East Bay Meditation Center

People of Color Sangha
2016-12-29 19:00 - 21:00, 2016-12-22 19:00 - 21:00, 2016-12-15 19:00 - 21:00, 2016-12-08 19:00 - 21:00, 2016-12-01 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
The People of Color Sangha is a growing tribe of people of color waking up and getting free!
Thursdays
7:00 – 9:00 PM
For more information, visit the: POC SANGHA WEBSITE

Midday Sangha
2016-12-28 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-12-21 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-12-14 12:00 - 13:30, 2016-12-07 12:00 - 13:30
Midday Sangha at EBMC Wednesdays at Noon!
Join our peer-led multicultural sangha for silent meditation practice and community building.
Every Wednesday
12:00 – 12:45 Silent sitting, standing or lying down meditation with optional walking meditation.
12:45 – 1:35 Potluck lunch with facilitated conversation about our practice and being the dharma in the world
Midday Sangha Coordinating Committee:
Abe Doherty, Bang Nguyen, Jenn Biehn, Kam McCallum, Karen Jackson, Manuel Vasquez, Preston Justice, Shawki, Yvette Flores

Alphabet Sangha
2016-12-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-12-20 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-12-13 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-12-06 19:00 - 20:30
A meditation group for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Same-Gender Loving, and Two-Spirit communities. Because that’s such a mouthful, we call ourselves the Alphabet Sangha.
Tuesdays
7:00 – 8:30 pm
For more information, visit the ALPHABET SANGHA WEBSITE

ONLINE: Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
2016-12-26 18:30 - 20:00
Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
Fourth Mondays (online over zoom)
6:30-8pm PM PST
This deep refuge group is by and for trans/gender-expansive people. Our goal is to provide a welcoming community space for trans/gender-expansive folks who are interested in exploring meditation and other aspects of Buddhist practice. Both beginners and experienced practitioners welcome!
To be added to the email list, please email tgedeeprefuge@eastbaymeditation.org with a quick note about your interest in the group. We look forward to practicing with you!

Every Body Every Mind Sangha
2016-12-25 18:00 - 19:30, 2016-12-18 18:00 - 19:30, 2016-12-11 18:00 - 19:30, 2016-12-04 18:00 - 19:30
Every Body Every Mind Sangha is a weekly sitting group for people living with disabilities, limitations, differences and chronic illnesses.
Sundays
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Please come and take part in this time to meditate, share our lives and support with each other, and learn more about the dharma. There is no need to register for these weekly meetings, just come and share this path together!
Teachers include Charlie Johnson, Deb Kerr and others.
For more info, visit the Every Body Every Mind Sangha Website.

Friday Open Practice Group
2016-12-23 18:30 - 20:30, 2016-12-16 18:30 - 20:30, 2016-12-09 18:30 - 20:30, 2016-12-02 18:30 - 20:30
Open to All
Fridays
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Our sangha meets every Friday and is led by a rotating group of teachers; the teacher schedule is available here.
Schedule:
6:30 pm to 7:00 pm Mindful movement (yoga, qigong, or another form of mindful movement, led by the teacher or a guest)
7:00 pm to 7:30 pm Silent meditation with instructions
7:30 pm to 7:45 pm Announcements and break
7:45 pm to 8:25 pm Teacher’s talk on relevant themes and/or group discussion
8:25 pm to 8:30 pm Close
By strengthening our ability to bring mindfulness to the moment-to-moment events in our lives, we bring to consciousness the unconscious thinking patterns that often govern our behavior. As we see and understand those patterns, we break free of their control over us. With this freedom comes joy and the ability to live our lives from a place of wisdom.
This ongoing sitting group at the East Bay Meditation Center is for anyone interested in learning more about mindfulness meditation and practicing this ancient discipline with others. The group will also incorporate mindful movement practices, which enhance and support our meditation practice.
Many thanks to the volunteers who generously offer their time every week to help make this group happen. If you would like to volunteer with our sangha, please send an email to: ebmc.friday.sangha@gmail.com.

Radical Self-Love A daylong on Metta practice
2016-12-18 10:00 - 16:00
with Spring Washam
It’s been my experience that when we truly love and honor ourselves many of life’s most difficult questions get answered. Self-hatred, inner aggression, and self -criticism are rooted in a mind that is confused and suffering. The “Metta” practice is a powerful antidote and medicine that transforms hatred into love. In this daylong we will focus on loving kindness, compassion, and forgiveness practices directed towards ourselves. This day will include meditation, group work, and talks on the theme of the day.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=dec16selflove
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.

