Balance of mind is a possibility. Meeting experience with calm creates some peace, and an opportunity to check things out that we would miss if we’re in reaction. This is equanimity: not being pulled around by experience. You can be with something just the way it is, without pushing or pulling. If we can touch into the quality of awareness, which is mindfulness, and a quality of collectiveness or steadiness, then what naturally arises is a state of equanimity, balance of mind.
Victoria Cary
Residential Retreat Teacher
Victoria Cary is a Dhamma teacher and leader who co-founded the San Francisco Black Indigenous People of Color Insight Sangha and continues to serve as one of its core teachers. She has been practicing and studying Insight meditation for nearly two decades, most recently finding inspiration in the Mahasi/U Pandita lineage with Venerable Sayalay Daw Bhaddamanika and Venerable Sayadaw U Vivekananda, and sitting 3-month silent retreats in Nepal and at Insight Meditation Society.
Victoria loves the Dhamma and is particularly drawn to supporting people in their practice through a focus on the integration of Dhamma into everyday life. As a queer, biracial black woman, Victoria’s approach to teaching seeks to investigate the complexity of our human experience while holding plenty of space for kindness. Her practice has also been informed by 3-years of volunteer work at Zen Hospice and a deep exploration of how developing a relationship with impermanence and death can actually point us to a profound sense of aliveness.
She completed Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders training program in 2016, and Teacher Training in 2020. Victoria is honored to currently serve as one of Spirit Rock’s Staff Dharma Teachers, and a member of the Teacher’s Council for the San Francisco Dharma Center project, in addition to teaching retreats and groups, and mentoring students.
Victoria Cary's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
January 26 - January 31, 2025 | Sunday - Friday | 5 nights
Cultivating the Beautiful Factors of Mind
Registration Open. The Buddha taught that whatever we incline our mind towards will arise more in the future. In this retreat, we will consider how we can develop beautiful factors of mind that support our access to mind states such as faith, courage, and mindfulness. Held in noble silence, our practice together will unfold through the sincere exploration of these mind states that influence the quality of our lives and lay the foundation for the arising of wisdom.
Retreat | On-Land
September 20 - September 25, 2025 | Saturday - Thursday | 5 nights
Awakening through the Three Characteristics: A Women’s Liberation Retreat
Open to all self-identified women.
We welcome all who identify as women, as well as non-binary folks who feel nourished in spaces centering women.
Registration Opens - February 19. The radical promise of the Buddha’s teaching is that it’s possible to be at ease and free, even in unfree conditions. During this retreat, we will practice mindfulness and compassion, looking at the unfolding of moment-to-moment experience and ways of perceiving that are grounded in the three characteristics of reality (aniccā, dukkha, and anattā). Nourished by the tradition of Buddhist communities abiding in silence, kindness, and clarity, our time will include mindfulness meditation in stillness, movement, and all daily activities.
Retreat | On-Land
October 6 - October 15, 2025 | Monday - Wednesday | 9 nights
Concentration and Insight Meditation
Registration Opens - February 19. Concentration and insight are like two wings of a bird, each is essential for traversing the path of practice and liberation. Without a concentrated mind, it’s hard to see deeply into the nature of things, to arrive at roots rather than flitting around in the branches. Without turning this concentrated mind to clearly observing the nature of our body and heart/mind, we do not touch the wisdom that transforms how we live, love, and relate to all of life.
Retreat | On-Land
October 25 - November 1, 2025 | Saturday - Saturday | 7 nights
Maraṇasati: Mindful of Death/Contemplating Life
Registration Opens - February 19. Maraṇasati (Mindfulness of Death) practice is a way to cultivate the qualities needed to live an awakened life, such as appreciation of the preciousness of life; insight into impermanence; freedom from clinging; and equanimity. Combining sitting practice, guided visualization, and a period of contemplative inquiry each day, this retreat will be grounded in the traditional practices of mindful awareness and compassion. Instructions will emphasize an understanding of the impermanence and change that occur naturally in every moment of our lives.
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | Online
Sunday, January 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.
Victoria Cary
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Victoria Cary through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.