East Bay Meditation Center

ONLINE: Midday Sangha
2024-06-19 12:00 - 13:35, 2024-06-12 12:00 - 13:35, 2024-05-29 12:00 - 13:35 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Join our peer-led multicultural sangha for silent meditation practice and community building.
Every Wednesday
12:00 – 12:45pm PST Silent sitting, standing or lying down meditation with optional walking meditation.
12:55 – 1:35pm PST Facilitated conversation about our practice and being the dharma in the world
HYBRID EVERY FIRST WEDNESDAY, ONLINE FOR OTHER MEETINGS (unless otherwise noted)
Midday Sangha Coordinating Committee:
emiko yoshikami, Jennie Powe Runde, Sakshi Uomoto, Elese Lebsack and Robert Gavino
email middaysangha at eastbaymeditation dot org for zoom link and password

HYBRID: Alphabet Sangha
2024-06-18 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-06-04 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
HYBRID on First and Third Tuesdays of the month! Meet at EBMC or online.
Please email: alphabetsangha at eastbaymeditation dot org to request Zoom link to join online.
For more information, visit the ALPHABET SANGHA WEBSITE

Every Body Every Mind Sangha
2024-06-16 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-06-09 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-06-02 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

ONLINE WITH SPECIAL HYBRID DATES
March 23rd 2025 with Arisika Razak
April 20th 2025 with Anne Finger
May 18th 2025 with Mushim Ikeda
June 22nd 2025 with Anne Finger
No registration needed to attend these meetings in person. More hybrid dates may be announced in the future.

To join online, please email: ebem at eastbaymeditation dot org to request a Zoom link.
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!
EveryBody, EveryMind Teacher Group: Debra Kerr, Kenji Oshima, Anne Finger, Master John W. Ellis IV, Beth Smith, Mushim Ikeda, Victor Jih, & Zac Krohn
For more info, visit the Every Body Every Mind Sangha Website.

ONLINE: Kapwa Deep Refuge Group for Filipinx/a/o Practitioners
2024-06-16 09:00 - 10:30
This is a peer-led deep refuge group for self-identifying Filipinx/a/o (including mixed) folks. Together we cultivate a special community space in the intersection of Filipinx/a/o identity + culture + history and Buddhist spiritual practice. We gather to support each other, heal, and walk the Dharma path.

Kapwa Deep Refuge will meet every 3rd Sunday at 9am PST – 10:30am PST via Zoom. The inaugural meeting will be on April 21, 2024.

If you identify as Filipinx/a/o and would like to join, please contact us at: kapwa.deep.refuge@gmail.com

ONLINE: 8 Step Buddhist Recovery Deep Refuge
2024-06-15 10:00 - 11:30, 2024-06-08 10:00 - 11:30, 2024-06-01 10:00 - 11:30
Every Saturday from 10AM – 11:30AM PST / PDT ONLINE
Compassionate Dharma Deep Refuge Buddhist meetings 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 are a multi-recovery space. Whether you are navigating addiction to substances like drugs and alcohol, or process addictions, such as disordered eating, codependency, or sex and love addiction–you are welcome here.
Advance Registration is not required.
For additional information, please contact: ebmcrecovery at gmail dot com.

ONLINE: Maha Sangha
2024-06-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-06-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-31 19:00 - 20:30
Maha Sangha for All People & Communities
Creating Freedom in Community
Every Friday night, 7:00 – 8:30pm.
Hybrid, every 4th Friday of the month
Event Details: Meets weekly on zoom, and starting to meet once a month in person, email mahasangha at eastbaymeditation dot org for more info and get on our newsletter
The EBMC Maha Sangha for All People and Communities is a meditation and dharma group with an emphasis on radical inclusivity and social justice.
Maha is a Pali word meaning whole, great, larger/largest, deepest, and Sangha is a Pali word for community, or community of practitioners. Together, these words represent a place where all people and communities are warmly invited to explore the Dharma together in keeping with East Bay Meditation Center’s core mission to foster liberation, personal and interpersonal healing, social action, and inclusive community building. We hope that you will join us.
The EBMC Maha Sangha’s leadership team of teachers, dharma leaders, and sangha members includes: Arisika Razak, Fresh! Lev White, Rebekah Eppley, Sarwang Parikh and Shay.
Contact: mahasangha at eastbaymeditation org

