Calendar
March
Training | On-Land Non-Residential | Dharma Institute
March - June, 2024 | 4 Sessions
Awake in the Wild Nature Meditation Program: Nature-Based Mindfulness Practices to Enhance Joy, Wisdom, and Well-Being
12 CE Credits. On this silent 4 month nature meditation training in the beauty of Spirit Rock, we explore through silent daylong retreats, awareness and sensory meditations that support insight, interconnection, joy and peace.
We will learn from nature’s teachings on impermanence, and the inter-dependence of life. We will also explore how nature evokes not only profound insight but also brings forth the capacity for love, resilience and inspired action in these ecologically challenging times.
Be prepared for unexpected delight, mystery and illumination.
Mark Coleman
April
Class Series | Online | Dharma Institute
April 11 - May 16, 2024 | 6 Thursdays | 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Heart-Opening Practices to Release Trauma Responses and Nurture Resilience
7.5 CE Credits. When the stressors and traumas of our life build up and take their toll on our psyche, it is a natural response to turn inwards to find rejuvenation and healing in the Dharma. This is the time to draw from the deep well of the brahmavihāras of lovingkindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. As we learn to nurture ourselves with lovingkindness, these life-transforming practices can heal and open our heart, soothe our anxious mind, and calm our inner critic.
Pawan Bareja
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, April 17 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Heidi Bourne
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, April 17 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Rainbow Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified LGBTQIA+.
Our Rainbow Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified practitioners within marginalized gender and sexuality groups such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit, and gender non-conforming.
Andrés González
Drop-in | Online
Thursday, April 18 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thursday Morning Women’s Group
Open to all self-identified Women.
This drop-in group offers self-identified women a place to come together in community to share our wisdom and strengthen our sense of belonging in the world. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Grace Fisher
Retreat | On-Land
April 21 - April 27, 2024 | Sunday - Saturday | 6 nights
Finding Refuge, Finding Home: A Retreat in Nature
In the storms of our lives we need refuge, nourishment, and support—a place to replenish our tired bodies and troubled hearts. When the Buddha taught meditation, his first instruction was to sit under a tree. Together, we will practice in the age-old tradition of being outside in the company of the natural world. We will explore tapping into the stillness and dynamism that surrounds us in nature, which teaches us about balance and delight as refuge in our daily lives.
Drop-in | Online
Sunday, April 21 | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
BIPOC Voices: Weekly Sunday Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified BIPOC.
The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified BIPOC practitioners that provides a safe place to meditate and explore the Dharma in light of our experiences. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Jonathan Relucio
Retreat | Online
Sunday, April 21 | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
BIPOC Grief: Naming the Unnameable and Exploring the Many Faces of Grief and Loss
Open to all self-identified BIPOC. During this daylong retreat for the BIPOC community, we’ll explore the many faces of grief and loss, including individual, collective and systemic. How do we learn to be with, even embrace, grief without either bypassing it or being overwhelmed by it? Participants are invited to co-create a safer container in which to practice meditation, engage in small and large group sharing, attend Dharma talks, and give our grief a space to exist and be expressed.
Drop-in | Online
Monday, April 22 | 7:15 PM - 9:15 PM
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice Insight Meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a Dharma talk.
Grace Fisher
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, April 24 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Sylvia Boorstein
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, April 24 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Rainbow Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified LGBTQIA+.
Our Rainbow Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified practitioners within marginalized gender and sexuality groups such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit, and gender non-conforming.
JD Doyle
Drop-in | Online
Thursday, April 25 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thursday Morning Women’s Group
Open to all self-identified Women.
This drop-in group offers self-identified women a place to come together in community to share our wisdom and strengthen our sense of belonging in the world. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Grace Fisher
Retreat | Online
April 27 - April 28, 2024 | Saturday - Sunday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Write to Wake Up: Creative Writing and Meditation
Unleash your stories, stir your imagination, and honor the wild heart of your life through an immersive weekend of creative writing and meditation. Together, we’ll practice writing in a way that helps us wake up. We’ll settle our minds and open our hearts through meditation in movement and stillness, so we can write from a deeper place. Through sharing our stories with each other, we’ll connect with our common humanity.
Anne Cushman
Retreat | On-Land
April 28 - May 4, 2024 | Sunday - Saturday | 6 nights
Exploring the Relationship between the Awakening Heart and Unentangled Knowing
At this time of increasing global crisis, the relationship between letting go and trusting a heart that knows can resource us in profound and unexpected ways. On this retreat, we will enter into Noble Silence, invoking our intention to increase our intimacy with this primordial relationship between embodied knowing and embodied care. Our intention is to support you as you tenderly meet each moment with care. Together, we will weave Dharma teachings with stillness, movement, ritual, sound, and song.
