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Buddhist Heart Practices for Climate and Social Justice Activists

8/27/2019

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By Rebecca Bradshaw, IPV Guiding Teacher
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Those of us who are on the front lines of activism related to climate and social justice (or even those who are just paying attention to the immense amount of suffering happening in our world) need to find a way that we can stay engaged and yet not get overwhelmed with the scope of suffering we encounter day after day. The Buddhist teachings of the Brahmaviharas, or Heavenly Homes, offers a way for the heart to navigate compassion in the face of ongoing moral injuries that we experience by being on the front lines. They offer a sane and balanced way to keep the heart open.

A number of years ago I worked for many years in community mental health in the inner-city. At first I was overwhelmed by the amount of suffering, trauma, and oppression that I engaged with. By consciously engaging with the Brahmaviharas, I learned to care, stay connected, and avoid getting overwhelmed. We can all find that even in situations with lots of suffering, we can develop flexibility in what the heart notices, keeping the heart joyous and spacious. During this three week class, we will practice together and support each other to care for this planet and all who live on her with openness and genuine connection.

Register now for Buddhist Heart Practices for Climate and Social Justice Activists beginning October 1.
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Finding Ease and Freedom "In-Between"

8/24/2019

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By Manny Mansbach

We humans tend to seek certain kinds of pseudo-refuge in the familiar, focusing on landing in a place that is known, seems safe and secure. We can become off-balance, disoriented, anxious, even afraid while waiting for what we think will be easier, until the employer calls with the job offer or the weather turns more to our liking, or we reach a new understanding with someone we’ve been in conflict with. There is value, we tell ourselves, in sailing in open, unprotected waters, but often we find ourselves longing for the refuge of the harbor.

There’s nothing at all wrong with returning to the safe harbor of the known, but when we have difficulty finding ease in the gaps between our comfort zones there can be wide swaths of life that become uncomfortable. Depending on how we relate to these “in-between” places, we may be mildly, moderately or severely vexed. If the distress is habitual, socially embarrassing, strongly identified with or reinforces a negative self-esteem loop, then it can become quite limiting or even debilitating.

Finding ease and freedom in these “in-between” places can be some of  the most difficult and most important work of our practice. This talk will offer some direction for how we can “mind the gap” and struggle less when we are asked by life to swim in deeper water than we like or are accustomed to.

Join Manny and other sangha members for a sitting at 7:00pm and talk at 7:35pm.​

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Manny Mansbach has been practicing and studying Insight Meditation since 1980. He is a graduate both of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Dedicated Practitioner Program and its Community Dharma Leader Program, and is the former Director of the Center for Somatic Psychotherapy in San Francisco. In recent years, Manny has spent many months in silent meditation retreats, and has practiced and been on pilgrimage in India, Tibet, Nepal, Burma and Thailand. In addition to studying with revered western Insight Meditation teachers, he has also been influenced by Dzogchen and the teachings of Adyashanti. Manny is committed to helping people remember and express their basic goodness, and to gain confidence in the beauty and power of the Buddha’s teachings of profound understanding and boundless kindness. One of his greatest interests is applying the Buddha’s Middle Way to the area of communication, integrating the core skill of nonviolent assertion and learning to speak from wisdom and with kindness. For Manny's website visit mannymansbach.com.  
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CONFLICT: A Shared Exploration

8/15/2019

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By Adi Bemak, IPV Teacher

Through the lens of practice what do you know  about conflict yourself?

We will work with the Buddha's teachings on right speech, praise and blame as a way to look at how the use of our language as well as our habitual views can either provoke or reduce conflict. This evening will be interactive since each of us can contribute to the wisdom for finding harmony.

Join Adi for an open sitting and Dharma Talk/Exploration at 7:00pm on Wednesday, August 21.  
No registration necessary. All are welcome. 
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Adi Bemak has been practicing mindfulness meditation for more than 35 years.  She teaches Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) at the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at UMass Medical School in Worcester, and at Valley Mindfulness in Northampton.  Adi, a Community Dharma Leader at IPV, is the Co-Buddhist Advisor in the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life at Mount Holyoke College.  Adi also maintains a mindfulness-based psychotherapy practice in Amherst.
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Sankhara Dukkha: The third type of suffering

8/8/2019

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By Rebecca Bradshaw, IPV Guiding Teacher
The Buddha, in his amazing analysis of our human existence, taught about the existential stress of being human in the sense that we are sensitive and vulnerable creatures embedded in a world of change. We'll explore the secret to moving through this sensitivity and vulnerability with grace and poise.

Join Rebecca and other sangha members for a sitting at 7:00pm and talk at 7:35pm.
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Rebecca Bradshaw is the Guiding Teacher of Insight PV, and one of the Guiding Teachers at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA. She has been practicing Vipassana meditation since 1983 in the United States and Myanmar (Burma) and teaching since 1993. She completed her dharma teacher training at Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, where she is part of the three month retreat teacher team and leads retreats for young adults. She also teaches at other locations in the United States and abroad, including a Spanish language retreat. Rebecca has a master's degree in Counseling Psychology, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), and works as a psychotherapist with meditators interested in supplementing their meditation practice with psychotherapeutic work. For Rebecca's 2019 Teaching Schedule, click here.

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  • Home
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