East Bay Meditation Center

People of Color Sangha
2017-04-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2017-03-30 19:00 - 21:00, 2017-03-23 19:00 - 21:00, 2017-03-16 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

Calming the Heartmind: Practicing Love, Compassion, Joy & Equanimity
2017-04-05 19:00 - 21:00
Open to all
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings: 5-Month Curriculum
Wednesdays, April 5, 12, 19, 26, 2017
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
With Mushim
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, joy, and equanimity, in time 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=apr17brahmaviharas
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.

Midday Sangha
2017-04-05 12:00 - 13:30, 2017-03-29 12:00 - 13:30, 2017-03-22 12:00 - 13:30, 2017-03-15 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
2017-04-04 19:00 - 20:30, 2017-03-28 19:00 - 20:30, 2017-03-21 19:00 - 20:30, 2017-03-14 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

For People of Color: Beginning a Meditation Practice
2017-04-03 19:00 - 21:00
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings: 5-Month Curriculum
Mondays, April 3, 10, 17, 24, 2017
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
With Mushim
Are you a looking for a way to start a mindfulness meditation practice, but don’t quite know how? These classes will give you the basics of sitting and walking/movement meditation in the vipassana (insight) style, and metta (goodwill) 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! For those seeking stress reduction as part of 6 months of suggested curriculum for those new to Buddhism. As self-identified people of color, we will practice creating beloved community to support each other’s physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
https://apr17pocbeginner.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.

Every Body Every Mind Sangha
2017-04-02 18:00 - 19:30, 2017-03-26 18:00 - 19:30, 2017-03-19 18:00 - 19:30, 2017-03-12 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.

Introduction to Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation: Two-Day Workshop
2017-04-02 09:00 - 17:00, 2017-04-01 09:00 - 17:00
Open to all
With Kazu Haga, Stephanie Chin, and other East Point trainers

This two-day training will provide participants with a comprehensive introduction to the philosophy and strategy of Kingian Nonviolence. This training is useful for anyone who deals with conflict: inter-personal or larger social conflicts, whether in your personal life, in the workplace, or in your work for social change.
During this training, we will go over the types and levels of conflict, readings and analysis of Dr. King’s thinking, the six principles of nonviolence and the six steps of nonviolence. The training will include lectures, role-plays, video presentations, and other interactive activities. More information available at http://www.eastpointpeace.org/
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=apr17kingian
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.

Planting Seeds with Empty Hands Music
2017-04-01 17:30 - 20:00
With Nimo Patel, and EBMC Family Sangha (Baruch Golden, Michele Ku, and Fresh! White)

Please join the family sangha for an evening of uplifting music with Nimo Patel, a musician, humanitarian and ambassador of love and peace. Through songs and stories we will share values dear to us all: compassion, gratitude and universal love. Nimo and his Empty Hands tour is on a global pilgrimage across the US, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and India (You can learn more about Empty Hands Tour at www.emptyhandsmusic.org).
We will begin with a community potluck at 5:30pm and music at 6pm-8pm. No experience is necessary. All ages welcome.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=apr17hands
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 Winter
2017-03-29 19:00 - 20:30, 2017-03-22 19:00 - 20:30, 2017-03-15 19:00 - 20:30
EBMC Teen Sangha
Winter 2017
Wednesdays: January 11 – March 29
7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Open to teens, ages 14-19
EBMC Teen Sangha is a weekly meditation group for teens, ages 14-19. Our focus will be on creating deeper relationships with ourselves and each other, having fun, getting real and supporting each other. Learn mindfulness meditation and explore the dharma (Buddhist teachings) in creative and practical ways. No experience necessary. We are committed to maintaining a Sangha (community) that is welcoming to people of all identities, cultures, beliefs and ways of being.
Led by the EBMC Teen Sangha Team: Raúl Kahlil Betancourt, Anthony “T” Maes, Sarwang Parikh, Adrienne Price, Syra Smith, and Phoenix Soleil
Registration: Registration is encouraged and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=winter17teen
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process)
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Raúl Kahlil Betancourt began his buddhist studies when he was 16 in L.A. and has been studying steadily since. He has studied Vietnamese Zen in LA and Soto Zen in Santa Cruz and SF as well as Green Gulch and Tassajara. He spent a year as a personal student to a head instructor from Eijeiji, at his home temple in Japan. He also earned a black belt in Aikido. He eventually found his spiritual home at EBMC in Oakland. He is currently teaching science at a high school in SF where he is also a teacher meditation leader.
Anthony “T” Maes was born and raised in the East Bay. He has practiced Buddhist meditation since 2003 including long retreats and living in a monastery in Thailand. He has volunteered on many teen meditation retreats since 2009 where he enjoys leading mixed-heritage liberation, relational mindfulness, and acrobalance. “T” graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004, completed the yearlong Commit2Dharma program at EBMC in 2011, and is a graduate of the Heart Mind Curriculum mindfulness teacher training program.
Sarwang Parikh is a Marriage and Family Therapist Intern who has worked with young people for over a decade. He has meditated and practiced yoga for the past 10 years. He is currently a part of Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner Program and EBMC’s Men of Color Deep Refuge group. Sarwang has worked therapeutically with young people across cultures and around the world in a variety of therapeutic, school-based and community settings. He currently provides holistic counseling, leads mindfulness groups, and facilitates trainings on mindfulness in education with Seeds-of-Awareness.org. Sarwang is passionately committed to integrating social change and personal healing through practicing mindfulness and developing relationships.
Adrienne Price is an educator, cultural producer, and social justice organizer living in Oakland, CA. Since she discovered Dharma practice in 2008, she has worked to deepen her learning. She looks forward to co-leading her first Teen Sangha through EBMC this summer. She has worked as a high school teacher and currently coordinates an education non-profit. She also organizes with SURJ (Standing Up for Racial Justice) and the Bay Area Childcare Collective. She hosts a weekly radio show on Radio Valencia entitled Pure Pop for Queer Lovers (Sundays 10am-12:00pm, www.radiovalencia.fm).
Syra Smith is an engaged artist, activist, community organizer, sharing cultivator and mindfulness educator interested in deep ecology and manifesting a culture where we can turn toward fearless abundance and generosity. Syra has been educating and working with young people for over 15 years. A lifetime meditator, she completed EBMC’s Commit to Dharma program in 2011 and is participating in a two year non-monastic ordination and lineage teaching program under the guidance of Venerable Pannavati Bhikkuni. In addition to co-leading EBMC’s Teen Sangha, she has joined the team at the Mind Body Awareness Project, providing transformational tools to at-risk and incarcerated youth.
Phoenix Soleil is an artist and trainer committed to creating more fun, authenticity and compassion in our society. She is a teacher and practitioner of the Vipassanna meditation tradition. She is also a teacher and practitioner of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), a form of compassionate communication that supports us to attune to our feelings and values. Whenever possible she invokes her background in conscious dance, Laughter Yoga, acting, and the expressive arts to build healthy, authentic, joyful, and engaged communities of all ages.

