ONLINE: Finding Liberation in Relationship: Accountability, Conflict, Boundaries and Feedback
2021-09-08 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-09-15 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-09-22 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-09-29 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Finding Liberation in Relationship: Accountability, Conflict, Boundaries and Feedback
An Online Class Series with René Rivera and Dawn Haney

Wednesdays September 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th
6:30 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter)
Closed Captioning Provided

Do you make yourself different than who you are to be in relationship? Or feel forced to cut relationships out of your life to be your full authentic self?
Like other forms of suffering, the Buddha’s teachings help us show up in difficult relationships in new, liberatory ways. In this series, we will practice feedback, boundaries, and nervous system regulation; while applying mindfulness to investigate our conditioned tendencies and positionality in power relations. We can learn to experience relationship conflict as a normal part of life that births change and creates space for us to be our most authentic selves.

Registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Transforming Anxiety and Depression Using The Four Foundations of Mindfulness
2021-09-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2021-09-20 19:00 - 20:30, 2021-09-27 19:00 - 20:30
An Online Class Series

With Melvin Escobar
Mondays, September 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th
7:00 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
Closed Captioning Provided
The Four Foundations of Mindfulness is a teaching found in all Buddhist traditions. They can provide a solid basis for understanding how anxiety and depression are an inevitable part of human experience. We will explore these teachings and interweave them with contemporary psychological frameworks, informed by an understanding of structural oppression. Through talks, interactive exercises, stationary and gentle moving meditation, and recommendations for home practice, participants will gain awareness of how to work with these mood states to help us be more in the moment and fully appreciate this one precious life.
Attend all or some:
Week 1 – Mindfulness of Body
Week 2 – Mindfulness of Feeling
Week 3 – Mindfulness of Mind
Week 4 – Mindfulness of Dhamma

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Embracing Change: Zen & the Art of Creating a Life You Want
2021-09-18 09:30 - 15:30
An Online Class

With Rev. Liên Shutt
Saturday, September 18th
9:30AM – 3:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
Closed Captioning Provided

Would you like to be more settled, intentional & mindful as you re-engage with the world?
Change can be hard; even if it’s something we want or are excited about.
At times like these, pausing to connect to teachings both from Zen Buddhism and from the motivational field can help. Join Rev. Liên for a daylong workshop in which we’ll explore how to incorporate both meditative practices and behavior-change skills in order to find stability and centeredness; to support you to be fully present and aware for whatever comes your way.

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

Grief Medicine: An Online Gathering for BIPOC
2021-09-19 16:00 - 18:30
An Online Gathering for Black, Indigenous and People of Color

with Amy Hyun Swart and Satya de la Paz

Sunday, September 19th 2021 4PM – 6:30PM PST
Time Zone Converter – Closed Captioning Provided
Come join us as we ritualize our grief in a circle of compassion to acknowledge, listen to, and tend to the broken heart. Grief and its accompanying emotions like rage and confusion can be overwhelming to process alone. Whether your grief is from surviving the loss of a loved one, a breakup, a life transition, or bearing witness to the calamities of our planet including the multiple pandemics from police violence to COVID-19 over the past year, this gathering is for you. Whatever leads your heart to a place of being broken is enough.
Some of the oldest artifacts known to humankind are from grief rituals, yet in modern times this sacred and necessary space is hard to come by due to our collective discomfort around grief. In this multidimensional experience we will use the power of guided meditation, creative practices, yoga, and group sharing to metabolize our losses and transmute them into a gift for our own hearts and the collective heart of our planet.
Please bring a candle, journal, body oil or lotion, yoga mat, and an object of significance that represents the grief you are holding (if possible).

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Honoring the Past, Writing the Future: An Online Retreat for All Self-Identified Black People
2021-10-02 10:00 - 14:00
An Online Retreat for Self-Identified Black People

With shah noor hussein & Arisika Razak
Saturday, October 2nd
10:00AM – 2:00PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
Closed Captioning Provided
Join us for a half day of storytelling, dharma teachings, meditative movement, and art in which we compassionately examine our diverse personal histories, celebrate our heritage, and create new liberation stories through writing. We welcome ALL self-identified Black people and especially inviting queer, trans*, gender nonconforming, gender neutral, androgynous, and nonbinary folks. Please bring writing and/or art supplies with you – as well as an object that represents your intentions for yourself as it relates to resilience, healing, and community. Utilizing the writings and wisdom of cis & trans* Black feminist artists, we will set powerful intentions for the Fall season and reclaiming ourselves through ritual. This interactive workshop will include guided meditations, breakout groups, writing activities, and other practices related to fostering self-exploration while deepening our self-love.

