September 17:
Benefit and Celebration
Dharma Practice in Daily Life and The Path of Liberation
An afternoon of Question & Response with Joseph Goldstein
facilitated by Devin Berry
~ from 2-4 PM, with a reception to follow ~
We are deeply grateful that Joseph Goldstein is coming to Northampton to offer a benefit program for Insight Meditation Community of Western Massachusetts (IWM) in honor of our 25th year of offering the Dharma. In keeping with the spirit of dana, our goal is to raise $25,000. These funds will serve to strengthen our sangha through diversifying our teaching pool along with our offerings.
This event is the first step in a larger fundraising effort to ensure IWM’s sustainable existence into the future. We are actively working to become a sangha that generously supports our teachers, and, crucially, core administrative staff. As we move into our next 25 year cycle, we envision robust, diverse programming that will help a broad range of practitioners grow and deepen in the Dharma.
At the benefit, Joseph will share his wisdom in response to pre-submitted questions and comments from the sangha. As many are aware, Joseph co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) more than 40 years ago. Since that time, IMS has become the flagship institution for Insight Meditation in the Eastern United States. After the program, please join us in celebrating our 25 years with light refreshments and informal conversation.
Teachers in our tradition offer their wisdom freely through Dharma talks, courses, retreats, and community practice sessions. And, providing access to those offerings requires labor, time, energy, and infrastructure. Many hands must be involved to keep our doors open, to continue to make the Dharma accessible in ways both equitable and sustainable. Knowing this, we hope you will expand your financial support to IWM in this 25th anniversary year, as we both celebrate our history and look to our future.
We believe that all gifts of all sizes matter. It is only by coming together, each giving what we can, that we will achieve our vision of a diverse, equitable, and sustainable sangha.
As the Buddha taught, generosity is a practice, just like meditation, and a deeply beneficial one. In the practice of generosity, we benefit from our intention to give, we benefit from the act of giving, and we benefit from contemplating our past generosity. We hope you will join us in practicing generosity towards our sangha at whatever level is right for you, sharing in our aspiration to carry forward our lineage and allow the Dharma to be truly accessible for all.
Please keep an eye out for information on how to register for September 17 - and please, in the meantime, consider how you would like to participate in this very special benefit offering for IWM.
This event is the first step in a larger fundraising effort to ensure IWM’s sustainable existence into the future. We are actively working to become a sangha that generously supports our teachers, and, crucially, core administrative staff. As we move into our next 25 year cycle, we envision robust, diverse programming that will help a broad range of practitioners grow and deepen in the Dharma.
At the benefit, Joseph will share his wisdom in response to pre-submitted questions and comments from the sangha. As many are aware, Joseph co-founded the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) more than 40 years ago. Since that time, IMS has become the flagship institution for Insight Meditation in the Eastern United States. After the program, please join us in celebrating our 25 years with light refreshments and informal conversation.
Teachers in our tradition offer their wisdom freely through Dharma talks, courses, retreats, and community practice sessions. And, providing access to those offerings requires labor, time, energy, and infrastructure. Many hands must be involved to keep our doors open, to continue to make the Dharma accessible in ways both equitable and sustainable. Knowing this, we hope you will expand your financial support to IWM in this 25th anniversary year, as we both celebrate our history and look to our future.
We believe that all gifts of all sizes matter. It is only by coming together, each giving what we can, that we will achieve our vision of a diverse, equitable, and sustainable sangha.
As the Buddha taught, generosity is a practice, just like meditation, and a deeply beneficial one. In the practice of generosity, we benefit from our intention to give, we benefit from the act of giving, and we benefit from contemplating our past generosity. We hope you will join us in practicing generosity towards our sangha at whatever level is right for you, sharing in our aspiration to carry forward our lineage and allow the Dharma to be truly accessible for all.
Please keep an eye out for information on how to register for September 17 - and please, in the meantime, consider how you would like to participate in this very special benefit offering for IWM.