retreats & courses

Insight Meditation Community of Western Mass
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If you weren't able to give while registering or at any drop-in session, please use this link to donate. It will ask what event it is for at the end of the transaction. ​​
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​Retreats & Courses

​Insight PV is a non-residential center offering sittings, classes & retreats and special events to help sustain and deepen meditation practice and bring wisdom and compassion into daily life. For the foreseeable future, all IPV events will be held via Zoom unless otherwise specified in the description. More on using Zoom...

Pre-registration is requested for all courses & retreats. If a week before the start date there are not enough registrants, the teacher has the discretion to cancel, so please register early. There is a suggested registration contribution, and also an opportunity to practice dana to the teachers.  Read more... 
​

Registrations for Summer/Fall events are open.
​
Summer-Fall 2020
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THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED. OUR APOLOGIES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE.
Half-day retreat

Conflict in Tumultuous Times: Looking Within
Adi Bemak
Saturday, July 18; 9:30-11:30am
Suggested contribution: $15-30 registration + teacher donation

While conflict is part of the human experience, there are times in our own lives—and in the world—when the experience of conflict overwhelms us. This is especially true at this heightened moment. What does conflict have to teach us, and where can we find respite and understanding? In our time together, we will explore the Buddha’s teachings on the Eightfold Path as a way to deeply examine this question, finding an anchor from which to make wise and compassionate choices. This morning retreat is intended to offer us a chance to sit in silence, talk together in small groups, and support each other at this precarious time.

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Register Now
The zoom link is posted here on our homepage within the calendar listing. Simply click on the title and the link is above the description.
Group via Zoom
Going Deeper - an experienced student class
Suggested contribution: $5-25 registration + teacher donation
Thursday, August 6; 7:00pm-8:30pm

Identifying and Working with Your Edge in your Dharma Practice 
with 
Jean Esther

Description available soon
​
​This class is open for those who have established a regular practice, and are comfortable with the basics, but would like to ask questions and learn more. We will do a combination of sharing about our practices, exploring various meditation techniques and delving into some of the teachings which can be used to deepen practice.

You are welcome to register if you have been practicing daily, have been practicing for a few years, and/or have been on retreat.

This class will be running on first Thursdays with various teachers. Registration for each month is requested. Topics will be announced as early as we can. Organized by Tara Mulay. 
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Register Now
The link is posted here on our homepage within the calendar listing. Simply click on the title and the link is above the description.
NEW DATE
Half-Day Retreat
Identity and the Five Aggregates
JD Doyle
Saturday, August 8, 12:30-3:30 ET
Suggested contribution: $15-30 registration + teacher donation

In Buddhism, identity is often viewed as something to be overcome. During this half-day retreat, we will focus on how the framework of the five aggregates offers a path of inquiry into an embodied relationship with identity.  We will use gender identity as the primary area of focus and other aspects of identity will also be explored.  Rather than bypassing our identities to achieve emptiness, they can be rich avenues for liberation for ourselves and all beings. 

This half-day of practice will include meditation, Dharma reflections, mindful movement, small group discussions and Q&A and is suitable for all levels of experience.
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Register Now
The link is posted here on our homepage within the calendar listing. Simply click on the title and the link is above the description.
Course
Facing Death, Impermanence and Climate Change: A practical introduction to Buddhist Death Contemplation
Nick Boutros
4 Mondays, August 17 - September 7; 7:00-8:30pm ET
Suggested contribution: $32-80 registration + teacher donation

Death Contemplation is an ancient practice in many spiritual traditions. In the Buddhist world, maranasati (literally mindfulness of death) is recommended to bring about clarity, bravery, equanimity and spiritual urgency. Put another way, we contemplate death not because we're obsessed with death, but because of the opposite: it's a means to keep us aware that we're alive now and remind us of the ways that we want to live, despite the messiness of life and its eventual ending.

In this course, we'll primarily explore death contemplation from the ancient meditation manual, the Visuddhimagga. Its eight death contemplations have been updated and related to our modern context. Emphasis will also be given to systemic awareness and change, helping us to look not only at our own death but at the unpredictable world in which we live, and, importantly, at climate change, which represents the potential end of life as we know it. After all, maranasati isn't just about death but about all experiences that overwhelm our everyday ability to grapple with what we're presented with.

As part of this work, we will confront our cultural and personal alienation from death. We'll review practices such as mindfulness of breathing and loving-kindness, which help create the right context with which to examine this emotionally intense subject matter. Finally, we'll also regularly question how we can bring more and more awareness of death into our daily lives.

