|
Sitting Opportunities
New, see their Video!
|
|
A mutual service exchange
An Online Coursera Course with Certificate ___________________________
|
News Notes
A monthly list of references used by our Teachers
|
Ongoing Classes and Programs
______________
On Zoom, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays
|
c
NEW Dharma Talk from Brian Lesage:
2020-11-10
|
|
|
Triangle Insight Meditation Groups
|
All levels of meditation experience are welcome and the teachings are offered free of charge, with donations accepted to cover administrative and program costs, scholarships, and study by the teachers.
In this time of continuing uncertainty, Triangle Insight is committed to offering a safe and stable refuge for the Sangha as a whole. Until we are able to meet again at the Episcopal Center, Triangle Insight will use Zoom for meditation meetings and for study or social group activities. Please refer to the Zoom information below.
This new way to connect is evolving through practice and compassion as we look inward and outward for the clarity that vipassana practice will bring.
Zoom connections are emailed one day before the Wednesday evening sangha (meditation and dharma talk, or insight dialogue) and the Morning Meditation sessions (meditation and heart practice).
Schedule:
Information about participating in all sessions will also be posted on the TIMC Website.
Wednesday Evenings
6:30 - 8:00 PM
December 02: Ron Vereen December 09: Scott Bryce December 16: Cornelia Kip Lee (Guest Teacher) December 23: Phyllis Hicks (Insight Dialogue) December 30: No Meeting (Holidays)
January 06: Ron Vereen January 13: Scott Bryce January 20: Francesca Morfesis (Guest Teacher) January 27: Daya Breckinridge & Mary Grigsby (Insight Dialogue)
Monday and Thursday Morning Meditation
7:00 - 7:45 AM (click here for more info)
Zoom locations to be emailed.
| If you would like to receive an invitation to one or both Zoom meditations, please subscribe to the relevant form on our Schedule webpage, or send an email to info@triangleinsight.org and tell us the Zoom list(s) you would like to join. |
To receive this monthly newsletter, please complete the newsletter subscription on our Newsletters webpage, or send your request to us, at the info@ email above.
|
If you would like to change any part of your subscription(s), please email us directly and we will make this change for you.
Episcopal Center at Duke
(when safe to gather in person)
505 Alexander Ave.
Durham, NC 27705
|
Triangle Insight Welcomes You
Welcoming Committee News
|
|
Sangha means spiritual community, and it is treasured because without it awakening cannot be sustained
Jack Kornfield, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
|
|
The Welcoming Committee wishes to foster the experience of belonging to a diverse, tolerant community connected through mindfulness practice, where all feel welcome and safe. We seek to link all members and newcomers to ongoing activities and to ensure the Zoom connection is available.
- We have developed a brochure to give an overview of our sangha and some of its activities. You can download it here:Welcome to Triangle Insight.
- Someone from the Welcoming Committee will remain on the Zoom connection at the end of Wednesday evening sangha meetings, should anyone have a question or want to talk about a sangha-relevant topic.
- A Welcoming Committee member now monitors the all-purpose email: info@triangleinsight.org to answer questions about the sangha, newsletter subscription, teacher availability, and Triangle Insight's meeting schedules. If we don't have an answer, we will put you in touch with someone who does.
- If you would like to join the Welcoming Committee as a dana gesture of support for the Triangle Insight Community, please let us know through the still-active email: welcome@triangleinsight.org.
|
|
With shared commitment to the dharma, we hope our work will be of benefit to all who join us in this practice.
|
|
|
a
Triangle Insight Meditation Community 2020 ANNUAL Board Meeting
|
| |
The Triangle Insight Board of Directors is inviting you to attend its 2020 annual meeting, to be held on Saturday, December 12, from 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM. This meeting will include a financial report to the community and we'll conduct an election of board officers for Chair and Secretary.
We will also consider planning ideas, such as discussed at our recent open board meeting, and there will be an opportunity for the community to make presentations.
If you would like to make a presentation, please email us at board@triangleinsight.org and share a brief summary. More details will be forthcoming, including the agenda and a Zoom link to join.
|
Financial Support: Scholarships for Training Programs and Workshops in Racial Justice and Diversity
Engaging Buddhist teachings and real-world issues
| |
The TIMC Board would like to offer financial assistance to sangha members who wish to participate in training programs or other activities designed to address racial conditioning, implicit bias, and racial inequality.
