Midday Sangha
2018-03-21 12:00 - 13:35, 2018-03-28 12:00 - 13:35, 2018-04-04 12:00 - 13:35 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
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, Jenn Biehn, Kam McCallum, Karen Jackson, Manuel Vasquez, Preston Justice, Shawki, Yvette Flores

Teen Sangha: Winter & Spring Session
2018-03-21 19:00 - 20:45, 2018-03-28 19:00 - 20:45
EBMC Teen Sangha – Winter / Spring 2018
Wednesdays: Jan 3rd – March 28th
7:00 – 8:45PM
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, Nirali Shah, Syra Smith, and Sara Oakes.
Registration: Registration is encouraged and space is limited. Click here or the link below to register.
https://eastbaymeditation.org/ebmcreg/?event=Spring18teen
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.
Sara Oakes began her spiritual practice in the path of yoga and devotional chanting in 2000 when she also started training in dance and the healing arts. She has practiced in the Insight Meditation tradition since 2004 attending regular retreats with teachers in the U.S.A., Europe, India and Myanmar. She is a graduate of both the Dedicated Practitioners and the Community Dharma Leader Programs at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She has a private practice in Craniosacral therapy, Organic Intelligence, and Somatic Experiencing trauma resolution for people of all ages in the East Bay. Website: LucidHuman.org.
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.

The Buddha’s “How to” Guide to a Life of Happiness and Well-being
2018-03-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-03-28 19:00 - 21:00
Class Series led by Mushim Ikeda
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 to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

People of Color Yoga
2018-03-22 18:00 - 19:00, 2018-03-29 18:00 - 19:00, 2018-04-05 18:00 - 19:00
Weekly Yoga Practice for Self Identified People of Color led by Satya de la Paz
6:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Build strength and flexibility while cultivating mindfulness in this all levels hatha yoga class. Each class has a unique, inspiring theme and personalized instruction that will leave you feeling joyous and rejuvenated.
No registration required. No mat or special clothes required.

People of Color Sangha
2018-03-22 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-03-29 19:00 - 21:00, 2018-04-05 19:00 - 21:00
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

Visibilizing Our Invisible Wounds
2018-03-24 10:00 - 17:00
A Daylong for self-identified Men of Color
Led by EBMC’s Men of Color Deep Refuge Group
Kevin R. Martin, Raul Betancourt, Jonathan Relucio, Dennis Somera, Bong Lau and Sarwang Parikh
In our annual daylong, we gather as self-identified men of color to explore our diverse experiences through the theme of Visibilizing Our Invisible Wounds. We will come into awareness of our personal and collective wounds through guided meditation, mindful movement, experiential exercises and facilitated discussion. Navigating the world, we recognize we cannot do this work alone; therefore, we invite you to join us in sacred community as we collectively connect and cultivate a deeper understanding of what it means to be mindful men of color.
Part of our work as self-identified men of color is to unlearn and heal from the violence of systemic oppression, especially the toxic masculinity perpetuated by patriarchy. In a society that often invisibilizes and targets us, we are summoned to strengthen our courage to bring the light of loving awareness to heal these internalized wounds. So we gather to learn from one another the skillful means necessary to transform harmful habit-patterns that perpetuate suffering; to steep ourselves in compassionate practices that build pathways towards liberation and remind ourselves: we are already whole, we are already free.
A core part of this daylong explores the benefits of cultivating movement/walking meditation practices in a peer-led practice container. This practice is designed to explore our fears and desires of being witnessed, publically, as individual and collective bodies by making the invisible, visible. We will follow a predetermined route for our movement/walking practice through public parts of Oakland. This event is designed to be inclusive of all self-identified men of color regardless of sexuality, gender expression, and/or physical ability. We value our intersectional identities and we hope that you will join us for this event!
In order to increase inclusivity and accessibility of this event by our disabled brothers of color, we invite those with ambulatory [walking] restrictions​ ​to contact us in advance for additional information and support, such as, hosting a more stationary meditation practice in a public space at the end of the route.
You are requested to bring your own bagged lunch for this event. EBMC has a community kitchen available for use with tea, water, a refrigerator and microwave available.
Register HERE.

Awakening the Goddess: A Daylong for Self Identified Women
2018-03-25 10:00 - 16:00
Led by Spring Washam
Feminine wisdom is on the rise and each of us has a part to play in the healing of our world. Within each woman there is a fountain of creative energy, power and innate wisdom. Whatever our age, ethnicity, body type, or sexual orientation, as women we share a common longing to heal our hearts, honor our interconnectedness and take empowered action in the world. Within the safe and nourishing container of this daylong retreat we will explore all the dimensions of a woman’s spiritual journey.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Every Body Every Mind Sangha
2018-03-25 18:00 - 19:30, 2018-04-01 18:00 - 19:30, 2018-04-08 18:00 - 19:30
Every Body Every Mind Sangha is a weekly practice 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.

ONLINE: Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
2018-03-26 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!