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Introduction to Mindfulness & Meditation
2021-10-04 18:00 - 20:30, 2021-10-11 18:00 - 20:30, 2021-10-18 18:00 - 20:30, 2021-10-25 18:00 - 20:30
An Online Class Series

With Carol Cano, Imee Contreras & Janet Roos

Mondays, October 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th
6:00 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
Closed Captioning Provided
Mindfulness is an ancient teaching that has proven to be more relevant and beneficial in these current times. It has been scientifically proven to improve empathy, manage stress levels, and increase present moment awareness. This course is ideal for those who want to begin meditation practice, develop consistency, or to revive a long-term practice.
Beginners and seasoned practitioners are all welcome to explore the basics of mindfulness, establish a daily practice, incorporate various meditation practices, and embody a mindful lifestyle.

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Path of the Bodhisattva 1
2021-10-06 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-10-13 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-10-20 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-10-27 18:30 - 20:30
An Online Class Series with Mushim Ikeda
Wednesdays, October 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th
6:30 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
ASL Interpretation and Closed Captioning Provided
This Buddhist curriculum at EBMC has three components:
1. A four-class series: Path of the Bodhisattva 1
Wednesdays in 2021, Oct 6, 13, 20, 27: 6:30 – 8:30pm PST
2. A four-class series: Path of the Bodhisattva 2
Wednesdays in 2021, Nov 3, 10, 17, 24: 6:30 – 8:30pm PST
3. Daylong: Receiving or Witnessing the Bodhisattva Precepts & Vows
Sunday, December 19, 2021: 10am – 5:00pm Pacific time
*Separate registration is needed for each part of the Path of the Bodhisattva class series (Part I, Part II + Precepts Ceremony). Participants interested in receiving the Bodhisattva Vows in Dec are required to take Part I + II of the class series.
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
These times are full of uncertainty and fear — and opportunities for spiritual breakthrough. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is an archetypal great being who tirelessly and joyfully works to liberate all beings from suffering. For the fourth 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 Fourteenth 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

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

Belonging Through Lovingkindness
2021-10-09 10:00 - 16:00
Belonging Through Lovingkindness
With Noliwe Alexander and Kimber Simpkins
Saturday, October 9th 2021 10:00AM – 4:00PM PST
Time Zone Converter – Closed Captioning Provided
There is no greater need we humans have than our need to belong, but how do we enter our belonging from a place of authenticity and wholeness rather than grasping and inadequacy? Together we can explore both how to find ourselves at home wherever we are and how to meet our heart’s desire to live in belonging. Join us for a day of discovering what it means to belong to ourselves and each other through the lens of deep reflection and Lovingkindness practice. Starting wherever you are, we’ll look at how to meet ourselves with friendliness in our own hearts and extend that grounded awareness into the world. In our time together you will gather tools to meet whatever arises in your daily life with inner kindness and a deep sense of connection. Let Noliwe Alexander and Kimber Simpkins-Nuccio guide you through Dharma teachings, meditation, movement practice, and community sharing, all grounded in loving awareness.

Registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: “Come As You Are” Dharma: Self-Acceptance & Self-Improvement
2021-10-16 10:00 - 13:00
An Online Gathering

With Mushim Ikeda and Rev. Harry Gyokyo Bridge
Saturday, October 16th
1o:00AM – 1:00PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
Closed Captioning Provided
Can we accept and love ourselves as we are AND be open to positive change and transformation? This is a short and sweet introduction to accessible Jodo-Shinshu Amida Buddha and Nembutsu practices found in many predominantly Asian American temples. Join Rev. Harry Gyokyo Bridge of the Buddhist Church of Oakland and EBMC core teacher Mushim for a lively and interactive 3-hour class. No previous experience needed.

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

Lama Rod Owens at East Bay Meditation Center
2021-10-23 17:00 - 19:00
East Bay Meditation Center warmly invites you to an evening with Lama Rod Owens!

Saturday, October 23rd
5:00PM – 7:00PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
ASL Interpretation & Closed Captioning Provided
Going to the Edge: Exploring the Dharma of Grief in Times of Struggle
We are living through a period of apocalypse, a chaotic period of truth telling and unveiling. Many of us are struggling to make sense of the impact we are experiencing in our personal lives, relationships, and in our communities.
To move through this period, we must rely on our capacity to grieve, to touch into the sadness of change and loss and tend to it with compassion. In this compassion we can allow our hearts to break and in the breaking be held by the understanding that we are not alone in this grieving.
Once we allow ourselves to be in relationship with our grief, then it can begin to teach us how to move through sorrow and hopelessness into clarity and connectedness. Yet most importantly, our relationship to grief through compassion opens up the space for joy and gratitude. In this talk, Lama Rod will explore this liberating relationship with grief through guided practice and discussion.

