East Bay Meditation Center

ONLINE: Afrikan Healing and Wisdom
2026-01-04 09:00 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
ONLINE: Afrikan Healing and Wisdom
With Vimalasara Mason-John, Arisika Razak, and Aleta Toure’
First Sundays, starting November 3rd 2024
9:00 – 10:30 AM PT
Closed captioning provided over Zoom

Together we will explore new beginnings as we enter into 2026.
Guided by Sankofa (Twa/Ghana), we learn from the past to build a future. We look back on 2025 to move forward in this new year. Grounded in Ubuntu (Zulu) we remember, “I am because we are”. Let’s come together in community and enter into the shared conversation for renewal. What do you want to let go of, so you can move forward? What do you want to bring into the new year so that you can let go of what you don’t need any more?
And please consider joining us for our Second, In-Person Afrikan Healing and Wisdom Residential Retreat at Dhamma Dena Retreat Center in Joshua Tree California from February 5 – 8 2026. https://www.dhammadena.org/retreats/Afrikan-Wisdom-Retreat-Feb-2026
—–
Join us for EBMC’s first Black-led, Black-Sangha Affinity group held on the first Sunday of every month from 9 AM till 10:30 AM.
Today, those of us living in the USA vibrate to the breath of our Ancestral North Star, highest realm of guidance. Our ancestors are with us, as we step into a seemingly repeated quantum leap of time, during one of the most turbulent election seasons since the presidential election of 1876, and the 1877 compromise which ended Reconstruction. We are in a sentinel moment, echoing the situations described in Martin Luther King’s book, “Why We Can’t Wait”. Like our Diasporan kinfolx, we are questioning our common humanity, as we see the age-old dream of peace, and ecological balance distorted in the deep and seemingly bottomless pool of genocide, war, climate change, ecological devastation, poverty and global health pandemics.
Join us as we bring a timely spoonful of Afrikana medicine to these challenging and difficult times. We’ll add ancestral healing traditions to the simple practice of the breath, sharing meditations, libations, chanting and other embodied practices to remember our resilience, honor our ancestors, and support an inclusive and affirming community for all members of the Afrikan Diaspora.

REGISTRATION LINKS – sign up now for current and future meetings!
NOTE: This program is on hiatus after January 2026 until further notice. We will update when we have a restart date!

COST

Here at EBMC, we practice gift economics and our programs are offered freely without set fees. Financial gifts from our community help to sustain our teachers AND our center. Generosity is the Buddha’s first teaching, the lifeblood of EBMC, and an act of sacred reciprocity. We ask that those who have more financial means give more, in order to help balance the giving of those who have less financial means.
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please do so via our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana. Consider becoming a monthly donor for any amount! These contributions are especially valuable to our sustainability.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all. In this way, we practice sacred reciprocity between teachers and students.
Giving Information:
VENMO: @Arisika-Razak
PAYPAL: arisikarazak@gmail.com
(Please reference “Afrikan Healing & Wisdom” and the teachers will share the gifts with each other)

TEACHING TEAM

Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John is the author of the new revised edition of Detox Your Heart – Meditations For Emotional Trauma published by Wisdom books in 2017. She is co-author of the award-winning book Eight Step Recovery – Using The Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction. She is a TEDx speaker and is the author of eight books including her award winning novel Borrowed Body. She is the curator of Teachings in Uncertain Times, an online retreat by Teachers of Color for Tricycle Magazine February 2017. She is a leading African Canadian voice in the field of Mindfulness for Emotional Trauma and Addiction.

Arisika Razak, MPH, EBMC Core teacher, is the former Chair of the Women’s Spirituality Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Previously a nurse-midwife, her teachings incorporate diverse spiritual traditions, women’s health and healing, multicultural feminisms, queer theory, and diversity theory. Arisika has led national and international healing workshops and ritual celebrations for women for over three decades, as well as embodied spiritual workshops for people of all genders. She has co-facilitated workshops with Marlene Jones at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and regularly leads workshops at EBMC.

Aleta Toure’ (Visiting Teacher) Aleta Toure’ bears witness as a vessel for social change through organizing, education and healing arts. She centers healing in monastic lifestyle knowledge though Intentional Communities and Black cooperative movements. Her cooperative serves communities through Black Trauma Anonymous (BTA), Tai chi, Ecstatic Healing Dance and Healing Responders. Aleta spends time within Peace Pagodas, monasteries, hermitages, and dojos which have framed her work through Free Marissa Now, “I am Troy Davis”, University Without Walls and other Diasporic Movements. She leads the 2025 California Reparations Interfaith Healing Walk to bring healing, theory and practice back as a Liberation tool.

