On-Land Retreat

The Doorway to Freedom and Peace: The Three Characteristics

The radical premise of the Buddha’s teaching is that realizing the truth—what Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki called "things-as-it-is"—is the doorway to freedom and peace. During this retreat, we will engage mindfulness and compassion to turn toward the living truth that arises each moment, with an emphasis on the Three Characteristics of Reality: all things are impermanent (aniccā), ultimately unreliable (dukkha), and ownerless (not “me or mine” (anattā)). Our time together will include periods of silent meditation and movement, along with instructions, Dharma talks, and meetings with teachers. All are welcome.

Teaching Team

Erin Treat

Erin Treat

Teacher

Erin Treat has been practicing Buddhist meditation for nearly 30 years and is the guiding teacher of Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center in northern New Mexico. She is a long-time student of the Diamond Approach. Erin teaches the practical and the profound, from a heart grounded in respect for mystery and the many faces of awakening.

Pamela Weiss

Pamela Weiss

Teacher

Pamela Weiss is a Buddhist teacher in Theravada and Soto Zen, and a guiding teacher at San Francisco Insight. She has been practicing since 1987, including several years of Zen monastic training and retreat teacher training through Spirit Rock. Pamela is the author of A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism.

Louije Kim, LMFT

Louije Kim, LMFT

Teacher

Louije Kim, LMFT, is a San Francisco Bay Area based dharma practitioner, teacher and licensed psychotherapist. They graduated from Spirit Rock's four-year teacher training in 2020 and teach in various dharma centers locally and across the U.S. They have been working in community mental health settings for over a decade.

Monica Magtoto, E-RYT

Monica Magtoto, E-RYT

Teacher

Monica Magtoto is an artist, yoga instructor, energy worker, educator, and tarot reader based in San Francisco, Ca.Magtoto is a Yoga Alliance 500 Registered Yoga Teacher, holding additional certificates in Restorative and Yin yoga.

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