
teaches throughout the US.
Forest Fein, MA, leads Mindfulness Programs for all ages
and is the founder of "Mindful Human: The Art, Science +
Practice of Mindful Living." He is a Certified Mindfulness
Teacher through the Mindful Awareness Research Center
at UCLA and is a student of the Diamond Approach.
Lesley Grant is the founder of Marin Mindfulness
Institute, a program for psychotherapists and teachers in
mindfulness and child development. She has practiced
mindfulness for 37 years and lectures and teaches widely
across the US.
MAY - AUGUST 2015
39
Visiting Residential Retreat Teachers
Janice Gates, MD, has been leading yoga and meditation
retreats for over 20 years and is on the faculty of the
Mindfulness, Yoga and Meditation training at Spirit Rock.
Janice offers Somatic Yoga Therapy trainings and intensives,
maintains a private practice in Yoga Therapy and mentors
teachers around the globe.
Adrianne Ross, MD, has been involved with meditation
and healing since 1978. She teaches Mindfulness-Based
Stress Reduction to people with chronic pain and illness.
She retired from working as a family physician to devote
more time to practice and teaching in Canada and the U.S.
Susie Harrington has been meditating since 1989 and her
teaching is deeply grounded in the body and emphasizes
embodiment of our practice in speech and daily life. A
graduate of Hakomi Therapy (a somatic psychotherapy
modality.)
Jaya Rudgard qualified as a lawyer in London then spent
eight years as a Theravada nun in the Thai Forest Sangha
in the UK with Ajahn Sumedho. She teaches mindfulness
and dhamma in the UK and elsewhere and is currently in
teacher training at Spirit Rock and IMS.
Kate Janke has been teaching mindfulness to youth
since 2008, and she is the former Director of Training
for Mindful Schools. She is currently participating in the
SRMC/IMS/IMC Teacher Training.
La Sarmiento is a Guiding Teacher at the Insight
Meditation Community of Washington and their LGBTQ
and People of Color Sanghas, Lead Retreat Teacher and
Coordinator for Inward Bound Mindfulness Education,
and trained at the Spirit Rock Community Dharma
Leaders Training program.
Ofosu Jones-Quartey has been practicing meditation
since 2000, is a part of the Bhavana Society community
and a student of Bhante Buddharakkhita. He is also an
accomplished musical solo artist and a founding member
of the Buddhist-inspired Hip Hop band, Shambhala.
Richard Shankman has been a meditator since 1970 and
is the guiding teacher of the Metta Dharma Foundation,
the co-founder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies
and Mindful Schools. He is the author of The Experience
of Samadhi and teaches at dharma centers nationally.
Kittisaro is a Rhodes Scholar from Tennessee who spent
15 years as a monk in the Forest School of Ajahn Chah.
He has taught internationally for 20 years and recently
completed his second year-long self-retreat.
Gina Sharpe is a co-founder of New York Insight
Meditation Center. She has studied with teachers in the
Zen, Tibetan and Theravada traditions. She trained at
the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Clinic founded
by Jon Kabat-Zinn, and is a graduate of the Spirit Rock
Teacher Training Program.
Ruth King has a Master’s in Clinical Psychology and is a
graduate of the Dedicated Practitioner Program of Spirit
Rock Meditation Center. She is the author of Healing Rage
- Women Making Inner Peace Possible and the founder of the
Mindful Members Practice Community in Charlotte, NC.
Bob Stahl has founded seven MBSR programs in the San
Francisco Bay Area and currently directs three hospital MBSR
programs. He is a Senior Teacher for Oasis — the Institute for
Mindfulness-Based Professional Education and Innovation
at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and
Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Joanna Macy, PhD, is a scholar of Buddhism, systems
theory and deep ecology. As the root teacher of the Work
That Reconnects, she has created a ground-breaking
theoretical framework for personal and social change. Her
books include World as Lover, World as Self and Coming Back
to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World.
Thanissara was inspired to ordain after meeting Ajahn
Chah. She spent 12 years as a Buddhist nun where she
was a founding member of Chithurst and Amaravati
Buddhist Monasteries. She has facilitated meditation
retreats internationally for 25 years and has an MA in
Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy Practice.
Kamala Masters began practicing in 1975. Trained by
Anagarika Munindra and Sayadaw U Pandita, she offers
the Dharma worldwide. She is a co-founder and guiding
teacher of the Vipassana Metta Foundation and is
currently developing a dhamma sanctuary on Maui.
Erin Treat has been practicing Buddhist meditation for 20
years, is a guiding teacher at Vallecitos Mountain Ranch,
and co-director of training at the Mind-Fitness Training
Institute. Erin is currently in the SRMC/IMS/IMC
Teacher Training program.
Nikki Mirghafori practiced meditation under the guidance
of Ven. Pa Auk Sayadaw, her teaching instructor. She
trained at Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism
Research & Education, UCLA's Mindful Awareness
Research Center and is currently in the SRMC/IMS/IMC
Teacher Training program.
Lila Kate Wheeler is a fiction writer, essayist, and travel
journalist with books and prizes to her credit. She also
teaches and practices in the vipassana and Tibetan
Nyingma Buddhist lineages.
Mark Nunberg has been teaching meditation since
1990. He co-founded Common Ground Meditation
Center in Minneapolis in 1993 and continues to serve
as the center’s Guiding Teacher.
DaRa Williams serves on the Board of IMS as chair of the
Governance and Diversity Committees. She teaches at
New York Insight and is currently in the IMS/Spirit Rock
Teacher Training program. DaRa is a trainer and wellness
coach, and has been a clinician and administrator in the
mental health field for over 25 years.
5000 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard
P.O. Box 169
Woodacre, CA 94973
spiritrock.org
Upcoming Highlights
For more information, visit spiritrock.org
Grateful Heart, Joyful Heart
James Baraz, Jane Baraz
Writing Your Heart Out: Voicing your
Loves, Desires and Longings
Saturday, May 23, 10 am - 5 pm
Roger Housden
Monastic Day: Desire or Aspiration?
Wanting Mind versus Spiritual Direction
(Dana - by Donation)
Sunday, June 14, 9 am - 5 pm
Ajahn Pasanno
The Intimate Journey of Aging,
Awakening, and Dying (55 & older)
8 Tuesdays, June 23 - August 11, 10 am - 5 pm
Anna Douglas
Being Present in the Body: Using
Mindfulness to Work with Trauma
(A Day for People of Color)
Sunday August 9, 9:30 am - 5 pm
Pawan Bareja
Exploring the Dharma through Poetry
Phillip Moffitt
Benefit Event: Loving What Is: A Day
with Byron Katie & Stephen Mitchell
Saturday, August 22, 10 am - 5 pm
Byron Katie & Stephen Mitchell

Spirit Rock News

Transcription

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