-
Cultivate the wisdom and compassion we need to carry forward into our lives. Join us for a five-night silent retreat in the beautiful natural setting of Big Bear Retreat Center, only two hours from Los Angeles. We will spend our days deepening our meditation practice in the service of cultivating wisdom and compassion that we need in our lives. As we settle our minds, supported by nature, we can see ourselves and the world with deeper clarity and allow our inner wisdom to emerge.
-
In this 9th iteration of the annual Dhamma Dena Queer Retreat, we will come together as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Gender Expansive, and 2 Spirit Folk and other family on the gender and sexual continuum to practice the Buddha's liberating path. Through noble silence, daily instruction, personal practice, on land affinity groups, and group interviews - we will practice ways for us to do the work of living in a world so in need of love and wise responsiveness.
Continuing teachers Leslie Booker and Ian Challis are happy to welcome again the support of Calvin Burnap.
-
This silent retreat will focus on cultivating the quality of lovingkindness (mettā in Pāli), infusing our hearts, minds, and bodies with a strong, caring wisdom. Lovingkindness practices open the heart and connect us intimately with all of life, while awareness—as developed through mindfulness practice—leads to clarity, insight, and understanding. The fusion of these qualities helps us to respond more compassionately to the challenges we encounter in ourselves and in the world.
-
The Ten Perfections of the Heart, or pāramīs, offer a powerful framework for living with compassion, resilience, and purpose. These teachings—on generosity, ethical conduct, renunciation, wisdom, energy, patience, truthfulness, resolve, lovingkindness, and equanimity—are not just meditation guidelines, they are practical tools for navigating life. According to tradition, these were the very qualities the Buddha cultivated over many lifetimes as he gradually prepared to awaken fully and guide others toward freedom. In this residential retreat, we will explore and practice the pāramīs both on and off the cushion. Our focus will be on how we embody these teachings in everyday life within a community rooted in belonging, shared intention, and a commitment to collective liberation.
This retreat is silent except for teacher-led Q&A, small groups, or other practice meetings.
-
with Leslie Booker
It can often feel like we are rushing through our days, accumulating stress, missing out on meaningful moments, and making reactionary decisions. And even though we know that pace isn’t good for us, it’s still hard to slow down.
Join us for a special in-person or online daylong silent meditation retreat for those who want to reconnect and deepen their practice.
This retreat day will be one of noble silence for those who want to deepen their practice. It will include sitting, walking, and select inspirational readings for contemplation. Individual interviews will be available. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch to maintain the meditative atmosphere and concentration.
Together we will pause, reset, and find some much-needed mental space and clarity.
-
With Dan Harris, Pete Holmes, Sharon Salzberg, Leslie Booker & David Nichtern
Join us for an intimate pre-event gathering with podcast host Dan Harris, comedian Pete Holmes, and meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg, David Nichtern, and Leslie Booker. This special hour at New York Insight offers a rare opportunity to connect with our benefit’s featured guests in a relaxed and personal setting before the main program begins.
Your ticket includes:
• A warm-up conversation and Q&A with Dan, Pete, Booker, Sharon and David
• Delicious homemade cookies and refreshments
• Premiere seating at the main benefit event later that evening.
• A short walk together to the venue with Dan and PeteSpace for this special gathering is limited.
Includes admission to both the pre-event warm up and the main benefit program.
All proceeds support New York Insight Meditation Center’s mission to provide a place of refuge in New York City and to make the teachings of the Buddha accessible to all who may benefit, regardless of material circumstances.
-
With Leslie Booker & Dara Silverman
As transformative justice leaders Mariame Kaba and Kelly Hayes have taught us, hope is a discipline and a practice that inspires us to live a whole and integrated life.
In this two-day non-residential retreat, we’ll explore care for self and others as a way through in a tumultuous world, and to cultivate love without spiritually bypassing. To find a way to connect to our own sense of well-being and joy while remaining present to injustice and violence. We’ll explore how to be in community with others exploring the same questions.
Join long-time friends and collaborators Booker and Dara as they weave together somatic (body-based) practices and the heart practices of the Buddha’s Brahmaviharas; expressions of loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. Together, we’ll cultivate these capacities and deepen our understanding of how to embody hope, love, and presence.
As a group, we’ll be together in the questions:
How can we hold hope without bypassing the realities of injustice and hardship?
How do we stay rooted in joy and well-being while staying fully present to the world around us?
How can meditation and somatic practice support our engagement with the world (rather than provide an escape?)
Is this for me? If you are interested in learning more about your body, responses under pressure and capacity to be in relationship with other people – this is for you. If you are an organizer, consultant, trainer, coach or activist, this is a place for you to deepen and build your commitment to a just world. This retreat is a place to deepen in your somatic awareness, embodied practice and learnings.
Everyone is welcome to participate, regardless of experience with meditation or body-based practices.
-
Every moment is an opportunity to not succumb to fear and anger, but to remember our connection to each other. Practicing with the Five Precepts invites us to consider “the other” as an extension of ourselves. Centering this view, we begin to get curious about how we can protect life through true generosity, attune and correct power dynamics and other predatory behavior, utilize speech that unites, and remember that anything that makes us forget that we belong to each other is an intoxicant.
In this 5-week series, we will explore both traditional and contemporary interpretations of the Five Precepts, focusing on the Precepts as an ongoing practice of relationality, compassion, and interdependence. bell hooks wrote “The assumption about love is that love means we will not be challenged or changed.” Through reflection, dialogue, and daily practice, you will be challenged to remember how deeply our lives are intertwined, and find your heart changed through the living practice of love.
Online Only: We are offering this program online via Zoom.
Class dates are: October 10, October 17, October 24, October 31, November 7; all classes are held on Fridays from 9:00am – 11:00am US Pacific Time.
-
Like many people, the practice of mettā (lovingkindness) initially felt out of reach to me. It looked like everyone else was basking in its warmth… except me. The phrases felt awkward, the categories confusing, and it all seemed too soft, too gendered—or maybe I was just too angry to feel anything at all. My heart was blocked. Maybe this is you, too. For others, mettā works well enough, but is only thought of as an antidote to aversion, rather than embraced as a constant companion, which is its true purpose. If you resonate with these or any other ways mettā can seem inaccessible, this day is for you!
Led by a self-proclaimed “Anti-mettā mettā Girl,” in this day of practice we’ll explore what mettā really is, how we may have misunderstood it, and new ways to connect with this heart practice. We’ll move through stillness and movement meditations, journal reflections, the Buddha’s teachings on lovingkindness, and small group sharing where you’ll discover you’re not alone. All mettā skeptics, doubters, and imagined “failures” (you’re not) are welcome!
The Unreliability of Identity, and the Undeniability of its Impact
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.