Please read the following letters from Ines Freedman, the Insight Retreat Center Managing Director and Gil Fronsdal, my teacher and founding/guiding teacher of the Insight Meditation Center.  I’ve benefited from many IMC retreats held at Hidden Villa and now, IMC has purchased a property that will allow them to provide more opportunities for retreats.  If you’ve attended an IMC retreat, or have wanted to, but haven’t been able to attend in the past, please consider supporting this project.  If you’d like to see the property and grounds, check out the link to the IRC website – there are videos and photographs to see just how beautiful this is and how wonderful this will be for retreats.

Dear Friends,

The Insight Meditation Center (IMC) in Redwood City has been searching for property for a retreat center for several years.  We have just purchased a property in Scotts Valley, about 10 minutes east of Santa Cruz, CA.

• We plan to offer retreats for up to 40 people completely freely.
• Every retreatant will have a private room.
• We plan to offer a monthly 7-14 day retreat and two 3-5 day retreats most months
• Once a year we plan to have a month-long retreat.

Though we’ve been able to purchase a beautiful 2.8 acre rural property, we now need the funds to convert it from a nursing home into a retreat center, and to purchase the adjoining 38-acre forest preserve.

We need to raise $2.3 million to complete the project and purchase the preserve.  A sangha member has just offered a $500,000 matching pledge, so that every dollar donated is matched.

Just as IMC is completely run by volunteers, so will the Insight Retreat Center.  This project is so close to my heart that I’ve volunteered to be Managing Director for the next few years to guide this project full-time.

We would appreciate your support, both with donations, and in spreading the word to your respective sanghas.

You can learn more and see photos of our new Insight Retreat Center (IRC) here:  www.insightretreatcenter.org

We also invite you to read Gil Fronsdal’s document, A Three-part Vision For A Balanced Buddhist Culture – his vision about the relationship between the Sati Center, the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) in Redwood City, and the newly developing Insight Retreat Center (IRC) in Scotts Valley.

Hope to see you on retreat with us!

With Metta,

Ines Freedman, IRC Managing Director

insightretreatcenter@gmail.com
(408) 663-1906

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Dear Friend,

It is rare that I make a direct request for donations.  All that we offer at the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) we offer freely; a person can participate in our programs for a long time and never hear any request for money.  Now I would like to make an exception and ask you to consider making a donation to help transform our newly purchased property into a residential retreat center. We have recently received a very generous $500,000 matching pledge, which means that every dollar you donate will be matched.

This year is our time of greatest opportunity to renovate our new retreat home and to acquire and protect the adjacent 38-acre private nature preserve.  If we can complete the renovation as planned, we will have a retreat center that operates in the same efficient and welcoming manner that beautifully continues the Dharma culture we have at IMC. Just as we do at IMC, the retreat center will offer retreats freely, with no costs to participants.

Our goal is to raise $2.3 million dollars to complete the project and acquire the nature preserve. This will include the creation of a meditation hall, a walking hall, and 40 individual bedrooms. The nature preserve will help us make walking in nature an integral part of our retreats.

Having our own retreat center fulfills a dream many of us have nurtured for a long time. Knowing the benefits from even a few days of retreat, we are excited to be able to offer a rich and varied program of retreats throughout the year.

This retreat center is our gift to future generations. Here, countless people will discover how mindfulness heals, develops love, and liberates. Having practiced here, retreatants will bring the benefits of mindfulness and compassion into the wider world.

It is very inspiring to me that so many people have found value in the teachings and practice opportunities at IMC.  I hope you will help us expand the good we can do by helping us build and establish the Insight Retreat Center.  Your gifts will not only help make the renovations possible, they will also add to the goodwill and generosity that will serve as the foundation of our center.

When we open the retreat center in 2012, please come join us on a retreat.

To make a donation online please visit our Donation page.

