This Week's Events

Classes

Retreats

Welcome to Bellingham Insight

Bellingham Insight Meditation Society (BIMS) supports meditation and practice in the Buddhist Theravada tradition. We are a growing community and welcome guests, drop-ins, and visitors.

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.

News

The Second Messenger: Dharma of Illness & Pain, a retreat on June 14th at Red Cedar Dharma

In traditional Buddhist teachings, the young Siddhartha met 3 messengers who inspired his spiritual journey: an old person, a sick person and a person who had died. All of us meet these messengers in one way or another. In this gentle one day retreat we will explore the second messenger: illness and physical pain. Is it possible to turn our physical difficulties into the ground of our awakening? How can we take care of our bodies and offer compassion for ourselves in meditation practice? What hard won wisdom can we offer each other?

This daylong retreat is offered to anyone with some Buddhist practice and grounding who has at least occasionally wondered if the dharma was failing them or they were failing the dharma as they lived with illness or pain. The day will include meditation, personal reflection, small and large group sharing and dharma talks.

The retreat will be led by Florence Caplow & Jean La Valley.

To see and/or print a copy of the flyer and registration form: flyer

Paper copies are available at the Red Cedar Dharma Hall in Bellingham. Contact the registrar Jean at jeanlavalley@comcast.net if you would like a paper copy mailed to you.

5/6/08

Residential retreat with Heather Martin & Mark Coleman

Heather Martin and Mark Coleman will be teaching at Camp Samish from May 17-24; both beginning and experienced students are invited to attend. Heather Martin will stay to lead the retreat from May 24-29 for those experienced students who wish to continue. "Experience" is defined as 50 retreat days or 5 one-week retreats in the vipassana tradition, and the approval of Heather Martin.

If you are interested but don't have enough experience on retreat, please contact Heather at hmartin@saltspringwireless.com to discuss your attendance.

Feel free to contact the retreat registrar with any questions: Eileen Andersen: eileen.andersen@gmail

To see and/or print a copy of the flyer and registration form: flyer

Paper copies are available at the Red Cedar Dharma Hall in Bellingham and on Samish Island. Contact the registrar Eileen at eileen.andersen@gmail.com if you would like a paper copy mailed to you.

3/26/08

Thursday noon meditation

Bellingham Insight is now hosting a Thursday noon meditation period at the Red Cedar Dharma Hall. Meditation begins at 12:10 PM and ends at 12:55 PM. All are welcome.

As a reminder: Everyone is invited to morning meditation: Monday-Friday mornings from 6:30-7:15 AM. Additionally, the Zen group hosts noon meditation on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12:10-12:55. All are welcome.

3/18/08

Talk by Zoketsu Norman Fischer on Saturday March 1st

Zoketsu Norman Fischer will give a public talk entitled American Mystical Poetry. From ts eliot to his own work, with stops in between, Norman will read and discuss poetry that attempts to access the unspeakable words of the heart.

Norman's talk will be at 7:30pm at the Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1708 "I" Street, just up from Dupont St.

3/1/08

Feb 24th Half day retreat with Theravadan nuns

Saranaloka Foundation supports the siladhara (10-precept nuns) in the Forest Tradition of Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Sumedho on their teaching tours in the United States. Two of the nuns will lead a retreat on Sunday, February 24th from 1:30-6:00 pm at the Lakewood/Seward Park Community Club, 4916 South Angeline St, Seattle. The retreat will include guided sitting and walking meditation Dhamma dialogue, and informal tea with discussion on the subject of the possibility of a nuns'community in North America. The details can be found at saranaloka.org website under teachings: January-March and scroll down to the date.

2/19/08

Opening Ceremony: Red Cedar Dharma Hall this Wednesday January 23, 7:00pm - 9:00pm

All members, family and friends of the Bellingham Insight sangha are invited to join the Red Cedar Zen sangha for the "Grand Opening" of Red Cedar Dharma Hall. The Zen group's guiding teacher, Zoketsu Norman Fischer, will be in Bellingham for this event.The ceremony will be fairly short (30 - 40 minutes) and include processions, offerings, Dharma statements & thank yous. There will be a reception and social time after the ceremony.

1/20/08

"The big push" work weekend at Red Cedar Dharma Hall

Everyone is invited to work on our new dharma space this weekend. If you've been there on Tuesday evening or if you meditate in the morning, you already know what a lovely space this is. Imagine how nice it will be when the painting is finished and there are doors on the bathroom!

Come for the day or come for an hour; all effort is needed and appreciated.

Saturday Jan 12 10am - 4pm & Sunday Jan 13 10am - 2pm

Lunch provided on Saturday. Brown bag it on Sundays.

1/9/08

Work weekends at the Red Cedar Dharma Hall

Everyone is invited to work parties this weekend and next to work on our new dharma space. Come for the day or come for an hour; all effort is needed and appreciated.

Saturday, Jan 5 10am - 4pm & Sunday Jan 6 10am - 2pm

Saturday Jan 12 10am - 4pm & Sunday Jan 13 10am - 2pm

As we did in October the larger work party will be on the Saturdays. Sundays are quieter but offered for those who can't make the Saturday time. Projects will be painting newly sheet rocked walls, cleaning, trim carpentry, window washing.

Lunch provided on Saturday. Brown bag it on Sundays.

1/2/08

Moving Ceremony on Tuesday Jan 1st

New Year 5 Precept & Protection Cord Ceremony and Meditation: Moving into the Red Cedar Dharma Hall

On Tuesday, January 1 we will meet at 7 PM at the Shambhala Center (1101 State St.) to say our goodbyes to the old, then transport our belongings 1 block to RCDH, and join together in celebration for a New Year and new era for Bellingham Insight. Once we are welcomed into our new Hall, we will recite the 5 Buddhist precepts together through ceremony and meditation. Social and refreshments to follow.

to understand more about the ceremony you can check out www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/budethics.htm.

12/5/07

Social and Business Meeting

You are invited to the Annual Sangha Business Meeting and Social on Tuesday December 4th after meditation.

We will look at what's planned for the coming year AND how it will happen

**retreats and events for 2008

**discuss the proposed budget (how much will it cost to do what we want to do?)

**review what kind of help is needed to keep our programs going (committees, volunteers, etc)

**compare the various cookie delights that will be served

and?

We look forward to sharing our work and vision with you

Bellingham Insight Meditation Society board

Jean La Valley, Steve Hansen, Linda Booth, Caroline Kingsbury, Cindy Madigan

12/4/07

Morning meditation has moved

Morning meditation now meets at the Red Cedar Dharma Hall (the place we will be moving to in January). It's at 1021 N. Forest. Come in the front door and go down the stairs, which are on your left towards the back.

Time is unchanged: 6:30 - 7:15 AM

Our Tuesday meditation will continue to meet in the State Street building through December.

11/21/07

Regular Activities

-Tuesday Night Group Meditation

-Tuesday Night Programs

-Social Hour

-Book Club

-Dharma Talk

-Sutta Study

-Orientation to Meditation

-Morning Meditation

-Monthly Half Day Meditation