Description
This year-long program offers a precious opportunity to join a committed and dedicated community (sangha) for an extended period of time. Together, we will learn how to live our lives from the courage of our hearts.
We will begin and end with daylong workshops. In between, we will meet on the second Friday evening of each month, except August. Dates are:
- Saturday, January 10: 10:00am – 4:30pm
- Fridays (6:00-8:30pm): February 13, March 13, April 10, May 8, June 12, July 10, September 18 (3rd Friday), October 9, and November 13
- Saturday, December 12: 10:00am – 4:30pm
Our sangha will explore the Buddha’s foundational teachings of kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. Known as the Brahmavihārās, or Divine Abodes, these inner qualities of heart and mind can be cultivated amid all the conditions and events of our lives: the delightful, the difficult, the uncertain.
This program invites participants to nurture what already lies in each of our hearts. For while each Brahmavihārā is a natural human capacity, if undeveloped it may be inaccessible to us when most needed. Over the course of our year together, each of us will be encouraged to make kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity the home of our hearts – leading to more kind, compassionate, joyful, and balanced action in our lives.
With in-depth exploration we will see how each Brahmavihārā strengthens, nourishes, and balances the others. We will develop these inner qualities in our formal meditation practice and in our daily lives, opening our hearts and minds in the daily stream of activity: at work, at home, at school, in relationships, cooking a meal, drinking tea, brushing our teeth, driving our cars, riding our bicycles, or on Zoom.
As our understanding and awareness deepen, we also become more keenly aware of the moments in our daily lives when we do not embody kindness, when we turn away from suffering, when joy is forgotten, when we are reactive and equanimity seems to be a vague memory or distant aspiration. The courage of the heart teaches us not to be discouraged by these moments. Each moment of our precious lives is an opportunity to cultivate inner clarity, forgiveness, inner ease, and freedom of heart that can help us face the many difficulties of today’s world in a more wholesome, spacious, and balanced way. This is an extraordinary way of living our lives, moment by moment, here and now.
For questions about this program, please send an email to teachers@cambridgeinsight.org
Our sessions will include meditation practice, teachings, exploration, and discussion of how to cultivate each quality of heart and mind in formal meditation and practice them in daily life.
Our intention is to support your practice throughout your year-long commitment to this program. Community and homework are essential to this practice group. In addition to the two workshops and monthly class meetings, you will:
- Receive monthly reflections and home-practice assignments.
- Meet at least once a month (in between classes) with a small Dharma Buddy Group to support and encourage each other and deepen your investigation.
This program is appropriate for all practitioners, new and experienced alike. Everyone is welcome whether these teachings are brand new for you, or not. People who have practiced the Brahmavihārās before will find these qualities grow deeper and more profound with practice.
Attending an online practice group
- Sitting a practice group from home online differs greatly 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 schedule of the practice group is structured to support your well-being and practice with regular breaks and time for mindful movement.
- We use Zoom for online practice groups. Before your practice group begins, be sure to download Zoom and familiarize yourself with using the program, including the chat feature. Specifics about how we use Zoom during your practice group will be covered initially; however, we cannot provide technical support during the group.
- 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 practice group a few minutes early. This will support the teachers and your fellow attendees.
- Please maintain noble silence as much as possible for the duration of the practice group 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.
- Power off your phones and smartwatches for the entire practice group. 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 the practice group.
- 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 a day or two before your program, including the Zoom link, practice group schedule, and further information.
- Practice groups will often have home practices in between sessions.