With much gratitude,

Gil Fronsdal

Here is the link to the talk by Vinny Ferraro:

The Freedom of Forgiveness

Some other great resources on the topic of forgiveness:

Forgiveness: A Gift To The World – a talk by Myoshin Kelley

Forgiveness – a talk by Fred Luskin, psychologist, cofounder of the Stanford University Forgiveness Project, and author of the book, “Forgive for Good”.

Some links to explore on the topic of forgiveness:

Forgive for good
This ground breaking approach offers insights into the healing powers and medical benefits of forgiveness. Dr. Fred Luskin offers a powerful method in which the emphasis is of letting go of hurt, helplessness and anger while increasing confidence, hope and happiness.

The Fetzer Institute

The Campaign for Love and Forgiveness

Season of Forgiveness.org

FORGIVENESS | Interview w/ director Helen Whitney / | PBS

Ben Stein Gives the Gift of Forgiveness – CBS News Video

On Forgiveness – NY Times Opinionator

Check out the Smooch Project

Check out the news for the week of May 16th here.  If you are not on our e-mail list, please join here.

Please note the venue has changed to the Unity Church on Veneman Ave.

Insight Meditation Modesto will be offering a daylong with Kathy Cheney on Saturday, May 14th, from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm at the Unity Church on 2467 Veneman Ave., Modesto, on:

Working Through our Addictive Thinking and Discovering our Heart

When we sit down to meditate often we are distressed to see the “thinking mind” that just can’t seem to stop.  With mindfulness we learn to bring caring attention to our addictive patterns of thinking and begin to include them in our hearts.  In this daylong we will practice with the Buddha’s teaching on the Foundations of Mindfulness as a tool for bringing acceptance to our busy mind.

This day is offered by Insight Meditation Modesto and Kathy Cheney. Donations for Kathy and Insight Meditation Modesto are gladly accepted. Please bring a vegetarian potluck dish to share for lunch.  If you wish to sit on the floor and have a zabuton and/or meditation cushion, please bring it.  Chairs will be available.  For the sake of those who may have allergies or sensitivities, we kindly request that you do not wear any perfumes or other scented products to this workshop.

Kathy Cheney entered the Dharma as a volunteer for the Family Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in 2000 and soon began intensive retreat practice at both Spirit Rock and Gaia House in England. Her primary Insight Meditation teacher is Gil Fronsdal.  She recently began studying in the Soto Zen Tradition with Myogen Steve Stuckey and is participating in a three-year training program for Sangha leaders through Shogaku Zen Institute.  Kathy has taught young children since 1990, most recently in Marin County, and is committed to bringing her practice of mindfulness and compassion to children and their families.

Here’s a link to vote for the Raley’s Reach grant that I’ve proposed to bring mindfulness curriculum to Stanislaus County schools – if you’re inspired, please vote!  You can vote once a day – voting ends on May 12th.

http://www.raleys.com/cfapps/reach/nomination.cfm?ideaid=1842563

Rethinking Optimism – a thought provoking article from Greater Good

The Moment of Peace – plan to sit for an hour on June 18

A great article on Letting Go of Blame

9/11 healing: The mothers who found forgiveness, friendship | Video on TED.com

For those of you who might enjoy some dharma music, check out Eve Decker’s site.

Here are a few resources in Spanish:

Gil’s book, The Issue at Hand (Viviendo En El Presente) is available in Spanish:

http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/the-issue-at-hand/es/

It has also been translated into these other languages:

• Français – French (PDF)
• Deutsch – German
• Italiano – Italian (partial)
• 한국어 – Korean (PDF)
• Português – Portuguese (partial)

Right Attitude and Don’t Look Down on the Defilements by Sayadaw U Tejaniya

Ginger Clarkson teaches Insight Meditation in Cholula, Mexico

Sociedad de Meditacion Vipassana Dhura

Worth watching:

“The whole idea of Seva Cafe is that it’s a circle of giving. And because it’s a circle of giving, what I get today, I automatically want to give tomorrow.” –Anjali Desai

http://www.globalonenessproject.org/videos/sevacafe