ONLINE: Beginning a Mindfulness Meditation Practice
2026-01-07 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-01-14 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-01-21 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-01-28 18:30 - 20:30
ONLINE: Beginning a Mindfulness Meditation Practice
4 Class series, Wednesdays on January 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th
6:30 – 8:30PM PT (Time Zone Converter)
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 6-month Curriculum
Open to all
Closed Captioning Provided on Zoom

Are you looking for a way to start a mindfulness meditation practice, but don’t quite know how? These four classes will give you the basics of stationary and walking/gentle movement meditation in the vipassana (insight) style, and metta (loving kindness or good will) meditation. Don’t worry about “getting it right” – if you can sit – on a folding chair, on floor cushions, in a wheelchair – or lie down – and breathe, you’re off to a good start! This series is for those seeking stress reduction, or it can be the gateway to those new to Buddhism. Meditation can help you, over time, to develop a sense of increased physical well-being, mental clarity, compassionate connection, and spiritual growth.

Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an “add-on” to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.
Other ways to give:
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so at bit.ly/ebmc-give 100% of our programming on a sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.

Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all.
Venmo: @MushimPatricia-Ikeda
PayPal: info@mushimikeda.com
Please indicate “Beginning Meditation” in the subject line.
Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.

For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
1. When speaking, introduce your name, pronouns, and (optionally) a brief physical description of yourself.
2. If using virtual backgrounds, please use static, simple, high-contrast backgrounds.
3. Please keep your camera still while your camera is on.
4. Please repeat your name when you speak to help those with visual impairment.
5. The host/volunteer will attempt to read any comments that appear in the chat out loud.
6. Please strive for clear audio and mute when you are not speaking. Phone access is also available.
7. If you have unmet access needs, please send a message to the volunteer or host in the chat. If the chat is not accessible to you, please offer them briefly in one minute or less via voice. Please do not send access requests directly to other participants.

Teacher

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is an author whose writing has been published in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and various anthologies. She is the recipient of an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School for the Ministry. Mushim was selected by Lion’s Roar Buddhist media magazine as one of twenty-six “Great Buddhist Teachers” in the January 2022 issue. www.mushimikeda.com

ONLINE: White and Awakening Monthly Sangha
2026-01-11 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-02-08 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-03-08 10:30 - 12:00, 2026-04-12 10:30 - 12:00
The White and Awakening Monthly Sangha will meet on the second Sunday of each month from 10:30 am to Noon PT/1:30-3:00 pm ET beginning January 11, 2026. This group is a joint offering of EBMC and Brooklyn Zen Center. All meetings are on Zoom.

Facilitated by Crystal Johnson, Sarah Emerson, Heather Lear, Kitsy Schoen and guests, the monthly sangha is an opportunity for white people to gather and discuss their dilemmas and successes in waking up to whiteness and making a difference in undermining white supremacy culture in all of its many manifestations, including in our sanghas. Our intention is to create a supportive space that allows us to do the hard and painful inner work that frees us to take action in the world.

Open to all self-identified white people and to those for whom whiteness is an important part of their identity. Questions? Email us at whiteandawakening@eastbaymeditation.org.

Sign up here to receive the zoom link.

FACILITATORS

Crystal Johnson is a retired clinical psychologist and a Community Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) in Oakland, CA, where she also serves on the Leadership Sangha (Board) and as a member of the Radical Inclusivity Committee. She completed the year long Commit2Dharma training at EBMC, as well as the 2-year Dedicated Practitioner Program and the 2-year Community Dharma Leader Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In her teaching, she focuses on creating/co-creating programs for white dharma practitioners seeking to build awareness, knowledge and skills to challenge the dynamics of white privilege and race-based oppression, and create truly inclusive sangha. Her courses include White and Awakening in Sangha at EBMC, Unpacking Whiteness: Reflection and Action at the San Francisco Zen Center, White and Awakening Together at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Unpacking Whiteness for the Soto Zen Buddhist Association and Unpacking the Whiteness of Leadership for Branching Streams. She offers consultation to individuals and organizations seeking to disrupt the practices of white supremacy culture and support change toward racial equity.

Sarah Dōjin Emerson’s formal practice in Soto Zen began in 1996. She received Dharma Transmission from Abbott Konjin Gaelyn Godwin of the Houston Zen Center in 2015. She has a M.A. in Counseling Psychology, and has worked in the fields of mental health and pastoral care with children and adults. She experiences Bodhisattva Zen practice as deeply supportive to inquiring into, challenging and transforming systems of oppression, particularly racial inequities and the harm they cause within convert Buddhist sanghas, and in U.S. society generally. Sarah has worked for many years in grief support- clinically, ritually and in community- specializing in child loss. She lives with her partner, Charlie Pokorny (who is also a Soto Zen Buddhist priest), their children (who are her most profound and constant teachers) and numerous pets in Brooklyn, NY.