- The goal of this scholarship initiative is to help individuals and the community deepen their understanding of how unexamined views of race can limit the mind and human systems.
|
A General Scholarship Fund for this purpose exists through donations from the TIMC General Fund and the generosity of several Triangle Insight members.
- This Scholarship Fund has helped offset registration fees for some Sangha members who attended the Organizing Against Racism NC anti-racism training program.
- It has supported the participation of TI members in a 3-day Mindful of Race workshop with Ruth King.
- White Awake is another organization that holds ongoing courses with a focus on anti-racism. They are currently conducting an online study group that has filled, and is now closed, but will be offering more online programs in the fall.
- If sangha members would like to receive scholarship support for training with OARNC, White Awake, or other programs addressing racial injustice, please email the Board at board@triangleinsight.org.
|
We invite the community to join this initiative by contributing specifically to this scholarship fund.
|
Sangha Support Through Caring Circles:
A Mutual Service Exchange
A TIM Sangha Initiative to connect and strengthen the bonds of our shared practice.
|
Caring Circles offers the Triangle Insight Meditation Sangha a simple framework for requesting and providing services to cope with the uncertainties and needs of everyday life. in this time of the coronavirus pandemic, knowing there is a helping network for sharing and receiving is a great joy and safe haven.
Currently, two TIM Sangha members coordinate service requests with other TIM members who are ready to volunteer their assistance as a form of dana service.
To request aid
- Contact one of the coordinators,Mary Mudd; or
-
or
- Use the Caring Circles Request for Assistance Form (optional)
- Please note in your initial communication if the request is of a sensitive nature; the coordinator will make special arrangements with you.
- Additional request options will be available when we are able to meet at the Episcopal Center.
| |
To volunteer as a Caring Circles helper
| |
Responding to Your Request
- When the coordinators receive your request for assistance, they will verify the information with you, then send your request to the list of Sangha member volunteers.
- Anyone on the list may contact you to discuss your request. Specific plans are entirely up to you.
|
Examples of Caring Circles Assistance
- Grocery shopping or prepared meals
- Laundry help, if no machine available
- Pick up Rx or other items
- Connect by telephone, Zoom or another safe means to talk, listen, and just share time
- Computer fixes that may be done remotely
- Lawn care that may be needed
- Supplement toys or other diversions for children
- Assistance with available institutional and business resources
|
Caring Circles coordinators welcome your requests and your interest in volunteering your time and skills.
|
|
Contract Tracing CoVid 19
A Coursera Course with Certificate
Still Open at full scholarship Online
|
Earn a Certificate in Contact Tracing, and help reduce the spread of Coronavirus
COVID-19 Contact Tracing is a 5-part, online course offered through Coursera.org and Johns Hopkins University. This course and certificate are FREE through June 31st, thanks to Bloomberg Philanthropies.
The course delivers basic but well informed knowledge about the virus in short, very clear lecture segments; it details how tracing can be done effectively, with special attention to ethical considerations, to provide the skills needed for actual contract tracing. Length of time: approximately one hour per segment, or one week overall.
Click to Register for both course and certificate of accomplishment.
All fees are covered by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
[I have completed and personally recommend this course, Leah Rutchick]
|
|
DHARMA NOTES and REFERENCES
|
Recent Dharma Talk References A place to source material from recent dharma talks
|
Wednesday evening dharma talks
With many thanks for their generosity, the Insight Meditation teachers for the Wednesday evening sangha invite us to consider these notes to references from their Dharma talks.
|
November 4: Jean Hamilton, Francesca Morfesis, & Ron
Vereen
October 14: Scott Bryce
October 07: Ron Vereen
September 30: Karen Ziegler (Guest Teacher)
September 09: Scott Bryce
September 02: Ron Vereen
|
August 19, Sarah Gardner (Guest Teacher)
August 12, Scott Bryce
August 05, Jean Hamilton (Guest Teacher)
| |
July 29, Sarah Bryce
July 22, Phyllis Hicks (Insight Dialogue)
July 15, Emily Burke (Guest Teacher)
July 08, Scott Bryce
July 01, Ron Vereen
| |
June 17, Francesca Morfesis (Guest Teacher)
June 10, Scott Bryce
June 03, Ron Vereen
|
|
Newsletter Submission Pointers
|
- At least two weeks prior to the month in which you wish your announcement to appear, submit new items to info@triangleinsight.org.
