Friday, September 11th - DharmaTalk
Saturday, September 12th - Meditation Retreat “Dropping the Burden, Stopping the Fight".
Keri Pederson, Senior Teacher at Seattle Insight Meditation Society (SIMS), will offer a talk and meditation on Friday, September 11, from 7:00 - 8:30 pm. She will also offer a retreat the following day, September 12, from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Keri will be assisted by Temira Lital, a Local Dharma Leader with SIMS. The retreat will open for registration on August 25th.
“Dropping the Burden, Stopping the Fight”.
In meditation practice and in life, we are often aware of how an attitude of striving and overdoing is not helpful, and yet it can be difficult to release. Steeped in a culture that values productivity and the optimizing of everything, we find here that our own efforts thwart us. Where is the ease, relaxation, and peace that we read so much about? We can hear ourselves arguing with the moment, with our own minds, with experience itself. Might there be a way, as the teachings point out — to make steady effort without perpetuating stress, to be dedicated to something without ongoing strain, and to engage in the world without it being a fight?
In Friday evening’s talk and Saturday’s daylong retreat we will gather in community (sangha) to explore perspectives and experiential teachings from the early Buddhist tradition that speak to some of these questions. We’ll take a look at the ‘mind at normalcy’ (Upasika Kee), awareness becoming natural (Sayadaw U Tejaniya), and dwelling in non-contention with experience (Ajahn Amaro), and see what we find for ourselves.
The retreat will consist of a mix of stationary meditation and movement meditation, short talks, and optional small group discussions and will be suitable for beginners and experienced meditators.
Fee for the retreat will be $10. Please use the online donation form at donorbox to pay the retreat fee and leave a comment indicating that the donation is for the retreat on September 12. The fee will be waived for those who can't afford it. Please send an email to the Registrar's email address (registrar@insightmeditationmc.org) if you'd like to request a scholarship. Those who are registered for the retreat will receive an email the week of the retreat with additional information. We've found out that some people mailing to that email address receive an error message that their email was returned. In fact, the emails are received intact, so please ignore the error message. We'll try to confirm that your email was received and that you're registered within 24 hours.
This retreat will be held in Richland, Washington at Shalom United Church of Christ and is hosted by Insight Meditation of the Mid-Columbia. Shalom is located at 505 McMurray Street in Richland. The retreat will start at 9:00 and end at 4:00 or 4:30.
More information will be posted when it is available.
Keri Pederson