Heather Lear (she/her) was born and raised with the Dharma in a family of Insight Meditation practitioners in the South, and is now based on unceded Ramaytush Ohlone land in San Francisco. She studies and teaches at the intersection of heart-centered Dharma, embodiment practices and DEIA work around white and awakening in community, and serves as the Program Manager at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Heather has completed various study and teaching programs, including Spirit Rock’s LEAP program, the Sati Center’s Buddhist Chaplaincy Training, and Radiant Heart Qigong Teacher Training with Teja Bell. She has served on the board at Insight Santa Cruz, on the teaching team offering the 6-month White and Awakening in Sangha program at the East Bay Meditation Center since 2019, and is part of the current Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leaders (CDL7) cohort.

Kitsy Schoen, MSW, began her mindfulness practice and was inspired to work as a hospice social worker after meeting Stephen Levine in 1979. Throughout her career she has been able to integrate mindfulness and her passion for racial equity into her work. At Kaiser Permanente, Kitsy led the NCAL Kaiser Psychiatry’s Cultural Diversity Workgroup and was a founding member of the “Isms Collaborative”, a group of representatives from public and private health care organizations that sought to address workplace bias in agencies committed to reducing health disparities. In 2004 she began Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader program with the specific focus of bringing insight and compassion practices to working with other white people on racism. In 2007, she joined the Leadership Sangha (board) of East Bay Meditation Center and began offering antiracism classes to white practitioners. Kitsy has provided training and consultation to numerous mental health training programs and dharma centers on issues of racism, power and privilege.

ONLINE: Afrikan Healing and Wisdom (on hiatus)
2026-02-01 09:00 - 10:30
ONLINE: Afrikan Healing and Wisdom
With Vimalasara Mason-John and Arisika Razak
First Sundays, starting November 3rd 2024
9:00 – 10:30 AM PT
Closed captioning provided over Zoom

Join us for EBMC’s first Black-led, Black-Sangha Affinity group held on the first Sunday of every month from 9 AM till 10:30 AM.
Today, those of us living in the USA vibrate to the breath of our Ancestral North Star, highest realm of guidance. Our ancestors are with us, as we step into a seemingly repeated quantum leap of time, during one of the most turbulent election seasons since the presidential election of 1876, and the 1877 compromise which ended Reconstruction. We are in a sentinel moment, echoing the situations described in Martin Luther King’s book, “Why We Can’t Wait”. Like our Diasporan kinfolx, we are questioning our common humanity, as we see the age-old dream of peace, and ecological balance distorted in the deep and seemingly bottomless pool of genocide, war, climate change, ecological devastation, poverty and global health pandemics.
Join us as we bring a timely spoonful of Afrikana medicine to these challenging and difficult times. We’ll add ancestral healing traditions to the simple practice of the breath, sharing meditations, libations, chanting and other embodied practices to remember our resilience, honor our ancestors, and support an inclusive and affirming community for all members of the Afrikan Diaspora.

NOTE: This program is currently on hiatus until September 2026. We will send an update when we restart!

COST

Here at EBMC, we practice gift economics and our programs are offered freely without set fees. Financial gifts from our community help to sustain our teachers AND our center. Generosity is the Buddha’s first teaching, the lifeblood of EBMC, and an act of sacred reciprocity. We ask that those who have more financial means give more, in order to help balance the giving of those who have less financial means.
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please do so via our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana. Consider becoming a monthly donor for any amount! These contributions are especially valuable to our sustainability.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all. In this way, we practice sacred reciprocity between teachers and students.
Giving Information:
VENMO: @Arisika-Razak
PAYPAL: arisikarazak@gmail.com
(Please reference “Afrikan Healing & Wisdom” and the teachers will share the gifts with each other)

TEACHING TEAM

Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John is the author of the new revised edition of Detox Your Heart – Meditations For Emotional Trauma published by Wisdom books in 2017. She is co-author of the award-winning book Eight Step Recovery – Using The Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction. She is a TEDx speaker and is the author of eight books including her award winning novel Borrowed Body. She is the curator of Teachings in Uncertain Times, an online retreat by Teachers of Color for Tricycle Magazine February 2017. She is a leading African Canadian voice in the field of Mindfulness for Emotional Trauma and Addiction.

Arisika Razak, MPH, EBMC Core teacher, is the former Chair of the Women’s Spirituality Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Previously a nurse-midwife, her teachings incorporate diverse spiritual traditions, women’s health and healing, multicultural feminisms, queer theory, and diversity theory. Arisika has led national and international healing workshops and ritual celebrations for women for over three decades, as well as embodied spiritual workshops for people of all genders. She has co-facilitated workshops with Marlene Jones at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and regularly leads workshops at EBMC.