- New requests submitted in the last week of any month may not be accepted if time is a factor in preparing a final copy.
- Changes to existing entries may be incorporated if submitted early in the last week of any month.
- Entries that have not been updated since COVID may be removed. All authors are encouraged to update their newsletter entries and to resubmit, including TIM committees and groups.
- Keep the text crisp and short, but include important details and attachments. Instead of longer texts, refer the reader to websites for additional information.
- Indicate how many months you want your entry to be published, and
- Stay in touch with updates if any specific details change. You are responsible for calling in changes and end dates for ongoing classes, groups or other continuing entries.
- Special circumstances may require adjustment of the deadlines indicated here; early submission is a best practice and helps the newsletter editors determine where, how and if the item submitted shall be published (please see #1 in the Guidelines).
- Please contact us through info@triangleinsight.org and include "Newsletter" in your subject line. We will help you get your item published.
|
Retreats are announced in this space when offered and available
|
|
CULTIVATING CLARITY AND COMPASSION
A Week Retreat on Zoom
Hosted by Shambhala Meditation Center of Durham
|
December 26-Jan. 1
|
A week retreat is a wonderful opportunity for deepening your meditation practice. In this week we will be guided in practices including shamatha/vipassana meditation, compassion practices, and gentle yoga, along with dharma talks, discussion groups and meditation instruction The schedule will be 9 to 5:00 each day. Participants can register for 3 or 7 days, but must start on Dec. 26th. Open to all levels of practitioners.
The teachers are Sasha Loring, Rhea Colmar and Tom Wroth.
Sasha Loring has been teaching meditation for over 30 years and has presented programs around the country. She has spent several years in retreat, and has created Mindfulness programs for Duke and UNC.
Rhea Colmar has been practicing meditation for over 20 years. As an RN, she brings her love of healing to the path of meditation. She has studied with a variety of Tibetan Buddhist teachers and has taught meditation internationally.
Tom Wroth is a meditation teacher, a family physician, and CEO of a non-profit organization that serves North Carolina's vulnerable populations.
|
|
Register early! The start date for everyone is Saturday, December 26th. There will be a 3 day and 7 day option, with priority given to those who can commit to the full 7 days. Registrants will receive the Zoom link.
|
December 26-January 1st
A Zoom link will be sent to registrants
Cost: Suggested donation of $175.00 for the 7 day program.
|
|
TIM SPIRITUAL FRIENDS GROUPS
|
Having admirable people as friends, companions, and colleagues is actually the whole of the holy life.
- The Buddha
We live in a time of extraordinary challenges, with daily reminders of the deep truth of impermanence. It is always a time of transition, and each season brings joy and sorrow, hope and fear, clarity and confusion. Spiritual friends help us hold all of this so we can move from contraction to compassion, from reaction to response.
In his lovely essay, Making Friends on the Buddhist Path, Norman Fischer states, "That we and our friends can communicate intimately with one another and support each other unselfishly come what may - this truly is a masterpiece of Nature, and one of our brightest human achievements. It is also, I believe, our best hope in troubled times."
Fischer goes on to note that, "Emerson and the Buddha both believe that spiritual friendship requires two elements: truth and tenderness." These two elements are among the gifts of Kalyana Mitta and Racial Affinity Groups, gifts that open us to the kindness, generosity, and love that can awaken us all.
| |
|
Known as RAGs, Racial Affinity groups allow people to deepen self-awareness around issues of race in small, racially homogeneous groups. As we face our long history of systemic racism and violence against people of color, RAGs provide a safe space where members can integrate the dharma into their exploration of racial belonging and racial habits of harm.
Waking up to the realities of racial legacy, conditioning, and systems is a challenging process, and the acceptance we bring each other, as well as our shared understanding of the dharma, help us to heal and act more skillfully in the world. To support this process, groups follow Triangle Insight's Mindful Sharing Guidelines and Ruth King's Racial Affinity Group Guidelines.
