Upcoming Events
No special events are currently scheduled. Please see our list of ongoing regular activities.
Past Events
Establishing Mindfulness of Body through Contemplation of the Four Elements
A residential retreat for women led by Callie Justice, Friday, November 6 – Sunday, November 8, 2015
The Buddha taught contemplation of the four elements as a practice for establishing mindfulness of the body, which is a key aspect of right mindfulness—the seventh factor of the Noble Eightfold Path. Contemplation of the four elements (earth, water, fire, wind) appears as a core teaching on cultivating right mindfulness in all currently available versions of the early discourses. On this retreat, participants will be supported to develop mindfulness of each element both internally—within our individual bodies—and externally—as we encounter the elements in the world around us. The interweaving of mindfulness of the elements throughout the activities of the day as well as during meditation will be encouraged.
Callie Justice is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and psychotherapist. She began to seriously explore the Buddha’s path in the mid-1990s, and has been a Practice Leader with ERBC for over 16 years. The teachings of the Buddha as presented in the early discourses are her primary source for developing understanding and practice. She especially appreciates the teachings of scholar-monastics such as Bhikkhus Sujato, Brahmali, Bodhi, and Anālayo and benefits deeply from ongoing sharing with good friends on the path.
Dhammavicaya: Investigation of Dhammas
A meditation retreat with Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia, Friday, January 17 – Saturday, January 18, 2014
Dhammavicaya, or investigation of dhammas, is the quality of mind that makes it possible for us to objectively discern what we are experiencing in any given moment… to know it without attachment. As one of the energizing Factors of Awakening, it is a key player in the process of liberating the mind. Given our strong habit of identification with the body and mind, however, it can take some time to develop it. This two-day workshop focused on investigation of dhammas—what it is, what it is not, how to develop it, and how to skillfully work with it.
Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia is a teacher at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, and has trained and studied especially with monks and nuns of the Thai Forest Tradition. She has lead retreats for us many times over the last ten years.
Developing Wisdom through Mindfulness of the Six Sense Bases
a weekend non-residential retreat, January 25th, 2013, through January 27th, led by Callie Justice and Steve Seiberling
A core question for contemporary lay practitioners is: How can I strengthen and deepen my practice of the Buddha’s path in the context of lay life? Or, put another way: How could my normal “daily life” more closely resemble life “on retreat?” The non-residential retreat structure—moving back and forth between the retreat center and the home—offers particular advantages as a framework for this inquiry.
In order to help us explore ways of bringing “retreat” to our homes, the Eno River Buddhist Community offered a Winter Weekend Non-residential Retreat emphasizing two core practices from the early discourses of the Buddha: mindfulness of breathing and contemplation of the six sense bases.
The Unity of Concentration, Mindfulness and Insight
A meditation retreat with Richard Shankman, Wednesday, Dec. 7, through Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, at the Avila Retreat Center
Over the course of this retreat we explored how concentration, mindfulness and insight can be brought together in a mutually supportive way into a single meditative path. Practicing in this way, the mind becomes collected and centered, leading to deepening states of concentration, peace, clarity and calm abiding, and culminating in states of unification of mind known as jhāna. At the same time, the teacher guided awareness to open naturally into mindfulness of the body, and states of the heart and the mind, revealing the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. The synthesis of concentration, calm, and mindfulness builds a strong foundation for the natural and revelatory arising of insight.
Richard Shankman lives in Oakland, CA. He has been a meditator since 1970 and teaches regularly at dharma centers and groups throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and nationally, including Spirit Rock Meditation Center and the Insight Meditation Society. Richard is the guiding teacher of the Metta Dharma Foundation in Berkeley and is the co-founder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and of Mindful Schools, which brings mindfulness training into elementary schools. Richard is the author of The Experience of Samādhi. He may be contacted through www.mettadharma.org.
Eno River Buddhist Community 