Living Mindfully, Embracing Kindness In This Moment: Insight Meditation Retreat
Madeline Klyne, Chas DiCapua & Matthew Hepburn
Friday, March 12 – Wednesday, March 17
Both Webinar and Meeting Format (Some program sessions allow you to see and hear only the teacher, while other program sessions will allow you to see and hear the teacher as well as other program participants).
On this virtual retreat, we will practice a moment-to-moment mindfulness that embraces our bodies, hearts and minds with kindness and wisdom. By cultivating a gentle, warm-hearted approach to whatever arises in formal practice or daily life practice, we can discover that kindness is an aspect of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is our ability to pay attention to our present-moment experience. The Buddha’s teachings help us understand that how we relate to this moment can increase our happiness or sorrow. As we practice, we learn to let go of our preoccupation with the past and the future and focus in the here and now. We come to know what it means to be in relation with and deeply connect to our lived experience of the present moment. Over time, we can disentangle ourselves from our habitual reactions, and begin to develop a kinder, more compassionate relationship with ourselves, others, and our world.
With mindfulness, we turn toward our experience, and with kindness we learn that we can meet and come close to whatever we turn towards. This practice is one of continually greeting our experience, whatever it is, with acceptance and compassion. In this process we can realize that everything changes constantly, and we learn to be at ease with this truth. Mindfulness and kindness combined with wisdom can transform the way we live in these extraordinary times. Come join us and see for yourself!
This retreat is open to both beginning and experienced meditators.
There will be breakout groups with teachers.
Mindful movement will be offered by Éowyn Ahlstrom.
For this course, sliding scale fees are $200, $260, $325, or $500. We also offer a scholarship fee of $100, and no-fee enrollment for those who request a fee-waiver. Our “Pay What You Can Afford” system supports the cultivation of a dynamic and inclusive community and contributes to the health and vibrancy of the sangha. Select the rate of your choice when you register. Email imsonline@dharma.org for more information or to request a no-fee enrollment.
A note on dana (generosity)
Most IMS teachers—like insight teachers around the world—rely on the generosity of students for their livelihood, and receive no compensation from course fees. All IMS online teachers receive a modest dana advance from IMS to guarantee a minimum level of financial support. (Click here to learn more about the dana practice.) There will be an opportunity to offer a contribution to your teachers at the end of this course.
REGISTER HERE
Daily Schedule – all times listed in Eastern Standard Time (EST) Friday and Saturday; Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) Sunday-Wednesday:
Note: all sessions (except Group Meetings and Movement) will be recorded and posted so you can view it later if you miss one.
Friday, March 12
7:00 – 8:45 pm – Opening Session
Saturday, March 13
10:00 – 11:00 am – Sitting with Instructions & Morning Dharma reflections
11:15 – 12:15 pm – Sitting, Q & C
2:00 – 2:45 pm – Sitting with Instructions
4:00 – 4:45 pm – Guided Heart Meditation
7:00 – 8:00 pm – Sitting with instructions, Evening Dharma reflections, Q & C
Sunday, March 14 – Tuesday, March 16 (Note: Times are now Eastern Daylight Time EDT)
9:00 – 9:45 am – Mindful Movement with Éowyn Ahlstrom
10:00 – 11:00 am – Sitting with Instructions & Morning Dharma reflections
11:15 – 12:15 pm – Group Meetings
2:00 – 2:45 pm – Sitting with Instructions
4:00 – 4:45 pm – Guided Heart Meditation
7:00 – 8:00 pm – Sitting with instructions, Evening Dharma reflections, Q & C
Wednesday, March 17
10:00 -10:45 am – Sitting with Instructions
11:00 – 12:30 pm – Closing Session
Suggested at-home Practice Schedule (bolded sessions are online)
7:30-8:00am – Optional sitting or Daily Life practice
8:00-9:00am – Daily Life practice
9:00 – 9:45am – Mindful Movement with Éowyn Ahlstrom
10:00 – 11:00 am Sitting with Instructions & Morning Dharma reflections
11:15 – 12:15 pm Group Meetings
12:15 -1:00 Mindful food preparation & eating
1:00 pm Mindful walk/exercise or Daily Life Practice
2 – 2:45 pm Sitting with Instructions
3 pm Daily Life Practice
4 :00 – 4:45 pm – Guided Heart Meditation
5:00- Daily Life Practice
7:00 – 8:00 pm – Sitting, Evening Dharma reflections, Q & C
8:00-8:30- Walking or Daily Life Practice
8:30-9:00 –Sitting or Daily Life Practice
REGISTER HERE
Teacher Bios
Madeline Klyne has loved the dharma since 1986. A co-founder of South Shore Insight Meditation Center, she is a co-teacher there and a core teacher at Cambridge Insight Meditation Center. Madeline also leads retreats for LGBTIQ communities at other meditation centers.
Chas DiCapua has been practicing Buddhist meditation for almost 30 years. He has trained with Burmese meditation masters, western monastics of the Thai Forest tradition and senior western vipassana teachers. He has spent over two years in silent, intensive retreat.
Chas has served as IMS’s Resident Teacher at IMS since 2003. Chas is a graduate of the four year joint Insight Meditation Society / Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program. He teaches retreats at IMS and at various centers and sanghas throughout the country.
As a way to address the wide spread suffering that is endemic in many partnered relationships, Chas explores how the dharma can be practiced in relationship, including how the masculine and feminine energies manifest in relationship, in spiritual practice, and in the world.
Matthew Hepburn caught fire with the Dharma through retreat practice in his early twenties. He began offering vipassana instruction in 2012 at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, where he is continually inspired by the deep Dharma of daily living. He is a participant in the 2017-2021 IMS Teacher Training Program.