Drop-in | Online
Sunday, April 28 | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
BIPOC Voices: Weekly Sunday Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified BIPOC.
The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified BIPOC practitioners that provides a safe place to meditate and explore the Dharma in light of our experiences. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Tuere Sala
Drop-in | Online
Monday, April 29 | 7:15 PM - 9:15 PM
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice Insight Meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a Dharma talk.
Sean Oakes
May
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, May 1 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Heidi Bourne
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, May 1 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Rainbow Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified LGBTQIA+.
Our Rainbow Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified practitioners within marginalized gender and sexuality groups such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit, and gender non-conforming.
bruni dávila
Drop-in | Online
Thursday, May 2 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thursday Morning Women’s Group
Open to all self-identified Women.
This drop-in group offers self-identified women a place to come together in community to share our wisdom and strengthen our sense of belonging in the world. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Grace Fisher
Retreat | Online
May 3 - May 4, 2024 | Friday - Saturday | Times variable - see details | 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
From a Crisis Meditation Practice to a Sacred One
Oftentimes we find ourselves running to our altars when we need saving or when we are at a loss. In this weekend time together, we will explore ways to move from a crisis-oriented meditation practice to one that is a sacred way of life. How can we attune our habitual meditation activity to ancestral wisdom? Discover how to transform your sitting practice into one that consistently honors the ancestors, the land, and all sentient beings.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
Retreat | On-Land
May 5 - May 10, 2024 | Sunday - Friday | 5 nights
With the World on Fire, Embody the Eightfold Path
The Buddha offered the Noble Eightfold Path as a way to direct our lives away from entanglement and towards true freedom. As we find ourselves moving into an increasing ecological crisis and witnessing its impact on the planet and our lives, the Buddha’s teaching becomes ever more relevant and essential. During this retreat, Ayya Ananadabodhi, Ayya Santacitta, and Ayya Santussika will offer teachings on this theme with an emphasis on bringing the path to the whole of our experience.
Drop-in | Online
Sunday, May 5 | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
BIPOC Voices: Weekly Sunday Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified BIPOC.
The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified BIPOC practitioners that provides a safe place to meditate and explore the Dharma in light of our experiences. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Nico Cary
Drop-in | Online
Monday, May 6 | 7:15 PM - 9:15 PM
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice Insight Meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a Dharma talk.
JD Doyle
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, May 8 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Heidi Bourne
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, May 8 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Rainbow Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified LGBTQIA+.
Our Rainbow Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified practitioners within marginalized gender and sexuality groups such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit, and gender non-conforming.
Rion Pendergrass
Drop-in | Online
Thursday, May 9 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Thursday Morning Women’s Group
Open to all self-identified Women.
This drop-in group offers self-identified women a place to come together in community to share our wisdom and strengthen our sense of belonging in the world. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Grace Fisher
Drop-in | Online
Friday, May 10 | 7:15 PM - 9:15 PM
Dharma and Recovery Group
Open to all in recovery.
Our Dharma & Recovery group explores the intersection of recovery with Buddhist teachings and practices. We welcome all people who identify with any of the full range of addictions, from substances to behaviors, as well as habitual thought and emotional patterns. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Kevin Griffin
Retreat | On-Land
May 11 - May 16, 2024 | Saturday - Thursday | 5 nights
Spring Insight Retreat
The Buddha suggested that we have underestimated the capacity of our heart. Retreat helps us to remember. In mindfulness meditation, we practice resting, looking deeply, and knowing moment by moment what it's like to be human. The more deeply we look, the more reason we have to love. Together, we'll sit in the refuge provided by a 2,600-year legacy of wisdom and kindness. In silence, we come to know the preciousness of our life and the poignancy of the human condition.
Retreat | Online
Saturday, May 11 | 9:30 AM - 3:30 PM
All About Love: Celebrating bell hooks
We all want love. Throughout this retreat, we will explore together how love can be when it is expressed in conjunction with the qualities of the Four Divine States of Equanimity, Kindness, Compassion, and Inclusive Joy. This daylong retreat includes short readings from bell hooks, who puts forward fierce feminist social criticism that invites us to transform our challenges into strength in order to manifest the love and caring we want in our lives.
Rev. Liên Shutt
Drop-in | Online
Sunday, May 12 | 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
BIPOC Voices: Weekly Sunday Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified BIPOC.
The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified BIPOC practitioners that provides a safe place to meditate and explore the Dharma in light of our experiences. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Pawan Bareja