ONLINE: Maha Sangha with Arisika Razak and Ramona Lisa-Ortiz Smith
2024-06-14 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-06-07 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-31 19:00 - 20:30
Friday, January 7th Teachers: Arisika Razak and Ramona Lisa Ortiz-Smith
Maha Sangha for All People & Communities
Creating Freedom in Community
Every Friday night at EBMC, 7:00 – 8:30pm.
Zoom Info: email mahasangha at eastbaymeditation dot org to ask for a Zoom link.
The EBMC Maha Sangha for All People and Communities is a meditation and dharma group with an emphasis on radical inclusivity and social justice.
Maha is a Pali word meaning whole, great, larger/largest, deepest, and Sangha is a Pali word for community, or community of practitioners. Together, these words represent a place where all people and communities are warmly invited to explore the Dharma together in keeping with East Bay Meditation Center’s core mission to foster liberation, personal and interpersonal healing, social action, and inclusive community building. We hope that you will join us.
The EBMC Maha Sangha’s leadership team of teachers, dharma leaders, and sangha members includes: Arisika Razak, Baruch Golden, Chinh Nguyen, Crystal Johnson, Fresh! Lev White, Jd Doyle, Lisa Moore, Shahara Godfrey, Syra Smith, Shay, and Anni Mackin.
Contact: mahasangha at eastbaymeditation org

HYBRID: Liberation from Suffering: 4 Noble Truths for BIPOC
2024-06-12 18:30 - 20:30, 2024-06-05 18:30 - 20:30
Liberation from Suffering: Buddha’s Four Noble Truths for BIPOC
with Mushim Ikeda
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 7-month Curriculum

HYBRID
Wednesdays June 5, 12, 26 & July 3, 2024
(NOTE: no class on June 19th/Juneteenth)
6:30 – 8:30PM PT 6:30 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter)
Closed Captioning Provided
The center is fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible
N95/KN95 masks required

What do the basic teachings of Buddhism have to offer BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)? It is said that the Buddha’s first teaching after his Enlightenment is called the Four Truths for Noble Ones.
Together we’ll explore how “The Four Noble Truths” have been and continue to be a deep and empowering way for Black, Indigenous and People of Color and multiracial persons to understand human suffering and oppression, analyze their root causes, and engage as individuals and collectives in moving towards profound spiritual liberation, ease and joy.
Dharma talks, mindful journaling, meditation, community building and optional readings. Beginners in meditation are welcome.

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

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is a socially-engaged Buddhist teacher, community activist, diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, parent and author based in Oakland, California. She has a background in both monastic and lay Buddhist practice. At EBMC, Mushim is also guiding teacher of the award-winning yearlong Practice in Transformative Action (PiTA) program, which provides secular mindfulness training for justice activists. Mushim is the recipient of a Global Diversity Leadership award; an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School of Ministry; and was named one of Colorlines’s 20 transformative racial justice leaders in 2018.

To offer a gift to support the teachings, please do so Venmo: Mushim Ikeda @MushimPatricia-Ikeda or PayPal: info@mushimikeda.com

To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please 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. 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:
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.)
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.
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
– Please do not use virtual or blurred backgrounds
– Please keep your camera still when it’s turned on
– Please say your name when you speak
– Facilitators will attempt to read any comments in the chat out loud
– Please mute when you’re not speaking.

ONLINE: Alphabet Sangha
2024-06-11 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-05-28 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
Please email: alphabetsangha at eastbaymeditation dot org to request Zoom link to join online.
For more information, visit the ALPHABET SANGHA WEBSITE

ONLINE: Social Justice Lunchtime Sangha - Peer Led Deep Refuge group
2024-06-11 12:00 - 13:00
Social Justice Sangha is a place to practice and reflect with #EBMCOakland organizers and activists. Includes a 30 minute meditation and time for sharing what’s on our hearts.

Contact: socialjustice at eastbaymeditation dot org

ONLINE: Multiracial Peer-Led Deep Refuge Group
2024-06-08 19:00 - 21:00
The Multiracial Deep Refuge Group is a monthly exploratory Deep Refuge Group for and by people who identify as multiracial. Our meetings include periods of mindfulness meditation and sharing of narratives and perspectives as we come together to be seen and to see one another. By sitting and exploring our own unique stories, we can come to know and care for the common threads that bind us together. Our collective work bravely expands the narrative that informs multiracial experience today. Meets 7pm-9pm on the second Saturdays of every month. Online and occasionally hybrid (in-person at EBMC + online).
Newcomers welcome- please contact us before your first visit: mrdrcoordinators at googlegroups dot com

ONLINE: Parent-Caregiver Sangha
2024-06-03 20:00 - 21:15
EBMC’s Parent-Caregiver teaching team will be offering a monthly parents’ meditation group for restoration, support and connection.

Parenting often can be challenging…as well as a great practice. We offer a short talk, guided meditation and sharing. We gather to create a safe refuge to share the joys and the challenges of caring for young people by cultivating loving-kindness, compassion, patience and generosity with the support of the sangha. We welcome all parents/grandparents/caregivers of young people to join us. No prior experience necessary.

Meeting time: First Mondays of the month, 8-9:15 PM Pacific Time. On Zoom (closed captions provided).

Click here for more information.