ONLINE: Buddha's Four Big Truths (The 4 Noble Truths)
2026-02-04 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-02-11 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-02-18 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-02-25 18:30 - 20:30
ONLINE: Buddha’s Four Big Truths (The Four Noble Truths)
4 Class series, Wednesdays on February 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th
6:30 – 8:30PM PT (Time Zone Converter)
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 6-month Curriculum
Open to all
Closed Captioning Provided on Zoom

Why do we suffer? How can we be released from suffering? The Buddha’s first teaching after his Enlightenment is called the Four Truths for Noble Ones. These form the foundation of Buddhist life and understanding. The four “big” truths address human suffering and oppression, analyze their root causes, and describe a path of liberation from human suffering that is both profound and practical. Dharma talks, mindful journaling, meditation, community building and optional readings. Beginners in meditation are welcome.

Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an “add-on” to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.
Other ways to give:
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so at bit.ly/ebmc-give 100% of our programming on a sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.

Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all.
Venmo: @MushimPatricia-Ikeda
PayPal: info@mushimikeda.com
Please indicate “4 Noble Truths” in the subject line.
Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.

For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
1. When speaking, introduce your name, pronouns, and (optionally) a brief physical description of yourself.
2. If using virtual backgrounds, please use static, simple, high-contrast backgrounds.
3. Please keep your camera still while your camera is on.
4. Please repeat your name when you speak to help those with visual impairment.
5. The host/volunteer will attempt to read any comments that appear in the chat out loud.
6. Please strive for clear audio and mute when you are not speaking. Phone access is also available.
7. If you have unmet access needs, please send a message to the volunteer or host in the chat. If the chat is not accessible to you, please offer them briefly in one minute or less via voice. Please do not send access requests directly to other participants.

Teacher

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is an author whose writing has been published in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and various anthologies. She is the recipient of an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School for the Ministry. Mushim was selected by Lion’s Roar Buddhist media magazine as one of twenty-six “Great Buddhist Teachers” in the January 2022 issue. www.mushimikeda.com

ONLINE: Afrikan Healing and Wisdom
2026-03-01 09:00 - 10:30
ONLINE: Afrikan Healing and Wisdom
With Vimalasara Mason-John, Arisika Razak, and Aleta Toure’
March 1st 2026
9:00 – 10:30 AM PT
Closed captioning provided over Zoom

Today, those of us living in the USA vibrate to the breath of our Ancestral North Star, highest realm of guidance. Our ancestors are with us, as we step into a seemingly repeated quantum leap of time, during one of the most turbulent election seasons since the presidential election of 1876, and the 1877 compromise which ended Reconstruction. We are in a sentinel moment, echoing the situations described in Martin Luther King’s book, “Why We Can’t Wait”. Like our Diasporan kinfolx, we are questioning our common humanity, as we see the age-old dream of peace, and ecological balance distorted in the deep and seemingly bottomless pool of genocide, war, climate change, ecological devastation, poverty and global health pandemics.
Join us as we bring a timely spoonful of Afrikana medicine to these challenging and difficult times. We’ll add ancestral healing traditions to the simple practice of the breath, sharing meditations, libations, chanting and other embodied practices to remember our resilience, honor our ancestors, and support an inclusive and affirming community for all members of the Afrikan Diaspora.
ALSO: Please consider joining us for our Second, In-Person Afrikan Healing and Wisdom Residential Retreat at Dhamma Dena Retreat Center in Joshua Tree California from February 5 – 8 2026. https://www.dhammadena.org/retreats/Afrikan-Wisdom-Retreat-Feb-2026

COST

Here at EBMC, we practice gift economics and our programs are offered freely without set fees. Financial gifts from our community help to sustain our teachers AND our center. Generosity is the Buddha’s first teaching, the lifeblood of EBMC, and an act of sacred reciprocity. We ask that those who have more financial means give more, in order to help balance the giving of those who have less financial means.
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please do so via our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana. Consider becoming a monthly donor for any amount! These contributions are especially valuable to our sustainability.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all. In this way, we practice sacred reciprocity between teachers and students.
Giving Information:
VENMO: @Arisika-Razak
PAYPAL: arisikarazak@gmail.com
(Please reference “Afrikan Healing & Wisdom” and the teachers will share the gifts with each other)

TEACHING TEAM

Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John is the author of the new revised edition of Detox Your Heart – Meditations For Emotional Trauma published by Wisdom books in 2017. She is co-author of the award-winning book Eight Step Recovery – Using The Buddha’s Teachings to Overcome Addiction. She is a TEDx speaker and is the author of eight books including her award winning novel Borrowed Body. She is the curator of Teachings in Uncertain Times, an online retreat by Teachers of Color for Tricycle Magazine February 2017. She is a leading African Canadian voice in the field of Mindfulness for Emotional Trauma and Addiction.

Arisika Razak, MPH, EBMC Core teacher, is the former Chair of the Women’s Spirituality Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Previously a nurse-midwife, her teachings incorporate diverse spiritual traditions, women’s health and healing, multicultural feminisms, queer theory, and diversity theory. Arisika has led national and international healing workshops and ritual celebrations for women for over three decades, as well as embodied spiritual workshops for people of all genders. She has co-facilitated workshops with Marlene Jones at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and regularly leads workshops at EBMC.

