Sundays
SUNDAY PROGRAMS
Every Sunday at the Nyingma Institute!
Morning Meditation
9-9:45 AM
An opportunity to deepen your meditation practice and to introduce your friends or family to the benefits of Nyingma meditation. Each session includes brief meditation instruction followed by silent sitting. You are welcome to attend any Sunday session. No pre-registration or prior experience necessary.
Cost: $5.
Kum Nye Relaxation
10 AM to Noon
Discover the gentle movement exercises of Kum Nye: effective techniques for relaxation, healing, relieving tension, and revitalizing body and mind. Both experienced and beginning students are welcome to attend this drop-in class.
Cost: $15.
Tibetan Chanting
5:00 - 6:00 PM
Every Sunday we invite the public to join us for an hour of Tibetan chanting and meditation.
Free.
Sunday Talks
6:00 - 7:00 PM
At 6 PM a talk on Nyingma teachings is presented by a Nyingma Institute faculty member or visiting scholar.
Free. See topics below.
Upcoming Free Sunday Talks
Calm and Clear Lecture Series, March-April, 2010
A regular meditation practice allows us to become calm and to stay clear. We discover in meditation a foundation for self-development. As we continue to practice, almost imperceptibly the quality of everyday life begins to change. We find that we act with more creativity and care, truly engaged in our own lives and more responsive to others. In each talk in this two-month lecture series, you will learn about a particular aspect of Tibetan Buddhist meditation and be introduced to some of the many meditative practices that lead to ease and clarity.
March 14, 6-7 PM: Robin Caton on "Beginning with Honesty and Love"
Sometimes when we try to escape our difficulties, we cheat ourselves. Rather than honestly assessing our weaknesses and lovingly helping ourselves to bring about meaningful change, we hide behind excuses and blame. The result is layers of pain. Meditation and Nyingma Psychology instructor Robin Caton will discuss how meditation helps to penetrate self-deception and connect us to a quality of deep caring that resides in the center of our hearts.
March 21, 6-7 PM: Jack Petranker on "Finding the Vast Within the Ordinary"
Clarity in meditation comes as we learn to discover the unknown dimensions of ordinary experience. By turning inward to explore the activity of the mind, we let go of the patterns of grasping and anxiety that prevent us from attaining calm and insight. Buddhist teacher and writer Jack Petranker will show how meditation can bring a sense of spaciousness into ordinary activities.
March 28, 6-7 PM: Sylvia Gretchen on "Transcending Fear"
Sensations, thoughts, and emotions interact to create what we experience as “fear.” Understanding how fear arises through analytic meditation allows us to break free of fear’s compelling power. Sylvia Gretchen, co-dean of the Nyingma Institute, will discuss how to transcend the negative hold of fear, seeing it instead as a gateway to inner awareness.
April 4, 6-7 PM: Bob Byrne on "Developing Joyous Ease"
Meditation uncovers a natural serenity that opens the mind and senses to joy. Nyingma Institute instructor Bob Byrne will lead participants in meditation practices that activate joyous ease.
April 11, 6-7 PM: Olivia Hurd on "Meditations to Open the Heart"
Specific practices from the Tibetan tradition help you to cultivate an open-hearted, loving attitude in all that you do. Nyingma Institute instructor Olivia Hurd will lead you through some of these practices and talk about how to deepen compassion for yourself and for others.
April 18, 6-7 PM: Erika Rosenberg on "Seeing Through Self-Images"
Erika Rosenberg, research psychologist in human emotions and Nyingma Institute instructor, will discuss ways to recognize the complex images we hold of ourselves, how they operate, and how our attachment to them creates suffering for us and those around us. Taking the opportunity to liberate ourselves from these concepts can bring great freedom.
Nyingma Institute Open House
Upcoming Dates
March 21
June 6
August 29
September 26
December 5
Sunday afternoon from 3-5 PM.
Quarterly open houses introduce Kum Nye, and meditation, and provide the opportunity to meet Institute faculty and staff. The open house program runs from 3-5 PM with light refreshments, followed by our regular Sunday chant and talk from 5-7 PM. Come for some or all of the actvities.
3 PM-5 PM
- Prayer wheel and meditation garden tour
- Tibetan Relaxation (Kum Nye yoga) demonstration
- Talk on the Nyingma Institute, its programs and activities
- Class and program counseling
- Reception with light refreshments
Following the open house is a regularly scheduled Tibetan chant at 5:00, followed by a Dharma talk at 6:00.
All open house events are free.