This practice is not a self-improvement project, and it's not about harnessing willpower, fixing ourselves, or getting rid of parts of ourselves. Rather, it’s about really getting to know this mind, this body, and to be with it—to know the light and the shadow, the wholesome and the unwholesome, the clarity and the confusion. Because freedom and transformation don't come from trying to fix ourselves. Freedom and transformation come when we can really be with what's arising and learn from it. Because if nothing inside of us scares us, then we are fearless, and every mind state is workable.
Kaira Jewel Lingo, MA
Residential Retreat Teacher
Kaira Jewel Lingo is a Dharma teacher with a lifelong interest in spirituality and social justice. Her work continues the Engaged Buddhism developed by Thich Nhat Hanh, and she draws inspiration from her parents’ lives of service and her dad’s work with Martin Luther King, Jr. After living as an ordained nun for 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic community, Kaira Jewel now teaches internationally in the Zen lineage and the Vipassana tradition, as well as in secular mindfulness, at the intersection of racial, climate and social justice with a focus on activists, Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, artists, educators, families, and youth. Based in New York, she offers spiritual mentoring to groups and is author of We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons in Moving through Change, Loss and Disruption and co-author of Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy and Liberation from Parallax Press. Her teachings and writings can be found at www.kairajewel.com.
Kaira Jewel Lingo's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
April 9 - April 16, 2025 | Wednesday - Wednesday | 7 nights
Insight Meditation Retreat
Registration Open. This is a silent retreat suitable to those new and experienced in the practices of Insight Meditation (vipassanā). The retreat includes systematic instructions on vipassanā meditation—both in stillness and movement—as well as lovingkindness practices, meetings with teachers, and evening talks highlighting the central teachings of the Buddha and their practical application in our lives. This retreat is silent except for teacher-led Q&A, small groups, or other practice meetings.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Kaira Jewel Lingo through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.