If you are interested in joining a Racial Affinity group or would like more information, please contact Beth Lauderdale, our RAG Coordinator. She can be reached at marybethboswell@yahoo.com.
Helpful articles and other resources are available on our Racial Affinity Groups web page.
|
We currently have openings in two Kalyana Mitta (KM) Groups: Insight Dialogue and Raleigh. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Durham Young Adults, and Secular Dharma groups each have a waiting list. Details about each group are on the "List of KM Groups" web page.
If you would like more information or want to join a group, be on a waiting list, or start a new group, please speak with Sarah Tillis, KM Coordinator, or write Sarah at sarah@triangleinsight.org.
Information about the KM program is available on the KM web page.
***********************
The KM-RA Coordinating Team of Sarah Tillis, Beth Lauderdale, and Tamara Share expresses deep gratitude for the dedication of our sangha. May our Kalyana Mitta and Racial Affinity groups be of great benefit to all.
|
NOTES and REPORTS from the TIMC BOARD
|
Notes from the TIMC Board
The 2020 Annual Meeting of the TIMC Board of Directors is scheduled for Saturday, December 12. 10am-12pm.
- This will be an open meeting, conducted on Zoom. All Sangha members may attend, and time will be reserved for individual presentations that are registered in advance with the Board.
- A special announcement will be sent to those on the TIMC email list and posted on the TIMC website before the scheduled date as a reminder about the meeting and any updates.
|
|
The Board held an Open Meeting, October 24, on Zoom.
- Several members from the Triangle Insight community attended, and the Board would like to acknowledge the thoughtful and insightful comments that were offered in response to the Board's description of its activities over the past year, as well as its future plans. A request to consider podcasting the Wednesday sessions was emailed to the Board prior to the meeting. It was much appreciated, and became a lively topic for discussion.
- At this meeting, Phyllis Hicks, an original Board member and cherished teacher of Insight Dialogue at Triangle Insight, announced her decision to step away from Board service, but has agreed to an advisory role.
We wish to offer these words of appreciation from a TIMC teacher:
Phyllis's contribution to the board, and to its process, has been incalculable and impossible to briefly convey in words. The steadiness and immediacy of her presence - cultivated through years of Insight Dialogue - provided both ballast and inspiration for our work together; and her seamless integration of wisdom and compassion will be greatly missed. We honor her dedication to the board, to TIMC, and to the Dharma, and we go forward supported by her encouraging refrain, "Keep kindly and calmly knowing change."
|
CONNECT WITH THE BOARD
Information about the Board may be found on the TIMC Board of Directors webpage, including Board members' names, contact information, meeting information, and relevant links.
Board meetings will be open to non-Board attendance, with scheduled time provided for specified presentations from Sangha members. If you have questions about Board procedure or have a topic for the Board to consider, please contact us at board@triangleinsight.org.
- Your input is always welcome on matters concerning the Sangha and its activities. Send us your questions, concerns and new ideas, and to schedule time at a Board meeting.
|
MINUTES from TIMC BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETINGS are available on the Board webpage. The most current Minutes will be posted when approved by the Board at the next meeting. Upcoming Meetings will be announced at least two weeks in advance on the TI website and by email to the Newsletter subscription list.
|
|
|
UPCOMING CLASSES and EVENTS
|
|
Nurturing Mindfulness and Self-Care
in the Time of COVID-19
with Jeff Brantley
|
This three-part program will aim to provide participants with knowledge and skills for discovering and experiencing possibilities for greater peace and stillness within, enhancing capacity for improved self-care, and responding more effectively to the stressful demands of living in the time of COVID-19, and beyond. The program is based upon experiencing mindfulness through direct practice, using several core practices from the MBSR program. By practicing mindfulness with teacher support in class, and through readings, audio recordings, and personal practice at home, participants will be better able to recognize and understand how practicing mindfulness can deepen awareness, nurture qualities of kindness, compassion, and wisdom, and build resilience. Strengthening each of these attributes in turn can better equip you to live more happily, and to meet the demands and stressors of life in today's world more effectively.
