Length: Recurring (non-residential)

Date & Time: 5 Thursdays; September 15, 22, 29, October 6, 13; 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: Dana Day (By Donation) $0-$108. Code SF2G22.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description: The discourses of the Buddha, called suttas, are one of the world’s most majestic collections of spiritual teaching. They include inspiring poetry, psychological guidance, social theory, and philosophical masterpieces that address the deepest human fears, hopes, and potential.

In this class, part of our sutta study series, “The Refuge of Dhamma,” we’ll read discourses on the path to liberation.We’ll see him in conversation with both monastics and laypeople, feeling the skill and compassion he brought to every encounter. Texts include the Shorter Elephant’s Foot Simile (MN 27), the Mettā Sutta (Snp 1.8), and others, which teach us how the foundational training in generosity and ethics prepares the heart for meditation, insight, and liberation.

While beginners are welcome, this class may be most engaging for practitioners with some experience in meditation. With extensive supplementary material, this class aims to make the discourses of the Buddha an accessible, inspiring support for practice.

Please Note: Though the classes in the series will build on each other, attendance at all classes is not required.

Class Dates: 5 Sundays; September 18, 25, October 2, 9, 16, 2022
Time: 6:00pm – 8:00pm US Pacific Time; class time is the same for all 5 Sundays.
Sliding Scale: $80-$180. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code TE6C22.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
Learn meditation, speak your truth, relax deeply, and develop your mind—all while hanging out with great people your age! In this five-week series, we will reconnect with ourselves in order to experience more peace, wisdom, and compassion through the practices of mindfulness and Insight Meditation.

Classes will include movement, community-building games, meditation instruction, and council—a practice of witnessing and contributing to the group’s collective wisdom. This series is offered to all tweens in middle school.

Important Note: Class size is limited to 23 students. All participants must attend the first class meeting. Students are expected to attend at least 4 sessions. Video participation is expected to support the container, with the exception of technical or health reasons.

Dates: 6 Sundays, September 18, September 25, October 2, October 9, October 16, and October 23, 2022
Times: 6:00pm – 8:00pm US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $108-$240. Our sliding scale options for this program include financial support for our teachers. Code TE5C22.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description:
Join other teens in co-creating a fun, interactive, and inclusive space to explore the different facets of mindfulness! Classes will include movement, community-building games, guided meditations, group discussions, and council—a practice of witnessing the group’s collective wisdom—bringing more presence, understanding, and compassion into day to day life.

Important Note: Class size is limited to 23 students. Students are expected to attend at least 4 sessions.

Date & Time: 5 Saturdays; October 8, 15, 22, 29, November 5; 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $75-$600 Code RV1C22.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description: Based on interviews in the 2022 book Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation, this five-week class series will explore the themes of intergenerational trauma, non-self and relative reality, gender and sexuality, honoring ancestors and the land, and love in collective liberation. Author Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad leads conversations with Dharma teachers Devin Berry, Kate Johnson, Leslie Booker, Noliwe Alexander, and Konda Mason.

Date & Time: 5 Saturdays; October 8, 15, 22, 29, November 5; 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. US Pacific Time
Sliding Scale: $75-$600 Code RV1C22.

Please Note: This retreat is offered online only. We invite you to try this creative form of practice as we take care of one another and respond skillfully to COVID-19.

Description: Based on interviews in the 2022 book Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition: The Practice of Stillness in the Movement for Liberation, this five-week class series will explore the themes of intergenerational trauma, non-self and relative reality, gender and sexuality, honoring ancestors and the land, and love in collective liberation. Author Dr. Rima Vesely-Flad leads conversations with Dharma teachers Devin Berry, Kate Johnson, Leslie Booker, Noliwe Alexander, and Konda Mason.