Because of the emotionally intense nature of this course material, some previous experience with meditation is highly encouraged. At the very least, you need the ability to gauge your stimulation level and have tools to self-sooth if needed. If you're unsure whether you're a good fit for this course, please consult with a mental health professional or meditation teacher before signing up, or talk to Nick.
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Full day retreat
Upright in the Storm
Devon and Craig Hase
Saturday, August 29; 10:00am – 4:00pm
Suggested contribution: $25-50 registration + teacher donation

​These are difficult times. Like, really difficult. So how do we stay sane even when the world has gone mad? How do we find calm, kindness, maybe even humor, right in the middle of the grief and fear we’re all facing? In this online daylong meditation retreat, Devon and Craig will offer teachings and practices from their book How Not to Be a Hot Mess. Along the way they'll talk dharma, social & racial justice, relationships, and all the other nitty gritty everyday conundrums we find ourselves in.
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Course
Paramis - Part 1
Candace Cassin
5 Tuesdays, September 1 - 29; 4:00 - 5:45pm
Suggested contribution: $40-100 registration + teacher donation

​The ten paramis, or perfections of the heart, are spiritual qualities that are both supports for, and fruits of our practice, especially in everyday life. In this class we will explore the paramis of generosity, ethical integrity, renunciation, wisdom, and courageous energy. Part 2, exploring the remaining five paramis will be explored in the next cycle of offerings. Class size limited to 20.
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Group via Zoom
Going Deeper - an experienced student class
Suggested contribution: $5-25 registration + teacher donation
Thursday, September 3; 7:00pm-8:30pm

Topic to be announced 
with 
Tara Mulay

Description available soon
​
​This class is open for those who have established a regular practice, and are comfortable with the basics, but would like to ask questions and learn more. We will do a combination of sharing about our practices, exploring various meditation techniques and delving into some of the teachings which can be used to deepen practice.

You are welcome to register if you have been practicing daily, have been practicing for a few years, and/or have been on retreat.

This class will be running on first Thursdays with various teachers. Registration for each month is requested. Topics will be announced as early as we can. Organized by Tara Mulay. 
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register now
Course
Equanimity: Deepening Composure Amidst the Worldly Winds
Manny Mansbach
4 Mondays, September 14 - October 5; 7:00-8:30pm
Suggested contribution: $32-80 registration + teacher donation

​​The Buddha’s teachings on equanimity offer a training path to stop resisting the way things are, to discover greater spaciousness, and to understand more clearly that suffering and joy are as natural as night and day. While we cannot stop the waves or challenges of life, we can learn to ride them with increasing grace, dignity, compassion and wisdom. This class is an invitation to stop wishing for a different life, and to embrace the one we have with both arms and a less reactive, more peaceful heart. Selected readings, live and recorded dharma talks, and class discussion will all be a vital part of this class.

“If you don’t become the ocean, you’ll be seasick every day.”   ~Leonard Cohen
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Half-day retreat
The Four Foundations: Strengthening the Power of Mindfulness While Living in These Challenging Times 1
Michael Grady
Sunday, September 20; 10:00am-1:00pm
Suggested contribution: $15-30 registration + teacher donation

​​The Four Foundations or Forms of Presence are 1) the body; 2) feelings; 3) mind: 4) laws of experience. When facing the enormity of loss and uncertainty, we need more than ever to uncover and strengthen our inner resources. 

In this wholistic approach to mindfulness practice, we nurture our capacity to calm the mind and learn to rest in the present moment. By taking up the practice of four foundations, we can awaken to a new and transformative way of relating to the ever-changing conditions in our lives. We can discover the fruit of inner freedom which allows us to respond with open-hearted awareness and compassion rather than habitually react by contracting when encountering the difficulties in every day life.

We will explore this theme in two separate 1/2 day workshops. You're welcome to register for either one but encouraged to take both if possible. The second session is Saturday, October 20; 10:00am-1:00pm.
Support IPV Events
If you weren't able to give while registering or at any drop-in session, please use this link to donate. It will ask what event it is for at the end of the transaction. ​
SUPPORT IPV EVENTS
SUPPORT IPV TEACHERS

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Donate to IWM: 
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​Our teachers give freely of their time, wisdom, and experience and depend upon contributions from students for their livelihood.​
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© 2022 Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Sangha Leadership
    • New to Meditation
    • Zoom Info
    • Logistics
    • Directions
    • Contact
  • Offerings
  • Calendar
  • Support
    • Donate Now
    • Sangha Stewards/Volunteers
  • Teachers
    • Teacher Biographies
    • Teacher-Student Meetings