For more information and to register please click HERE
3 Webinars via Zoom through Duke Integrative Medicine
December 3, 10, and 17
6:00 - 7:30 pm ET
Cost: $150 (Registration Deadline December 2nd)
|
Online Prayer & Mantra Circle,
for Protection and Peace
with Kittisaro and Thanissara
Sacred Mountain Sangha |
Kittisaro and Thanissara, founders of Sacred Mountain Sangha, invite you to join them, when you can, for one 30 min. session daily, for a variety of chanting opportunities and mantra practice. This is a collective effort focused on the safety and wellbeing of all, dedicated to protecting goodness, wisdom, and compassion and dispelling the forces of harm, division, and delusion in these times.
Chants are drawn from both Theravada and Mahayana schools of Buddhism, which are efficacious for dispelling obstruction and protecting the forces of goodness and wholesome karma in the world. For more information, access to the chants (for printing), explanations, recordings, pronunciations, please visit their website here. Beginning December 9th
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM (ET), 7:30 am - 8:00 am (PT)
|
|
Previous and recently started "Upcoming Classes and Events" may be found in earlier issues of the TIMC Newsletter HERE on our website
|
|
TIM PROGRAMS and COMMITTEES
|
The Shramadana Project
A Volunteer Initiative of Triangle Insight
|
NEW The Caring Circles Initiative is being revived, and is ready to receive requests for assistance from Sangha members. See above for information.
HISTORY
The Shramadana Project (SP) has been a volunteer initiative of the Triangle Insight Meditation Community to address some of the interests for connecting within the sangha and for outreach to the community-at-large.
This project has outgrown its current form and now needs to evolve into a more meaningful structure. Some activities including Media Night, workshops and retreats would fit well with a "Programs Committee," yet to be formed. Other volunteer opportunities might better fit with a group or committee for "Engaged Buddhism" or "Community-at-Large Activities," or others yet to be created.
ARCHIVE
Past activities, meeting minutes and the list of community organizations for the SP are available on the SP webpage.
______________________
If beings knew, as I know, the results of giving and sharing, they would not eat without having given...
-the Buddha
|
The Practice of Insight Dialogue | |
Insight Dialogue is an interpersonal meditation practice and is offered at Triangle Insight once monthly, usually on the fourth Wednesday of the month. It brings the mindfulness and tranquility of silent meditation directly into our experience with other people.
The new website for Insight Dialogue is an excellent resource for learning more about the practice: www.insightdialogue.org.
The evening begins with silent meditation practice, followed by gentle mindful movement, and then shifting into dyad practice where interpersonal mindfulness is explored with a partner in response to a contemplation that is offered. The dyad practice is optional so that anyone who chooses to remain in silent practice may do so, rather than shifting into dyad practice. One can investigate the guidance of the contemplation internally, noticing the moment by moment unfolding of internal experience. Also note that the ID practice goes from 6:30 to 8:30 PM to allow for more spaciousness and time for questions. We hope you will be able to join us.
Phyllis Hicks, facilitating Insight Dialogue on 08-04-19.
Fourth Wednesdays
(unless otherwise indicated)
Triangle Insight, Episcopal Center at Duke
6:30 - 8:30 PM
|
|
OTHER SITTING OPPORTUNITIES
During this period of COVID-19 limits, please contact the individual or organization for alternative meeting arrangements
|
Triangle Insight Morning Meditation Group -- Now using Zoom platform
|
This early morning sitting group led by Ron Vereen meets Mondays and Thursdays from 7:00 - 7:45 AM. The group begins with silent, unguided practice, with Ron giving a guided heart practice during the last 10-15 minutes. There is no charge for participation, and donations are accepted. For more info contact Ron at ron@triangleinsight.org.
Zoom invitations will be emailed to those who have subscribed to the Morning Mediation list. Please contact Ron at the email above to be added to the list, or subscribe through the appropriate web form on our website.
When we resume meeting in the Episcopal Center: *Important note: Only four parking spaces in the parking lot at the Episcopal Center are designated for our use at this hour and are clearly marked. Overflow parking can be found on the west side of Alexander Ave.
Monday and Thursday Mornings
Episcopal Center at Duke
505 Alexander Ave.
Durham, NC 27705
7:00 - 7:45 AM
|
|
During this period of no or limited social assembly, if you are interested in any of the following sitting opportunities, please contact the individual or organization to determine its status or alternative arrangements
|
|
Teacher: Callie Justice
|
Dharma Friends Community offers a range of groups and events designed to support everyone from newcomers to seasoned practitioners. Drawing on Early Buddhist sources, these groups focus on teaching core practices in a way that relates to the needs of each individual participant in an open welcoming environment.