Aleta Toure’ (Visiting Teacher) Aleta Toure’ bears witness as a vessel for social change through organizing, education and healing arts. She centers healing in monastic lifestyle knowledge though Intentional Communities and Black cooperative movements. Her cooperative serves communities through Black Trauma Anonymous (BTA), Tai chi, Ecstatic Healing Dance and Healing Responders. Aleta spends time within Peace Pagodas, monasteries, hermitages, and dojos which have framed her work through Free Marissa Now, “I am Troy Davis”, University Without Walls and other Diasporic Movements. She leads the 2025 California Reparations Interfaith Healing Walk to bring healing, theory and practice back as a Liberation tool.

ONLINE: Buddha’s “How to Guide” to a Life of Happiness (Eightfold Path)
2026-03-04 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-03-11 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-03-18 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-03-25 18:30 - 20:30
ONLINE: Buddha’s “How to Guide” to a Life of Happiness (Eightfold Path)
4 Class series, Wednesdays on March 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th
6:30 – 8:30PM PT (Time Zone Converter)
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 6-month Curriculum
Open to all
Closed Captioning Provided on Zoom

Everyone wants to live and be happy, yet human life is marked by suffering. Many are intimately and historically affected by social injustice, and we all experience loss of what is dear to us, sickness, aging, and death. How do we develop wisdom (insight) and spiritual strength (a practice that sustains us during the hard times)? The Buddha’s teaching of the Eightfold Path is a roadmap for a life well-lived. This class series will include meditation, Dharma talks, and discussion. Beginners in meditation are welcome.

Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an “add-on” to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.
Other ways to give:
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so at bit.ly/ebmc-give 100% of our programming on a sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all.
Venmo: @MushimPatricia-Ikeda
PayPal: info@mushimikeda.com
Please indicate “8fold Path” in the subject line.
Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.

For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
1. When speaking, introduce your name, pronouns, and (optionally) a brief physical description of yourself.
2. If using virtual backgrounds, please use static, simple, high-contrast backgrounds.
3. Please keep your camera still while your camera is on.
4. Please repeat your name when you speak to help those with visual impairment.
5. The host/volunteer will attempt to read any comments that appear in the chat out loud.
6. Please strive for clear audio and mute when you are not speaking. Phone access is also available.
7. If you have unmet access needs, please send a message to the volunteer or host in the chat. If the chat is not accessible to you, please offer them briefly in one minute or less via voice. Please do not send access requests directly to other participants.

Teacher

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is an author whose writing has been published in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and various anthologies. She is the recipient of an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School for the Ministry. Mushim was selected by Lion’s Roar Buddhist media magazine as one of twenty-six “Great Buddhist Teachers” in the January 2022 issue. www.mushimikeda.com

IN PERSON: Embracing Change: Zen & The Art of Creating a Life You Want
2026-03-14 09:30 - 15:30
Embracing Change: Zen & the Art of Creating a Life You Want
With Rev. Keiryu Liên Shutt
Saturday March 14th 2026
In person only at 285 17th St., Oakland CA 94612
Masking is strongly encouraged
The center is fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible

Are you at a point in your life in which you feel like it’s time for a change, but you’re not sure how to proceed?
Change can be hard. Especially if it’s not one that we’ve chosen: a job or relationship loss, an illness, or other life-transition events. At such time, thinking about all the possible options can feel confusing: “Should I do what I’ve always wanted to do or stay with what I know? Go towards my ‘heart’s desire’ or get more training?”
At times like these, teachings both from Buddhism and from the motivational field can help us. Join Rev. Liên for a daylong workshop in which we will explore how to incorporate both dharma practices and behavior-change skills in order to find stability and centeredness so that you can be truly present and aware.
Discover tools to help you set and achieve goals. Meditation and Buddhist practices along with evaluative and skill-building tools will be practiced in small and large groups. Plan for a day in which you will be engaged from the heart and with mindfulness.The time for change has come into your life. Come see how you can learn to meet this with ease, grace and skill, and go towards the life that is waiting to be created by you!

Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an “add-on” to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.
Note that all financial gifts received here go directly to EBMC, and we invite you to give separately to our teachers, using the information below.
Other ways to give:
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so via Paypal: paypal.me/eastbaymeditation or our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana 100% of our programming is sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all.
To give to Rev. Keiryu Liên Shutt:
Venmo: @SuddenLeap-A2Z
last 4 #: 2585
PayPal: SuddenLeap.A2Z@Gmail.com
Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.

For in-person participation:
We strongly encourage masking for all who are able to do so. We will provide N95 masks at the center if you don’t have one.
To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products — more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears on our website: https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

Public Transportation/Parking:
– We strongly encourage public transportation/biking/walking since parking in the neighborhood is limited.
– EBMC has bike parking inside the center.
– Please note that parking meters are enforced Monday – Saturday, 8 am – 6 pm, and Sunday 12-6pm.

