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Radiating Metta (hybrid: in-person)

Program Type:
Teacher:
Time:10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Date:Sunday - January 26, 2025
Sessions:1
$125
$100
$85

This program will be hosted both in-person and online (hybrid). This is the registration page to join Matthew Hepburn in person at our Center in Cambridge. (Register here if you prefer to attend online.)

Please bring a vegetarian lunch or plan to go out during the lunch break.

Liberation of Mind. The Divine Abiding. The Antidote to Fear. These are just a few of the ways the Buddha described the sensibility and contemplative practice of good will, also known as metta, or loving-kindness.

Many practitioners have been taught to cultivate metta through gathering the mind around a handful of repeated phrases that express the sensibility of benevolence and good will. This is a practice that was first recorded 1000 years after the death of the Buddha. Today, contemporary practitioners and scholars have become interested in other ways to cultivate this practice based on the teachings attributed to him during his life. One such practice is that of ‘radiating’ metta in all directions. Many practitioners find this approach is one that results in a uniquely somatic and powerfully grounded experience of this divine abiding.

In this workshop we’ll come together to explore and experience practices that encourage a potent and non-verbal development of one of the most emphasized cultivations of the heart in all of the Buddha’s teachings.

This program is appropriate for both beginners and experienced practitioners alike. Everyone is welcome.

Full and partial scholarships are available. Please submit your requests to office@cambridgeinsight.org at least 72 hours prior to the start of the program.

There are no prerequisites for this program. All are warmly welcome.

Workshop

Attending an In-Person Workshop at CIMC (see below for attending online workshops)

  • Please arrive at least 15 minutes early to check-in and to find a comfortable place in the meditation hall.
  • While at the Center all phones, pagers, beeping watches and other electronic devices must remain completely turned off at all times.
  • Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest taking public transportation to the Center whenever possible.
  • Lunch will not be provided. Participants are invited to bring their own vegetarian meal to the Center or may buy lunch in the neighborhood. A list of local restaurants and food stores will be available.
  • Food and beverages, including water, are not allowed in the meditation halls.
  • We strongly recommend you dress in layers since the temperature in the meditation hall will vary throughout the day. The hall thermostat is set to a comfortable temperature range; however, please give yourself a range of clothing options, as individual preferences for warmth or coolness differ widely and cannot be accommodated.
  • Please leave shoes on the shoe shelves on the first floor and keep your valuables with you at all times.
  • CIMC provides zafus (round cushions), zabutons (large mats), meditation benches, blankets, and chairs for your use. At the end of the program, we request that participants brush off their zabuton and plump up their zafu. All other items should be returned neatly to where they were found.
  • CIMC is a refuge. Out of compassion for those who may have 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.

Attending an Online Workshop

  • We will be using Zoom for this workshop. Before your workshop begins, be sure to download Zoom and familiarize yourself with using the program, including the chat feature. Specifics about how we will be using Zoom during your workshop will be covered at the beginning of the workshop; however, we are not able to provide technical support during the workshop.
  • 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 greatly from your full presence and careful attention.
  • Join each session of the workshop a few minutes early. This will support the teachers and your fellow participants.
  • Ideally, power off phones and smartwatches for the entire time scheduled for the workshop on each day. Please don’t check your devices during breaks. We suggest that you put an “away” message on your email and voicemail and leave your devices in another room during your workshop hours.
  • Please keep your video on during our time together as much as you can. This supports a sense of connectedness and sangha.
  • Closed Captions for CIMC Programs are generated through “live streaming” via Rev.com. CIMC programs are not live-streamed to any other platform for any other use.
  • You will receive a welcome email from CIMC a day or two before your program that will include the zoom link and further information.