This Week's EventsMonday Jun 17 at 6:30 am. Morning Meditation: . Tuesday Jun 18 at 6:30 am. Morning Meditation: . Tuesday Jun 18 at 7:00 pm. Meditation: Tuesday Evening Meditation. Tuesday Jun 18 at 8:00 pm. Sangha Mamas: Sangha Mamas. Red Cedar Dharma Hall Wednesday Jun 19 at 6:30 am. Morning Meditation: . Thursday Jun 20 at 6:30 am. Morning Meditation: . Thursday Jun 20 at 7:00 pm. Meeting: Teen Sangha. Red Cedar Dharma Hall - Main Salon Friday Jun 21 at 6:30 am. Morning Meditation: . Saturday Jun 22 at 9:00 am. Saturday Sit-In: . Red Cedar Dharma Hall Sunday Jun 23 at 8:00 am. Sangha Mamas: Sangha Mamas. Red Cedar Dharma Hall Monday Jun 24 at 6:30 am. Morning Meditation: . ClassesTuesday Jul 2 at 6:00 pm. Orientation to Insight Meditation. Red Cedar Dharma Hall RetreatsSunday Oct 13. Retreat - Tina Rasmussen, Steve Snyder - Oct 2013. Friday Mar 14. James Baraz weekend March 2014. Friday Apr 4. Heather & Pascal residential retreat April 2014. Monday Sep 29. Heather & Jean residential retreat October 2014. |
Welcome to Bellingham InsightBellingham Insight Meditation Society (BIMS) supports meditation and practice in the Buddhist Theravada tradition. We do not have a single guiding teacher. Rather, we are a sangha-led community. We bring in regional and national teachers, including monastics, for residential and non-residential retreats. Our weekly programs are facilitated by senior members in coordination with our Board and Program Committee. Insight meditation is a simple and direct practice, the moment-to-moment investigation of the mind/body process through calm and focused awareness. Learning to observe experience from a place of stillness enables one to relate to life with less fear and clinging. Seeing life as a constantly changing process, one begins to accept pleasure, pain, fear, joy and all aspects of life with increasing equanimity and balance. As insight deepens, wisdom and compassion arise. This practice is sometimes called "vipassana", which is a Pali word for insight. NewsLetter from Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Tara Brach, Larry Yang, Joanna Macy,Dear Dharma Leaders, Next month, June 10-13, there will be an International Vipassana Teachers gathering at Spirit Rock. Teachers from around the US, Europe and abroad will be meeting to vision together how the Dharma can best serve the community of practitioners and our world. Among the topics we will look at the role of the Dharma and Dharma teachers as we face the reality of climate change. As the impacts of a warming world grow and become more obvious, we risk a society that moves from disbelief to dismay and depression – skipping over the activity that can reduce the suffering to come. This suffering will be unevenly borne, exacerbating existing environmental injustice and environmental racism, as those least responsible for its causes bare an undue share of the burden. Teachers respond to the needs of students. If teachers hear from practitioners that this is an important priority, they will respond. In the Buddhist tradition of "requesting the dharma to be taught,” some dharma friends in the UK and USA have developed an online “letter of request” that students can sign. It asks teachers to take a leadership role on this issue by providing guidance and teachings in the most skillful way to deal with the consequences we all will face in the coming years resulting from climate change. We’re writing you to ask your support in spreading this request to your communities. We hope thousands of dharma practitioners will sign so that the teachers at the June meeting see their concern and respond accordingly. We would be grateful if you can help with spreading the link to the request form below through email, Facebook and other social media outlets. You might consider taking a suitable computer or print-out to sangha meetings so students can sign the request in-person. Signed hard copies can be sent to: James Baraz, c/o Sprit Rock, PO Box 169, Woodacre, CA 94973.
Request for Teachings and Leadership on Climate Change Thank you for your support in making this happen. With appreciation and metta, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Sharon Salzberg, Tara Brach, Larry Yang, Joanna Macy, Catherine McGee and James Baraz 5/19/13
Recording from Richard Shankman TalkThe talk and discussion on Friday evening, February 8th, which opened the weekend retreat with Richard Shankman, was recorded and is available here. 3/10/13
BIMS Practice Period Audio and NotesAudio and notes from the five Practice Period Tuesday night programs are now available.
2/6/13
New Saturday Sit-In Schedule for 2013With the start of the New Year, BIMS is adopting a new Saturday Sit-In schedule. Our once-monthly morning and afternoon sits are being replaced with twice-monthly morning-only sits. Here is what things will look like from now:
If you have never attended the Sit-In before, or if it has been a while, our BIMS January Practice Period may be just the time to start, or begin again.
Hope to see you there! 1/13/13
Buy a Book for the LibraryFollow the link to see a list of books that have been suggested as possible additions to the Bellingham Insight library at the Red Cedar Dharma Hall. Maybe you would like to buy one of these, read it, and then donate it? 11/5/12
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