Teacher

REV. LIÊN SHUTT (she/they) is a priest lineage holder in the Shunryu Suzuki tradition. Born to a Buddhist family in Vietnam, she received her meditation training in the Insight and Soto Zen traditions in the United States, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. A founding member of the Buddhists of Color in 1998, she currently is the guiding teacher of Access to Zen, an inclusive, anti-oppression sangha and nonprofit in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her book, Home is Here: Practicing Antiracism with the Engaged Eightfold Path, was published by North Atlantic Books in 2023. She lives in Oakland, on Huichin land, with her partner, exploring waterways and forests as often as they can. Visit AccessToZen.org for ways to connect.

ONLINE: Buddhist Love, Compassion, Joy, & Equanimity (Brahmaviharas)
2026-04-01 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-04-08 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-04-15 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-04-22 18:30 - 20:30
ONLINE: Buddhist Love, Compassion, Joy, & Equanimity
4 Class series, Wednesdays on April 1, 8, 15, and 22
6:30 – 8:30PM PT (Time Zone Converter)
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 6-month Curriculum
Open to all
Closed Captioning Provided on Zoom

The Brahmaviharas (Divine Abodes), also called the Four Immeasurables, are Buddhist teachings and practices that help us to access dynamic calming, stilling, and healing mindbody states. As we cultivate the limitless qualities of loving goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity, in time we harvest true happiness, spiritual strength, and awakening insight. These practices are considered complementary to insight (mindfulness) meditation. Dharma talks, discussion and Q&A. Instruction provided for beginners in meditation.

Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an “add-on” to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.
Other ways to give:
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so at bit.ly/ebmc-give 100% of our programming on a sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all.
Venmo: @MushimPatricia-Ikeda
PayPal: info@mushimikeda.com
Please indicate “Divine Abodes” in the subject line.
Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.

For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
1. When speaking, introduce your name, pronouns, and (optionally) a brief physical description of yourself.
2. If using virtual backgrounds, please use static, simple, high-contrast backgrounds.
3. Please keep your camera still while your camera is on.
4. Please repeat your name when you speak to help those with visual impairment.
5. The host/volunteer will attempt to read any comments that appear in the chat out loud.
6. Please strive for clear audio and mute when you are not speaking. Phone access is also available.
7. If you have unmet access needs, please send a message to the volunteer or host in the chat. If the chat is not accessible to you, please offer them briefly in one minute or less via voice. Please do not send access requests directly to other participants.

Teacher

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is an author whose writing has been published in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and various anthologies. She is the recipient of an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School for the Ministry. Mushim was selected by Lion’s Roar Buddhist media magazine as one of twenty-six “Great Buddhist Teachers” in the January 2022 issue. www.mushimikeda.com

IN PERSON: Finding Liberation in Relationship for BIPOC
2026-04-20 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-04-27 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-05-04 18:30 - 20:30
Finding Liberation in Relationship for BIPOC
With Regent Brown and René Rivera
4 Monday evenings: April 20, 27, May 4, 11
6:30-8:30pm PT
In person only at 285 17th St., Oakland CA 94612
Masking is strongly encouraged
The center is fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible

This popular class series is back again this year for BIPOC only, and we need it more than ever! As systems collapse, our relationships are a crucial refuge. For us, as people of color, our friendships, partnerships, family and communities can be a source of joy and support, and also of struggle and suffering. In this four week class we will explore concrete practices grounded in Buddhist meditation, somatics, and transformative justice to bring more choice and agency to our relationships with ourselves and others.
Through turning towards the delight and difficulty in our relationships we will build resource and resilience and create space to be our most authentic selves in our relationships and in the larger world. Our world is falling apart, conflict is rising and our freedoms are being taken away, together we will turn our attention to find our ground in our beloved communities.

Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an “add-on” to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.
Note that all financial gifts received here go directly to EBMC, and we invite you to give separately to our teachers, using the information below.

Other ways to give:
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so via Paypal: paypal.me/eastbaymeditation or our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana 100% of our programming is sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all.
Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.
Regent Brown
Venmo: @Regent-Brown
CashApp: $RegentBrown
René Rivera
Venmo: @ReneRivera
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ReneRiveraOak

For in-person participation:
We strongly encourage masking for all who are able to do so. We will provide N95 masks at the center if you don’t have one.
To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products — more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears on our website: https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

Public Transportation/Parking:
– We strongly encourage public transportation/biking/walking since parking in the neighborhood is limited.
– EBMC has bike parking inside the center.
– Please note that parking meters are enforced Monday – Saturday, 8 am – 6 pm, and Sunday 12-6pm.

