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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. 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. The next class begins, Monday, March 12, 2012. You can pick up a copy of our printed Meditation Instructions at the greeter table. Although they are geared toward those who are new to meditation, experienced practioners may also benefit. If you need a free copy of Acrobat Reader to view the PDF, you can download it here. Between classes, basic meditation instruction is also offered on the Insight Meditation Center’s website in both written and audio form; this is an excellent resource that includes instructions for sitting and walking meditation, talks on the 4 foundations of mindfulness, and a document on meditation postures. In addition, 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 Meditation 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. Since groups generally have six to twelve members, they afford an intimacy not always available in larger sitting groups.
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Note: A workshop for facilitators of Kalyana Mitta groups was held on Sunday, July 10, 2011, with Donald Rothberg and Dawn Neal. The focus was on Wise Speech in the context of small groups and how to address challenging situations. You can listen to a recording of the day on our Recorded Dharma page. |
Local Mindfulness Teachers Offering Private Sessions
Working with a teacher or practice guide can greatly strengthen meditation practice and one’s sense of connection to the Buddha’s path. Members of IMCB, with guidance from James Baraz, have compiled a list of mindfulness teachers who offer private sessions. All teachers and guides on the list are experienced in providing one-on-one support for meditation practice and welcome working with students on a dana or sliding scale basis. The list includes each teacher's location, meditation background, current affiliation, special interests, and contact information.
Please make use of this resource if you would like guidance or support for your practice. You can pick up a copy on Thursday evenings at the Greeters Table or you can view or print a PDF here. You can also view or print a PDF of the list in table form that allows easy comparison of the teachers. (You need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to access a PDF, which you can download here.)
Waiver: This list consists of teachers known to James Baraz and members of IMCB to be responsible and caring Buddhist practitioners. However, you are responsible for your own experience when contacting someone on the list. Please know that when you make contact with anyone on the list, you waive your right to hold James or IMCB legally responsible for your experience.
Ecological Dharma
- IMCB Ecological Awareness Efforts
IMCB Monthly Eco-Tip Archive: Each month we publish a suggested ecological action in our Activities Newsletter to help increase awareness of our ecological impact. You can pick up a copy of the newsletter at the greeter table on Thursday evenings or read it online.
Simple Ways to Slow Climate Change: A two-page PDF of suggestions for taking action.
Green Gift Giving Suggestions from Green Sangha and the Ecology Center
Ecological Footprint Quiz: Take this quiz to become aware of the amount of land and ocean area required to sustain your lifestyle annually and learn how to reduce your impact on the Earth.
- Green Sangha
Green Sangha combines spiritual practice and environmental work to heal our planet. Their mission is to bring healing to ourselves and the earth through thoughts, words, and actions rooted in love. Their work is inspired by the lives of nonviolent leaders such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., The Dalai Lama, and Julia Butterfly Hill and incorporates a deep ecological perspective based on Joanna Macy's work. Green Sangha chapters meet once a month to meditate, educate, and support one another and to plan and perform direct environmental actions.
- Buddhist Climate Change Project
The Buddhist Climate Project was co-founded by Zen teacher Dr David Tetsuun Loy and senior Theravadin teacher Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi with scientific input from Dr John Stanley. The website offers a wealth of ecological resources from a Buddhist perspective including, scientific articles, wisdom teachings on the climate emergency, a presentation of solutions, current news items, a blog, and other evironmental resources.
Awakening Joy Course
James 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 or February, and you can attend in person in Berkeley, CA, or online.
The accompanying book Awakening Joy: Ten Steps That Will Put You on the Road to Real Happiness, co-authored by James Baraz and Shoshana Alexander, was released in Jan 2010 and can be ordered by way of either the Awakening Joy or James Baraz's website.
Spirit Rock Meditation Center
Spirit 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:
- Daylong programs
- Residential retreats
- Local sitting groups led by Spirit Rock teachers
- Meditation groups led by Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders
- Links to worldwide retreat and study centers
Dedicated Practitioners Program
The 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.
Sati Center for Buddhist Studies
The 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 Monastery
On 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
Buddhist Peace Fellowship is based in Berkeley, CA, with chapters worldwide. Founded in 1978, BPF’s mission is to serve as a catalyst for socially engaged Buddhism, to help beings liberate themselves from the suffering that manifests in individuals, relationships, institutions, and social systems. The aim of their projects is to link Buddhist teachings of wisdom and compassion with progressive social change; these include Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement (BASE), The Prison Project, International Programs, and publication of the quarterly journal Turning Wheel.
Inquiring Mind Journal
Inquiring Mind is a donation supported, semiannual journal (published each April and October) dedicated to the creative transmission of Buddhadharma to the West. It is highly regarded for its excellent and thought provoking interviews of Buddhist teachers, philosophers, psychologists and artists, as well as for its presentation of art, poetry, stories and humorous essays. Readers include followers of many different Buddhist traditions and others interested in the philosophy and ideas of Buddhism. James usually presents one or more dharma talks to IMCB on the content of the current issue when it is published.
Regular contributors include Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, Thich Nhat Hanh, Joanna Macy, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Gary Snyder, Nina Wise, Robert Thurman, Ram Dass and many others. In addition, each issue includes an extensive international calendar of vipassana retreats, as well as a listing of events and sitting groups throughout North America.
Visit the Inquiring Mind website to subscribe, donate, and to view a description of the current issue and a list of back issues that can be ordered by mail.
Diversity Programs
- East Bay Meditation Center
The East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC), located in downtown Oakland, offers meditation training and spiritual teachings from Buddhist and other wisdom traditions, with attention to social action, multiculturalism, and the diverse populations of the East Bay and beyond. Although most EBMC programs are open to all, some are specifically for People of Color or the Lesbian-Gay-Bisexual-Transgender Communities. This provides a safe space for individuals who daily confront the effects of oppression, racism, or homophobia and heterosexism in their lives and who therefore may choose to initially avoid mixed programs.
- Spirit Rock Diversity Program
The purpose of the Spirit Rock Diversity Program is to ensure that Spirit Rock is accessible and welcoming to all people who wish to participate regardless of ethnic origin, race, cultural background, socio-economic class, age, gender, sexual orientation, or physical ability. The Diversity Council administers a scholarship fund for People of Color and works to develop practice opportunities and programs for People of Color and the LGBT community. The booklet Making the Invisible Visible: Healing Racism in Our Buddhist Communities aims to shine the light of awareness on the difficulties encountered by people of color as they try to participate in our Western Buddhist sanghas.