East Bay Meditation Center

Curriculum: Path of the Bodhisattva (3/3)
2017-12-03 10:00 - 16:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Path of the Bodhisattva & Bodhisattva Precepts Ceremony

Buddhist curriculum, Fall 2017
with Mushim Ikeda, EBMC core teacher
This new Buddhist curriculum at EBMC has three components:

A four-class series: Path of the Bodhisattva 1
Wednesdays, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25: 7 – 9pm

Registration now open

A three-class series: Path of the Bodhisattva 2
Wednesdays, Nov 1, 8, 17: 7 – 9pm

Registration now open

Daylong: Receiving or Witnessing the Bodhisattva Precepts & Vows
December 3: 10am – 4:30pm

Registration now open
I, myself, took the Bodhisattva Vows and made the vow, “Life after life, after life, after life, I will continue my practice and continue my work.” – Bhante Suhita Dharma, Buddhist monk and social worker, 1941-2013
In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is an archetypal great being who tirelessly and joyfully works to liberate all beings from suffering. For the first time, EBMC will offer two class series exploring what it means to creatively embody the Bodhisattva teachings. Those who complete both class series may participate in the final daylong and either witness or take Bodhisattva precepts and vows in order to strengthen their commitment to collective liberation. These are the same vows taken by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Also, those who do not wish to take the Bodhisattva vows may take either of the two class series. The final daylong is open to everyone who wishes to witness the joyful ceremony (you do not need to have taken any of the previous classes, though it is recommended that you do so) and those who have completed the previous classes and have received permission from the teacher may receive the Bodhisattva Precepts, take the Bodhisattva Vows, and at that time they will receive a Buddhist name from the teacher. Meditation (instruction provided for beginners), Dharma talks, and interactive exercises. Questions: email admin@eastbaymeditation.org
Mushim (Patricia) Ikeda received Bodhisattva precepts and vows in Toronto, Canada in 1983. She is an EBMC core teacher, a widely-published writer, and a social justice activist. Mushim has practiced as both a monastic and a lay householder. For events, writing, video teachings, go to www.mushimikeda.com
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will NOT receive any part of this online donation)
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

EBMC Teen Sangha: Fall 2017
2017-12-06 18:30 - 20:30
EBMC Teen Sangha – Fall 2017
Wednesdays: September 6 – December 6 (no meeting on November 22)
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Open to teens, ages 14-19
EBMC Teen Sangha is a weekly meditation group for teens, ages 14-19. Our focus will be on creating deeper relationships with ourselves and each other, having fun, getting real and supporting each other. Learn mindfulness meditation and explore the dharma (Buddhist teachings) in creative and practical ways. No experience necessary. We are committed to maintaining a Sangha (community) that is welcoming to people of all identities, cultures, beliefs and ways of being.
Led by the EBMC Teen Sangha Team: Raúl Kahlil Betancourt, Anthony “T” Maes, Sarwang Parikh, Adrienne Price, Syra Smith, and Phoenix Soleil
Registration: Registration is encouraged and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
https://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=sept17teen
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process)
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.
Raúl Kahlil Betancourt began his buddhist studies when he was 16 in L.A. and has been studying steadily since. He has studied Vietnamese Zen in LA and Soto Zen in Santa Cruz and SF as well as Green Gulch and Tassajara. He spent a year as a personal student to a head instructor from Eijeiji, at his home temple in Japan. He also earned a black belt in Aikido. He eventually found his spiritual home at EBMC in Oakland. He is currently teaching science at a high school in SF where he is also a teacher meditation leader.
Anthony “T” Maes was born and raised in the East Bay. He has practiced Buddhist meditation since 2003 including long retreats and living in a monastery in Thailand. He has volunteered on many teen meditation retreats since 2009 where he enjoys leading mixed-heritage liberation, relational mindfulness, and acrobalance. “T” graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004, completed the yearlong Commit2Dharma program at EBMC in 2011, and is a graduate of the Heart Mind Curriculum mindfulness teacher training program.
Sarwang Parikh is a Marriage and Family Therapist Intern who has worked with young people for over a decade. He has meditated and practiced yoga for the past 10 years. He is currently a part of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner Program and EBMC’s Men of Color Deep Refuge group. Sarwang has worked therapeutically with young people across cultures and around the world in a variety of therapeutic, school-based and community settings. He currently provides holistic counseling, leads mindfulness groups, and facilitates trainings on mindfulness in education with Seeds-of-Awareness.org. Sarwang is passionately committed to integrating social change and personal healing through practicing mindfulness and developing relationships.
Adrienne Price is an educator, cultural producer, and social justice organizer living in Oakland, CA. Since she discovered Dharma practice in 2008, she has worked to deepen her learning. She looks forward to co-leading her first Teen Sangha through EBMC this summer. She has worked as a high school teacher and currently coordinates an education non-profit. She also organizes with SURJ (Standing Up for Racial Justice) and the Bay Area Childcare Collective. She hosts a weekly radio show on Radio Valencia entitled Pure Pop for Queer Lovers (Sundays 10am-12:00pm, www.radiovalencia.fm).
Syra Smith is an engaged artist, activist, community organizer, sharing cultivator and mindfulness educator interested in deep ecology and manifesting a culture where we can turn toward fearless abundance and generosity. Syra has been educating and working with young people for over 15 years. A lifetime meditator, she completed EBMC’s Commit to Dharma program in 2011 and is participating in a two year non-monastic ordination and lineage teaching program under the guidance of Venerable Pannavati Bhikkuni. In addition to co-leading EBMC’s Teen Sangha, she has joined the team at the Mind Body Awareness Project, providing transformational tools to at-risk and incarcerated youth.
Phoenix Soleil is an artist and trainer committed to creating more fun, authenticity and compassion in our society. She is a teacher and practitioner of the Vipassanna meditation tradition. She is also a teacher and practitioner of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a form of compassionate communication that supports us to attune to our feelings and values. Whenever possible she invokes her background in conscious dance, Laughter Yoga, acting, and the expressive arts to build healthy, authentic, joyful, and engaged communities of all ages.

New Year's Eve Community Meditation
2017-12-31 18:00 - 2018-01-01 00:30
You are invited to welcome the New Year in community at East Bay Meditation Center’s Annual New Year’s Eve Meditation & Potluck. Let’s practice together and welcome the New Year that awaits us.
NYE Schedule*:

6:00PM Circling Round with Gratitude and Aspirations**
7:30PM Community Potluck
8:30PM Meditation
9:00PM Music, “10 Years of EBMC” Interactive Exhibit
9:30PM Guided Movement with Music
10:15PM Introduction to EBMC. “Who Are We?”
11:00PM Dharma Talk
11:30PM Meditation
Bell Ringing and Dedication of Merit at Midnight

*Schedule Subject to Change.
Register HERE or by clicking this link: https://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=dec17newyearmeditation
**Circling Round with Gratitude and Aspirations is presented by the Restorative Practices for Dharma Practitioners Sangha, from 6PM – 7:30PM. You are invited to join the circle to create grounding energy for the EBMC New Year’s celebration. Gathering in community circle, we will honor the traditions of our ancestors, sharing our gratitude and personal aspirations for the ongoing life of EBMC. We commit to respecting each voice in the circle. RSVP’d requested.