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Tai Chi: Embodying the Elements
2021-10-24 10:00 - 11:30
An Online Class

With Jenn Biehn, nialla rose, and Rosetta Saunders

Sunday, October 24th
10:00 – 11:30AM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
Closed Captioning Provided
Tai Chi Chih is an easy-to learn, accessible and non-strenuous moving meditation. A form of Qi Gong, Tai Chi Chih circulates and balances the chi or energy of the body. Embodying the elements – earth, fire, water, air – while practicing Tai Chi – we connect with nature bringing healing to body-heart-mind. Movement will be taught standing and seated. As the veil between the world grows thin, join us in embodying the elements.
Co-led by Jenn Biehn, nialla rose, and Rosetta Saunders who have been practicing this movement meditation together for over a year, co-creating various ways of presenting Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Jenn has been a certified Tai Chi Chih teacher for over 30 years and is now training new folks to bring these practices into their communities. nialla is a member of the Order of Interbeing who shares dharma within movement to various sanghas and other groups. Rosetta is a drum artist using sacred rhythms for intergenerational healing and cross cultural ceremonial circles.

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Opening the Heart Through The Buddha’s Teachings: Parents Meditation Group
2021-10-25 20:45 - 21:45
Opening the Heart Through the Buddha’s Teachings
An Online Meditation Group for Parents
with Lisa Fujie Parks
Monday, October 25th 2021 8:45PM – 9:45PM PST (Time Zone Converter)
Closed Captioning Provided.
EBMC’s Family Practice Class teaching team will be offering a monthly parents’ meditation group for restoration, support and connection during these challenging times. We offer a short talk, guided meditation and sharing. We gather to create a safe refuge to share the joys and the challenges of caring for young people by cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, patience and generosity with the support of the sangha. We welcome all parents/grandparents/caregivers of young people to join us. No prior experience necessary.

ONLINE: Path of the Bodhisattva 2
2021-11-03 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-11-10 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-11-17 18:30 - 20:30, 2021-11-24 18:30 - 20:30
An Online Class Series with Mushim Ikeda
Wednesdays, November 3rd, 10th, 17th, and 24th
6:30 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
ASL Interpretation and Closed Captioning Provided

This is a continuation of the October Path of the Bodhisattva 1 class series. However, newcomers are welcome to register.

This Buddhist curriculum at EBMC has three components:
1. A four-class series: Path of the Bodhisattva 1
Wednesdays in 2021, Oct 6, 13, 20, 27: 6:30 – 8:30pm PST
2. A four-class series: Path of the Bodhisattva 2
Wednesdays in 2021, Nov 3, 10, 17, 24: 6:30 – 8:30pm PST
3. Daylong: Receiving or Witnessing the Bodhisattva Precepts & Vows
Sunday, December 19, 2021: 10am – 5:00pm Pacific time
*Separate registration is needed for each part of the Path of the Bodhisattva class series (Part I, Part II + Precepts Ceremony). Participants interested in receiving the Bodhisattva Vows in Dec are required to take Part I + II of the class series.
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
These times are full of uncertainty and fear — and opportunities for spiritual breakthrough. In Mahayana Buddhism, the Bodhisattva is an archetypal great being who tirelessly and joyfully works to liberate all beings from suffering. For the fourth 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 Fourteenth 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

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Cultivating Home in Our Hearts: A daylong for adult adoptees and fostered, and/or child welfare system survivors
2021-11-06 10:00 - 16:00
A day of mindfulness, music, and inquiry for adult adoptees, fostered, and/or child welfare system survivors with Sean Feit Oakes, PhD, Amber Field Music, and Fresh Lev White

Saturday, November 6th
10:00AM – 4:00PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
Closed Captioning Provided
This class is for us who experienced separation from birth families at early ages to explore the heart of the Buddha’s teachings: that pain and loss are built into life and are the seeds of wisdom and liberation. We’ll explore our experiences of family rupture, discuss tools for cultivating self-love, compassion, and the cultivation of home in ourselves as a deep refuge.
All adult (18+) adoptees, formerly foster home or system youth, and any adult who were forced/separated from their birth family at young ages are welcome.

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Metta in Action - The balm for all maladies
2021-11-22 18:00 - 19:30
An Online Class Series with vimalasara mason-john
Mondays November 22nd, 29th & December 6th & 13th, 2021
6:00 – 7:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter) –
Closed Captioning Provided

Individually and together we will create a space of metta, friendliness towards ourselves and all other beings. When we are unable to cultivate the balm of friendliness and or loving kindness to another being we will remove the RUST from our minds so we can give ourselves a taste of freedom. RUST is a practice I have developed to work with the blocked, the hurt, the activated mind.

All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.

ONLINE: Opening the Heart Through The Buddha’s Teachings: Parents Meditation Group
2021-11-22 20:45 - 21:45
Opening the Heart Through the Buddha’s Teachings
An Online Meditation Group for Parents
with Ramona Lisa Ortiz-Smith
Monday, November 22nd 2021 8:45PM – 9:45PM PST (Time Zone Converter)
Closed Captioning Provided.
EBMC’s Family Practice Class teaching team will be offering a monthly parents’ meditation group for restoration, support and connection during these challenging times. We offer a short talk, guided meditation and sharing. We gather to create a safe refuge to share the joys and the challenges of caring for young people by cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, patience and generosity with the support of the sangha. We welcome all parents/grandparents/caregivers of young people to join us. No prior experience necessary.