The Search for Safety & the Three Refuges: A Daylong for People of Color
2016-12-17 09:30 - 16:00
with Larry Yang and Louije Kim
All beings wish to be happy, to enjoy safety and a sense of well-being. For People Of Color living in a racialized society, the realities of racism, systemic violence, and trans-generational trauma creates a pervasive sense of danger and insecurity–the search for safety takes on a tender urgency. The Buddha taught that the nature of reality is one of ultimate instability and groundlessness, and to live in conflict with reality brings us suffering. The teachings of the Three Refuges offers us places of relative grounding from which we can navigate our lives skillfully, without grasping for security in what is temporary or false.

Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
https://dec16refuges-poc.eventbrite.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)
* 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
2016-12-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2016-12-07 19:00 - 20:30
Wednesdays: September 21 – December 14 2016
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Open to teens, ages 14-19
Led by the EBMC Teen Sangha Team: Raúl Kahlil Betancourt, Lulu Cook, Anthony “T” Maes, Sarwang Parikh, Adrienne Price, Syra Smith, and Phoenix Soleil
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.
Registration: Registration is encouraged and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=fall16teen
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.

Family Practice Class: Opening the Heart through the Buddha's Teachings
2016-12-11 10:00 - 12:30
For Children Ages 0-12 and Family/Caregivers
with Shahara Godfrey, Baruch Golden, Michele Ku, Fresh! White, and Jenn Biehn (movement)
We invite you to come and help create the diverse family sangha at EBMC. We welcome families with babies, toddlers and children up to age 12. The teachers will offer the Buddha’s teachings and mindful practices that can be practiced at home. Parents/caregivers and young people will meet together and separately during the class. Children under 5 will need to have a parent/caregiver stay with them. We will explore bringing the Dharma to our daily lives through song, story, sharing, art, and mindfulness practices. We are committed to creating a diverse family sangha. No prior experience is necessary.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=dec16family
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.

Infinite Joy: Buddha's Practice to Neutralize Jealousy & Apathy
2016-12-05 19:00 - 21:00
Two Mondays, December 5 and 12, 2016
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
with Mushim
Can we experience empathetic joy in others’ successes and joyful moments, even when their experience and worldview is very different from our own? Mudita (unselfish joy) is one of the Brahmaviharas, also called the Four Immeasurables. These are Buddhist teachings and practices that help us to access dynamic calming, stilling, and healing mindbody states. As we cultivate the limitless quality of mudita, over time jealousy and apathy drop away, and we harvest true happiness, spiritual strength, and awakening insight. These practices are considered complementary to insight meditation. Dharma talks, discussion, interactive exercises. Instruction provided for beginners in meditation.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=dec16mudita
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.

A Day of Heartfulness for People of Color and Allies: Awakening the Legend of Maitreya Buddha
2016-12-04 10:00 - 16:30
A Day of Mindfulness in the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh
with Peggy Rowe and Larry Ward
What does it mean to practice love in these times? We explore America’s legacy of racial promise and dysfunction from the perspectives of Buddhist Psychology and neuroscience. We will enjoy noble silence, sitting meditation, movement meditation, total relaxation, eating meditation, a dharma talk, and community sharing. This is an opportunity to discover and enrich our embodiment of the future Buddha present within us now. Our collective and individual awakening is calling. Whatever our preoccupations or distractions, it is urgent to rouse the cave of our hearts to this highest of callings.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=dec16heartfulness
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.

POC Retreatants Peer-Led Deep Refuge
2016-12-03 19:00 - 22:00
This is a monthly meetup open to people of color who have attended residential people of color retreats at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, Deer Park Monastery, or both. This Deep Refuge Group is intended to nurture the experience of retreat — mindfulness, sangha, dharma sharing, and the Five Mindfulness Trainings — in our everyday lives. Meetings are held the first Saturday of each month at EBMC, from 7-10pm, and feature a potluck meal, eaten in mindful silence, a practice period, and discussion about the dharma. The group is open to new members until early 2017, so please attend a monthly meeting before March if interested. And please bring a dish to share!

Contact info: pocretreatantgroup@gmail.com
