We live in two dimensions of being human, which can be called horizontal and vertical. In the horizontal aspect, we move across the surface, getting from here to there. If you look out at the ocean, you can see the surface with all the chop and the waves and so on. That’s one dimension. And that’s useful. It’s good to get from here to there. But there’s another dimension, which is the vertical—when we drop under the surface, under the churn at the top of the water, and we let ourselves descend down, down, down into the still, dark, quiet at the bottom of the ocean. Ultimately, we find a way to do both: to be engaged in horizontal movement, engagement, activity, without losing contact with the depths of our knowing, the depths of our being.
Pamela Weiss
Residential Retreat Teacher
Pamela Weiss is a dual lineage Buddhist teacher in Theravada and Soto Zen, and the author of, "A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism." She has been practicing since 1987, including several years of Zen monastic training and retreat teacher training through Spirit Rock. Pamela was the first lay person to receive full Dharma transmission in the Suzuki Roshi lineage. She lives in San Francisco and is on the Teacher Council at San Francisco Insight and the Board of the Brooklyn Zen Center. She is passionate about weaving women's voices and experience into the fabric of practice.
Pamela Weiss' Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
January 26 - January 31, 2025 | Sunday - Friday | 5 nights
True Happiness: The Heart of Awakening
Registration Open. The nature of awareness lies at the heart of awakening and the experience of true happiness. During this retreat we will explore the nature of mind and awareness and inquire into what supports and what obscures our experience of freedom. Together we will foster steadiness of mind, ease of body, and confidence of heart. By stabilizing our attention in the present moment, we will expand our trust in loving awareness and learn to rest in our innate capacity to awaken.
Retreat | On-Land
October 1 - October 5, 2025 | Wednesday - Sunday | 4 nights
Wild Wise Words: A Mindfulness Meditation and Writing Retreat
Registration Opens - February 19. 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.
Retreat | On-Land
November 8 - November 14, 2025 | Saturday - Friday | 6 nights
Grief as a Change Agent of Transformation and Resiliency
Registration Opens - February 19. Grief is not sequestered to the life loss of loved ones. It traverses beyond physical death and seeps into disappointments in relationships, the loss of dreams, ancestral anguish, and unnamed disappearances. Understanding the personal nature of grief and the tenderness of being with a broken heart, we will create a container that honors all individuals moving through their sorrow. We will practice silent meditation indoors and in nature and there will be Dharma talks, meetings with teachers, and embodiment practices.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Pamela Weiss through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.