Teachers

Regent Brown (Queen) is a biracial Afro-Indigenous, disabled, two-spirit womxn who has been practicing the Dharma since 2016 and part of the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) community of practice since 2018. Regent’s story has had many twists including surviving cancer twice, relocating during the pandemic, and being married for over a decade. And these twists have only deepened Regent’s passion for liberatory practices in the dharma. Regent supports liberation and decolonization as a coach, circle keeper, trainer, healer, facilitator, and participant in interdependent community wellness. As a recent graduate of the inaugural Freedom Together Mindfulness Teacher Program, and a current member of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders program, Regent joins a bountiful group of BIPOC mindfulness teachers working to weave decolonized practices through their work, relationships, and communities. Regent’s other practices of manifesting joy include karaoke, goats, traveling to photograph sunsets, gardening, and discovering small parks while walking her 7 year old Corgi mix pup, Perkelsnertz.

René Rivera (he, him) is a meditation teacher and restorative justice facilitator working and learning in all the spaces in-between race, gender, and other perceived binaries, as a queer Latinx trans man. René teaches heart-centered, trauma-informed meditation, as a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. He has co-led the first residential meditation retreats for transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive people, and offers classes and retreats for many Buddhist centers and groups. René is a restorative justice facilitator, working to heal sexual and gender based violence.

ONLINE: We Choose Each Other with Dean Spade, Weyam Ghadbian and René Rivera
2026-04-25 12:00 - 13:30
ONLINE: We Choose Each Other: Showing Up in Harrowing Times
With Dean Spade, Weyam Ghadbian, and René Rivera
Saturday, April 25th 2026
12-1:30pm PT
Online via Zoom

How do we show up for each other in principled, loving ways in a world on fire? How do we tend to relationships and move toward liberation?

At a time when violence, division, and disconnection feel ever-present, The East Bay Meditation Center invites you to join us for a timely and heart-centered conversation, We Choose Each Other: Showing Up in Harrowing Times.
Beloved movement folks Dean Spade, Weyam Ghadbian, and René Rivera will explore how we take action that is rooted in love, stay in relationship amid rupture, and engage conflict without reproducing harm. Grounded in EBMC’s commitment to liberation, belonging, and socially-engaged Buddhist practice, this conversation will weave together decades of movement work, conflict transformation, and trauma-informed meditation to ask: What does it mean to choose each other—again and again—when so much that is happening in the world pulls us toward isolation? This gathering will offer both practical tools and spiritual nourishment for building resilient, accountable, and loving communities that can meet this dumpster-fire moment and create the world we want and need.

This timely event is also a fundraiser for the crucial work of the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) and we invite you to give generously to support this important community institutions.

Dean Spade has been working in movements for queer and trans liberation, and against war, police, prisons and borders for the past 25 years. He’s the author of Normal Life: Administrative Violence, Critical Trans Politics, and the Limits of Law, and Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next) the director of the documentary “Pinkwashing Exposed: Seattle Fights Back!.” His new book is Love in a Fucked Up World: How to Build Relationships, Hook Up and Raise Hell Together, and he is the host of a new podcast with the same name.
Weyam Ghadbian is a facilitator, trainer, organizational consultant, and mediator who has been working with grassroots and social justice organizations for over a decade. Weyam is Syrian and was politicized at a young age by parents who were exiled from Syria for dissent. They co-created the Turning Towards Each Other Conflict Workbook with Jovida Ross and have spent the last five years translating it into a customizable curriculum for groups and organizations to build healthier cultures. They are a Gemini, an eldest child, and moonlight as a comedian.
René Rivera is a meditation teacher and restorative justice facilitator working and learning in all the spaces in-between race, gender, and other perceived binaries, as a queer Latinx trans man. René teaches heart-centered, trauma-informed meditation, as a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. He loves to share his own daily life practice of bringing awareness to how he shows up in all kinds of relationships, with self, beloveds, friends, family, community and with the land. René is a facilitator in training for the School of Consent and a restorative justice facilitator, working to heal sexual and gender based violence.

EBMC has been a refuge, a spiritual home, and a mindfulness and meditation training center in downtown Oakland serving people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people living with disabilities, social justice activists and the general community for almost 20 years. Founded in a celebration of diversity and equity, EBMC has been described as a beacon of light around the world for organizations committed to radical inclusivity and the intersections of activism and contemplative practice.
At EBMC we rely on a generosity-based model of financial sustainability called Gift Economics. This means that there is no set fee for any of our offerings, and everyone is invited to give at the highest level they can for the benefit of all. Through this practice we are encouraged to shift our relationship to money and to capitalism and to invite equity and radical inclusivity into our process of healing and spiritual liberation.
For a list of our offerings and more information please visit our website at www.eastbaymeditation.org.

