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Expanding Your PracticeThis page offers local resources for expanding and deepening your meditation practice. Scroll down or click on a topic for more information:
Beginning Meditation InstructionJames Baraz teaches a beginning meditation class two or three times a year for those interested in learning or reviewing the practice of mindfulness. Classes are held on Monday evenings for six successive weeks, from 7:30 to 9:30 pm, at the Northbrae Community Church, 941 The Alameda, between Solano and Marin avenues), Berkeley, CA. The next class begins on October 13, 2008. Topics for the six meetings are: What is Mindfulness? The Four Noble Truths The Eightfold Path The Five Hindrances Qualities of the Heart Bringing Practice into Daily Life This class is provided on a donation basis, with no pre-registration necessary. Check this page or subscribe to our email lists to learn when the next class is scheduled. Between classes, basic meditation instruction is also offered on the Insight Meditation Center’s website in both written and audio form. Buddhist Peace Fellowship offers mindfulness meditation instructions and practice each Monday at 6:30 pm at their office in Berkeley. And, all weekly classes at Spirit Rock Meditation Center are open to beginners and most of their daylong retreats include meditation instructions. For a brief introduction, check out Spirit Rock’s Vipassana 101 page. Kalyana Mitta GroupsKalyana Mitta is a Pali term meaning 'dharma friends.' Kalyana Mitta groups bring together members of the dharma community to study and share practice experience in a friendly, supportive environment. Generally comprised of from six to twelve members, they afford an intimacy not always available in larger sitting groups. Groups meet once or twice a month and the format usually involves 20-30 minutes of meditation, an opportunity to check in about one's personal dharma practice, a group discussion of an agreed-upon topic or a book the group is reading together, and between-meeting practices to support conscious action and awakening in one's life in the world. Groups may be led by a pair of senior students or run collectively by all members (peer groups).Michael Bergeisen is IMCB’s Kalyana Mitta group coordinator. Email Michael for help joining or starting a Kalyana Mitta group or for help finding new members for an existing group. The following East Bay groups are accepting new members:
The Spirit Rock website offers a variety of resources for Kalyana Mitta groups including meeting guidelines, a list of suggested books, and contact information for groups with openings in the East Bay and elsewhere. Awakening Joy CourseJames Baraz developed and began teaching the Awakening Joy Course in 2003. Course participants learn to cultivate joy by developing what the Buddha called "gladness connected with wholesome states." The ten-month course focuses on two components of Right Effort: 1) developing wholesome states and 2) increasing wholesome states when they've arisen. The course begins in January and you can attend in person in Berkeley, CA, or by email. Spirit Rock Meditation CenterSpirit Rock is a large meditation center located in Marin County, California, that is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha as presented in the vipassana tradition. Spirit Rock offers a wide variety of practice opportunities, including:
Dedicated Practitioners ProgramThe Dedicated Practitioners' Program (DPP) at Spirit Rock Meditation Center is designed for serious students of Insight meditation (Vipassana) to expand their understanding of the dharma and intensify their practice. The DPP is an intensive lay practice period, offering a comprehensive curriculum on the Buddha's teachings over a two-year period. Enrollment for the fourth DPP program opens in the summer of 2010. Sati Center for Buddhist StudiesThe Sati Center supports the study of Buddhist teachings, with the purpose of balancing scholarly inquiry with serious meditation practice so that study and practice can work together to deepen one's practice and aid in awakening. Classes are held at Insight Meditation Center. There is a suggested donation of $50-100 per event, but any amount is acceptable. You may listen to or download audio recordings of previous Sati Center events online. Abhayagiri Buddhist MonasteryOn the first Tuesday of each month, Abhayagiri monastics offer meditation, a dharma talk, chanting, and an opportunity to take the precepts from 7:30 to 9:30 pm at Berkeley Buddhist Monastery, 2304 McKinley Avenue, Berkeley, CA. The group is usually led by either Ajahn Amaro or Ajahn Passano. These meetings are an opportunity to directly experience the roots of our practice. If you want more information about these gatherings, read the informative article on the Abhayagiri website. Subscribe to their email list to receive notification of the meetings and other Abhayagiri events. The monastery also offers the upasika program to enable lay people to expand their understanding of the dharma. The term upasika means 'one who sits close by,' and it has come to refer to lay people who join with the monastics to practice and study the dharma together. Over the course of the year, topics cover the five themes of sutta study, daily life practice, meditation, devotion/ritual, and dharma in the broader world. Regular Upasika Days are held at the monastery each year.
Buddhist Peace Fellowship
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