All times Pacific time unless otherwise indicated.
August 30 (Sunday morning): San Francisco, Gay Buddhist Fellowship 10.30 to 12 noon, held at San Francisco Buddhist Center, 37 Bartlett Street (near 21st St. between Mission & Valencia). For further information: https://gaybuddhist.org. In-person and also likely on Zoom.
September 3 (Thursday evening), Insight Meditation Community of Berkeley, 7:30 to 9 p.m. Meditation, talk, and discussion. Potluck at 6 p.m.! Go to: https://www.insightberkeley.org/events/09032026. Hybrid: In-person and online.
September 9, 16 (Wednesday morning), Spirit Rock, 10 to 11:30 a.m.. Meditation, talk, and discussion. Go to: https://www.spiritrock.org/programs/drop-ins. Online.
September 24 (Thursday evening), Asheville Insight Meditation, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern. Meditation, talk, and discussion. In-person: 85 Weaverville Road, Unit 5, Woodfin, NC 28804. Hybrid: In-person and online. Online link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9742035476. Passcode: 879173.
September 25 (Friday) - October 8 (Thursday): Southern Dharma (north of Asheville, North Carolina): Residential Retreat: The Heart of Our Practice: From Ordinary Mind to Awakening. In this two-week retreat, we will work with four core practices taught by the Buddha and later teachers that are the treasures of the tradition. These practices help us to see and work through our habitual constructions of mind, heart, and body that keep us limited, often caught in reactivity and separated from our inherent wisdom and kind, compassionate hearts. We begin with four days developing greater concentration and stability and will continue cultivating such concentration throughout the retreat. Our second core practice is developing insight—especially into impermanence, dukkha (in its most important meaning of reactivity), and "not-self" (and "emptiness"—the interdependence and lack of solidity of all phenomena). Our third practice of cultivating lovingkindness and compassion, developed throughout the retreat, helps us increasingly to integrate wisdom, the kind heart, and the body. These three practices are the ground for our fourth practice—opening to experiences of non-dual, awakened awareness and beginning to stabilize such awareness both in formal meditation and in informal activities. In the last part of the retreat, we will connect our retreat practices with ways to continue the process in daily life. These practices will be supported by daily Qigong further supporting embodiment. Prerequisite: Completion of at least two 5-night or longer silent Insight Meditation retreats or permission of the teacher.
https://southerndharma.org/retreat-schedule/1557/the-heart-of-our-practice-from-ordinary-mind-to-awakening/. In-person. Some scholarships still available!
October 16-18 (Friday to Sunday): Louisville, Kentucky: Awakening the Heart: Practicing the "Divine Abodes" (Lovingkindness, Compassion, Joy, Equanimity): A Weekend Non-Residential Retreat: (Friday, 7 to 8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Eastern time): The Divine Abodes (Brahmaviharas) of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, are the places of the open, boundless, and luminous awakened heart. In this non-residential retreat, we will learn the formal practices of lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity, and offer guidance for bringing these practices into daily life. All of these practices strengthen self-confidence, self-acceptance, generosity of spirit, and steadiness of mind and heart, revealing our fundamental kindness and caring. The retreat will be held in the context of silence, alternating sitting meditation and walking meditation. Core instructions in the different practices will be offered, along with talks, discussion, and brief daily guided movement sessions. All are welcome, including those without previous experience in meditation. Held at the Earth & Spirit Center ("The Barn"), 1924 Newburg Road, Louisville. In-person. For further information:https://www.earthandspiritcenter.org/class/donald-rothberg-retreat/.
November 1, 8 (Sunday evenings): San Rafael: Marin Sunday Sangha, 6 to 7:30 p.m. or so: Meditation, talk, and discussion. For further information: https://www.marinsangha.org/. Either hybrid or just online: To be determined.
December 1-5 (Tuesday to Saturday): Spirit Rock: Residential Retreat: Transforming the Judgmental Mind (with Eve Decker): Judgments of a reactive nature are very strong in most of our lives, and in the dominant culture. They can distort our perceptions, make relationships difficult, and undermine our work in the world. In this retreat, we will explore such judgments (and their difference from non-reactive discernment) and how to transform them. We will cultivate mindfulness of judgments; inquiry into the deep roots of judgments; and heart practices such as lovingkindness, forgiveness, and compassion. We will also explore the somatic and social dimensions of judgments and how to cultivate skill in speech and interaction in the midst of judgments. These tools will help us to preserve the intelligence and energy often found in judgments, using them for discernment and compassionate action, while working through judgments' destructive, compulsive aspects. The retreat will be held mostly in silence, including guided meditations, along with group and individual practice discussions. Those attending the retreat will have the option of continuing with follow-up sessions after the retreat. Prerequisite: Recommended: A background in mindfulness practice and a regular mindfulness practice. For further information, go to: https://www.spiritrock.org/programs/retreats/388r26-transforming-the-judgmental-mind-cultivating-the-wise-heart. In-person.
January 11-18 (Monday evening to Monday morning): Spirit Rock: Metta Retreat: Teachings and Practices Cultivating to Cultivate a Wise, Compassionate, and Resilient Heart (with Gullu Singh, Beth Sternlieb, Diana Winston, and Jonathan Relucio). For further information: https://www.spiritrock.org/programs/retreats/202r27-metta-retreat-teachings-and-practices-to-cultivate-a-wise-compassionate-and-resilient-heart. In-person.
February 6 (Saturday): Marin Sangha Daylong. Details forthcoming.
February 16-21 (Tuesday to Sunday): Tovana: The Non-Dual Buddha (with Stephen Fulder): Online. Details forthcoming.
Ongoing Wednesdays Class, Spirit Rock, Woodacre, CA: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. morning class (founded by Sylvia Boorstein, who shared the teaching with Donald for two decades, now share teaching with Heidi Bourne, Gullu Singh, Eve Decker, and others: 40-minute meditation, talk and discussion. Donald will be teaching September 9, 16. Further dates to be determined.
Donald's Talks At: Dharma Seed (www.dharmaseed.org/), Audio Dharma (www.audiodharma.org/)