Meditation Classes (Vipassana) at the San Francisco Insight Meditation Community

Mindfulness Meditation Classes

SF Insight typically sponsors three introductory meditation courses each year. The next five-week class, which is scheduled to begin on Thursday, May 8, 2008, is described below.

Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation:

A Five-Week Introductory Class with Bill Weber, Jurgen Mollers & Eugene Cash

The class will take place on five consecutive Thursday evenings: May 8, 15, 22, 29, and June 5 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. It also includes a daylong retreat on Saturday, May 31, from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm. The first four classes will be taught by two senior Vipassana practitioners, Bill Weber and Jurgen Mollers. The daylong retreat and the last class will be led by Jurgen and Eugene Cash, the founding teacher of San Francisco Insight.

Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin (between Geary and O'Farrell)
For Information: Call Jonathan at 415-994-5951
To Register: Send a check for $50 to: First Unitarian Universalist Church,
Attention: Adult Religious Education, 1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94109.

This class will offer Buddhist meditation instruction based on the Four Foundations of Mindfulness. Each session will include guided meditation instruction, talks on basic Buddhist teachings, and time for questions and discussion to explore the application of the teachings and practice into participants' daily life and experience. This class is appropriate for those new to meditation or those wishing to deepen their existing practice. People of all ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities are welcome.

Bill Weber is a senior Vipassana practitioner and a graduate from Spirit Rock's Community Dharma Leader program. He teaches beginning meditation classes and daylongs. He has studied for the past ten years with Eugene Cash, among others, and has fifteen years of extensive retreat practice. He is also a documentary filmmaker and video editor.

Jurgen Mollers is a senior Vipassana practitioner who teaches meditation in a variety of contexts, including work with incarcerated populations. He has practiced on retreats in the U.S. as well as in Asia and was part of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners’ Program. He is also the founder of a company dedicated to capturing and publishing life stories.

Eugene Cash is the founding teacher of San Francisco Insight. He is a teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and he leads intensive meditation retreats internationally. His teaching is influenced by both Burmese and Thai streams of the Theravada tradition as well as Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practice. He also teaches the Diamond Approach in San Francisco and Holland. He has a passion for the embodiment of awakening in daily life.

Mindfulness Daylong:

With Jurgen Mollers & Eugene Cash

The May 31st Mindfulness Daylong is open to everyone, not just those taking the five-week Buddhist Mindfulness Meditation Class. If you are taking the five-week class, there is no additional cost and there is no need to register for this event. If you just want to attend the daylong, the fee is $10 and we encourage you to pre-register (but there will also be registration at the door on the day of the event).

When: Saturday, May 31st from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm.
Where: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin Street (at the corner of Geary Blvd), San Francisco
(view map).
Fee: $10.
For Information: Call Jonathan at 415-994-5951
To Register: Make checks payable to SF Insight and send to SF Insight, P.O. Box 475536, San Francisco, CA 94147. Or pay at the door on May 31st.

Whole Body Breathing

A Five-Week Class with Eugene Cash

Are you looking for me? I am in the next seat.
My shoulder is against yours.
you will not find me in the stupas,
not in Indian shrine rooms, nor in synagogues, nor in cathedrals:
not in masses, nor kirtans, not in legs winding
around your own neck, nor in eating nothing but vegetables.
When you really look for me, you will see me instantly–– you will find me in
the tiniest house of time.
Kabir says: Student, tell me, what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.
Kabir

The class will be held on five consecutive Thursday evenings: June 26, July 3, 10, 17, and 24 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. It also includes a daylong on Saturday, July 19th from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm.

Location: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin (between Geary and O'Farrell)
For Information: Call Jonathan at 415-994-5951
To Register: Send a check for $50 to: SF Insight, P.O. Box 475536, San Francisco, CA 94147. Please include your phone number or email address on your check so we can contact you if there are last-minute changes. You can also pay at the door on June 26.

In the Whole Body Breathing class, we will study and practice a style of meditation that comes to us from the lineage of Ajaan Lee Dhammadaro through Thanissaro Bhikkhu. This practice includes the whole body as we are mindful of breathing. The emphasis is on the development of samadhi (concentration), the unification of body and mind. Part of the art of samadhi is learning how to compose and center ourselves in and with the body while breathing. We will also highlight and emphasize the 'wise use of pleasure' in the meditative process. One of the skills of the meditative art is learning how to engender a sense of well being and happiness. In this system pleasure becomes the basis for happiness, well-being and contentment. These qualities lead to the deep absorbing experiences of samadhi, which become the ground for liberating insight.

Each class will include instructions, meditation, investigation and dialogue. Readings and homework (meditation) will be part of the class.

Eugene Cash is the founding teacher of San Francisco Insight. He is a teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and he leads intensive meditation retreats internationally. He also co-facilitates the senior student training at Spirit Rock, the Dedicated Practitioners Program. His teaching is influenced by both Burmese and Thai streams of the Theravada tradition as well as Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practice. For the last number of years he has been practicing Whole Body Breathing with Thanissaro Bhikkhu. He is also the co-founder of Diamond Approach® San Francisco.

Other Classes

Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation with Eugene Cash and Debra Chamberlin-Taylor

Join Eugene Cash and Debra Chamberlin-Taylor from Friday, July 4 - Sunday, July 6 for a two-night Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation retreat at Spirit Rock. As many Americans celebrate Independence Day with firecrackers and marching bands, we will enter noble silence and explore Buddhist teachings that lead to inner freedom.

Location: Spirit Rock Meditation Center, 5000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Woodacre, CA.
Cost: $280 - $180, sliding scale, plus a donation to the teachers and retreat staff.
To register: click here.

This retreat, designed as an introduction for newer students, will offer systematic instruction in Mindfulness Meditation. The format will include silent and guided sitting meditation, walking meditation, dharma talks and a small group meeting with a teacher. There will also be an emphasis on how to embody wisdom, compassion and ease in daily life.

Eugene Cash has been practicing meditation for 25 years and teaching retreats internationally since 1992. He is a Spirit Rock teacher and leads the Insight Meditation Community of San Francisco. He also teaches Diamond Approach groups in San Francisco and Holland. Visit www.sfinsight.org for more information on Eugene's schedule.

Debra Chamberlin-Taylor has been meditating since 1973 and has led retreats that combine spiritual and psychological growth since 1978. In addition to practicing Vipassana, she has been influenced by Dzogchen, Diamond Heart and devotional practices. A psychotherapist, she also leads workshops on embodiment of awareness and love in relationships and in our diverse world.

Buddhist teachings are considered priceless. In that spirit, these classes will be offered on a dana basis. Dana means generosity. All who attend are invited to contribute in appreciation of the teaching and in support of the teachers.