Asian American Deep Refuge Group
2017-03-28 18:30 - 20:30
This deep refuge group is for people who have ancestry in Asia (mixed race folks welcome!), and an established meditation practice and foundation in the Four Noble Truths. We gather to build sangha and to support each others’ practice in a safe(r) space that allows us to explore the intersections of Asian American identity/experience and Buddhism.
Meeting info:
2nd Tuesdays at members’ homes in the Oakland/Berkeley/Emeryville area
4th Tuesdays at EBMC
We usually potluck at 6:30, sit at about 7:30, & enjoy conversation about the Dharma, self care, social justice, &c.
Please contact asianamdeeprefuge@gmail.com for more information.

ONLINE: Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
2017-03-27 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!

Teen Sangha Diving Deeper: One Day Retreat
2017-03-26 10:00 - 16:00
Led by the EBMC Teen Sangha Team: Raúl Kahlil Betancourt, Anthony “T” Maes, Sarwang Parikh, and Adrienne Price

EBMC Teen Sangha is a weekly meditation group for teens, ages 14-19. For this daylong retreat, we will meditate, explore the Dharma, and connect through relational mindfulness games, building loving awareness for ourselves and our communities.
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.
There will be a mid-day community celebration and unveiling of the Teen Sangha’s digital window mural at EBMC. Lunch will be provided.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=mar17teen
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 Buddha’s “How to” Guide to a Life of Happiness and Well-being
2017-03-22 19:00 - 21:00, 2017-03-15 19:00 - 21:00
A class series on the Eightfold Path
4 Wednesdays: March 1, 8, 15, 22, 2017
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
With Mushim
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 interactive exercises, meditation, Dharma talks, and discussion. Beginners in meditation are welcome.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
http://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=feb17fourtruths
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.

Embodying the Third Noble Truth: Brothers Becoming the End of Suffering
2017-03-18 10:00 - 16:00
Daylong for Alphabet Brothers of Color
We warmly invite all self-identified men of color and people of color who are on the spectrum of masculine identities including gay, bi, trans, queer, non-binary and gender nonconforming.
with Patrick Brown, Nils Heymann and John Mifsud

As Alphabet Brothers of Color, we sometimes feel isolated and unsupported facing formidable odds. Sometimes, spiritual communities feel alienating. Still, we know the joy of our shared identity as Brothers of Color on a spiritual path. There is healing in our hearts and in our community.
Let’s come together for a day of spiritual practice including sitting, walking and eating meditations. Let’s explore teachings that can help end suffering for ourselves and others. We will share stories of joy and sorrow. Our safety will include silence and shared identity. Together, let’s create inclusion and belonging. We’ve got this.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
https://mar17aboc.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.