2024 Open House Ice Cream Social
2024-06-02 13:00 - 16:00
Open House Ice Cream Social
Sunday, June 2nd 2024
1 to 4 PM
We are hosting a special event for our sangha to gather at our new space!
Activities

Ice cream outside from 1-3 PM (vegan and nut-free options will be available)
Short ceremony and meditation practice, led by EBMC Core Teacher Melvin Escobar, from 2 – 3 PM
Altar for Mothers, Fathers, Parents, and Caregivers of Gaza and Beyond that sangha members can add to
Writing or drawing messages of hope for the new center

This is your last chance to see the new building before we close it for renovations. Friends and family are welcome! We look forward to seeing you!
Please note:
N95 or KN95 masks are required inside unless eating/drinking.
The building is wheelchair-accessible and fragrance-free.

If you would like to volunteer for the event, please email kaiayo@eastbaymeditation.org

ONLINE: Grieving While Queer
2024-05-30 17:15 - 18:45
Grieving While Queer
An Online Class Series with Tania Triana and Ream
3 Thursday sessions: May 16th, 23rd, and 30th, 2024
5:15 – 6:45 PM Pacific Time (Time Zone Converter)
Open to all who self-identify as queer
Closed captions available

In this three part series we will hold space for change, loss and the unknown. Grief is a powerful emotion that can lead us towards meaning, connection and freedom if we tend to what it’s asking for. Working through the queer body we will ask ourselves this simple question: what is needed now? And allow what’s here to be felt and known within a container of support and belonging.

Teacher Information

Dr. Tania Triana (she/they/ella/elle) is a member of the inaugural class of East Bay Meditation Center’s Spiritual Teacher and Leadership Program, and has served on EBMC’s Leadership Sangha (board of directors) since 2019. Tania is grateful to have found a spiritual home and social justice community at EBMC.

Ream, pronouns: They. Ream is a queer organizer and somatics practitioner of European ancestry on unceded Ohlone Land, working for over 25 years in the labor movement, currently as the Strategic Campaigns Director for the United Domestic Workers’ Union. Ream is a co-founder of EBMC’s Social Justice Sangha, and the Deep Refuge Group “Racial Justice Skills for White Practitioner’s” and graduated from Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner’s Program in 2016. Ream is a teacher and practitioner with Generative Somatics. They began practicing in the Western Insight Tradition in 2006, and with Generative Somatics in 2011.

To support the teachings, please do so via:

PayPal: taniatriana@gmail.com
Venmo: @Tania-Triana

All dana will be shared amongst the teachers.

To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please 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.

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:
– Please do not use virtual or blurred backgrounds
– Please keep your camera still when it’s turned on
– Please say your name when you speak
– Facilitators will attempt to read any comments in the chat out loud

HYBRID: How Have the Buddha's Teachings Helped Me?
2024-05-29 18:30 - 20:30
How Have the Buddha’s Teachings Helped Me?
With Mushim Ikeda
Hybrid
Wednesday May 29, 2024 6:30 – 8:30 pm PST
Closed Captioning Provided on Zoom
The center is fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible
N95/KN95 masks required

Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 7 month curriculum

For those who have taken either some or all of EBMC’s 7-month “Buddhist Core Teachings” in Jan – May 2024, this is a wrap–up class where you can bring your “biggest” Buddhist questions, meet Dharma companions on the Path, and rejoice in the merit you have generated! Please note: The focus of his class is on what you are doing to deepen your spiritual practice and to transform your life through these wisdom teachings. We’ll offer a toast with our favorite beverages!

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

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is a socially-engaged Buddhist teacher, community activist, diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, parent and author based in Oakland, California. She has a background in both monastic and lay Buddhist practice. At EBMC, Mushim is also guiding teacher of the award-winning yearlong Practice in Transformative Action (PiTA) program, which provides secular mindfulness training for justice activists. Mushim is the recipient of a Global Diversity Leadership award; an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School of Ministry; and was named one of Colorlines’s 20 transformative racial justice leaders in 2018.

To offer a gift to support the teachings, please do so Venmo: Mushim Ikeda @MushimPatricia-Ikeda or PayPal: info@mushimikeda.com

To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please 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. 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:
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.)
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.
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
– Please do not use virtual or blurred backgrounds
– Please keep your camera still when it’s turned on
– Please say your name when you speak
– Facilitators will attempt to read any comments in the chat out loud
– Please mute when you’re not speaking.

ONLINE: Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
2024-05-27 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!

