Dear Friends,
In 2012, the SBI Study Group which has been meeting monthly for the past two years will be undergoing a few changes. The new schedule, created in consultation with Alan Wallace, is listed below in concise form. Individual mailings will also be sent out for each of the upcoming events.
Vidya Gauci will once again be leading calm abiding or shamatha practice at Unity Church beginning Monday, Feb. 27 from 7:00-8:20 PM, and a monthly group meeting at EMID. For more information please click here.
Kimberley Snow will be leading the Tuesday night sitting group all through February at McVeagh House next to the Natural History Museum while Radhule Weininger is on retreat. The format consists of a fifteen minute dharma talk, 30 minutes of guided Shamatha meditation followed by fifteen minutes of a guided loving kindness meditation. The group is free and open to the public.
We hope that you'll be able to join us there from 6pm to 7pm Feb 7, 14, 21, 28.
During March, Radhule Weininger and Kimberley Snow will teach Cultivating Emotional Balance through Mindfulness (CEBtM) at La Casa de Maria in a series of meetings starting with a day-long session on March 3rd, followed by Sunday afternoon sessions on March 11, 18, 25, and April 1st.
A prelude to this series will be taught by K & R on January 14th at La Casa de Maria from 9:30 to 3:30. Register at La Casa de Maria.
On April 27-29, the venue returns to EMID for a weekend retreat with Tenzin Priyadarshi, starting with a public talk on Friday night, teachings, meditation and discussion all day Saturday and ending after lunch on Sunday.
Many of us attended his earlier excellent teachings through SBI on the Heart Sutra, and we are very happy that Lama Tenzin of MIT will be able to visit us in Santa Barbara again.
The Study Group for May has two parts: First, on Friday night May 18, everyone is invited to a free talk and book signing by Tsoknyi Rinpoche at Unity Church at 7pm. We have frequently mentioned Rinpoche, the author of Fearless Simplicity and Carefree Dignity, and some members of our sangha have taken retreats with him. We have chosen his new book, Open Heart, Open Mind: Awakening the Power of Essence Love to be the focus for the next Study Group series starting on May 19th, to be led by Kimberley Snow. We have requested that Rinpoche visit the Study Group scheduled at EMID the morning after his reading. If his schedule permits it, this would provide an auspicious beginning for our deeper look at his book. Subsequent Study Group dates in this series are June 16, July 21 and August 18.
Best wishes for the New Year,
Kimberley for SBI
SBI Program Director
ksnow@sbinstitute.com
Directions for Study Group: Exit off the 101N at Winchester Canyon, and make an go directly onto Calle Real which parallels the 101N. Go up several blocks and make a right onto Vereda Leyenda where you will see the adobe sign "Rancho Embarcadero." When the road starts to turn into a Y you will see #224, an historic Spanish adobe building in front of you. There is a small adjacent parking lot to EMID, and lots of street parking on the right hand side.
