Not much has changed in the trajectory of time and history. Samsāra, the circular pulse of suffering through birth, death, and rebirth, is the heartbeat of this worldly existence. It is obvious, especially in today’s world, that we live in a climate of extreme violence, unfathomable hatred, and cruelty. As technology increasingly brings the world into closer contact, intolerance sweeps the terrain like raging fire. Injustice burns through lives, destroying spaces that once were sanctuaries—sacred places of family, work, and communities of worship. These fires sear deeply into the tender expanse of the heart, leaving scars of protective woundedness. An essential part of waking up is to stay present to the suffering in the world, to courageously turn our face toward it and feel it tremble the heart. The practice of facing the fire is one that cannot be separated from the journey that leads toward liberation.
Amana Brembry Johnson
Residential Retreat Teacher
Amana Brembry Johnson, Residential Dharma Teacher and Community Leader, is a Core Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC), located in Oakland, CA and co-Guiding Teacher of EBMC’s Spiritual Teacher and Leadership Training. Amana mentors local and international groups of emerging Mindfulness teachers through the Mindfulness Meditation Training Certification Program (MMTCP) designed and developed by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. Her life’s work emerges from the intersections of spirituality, social justice, somatic practices, and intuitive creativity. An accomplished visual artist, Amana creates imagery that exposes emotional and spiritual barriers of the heart as portals into kindness, compassion, self-love, and fierce action.
Amana Brembry Johnson's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
June 27 - July 3, 2025 | Friday - Thursday | 7 nights
This is How Civilizations Heal: The Alchemy of the Three Poisons -
Open to all self-identified BIPOC. Registration Opens November 13, 2024.The three poisons—greed, aversion, and delusion—are mind states that cloud the heart and mind. However, by clearly recognizing the three poisons, we can meet them with their antidotes of generosity, mettā, and wisdom. Generosity expands our ability to feel connected and reminds us that we belong to each other. Mettā opens the heart, protecting us from both inner and outer harm, while wisdom allows us to see things right sized as we move through the world.
Retreat | On-Land
August 17 - August 21, 2025 | Sunday - Thursday | 4 nights
Five Spiritual Powers: Cultivating Resilience, Balance, and Love
Registration Opens - April 16. The Buddha’s teaching on the five spiritual powers (confidence, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom) offers a path to cultivate these capacities of the heart and transform habits that no longer serve us. Grounded in these teachings, together we will learn powerful and sustainable ways to restore our humanity and bring freedom to all beings. This retreat offers silent meditation, opportunities for movement meditation, Dharma talks, and time to be in nature and honor the natural rhythms of your own practice.
Retreat | On-Land
October 1 - October 5, 2025 | Wednesday - Sunday | 4 nights
Wild Wise Words: A Mindfulness Meditation and Writing Retreat
Registration Opens - June 3. This retreat will weave together periods of silence and writing as a path to deepening our spiritual and creative lives. Our time together will include Dharma talks, guided meditation, embodied movement, and periods of writing to nurture our inner depths and outer expression. Within a wild, wise field of silence we’ll settle deeply into what is, peel back layers of the judging and restrictive mind, and discover words that express the mystery and majesty alive in each of us.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Amana Brembry Johnson through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.