Sangha News 6/11/24

Thursday evening Info:

The Thursday night talks explore topics related to meditation, with the current focus on exploring the role of core values, intention, and purpose in our lives.

After the 7:00 pm online meditation on Thursday, 6/13/24, Chris will give a talk on the ways in which a sense of purpose and meaning can impact our lives, including during times of stress and difficulty. We’ll see that the sense of purpose and meaning can grow out of our core values and deep intentions for life. The following Thursday, 6/20, we’ll have a discussion on meaning and purpose in our daily lives. We’ll also have a discussion of upcoming topics we’ll explore in the Thursday night series.

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Online Meditation Course in Spanish

Andrea Castillo will offer an online course on mindfulness and Insight Meditation that will be conducted in Spanish. The principal focus of the course will be the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, one of the central teachings of Insight Meditation.

La información sobre el curso en Español se puede encontrar aquí: https://cambridgeinsight.org/product/cuatro-fundamentos-de-la-atencion-plena-curso-virtual-en-espanol/

Andrea Castillo trained with Gil Fronsdal at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, California and later completed teacher training with Joseph Goldstein through the Insight Meditation Society. More information on Andrea’s background can be found at the link above.

The online course will be offered by the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center (CIMC) in Cambridge, MA from July 15, through August 12, meeting on Mondays. The course will be suitable for beginners as well as those with experience in meditation. To register for the course, please see the link above. Please note that Cambridge is in the Eastern time zone, so the time for the online course is 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm EDT, or 4:00 pm – 5:30 pm PDT. There is a charge for the course, but CIMC is making full and partial scholarships available.

Additional Spanish Language Resources for Meditation and Buddhism

The Lion’s Roar Foundation has translated a large number of articles on meditation and Buddhist practice into Spanish. The articles have been drawn from a wide spectrum of traditions including Insight Meditation, Zen, Tibetan, Chan and others.

You can find the Spanish language articles at their website here: https://www.lionsroar.com/es/ 

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Meditation Support Group Meets at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center

We’ll continue our monthly mindfulness meditation support group meeting at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center in May. The Cancer Center is located at 7350 West Deschutes Avenue, Kennewick and the next meeting will be Thursday, 6/20/2024. The sessions, which are held on the third Thursday of each month, are meant for cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their caregivers. The session will begin at 12:00 pm at the Cancer Center in the Fireside Room. If you have a serious illness other than cancer, or are a caregiver for someone who is ill, you’re welcome to attend the sessions. Each session includes a brief review of mindfulness and mindful self-compassion meditations and the role they can play in reducing the anxiety arising from diagnosis and treatment, an opportunity to ask questions, and the chance to practice meditation with others. Please contact Lorie MacIsaac to register for the support group session on 6/20 by email at [email protected] or call 509-737-3412.

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Weekly Meditation Schedule:

In-Person Meetings:

Our in-person meetings take place at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1322 Kimball Avenue in Richland. Our in-person meditation meetings are offered on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 8:00 a.m. We meditate for half an hour, followed by an optional time for sharing and conversation after meditation. No problem if you just want to meditate and then leave. 

Chairs are available in the meeting hall. However, if you prefer to use your own chair, blanket, cushion or bench, you are welcome to bring it. The meetings have recently moved indoors and meet in the Parish Hall at the rear of the church.

Those who regularly attend the in-person meetings have developed a masking policy for the times we meet indoors. The community levels of Covid will be checked each time we publish a newsletter. When community levels are low; masks will be optional. When community levels are medium or high, masks will be required. If there is any attending member that feels more comfortable with everyone masking, we will all mask in support of the most vulnerable among us.

Currently, the Covid community levels are low in Benton County; masks are optional on Saturday and Wednesday morning unless any participant feels more comfortable with everyone masking. Please bring a mask to all of the in-person sessions in case the meeting is moved indoors and there is an attending member with greater vulnerability.

We’re looking forward to welcoming some of you in person and being there online for others.

Online Meetings:

In addition to our in-person meetings we have three online meditations a week, on Wednesday morning, Thursday evening, and Saturday morning. The Zoom links for those meetings can be found on the Events Calendar. You’re welcome to join us online for any of the 3 meetings each week.

During the Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday online meetings, we “sit together” for meditation for half an hour. Meditations include guided meditations, meditations with some initial guidance and instruction, and silent meditations. The Wednesday morning meditation starts at 9:30 am, with half an hour of meditation, followed by half an hour of sharing. On Thursday evenings there is a talk or discussion and sharing following meditation. Meditation is from 7:30 until 8:00 pm, with the talk and discussion ending at about 9:00 pm. The Saturday morning meditation starts at 8:00 am, with half an hour of meditation followed by half an hour of sharing.

If you can’t or don’t wish to join the online sessions you can just meditate at the same time as we’re meeting and know that there are others from the group who are meditating with you. 

We’re looking forward to welcoming some of you in person and being there online for others.

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Volunteers at Coyote Ridge Corrections Center

The Insight Meditation group has supported Buddhist meditation groups at the state prison in Connell, WA since 2003. Those visits were on hold during the height of the pandemic but resumed last year. Currently we have two volunteers visiting the medium-security prison on Monday afternoons and we are seeking additional volunteers to support that effort, especially when our lead volunteer isn’t available.

There are several requirements for those volunteering at the prison.  Orientation and training are required. Applicants also need to undergo a background investigation. Applicants with a criminal background need to be off of supervision or parole for a year before applying. 

Those applying to volunteer should have a regular meditation practice and at least some knowledge of Buddhist teachings and be willing to learn more so that you can discuss Buddhist practice with the inmates. If you’re interested, please contact Chris Murray for more information about volunteering at Coyote Ridge.

Warm regards,

Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia