Description
Join us for a daylong insight meditation retreat where we’ll explore the heart of the Buddha’s teachings and cultivate the Pāramīs—ten cherished qualities of the heart-mind that guide us towards awakening. Among these, equanimity, courage, and compassion (a beautiful expression of lovingkindness) will be our focus. By nurturing these qualities through both our everyday lives and our meditation practice, we can embrace a life of greater wisdom, skillfulness, and inner freedom.
Throughout the retreat, we’ll immerse ourselves in noble silence, grounding our practice in mindfulness meditation. Our day will flow with periods of sitting and walking meditation, dharma teachings, and time for your questions. We’ll also engage in a closing relational practice, enriching our experience and deepening our connections. This retreat warmly welcomes both seasoned practitioners and those new to meditation.
Devin Berry
Devin Berry began practicing in 1999. His teaching is rooted in the Buddhadharma and daily life mindfulness practices. Devin’s training includes Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction teacher training, the East Bay Meditation Center Commit to Dharma Program, Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program, and Insight Meditation Society’s four-year Residential Retreat Teachers Program.
Devin co-founded the Teen Sangha and Men of Color Deep Refuge Group at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland. In addition, Devin began some of the first mindfulness programs in SF Bay Area schools, including weekly mindfulness groups for youth.
From working with youth as a frontline advocate for marginalized youth living on the streets, to co-creating Deep Time Liberation, an ancestral healing journey that explores the impact of ancestral legacy and intergenerational trauma on Black Americans, Devin is passionate about the power of witnessing and storytelling as a liberation tool. Devin is a father and teaches nationally.
Tara Mulay
Tara Mulay is a teacher and mentor of dharma practitioners, dedicated to helping them cultivate insight through meditation and in daily life practice. Trained and authorized by the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, Tara serves as a Guiding Teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California, and teaches nationally.
Of South Asian heritage, Tara was initially drawn to dharma practice by the Buddha’s teachings that reject caste as a measure of worth and capacity for awakening. She believes that classical Buddhist practices—fostering compassion, non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion—are powerful tools for empowering marginalized communities.
Her path to the dharma began during her 20-year career as a criminal defense attorney. Tara’s teachings are rooted in the Mahasi Sayadaw lineage, enriched by influences from other Theravadan and Early Buddhist traditions.
Attending an in-person retreat
- CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those with chemical sensitivities, please avoid using scented products—lotions, deodorant, after-shave, hair products, perfume, clothes laundered with scented detergent, or dryer sheets—before you come to the Center.
- Please arrive at least 20 minutes early to check in and find a comfortable place in the meditation hall.
- Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest you take public transportation to the Center whenever possible.
- Retreats are held in silence. Please power off your cell phone, smartwatch, and other electronic devices for the retreat. All phones, pagers, beeping watches, and other electronic devices must remain completely turned off while you are at the Center.
- Please leave your shoes on the shoe shelves on the first floor and keep your valuables with you.
- We provide vegetarian meals at day-long, weekend, and multi-day retreats. We are unable to accommodate special dietary needs, however. If you have dietary restrictions, we invite you to bring your own vegetarian meal. Please note that nuts may be used in our kitchen.
- Retreat Meal Dana: In keeping with tradition, we invite you to sponsor a retreat meal as a simple and meaningful act of generosity. You can share a dedication of your generosity, perhaps to someone in your life, a special occasion, or an aspiration. Please contact the office for more information on offering Meal Dana for this retreat.
- The meditation halls do not allow food and beverages, including water.
- We strongly recommend you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation hall varies throughout the day. The hall thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature range; however, it’s best to have a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.
- Masks are optional. Some masks are available at the entrance of the Center.
- CIMC provides zafus (round cushions), zabutons (large mats), meditation benches, blankets, and chairs. At the end of the program, we request that participants brush off their zabutons and plump up their zafus. All other items should be returned neatly to where they belong.
Attending an online retreat
- Sitting a retreat at home and online is undoubtedly different from coming to a meditation center. Tending to your comfort and giving yourself a quiet, private sitting and walking space (if possible, in your environment) will help keep your attention focused and support your practice and learning. Plan to bring as much simplicity and ease to your day as possible. The retreat schedule is structured to support your well-being and training with regular breaks and time for mindful movement.
- We will use Zoom for this retreat. Before your retreat begins, be sure to download Zoom and familiarize yourself with using the program, including the chat feature. Specifics about how we will use Zoom during your retreat will be covered initially; however, we cannot provide technical support.
- We ask that you treat our virtual meditation hall as if we were together in person, in the same room. The teachers and other yogis benefit significantly from your full presence and careful attention.
- Join each session of the retreat a few minutes early. This will support the teachers and your fellow retreatants.
- Please maintain noble silence as much as possible for the duration of the retreat and take any necessary steps to limit external distractions such as incoming emails, texts, or other interruptions to maintain the integrity of our practice together.
- Close all programs on your computer other than Zoom and turn off all notifications on your devices.
- Ideally, power off phones and smartwatches for the entire time scheduled for the retreat each day. Please don’t check your devices during breaks. We suggest you put an “away” message on your email and voicemail and leave your devices in another room during your retreat hours.
- Please keep your video on during our time together as much as possible. This supports a sense of connectedness and sangha.
- You will receive a welcome email from CIMC that includes the Zoom link, retreat schedule, and further information a day or two before your retreat.