HYBRID Daylong: Ceasefire! Practice for Liberation with Palestine
2024-05-27 10:00 - 14:00
Ceasefire! Practice for Liberation with Palestine
Hybrid Daylong
With Tania Triana, Ream, Andrés González, Kimi Mojica, and anuradha bhagwati
Monday, May 27th
10 AM – 2 PM
Open to all
Closed Captioning Provided on Zoom
The center is fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible
N95/KN95 masks required

This nourishing day of practice will hold space for the dharma of Palestinian Liberation. Across the world, people are rising up in support of Palestine. Many thousands of people gather every day, taking action in the streets, making calls and sending letters, organizing their people and communities, to practice with this call for land and freedom, for respect for life and self-determination, and an end to colonization and racism. We follow the call from Palestinians, Jews and people of conscience across the world who say “Ceasefire Now.”
This ceasefire sangha daylong will offer you support and belonging to continue your work for a meaningful and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Through mindfulness practice with the full range of our experience, internally and externally, as well as sharing from the heart and working with the body to contact grief, anger and love with compassion, we intend to strengthen our community’s response to Palestine.
In the streets we hear the chant, “We are not freeing Palestine, Palestine is freeing us.” We know that the work of liberation happens at the individual, collective, and societal level. Our hearts are with Palestine at this time, with gratitude for what we are learning about freedom in taking action to end the genocide in Gaza. We welcome you to practice together in community with us towards this freedom.

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

Teacher Information

Dr. Tania Triana. Pronouns: She/They/Ella/Elle is an educator, activist, and translator who began a Buddhist practice in 2014 soon after relocating to Oakland. She currently serves on the Board of East Bay Meditation Center. Tania is a graduate of EBMC’s Spiritual Teacher and Leadership Program.

Ream. Pronouns: They/Them is a queer organizer of European ancestry on unceded Ohlone Land, working for over 25 years in the labor movement, currently as the Strategic Campaigns Director for the United Domestic Workers’ Union. Ream is a Community Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, a co-founder of EBMC’s Social Justice Sangha, and leads “Racial Justice Skills for White Practitioners” there, and graduated from Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner’s Program in 2016. Ream is a teacher and practitioner with Generative Somatics, co-leading “Somatics for White Racial Justice Organizers.”

Andrés González. Pronouns: He/they/él/elle is a two-spirit Mestizo with primarily Yaqui, Mexican, Spanish, & Scottish ancestries. He’s also a transracial adoptee, connected to a lineage of indigenous adoptees separated from family, land, & culture by way of the U.S. child welfare system. Andrés’ lived experience walking between these many worlds has informed his path as a healer and Dharma teacher. Trained as a psychotherapist, he holds a masters degree in social work. He is also a graduate of EBMC’s two-year Spiritual Teacher & Leadership Training and is presently participating in the 2023-2024 certificate program in psychedelic facilitation at UC Berkeley’s Center for the Science of Psychedelics. Weaving the sacred traditions of Theravada & Mahayana Buddhism with his ancestral curanderismo lineage, Andrés brings a wide-range of practices & perspectives into his healing-justice work with individuals & communities. He now resides on Yokuts’ land (aka Bakersfield, CA).

As a dedicated practitioner of meditation since 2003, Kimi Mojica first walked into the doors of EBMC’s POC Sangha in 2007, and has considered EBMC as one of their spiritual and political homes ever since. Their commitment to racial, gender and healing justice is evident through the dynamic ways they hold space and process as a storyteller, facilitator, trainer, coach, and conflict transformation practitioner. Kimi loves creating and exploring liberatory practices in everyday life, and within the context of sangha building.
Kimi is a graduate of Commit2Dharma, and is a proud member of EBMC’s inaugural Spiritual Teacher and Leadership (STL) Training. They have previously served as a Leadership Sangha Board Chair, and a coordinating member of the Restorative Practices for Dharma Practitioners (RPDP) practice group.
Born in San Francisco, Kimi currently lives in Oakland, CA/Ohlone Territory. They believe in the power of creativity and imagination, and can often be found grooving to music, being surrounded by nature, or geeking out on somatics and martial arts.

anuradha bhagwati (she/her) is a disabled, queer, indian-american activist, policy advocate, and writer. She is the critically acclaimed author of Unbecoming: A Memoir of Disobedience and the award-winning co-founder and first executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network. A former United States Marine Corps officer, anuradha helped lead national campaigns to open ground combat positions to women and to stop military sexual assault and harassment. She found her way to her dharma roots as a way of healing from military-related violence. anuradha taught trauma-informed hatha yoga and Buddhist meditation to veterans in New York City for over a decade, and is a long-time practitioner of Theravadan Buddhism. She is committed to cultivating an anti-colonial warrior practice based on love, compassion, equity and justice. She is the founder of Decolonial Dharma, and facilitates both the Buddhists for Justice in Palestine and Disability Solidarity practice groups. anuradha is currently at work on a book about mental health, disability, and life with her rollicking service dog and guide, Duke.

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.

To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please 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. 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:
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.)
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.
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
– Please do not use virtual or blurred backgrounds
– Please keep your camera still when it’s turned on
– Please say your name when you speak
– Facilitators will attempt to read any comments in the chat out loud
– Please mute when you’re not speaking.