Contact the organizer:
Durham Friends Community Meditation Hall
Located near the NC Science and Math in Durham. Dates: n/a Cost: donation
|
|
Mindful Families of Durham
| |
Currently consisting of ~ 16 families, this group is dedicated to creating a warm, loving community for parents and children to learn and practice together. Adults meet for one hour for meditation and discussion, while the children learn about meditation and Buddhism in Sati School with our marvelous (non-parent-member) teachers.
If you are unfamiliar with this intentional group, here is the video from their website:
|
| | Introducing Mindful Families of Durham |
For more information, visit: Mindful Families of Durham
Sunday Mornings
10:30AM-12:00 noon
For info please contact admin@mindfulfamiliesofdurham.com
|
|
|
Tuesday Nights
7:30 - 8:30 PM
Chapel Hill Zen Center
5322 NC Hwy 86
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
|
Buddhist Meditation Community at Duke University
|
The Buddhist Meditation Community at Duke provides the opportunity for currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students to learn about Buddhist teachings and practice meditation. Our Monday evening meetings include quiet meditation, group study and discussion, and we regularly host local Buddhist teachers from across traditions to share their teachings with the group. Morning meditation on weekdays is also available. We are a culturally diverse student group that welcomes the curious, beginners, experienced Buddhists, and those of other religions equally. We deeply value the role of friendship and community in supporting a thoughtful spiritual path of wisdom and compassion.
Open to Duke University Faculty, Staff, and Students
Mondays from 7:00-8:00 pm in the
Wellness Center, Rm 148/149 on West Campus.
|
|
|
In addition to Triangle Insight, there are a variety of other meditation opportunities of which we would like for you to be aware. Rather than list them all here, we wanted to point you to the "l inks" section of our website at Triangle Insight. There are other sitting groups in the community whose practice is similar to ours, as well as resources for retreat centers and other websites, both locally and nationally. We do not offer an endorsement of these sites, but rather a suggestion for your exploration to see if any may have useful information to support your practice of insight meditation.
For any questions please contact us at
|
|
ONGOING CLASSES and PROGRAMS
Unless indicated, please contact the individual or organization for alternative meeting arrangements
|
|
Now meeting on the Zoom platform
New Start Time: 6:30-8:00PM
| |
This group is open to ALL MEN regardless of their tradition or path, or affiliation with the Triangle Insight Meditation Community. Our intention is to hear each other's interests, concerns, and ideas about forming and sustaining a group, all while getting to know each other. There will be a short period of meditating. A couple of us will help moderate the discussion initially but going forward, the leadership could be something collaborative, shared by all participants. It's a work in progress.
At its core, the group should be a space where men can share from their hearts about their experiences being men, following a meditative path -- and offering support to one another along the way.
Some dana to defray expenses is welcome, but, of course, optional. Let us know if you think you'll attend.
2nd and 4th TUESDAYS, every month 6:30-8:00PM, now on ZOOM platform
|
|
Mindfulness Awareness Training
with Tamara Share, PhD
|
Tamara Share will be offering an ongoing group for developing skills in mindfulness awareness practices. The group will meet twice monthly, and is open to those 18 years of age and older. A pre-group consultation is required, and you may contact Tamara at 919-442-1118. The cost is $45/session if pre-paid in 6 session blocks ($270), or $60 if paid per session (sliding scale available).
Tamara L. Share, PhD is a Counseling Psychologist with more than 20 years of training and experience in human development, group facilitation, and personal growth. Tamara's diverse background includes education/training in physics, psychology, wellness, philosophy, and complementary approaches to healthcare. 2nd and 4th Thursdays
HRC, Behavioral Health and Psychiatry
100 Europa Dr., Suite 260, Chapel Hill 27517
4:45 - 6:00 PM
|
Mindfulness-Based Stress
Reduction Classes & Events
at Duke Integrative Medicine
| |
Please click on the following link for a variety of programs related to the practice of mindfulness:
|
at UNC Integrative Medicine
| |
Please click on the following link for a variety of programs related to the practice of mindfulness:
^Top
|
|
|
