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The Sangha As A River: A Journey Toward Our Collective Liberation POC Retreat (in-person)

Program Type:
Teacher:,
Time:10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Date:Saturday - May 3, 2025
Sessions:1
$125
$100
$85

This program will be held in person at our Center in Cambridge. Space is limited and registration will close at 12:00 pm on Friday, May 2, 2025. Walk-in registrations will not be available. A vegetarian lunch will be provided.

Using the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh’s metaphor of water, we will explore taking refuge in the Sangha (community). If you identify and live life as a Black, Indigenous, Asian or Person of Color, come join us as we take refuge in our POC community to explore “the way of harmony, awareness and compassion” through “mindful walking and breathing” to arrive at our collective liberation. This is a rare moment to come together in person for a full day to deepen our practice. Beginners and experienced practitioners are encouraged to register.

Retreat participants are welcome to join the monthly CIMC POC drop in sit and potluck dinner on Friday night (May 2, 6:30 PM – 8:15 PM) before the retreat. We chose this date for the POC retreat so we’d have the opportunity for extended practice across two days. This is a suggestion, not a requirement.

Beginners and experienced practitioners are encouraged to register.  All are warmly 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.

Melanie Huitse Cherng （程慧慈）Mel (she/her) was raised in a Taiwanese family that practices Pure Land Buddhism.  Communal and spiritual life are deeply intertwined for her. She remembers as a young child coloring outside the altar room door while listening to her father chant at dawn. She’s offered meditation instructions to the BIPOC community at Cambridge Insight for the last decade and is a trainee in the four-year IMS and Spirit Rock teacher training program. Mel loves learning different ways to hold spacious, non-hierarchical practice spaces that support rest and healing. She is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and dancer. She and her partner are currently rewilding their backyard with native plants. She identifies as a baby queer.

Gina LaRoche is a trainee in the four-year IMS and Spirit Rock teacher training program. She started her meditation practice in 2000 and was introduced to Insight Meditation while attending her first residential retreat in 2010. Deeply transformed by the Dharma, Gina integrates its teachings into her daily life and work. She is a 2017 graduate of the Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader Program, a founding teacher of Elm Community Insight in New Haven, CT, a former IMS Board member, and co-holds the monthly POC sit at CIMC (MA). Gina is married with two adult children and co-authored, The 7 Laws of Enough: Cultivating a Life of Sustainable Abundance.

NOTE: At check-in, participants will be asked to volunteer for a short period of mindful service during the retreat—a “yogi job.” Yogi jobs enable the smooth running of the retreat and offer an opportunity to practice alongside other retreat participants.

Beginners and experienced practitioners are encouraged to register.  All are warmly welcome.

Retreat

Attending an In-Person Retreat at CIMC (see below for attending online retreats)

  • Please arrive at least 20 minutes early to check-in and to find a comfortable place in the meditation hall.
  • Retreats are held in silence. Please power off your cell phone, smartwatch, or other electronic devices for the duration of the retreat.
  • Parking at CIMC is limited; we suggest taking public transportation to the Center whenever possible.
  • CIMC provides vegetarian meals at day-long, weekend, and multi-day retreats. We are unable to accommodate special dietary needs. If you have dietary restrictions, we invite you to bring your own vegetarian meal. Please note that nuts may be used in our kitchen.
  • 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.
  • Retreat Meal Dana: In keeping with tradition, we invite you to sponsor a retreat meal as a simple and meaningful act of generosity. You will have the option to share a dedication of your generosity, perhaps to someone in your life, to a special occasion, or to an aspiration. Please contact the office for more information on offering Meal Dana for this retreat.

Attending a Retreat Online

  • Sitting a retreat at home and online is certainly different from coming to a meditation center. Tending to your comfort and giving yourself a quiet, private sitting and walking space (if possible, in the environment you are in) 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 schedule of the retreat is structured to support your well-being and practice with regular breaks and time for mindful movement.
  • We will be using 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 be using Zoom during your retreat will be covered at the beginning of the retreat; however, we are not able to provide technical support during the retreat.
  • 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 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 so that we can 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 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 retreat 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, retreat schedule, and further information.