For People of Color: Beginning a Meditation Practice
2018-03-26 19:00 - 21:00
Class Series led by Mushim Ikeda
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 5 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 to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Dharma in Motion
2018-03-27 17:30, 2018-04-03 17:30, 2018-04-10 17:30
A weekly offering of access-centered movement practices for all ages and abilities. Teachers and modalities will rotate every 5-6 weeks. Drop in format, no experience necessary. Please wear clothing that allows for gentle movement.

Alphabet Sangha
2018-03-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2018-04-03 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

Taming Anxiety
2018-03-31 09:00 - 15:00
Led by Rev. Keiryu Liên Shutt
Does your mind seem to “be all over the place”? Do you find yourself worrying a lot? Do you feel easily overwhelmed and filled with anxiety? Do you obsess about “shoulds’” and “coulds’” and, therefore, find it hard to focus?
Buddhist teachings and meditation practices have long addressed ways to be with such emotions and thoughts. In this one-day, we will gather and to learn ways in which we can work with worry and anxiety. You’ll learn ways to be with these emotions and be able to practice meditations, which can foster calm and ease in body and mind.
Sitting and walking meditations, Dharma teachings, group discussions and experiential exercises are offered.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Compassionate Dharma Deep Refuge: 8 Step Recovery Buddhist Meeting
2018-03-31 13:00 - 15:00
The last Saturday of every month at EBMC, 1:00 – 3:00 pm

Beginning Saturday, February 24th, 2018, and continuing on the last Saturday of every month, EBMC offers a Recovery, Deep Refuge Buddhist meeting with a focus on ways to heal addiction. Based on the Eight Steps to Recovery developed by Dr. Mason-John M.A (hon.doc) and Dr Groves, we believe this inclusive approach can build a solid foundation for those at any level of recovery and for those who have yet to seek help.
Through these practices we hope you gain a practice that can sustain you in your recovery.

We ask that you attend sober on the day with respect for others that may be active in recovery. Open to all in Recovery.

Advance Registration is not required.
For additional information, please contact:
Shahara Godfrey slgvibing@earthlink.net

Calming the Heartmind: Practicing Love, Compassion, Joy & Equanimity
2018-04-04 19:00 - 21:00
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings: 5-Month Curriculum
Open to all
with Mushim Ikeda, Debra Kerr, JD Doyle
Wednesdays, April 4, 11, 18 and 25, 2018
Mushim April 4 and 25. Debra Kerr April 11. JD Doyle April 18.
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
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 meditation. Dharma talks, discussion, interactive exercises. Instruction provided for beginners in meditation.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Family Practice: Opening the Heart through the Buddha's Teachings
2018-04-08 10:00 - 12:30
Family Practice Class: Opening the Heart through the Buddha’s Teachings
For Children Ages 0-13 and Family / Caregivers
Led by Baruch Golden, Fresh! White, Jenn Biehn, Michele Ku, Keisha Turner & Shahara Godfrey
Sunday, April 8th 10:00 am – 12:30 pm
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 13. Children under 5 will need to have a parent/caregiver stay with them.
This class features training on “Family Tea Time” and how mindful practices can bind the family together. We will also explore how meditation and meditative movement can contribute to successful family life. Parents/caregivers and young people will meet together and separately during the class. We are committed to creating a diverse family sangha. No prior experience is necessary.
Please bring a snack (without nuts) to share.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click HERE to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.

Expanding Our Hearts: The Three Directions of Forgiveness
2018-04-09 18:30 - 21:00
Led by Konda Mason & Lama Tsomo
This is the first installment of a three-part series on the three directions of forgiveness; forgiving self, forgiving others and asking for forgiveness. We will begin with focusing on forgiving ourselves, which forms the foundation for the other directions of forgiveness.
We have all done things to others that we deeply regret, whether consciously or unconsciously through speech, word or deed. The consequences of our actions often times causes us as much, if not more, suffering than the person(s) we harmed. We can get stuck in beating ourselves up and believe what we have done is unforgivable – and just can’t find a way to free ourselves from the suffering that is on repeat in our minds. In fact, the guilt that we feel only creates more suffering. Through story, conversation, meditation, practice techniques and journaling, we will learn to work through this perilous field of self-forgiveness. Come prepared to transform your inner story and free yourself once and for all.
Registration: Registration is required and space is limited. Click here to register.
Cost: There is no registration fee for attending this event, nor most EBMC events. However, EBMC is not independently funded. The Center and the teachers will be sustained only by your voluntary donations (the practice of generous giving, or “dana”). Please donate generously, in proportion to your ability:
* Either online (you will be offered an opportunity during the online registration process to donate to EBMC; the teachers will not receive any part of this online donation).
* Or at the event, in the two baskets at EBMC, one for the Center, the second for the Teacher.
Thank you for your generosity. EBMC will be only be sustained through our collective generosity.
Fragrance-free: In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.
EBMC is wheelchair accessible.