ONLINE: The Enduring Precepts (5 Precepts)
2026-04-29 18:30 - 20:30
ONLINE: The Enduring Precepts (5 Precepts)
4 Class series, Wednesdays on April 29, May 6, 13, & 20
6:30 – 8:30PM PT (Time Zone Converter)
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 6-month Curriculum
Open to all
Closed Captioning Provided on Zoom

Six years ago, pandemic-panicked people in the United States were hoarding toilet paper and steaks. Today we’re dealing with ongoing volatile ethical issues such as war, climate crisis, use of AI (artificial intelligence) in tech, forced deportations, and political divisiveness.
Rooted in EBMC’s mindfulness-based, diversity-equity-inclusion and social justice-centered mission, this four-class series offers a path to reflect on current ethical discernment and action. Buddhist life, for both laypersons and monastics, is rooted in Five Precepts, guidelines that are paths of deep contemplative investigation resulting in behaviors and actions aligned toward non-harm, in the service of all life.
The compassionate realization of our “interbeing,” and the sometimes complex relationship of intent to impact are woven into this “Living Dharma” approach.
Dharma talks, discussion and Q&A. Instruction provided for beginners in meditation.

Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an “add-on” to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.

Other ways to give:
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so at bit.ly/ebmc-give 100% of our programming on a sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all.
Venmo: @MushimPatricia-Ikeda
PayPal: info@mushimikeda.com
Please indicate “Enduring Precepts” in the subject line.
Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.

For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
1. When speaking, introduce your name, pronouns, and (optionally) a brief physical description of yourself.
2. If using virtual backgrounds, please use static, simple, high-contrast backgrounds.
3. Please keep your camera still while your camera is on.
4. Please repeat your name when you speak to help those with visual impairment.
5. The host/volunteer will attempt to read any comments that appear in the chat out loud.
6. Please strive for clear audio and mute when you are not speaking. Phone access is also available.
7. If you have unmet access needs, please send a message to the volunteer or host in the chat. If the chat is not accessible to you, please offer them briefly in one minute or less via voice. Please do not send access requests directly to other participants.

Teacher

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is an internationally-known secular mindfulness and Buddhist teacher working primarily with justice activists and Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) meditation practitioners and with people with disabilities and chronic illnesses. A core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, she is an author whose writing has been published in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, Buddhadharma and various anthologies. She is the recipient of an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School for the Ministry. Mushim was selected by Lion’s Roar Buddhist media magazine as one of twenty-six “Great Buddhist Teachers” in the January 2022 issue. www.mushimikeda.com

IN PERSON: Beginning a Meditation Practice at EBMC (May Day 2026)
2026-05-01 16:30 - 19:00
Beginning a Mindfulness Meditation Practice at EBMC: May Day Edition

With René Rivera
Friday May 1st 2026
4:30-6pm: Program
6-7pm: Optional potluck and fellowship
In person only at 285 17th St., Oakland CA 94612
Masking is strongly encouraged
The center is fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible

A special May Day community offering: Come to EBMC to learn (or re-learn) how to meditate with EBMC Core Teacher René Rivera.

Get a taste of what it’s like to practice mindfulness meditation at the EBMC temple! Honor International Workers’ Day and learn (or re-learn) how to meditate for personal and collective liberation.
Hear a short dharma talk, try stationary (sitting or lying down) and walking (or gentle movement) mindfulness meditation, and ask questions.
Stay for potluck and fellowship in our kitchen afterward to make new friends! Please bring a snack or drink to share, if you like.
We look forward to welcoming you to the EBMC community, whether you are new or returning to this spiritual home.

Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
The ticket prices are listed as different tiers with suggested donations based on income ranges. For those who wish to give more, you may choose an “add-on” to your ticket. For those unable to give, there is an option for that.
Note that all financial gifts received here go directly to EBMC, and we invite you to give separately to our teachers, using the information below.
Other ways to give:
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, you may do so via Paypal: paypal.me/eastbaymeditation or our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana 100% of our programming is sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.
Please also consider giving a financial gift to our teachers as well, who do not receive a salary for their work, and give their teachings freely to all.
To give to René:
Venmo: @ReneRivera
PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/ReneRiveraOak
Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.

For in-person participation:
We strongly encourage masking for all who are able to do so. We will provide N95 masks at the center if you don’t have one.
To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products — more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears on our website: https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

Public Transportation/Parking:
– We strongly encourage public transportation/biking/walking since parking in the neighborhood is limited.
– EBMC has bike parking inside the center.
– Please note that parking meters are enforced Monday – Saturday, 8 am – 6 pm, and Sunday 12-6pm.

Teacher

René Rivera is a meditation teacher and restorative justice facilitator working and learning in all the spaces in-between race, gender, and other perceived binaries, as a queer Latinx trans man. René teaches heart-centered, trauma-informed meditation, as a core teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center. He loves to share his own daily life practice of bringing awareness to how he shows up in all kinds of relationships, with self, beloveds, friends, family, community and with the land. René is a facilitator in training for the School of Consent and a restorative justice facilitator, working to heal sexual and gender based violence.
