Common Ground Meditation Center

Buddhist Studies Program:

The Eightfold Path: Part 2

The Buddhist Studies Program is designed for people who have attended three or more mindfulness meditation retreats and have a commitment to daily meditation practice.This ongoing program is designed to deepen our understanding through the study and application of the teachings of the Buddha.  In this eight-week course, we will explore the teachings on the eightfold path as a relevant map for our lives.  This map emphasizes right understanding, right ethical conduct, and right mental development as a balanced approach to realizing freedom from stress and suffering. Participants will be expected to use the content of the class as a focus for their daily meditation practice. Please register by contacting the Center. Led by Mark Nunberg.

   Eight Mondays, March 17 - May 5, 7:30 - 9:00 pm

Meditation Retreats:

  

   Half-day Retreat: Saturday, March 8, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm.

   Daylong Retreat: Saturday, March 22, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm.

   Daylong Retreat: Saturday, April 12, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm, led by Santikaro (see bio below).  

   Country Retreat in Zumbro Falls: Sunday, April 20, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm.

   In Zumbro Falls, 90 minutes from Minneapolis; Contact Deah Kinion at (507) 753-3094.

   Residential Retreat at Holy Spirit Retreat Center: Thursday, April 24 - Sunday, April 27.

   Contact Amy Searing at amysearing@earthlink.net; registration begins March 1.

   Half-day Retreat: Saturday, May 10, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm.

   Daylong Retreat: Saturday, May 24, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm.

   Annual TCVC Summer Retreat at Villa Maria, Frontenac, MN: June 13-22

   (weekend-only option available). Led by Kamala Masters and Steve Armstrong.

   Contact Jean Fagerstrom at iamjeanf@comcast.net.

Twin Cities Vipassana Collective (TCVC) is a sister organization to Common Ground that organizes residential vipassasa (insight) meditation retreats throughout the year.  See their website at http://www.tcvc.info for an upcoming schedule or to get on their mailing list. 

Mindfulness in the Twelve Steps

Weekly Practice Group: This ongoing program is for those seeking spiritual development by practicing the principles of the Twelve Steps and the Buddha's teachings in everyday life. This program supplements recovery and is designed to reveal to us that consistent mindfulness practice is vital to spiritual progress. This ongoing practice group meets the second, third and fourth Friday of each month and is open to all who have an interest in mindfulness and the Twelve Steps.  Led by Craig V.

    Fridays, 7:00 - 8:15 pm except the first Friday of each month.

    

Twelve-step Recovery and Mindfulness Meditation Retreat:

This retreat is an opportunity for 12-step people to come together and experience half a day of quiet meditation.  These four hours without distractions provide a unique opportunity for self-discovery.  We will have periods of sitting meditation, walking meditation, group discussion, a short talk, and a mid-afternoon break for tea and walking outdoors.  The environment will be informal and the instructions simple.  No previous meditation retreat experience necessary.  Led by Craig V.

    Saturday, May 17, 9:00 am - 1:00 pm.

Practicing Forgiveness Workshop: The practice of forgiveness is a key to opening our hearts to authentic happiness.  So why do we resist it so intently?  In working with our feelings toward others and toward ourselves, we come to forgive ourselves for not being better than we are and to accept and appreciate ourselves for what we already are.  The goal of this workshop is to help us use the wisdom of our experience and practice to work through these difficult emotions.  In time, with practice, the negative emotions that lock our hearts dissipate of their own accord and we begin to feel more content and able to respond to life with wise kindness.   Participation is limited to 32. Led by Craig V.

    Saturday, March 15, 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm.

Of course, there are moments when I do get angry, but in the depth of my heart, I don't hold a grudge against anyone. - The Dalai Lama

Craig has practiced the Twelve Steps since December 6, 1991, and has practiced Buddhist meditaition since the fall of 1992.  These combined practices have graduatlly changed Craig's life.  He offers this program out of gratitude to those who have gone before.

Practice Meetings

Regular or periodic meetings with an experienced and trusted meditator can help energize and deepen one's practice. People interested in meeting with Mark Nunberg to discuss their practice can call or e-mail to set up an appointment. These practice meetings are usually scheduled for 30-45 minute slots and are available to people with specific questions about their meditation practice or for those who are interested in deepening their practice through regular meetings with a spiritual friend.

Monthly Evening Dharma

Please join us for these special evenings of dharma (spiritual teachings) and connection with the Common Ground community. This monthly drop-in program is an opportunity to hear guest dharma teachers and experienced community members speak about their practice. The evening begins with a 30-minute meditation period followed by a talk and discussion. The evening concludes with informal social time, tea and treats.

Saturday, February 23, 7 - 9 p.m.

Losting Our Balance in a Background of Perfect Harmony: The Spirituality of Imperfection,

with Judith Ragir.

Judith Ragir is the guiding teacher at Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul.  She studied with Danin Katagiri Roshi from 1973-1990 at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis.  Following his death in 1990, Judith was instrumental in helping found Clouds in Water Zen Center in St. Paul where she was a senior teacher for nine years.  In December 2007, Joen Snyder-O'Neal, of Compassion Ocean Dharma Center, bestowed on Judith Dharma Transmission, the authorization to teach.  This transmission is in Katagiri Roshi's lineage.  Judith has a background in bodywork and healing which includes having been a professional modern dancer and a doctor of Oriental medicine.  She lives in the woods with her husband and two sons.       

Saturday, March 15, 7 - 9 pm.

Crash Dharma, with Steve Burt.

Steve began meditation practice under Shinzen Young around 1990.  Significant teachers since then have been Kamala Masters, Steve Armstrong, and Matthew Flickstein.  In addition to residential retreats with the Twin Cities Vipassana Collective, Steve has done retreats at IMS and with Matthew Flickstein.  Locally, Steve has been a grateful member of Common Ground since its inception.  He was in a motorcycle crash last June and has been recovering since then.

Saturday, April 5, 7 - 9 p.m.

Finding Freedom from Fear, with Myoshin Kelley.

Myoshin Kelley began practice in 1975 and has worked with teachers in the Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.  Her teaching style emphasizes a relaxed, caring, and attentive attidude combined with joyful interest.  She is a teacher-in-residence at the Forest Refuge, Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, Mass.

Sunday, April 13, 7 - 9 pm.

On Loan from Nature, with Santikaro.

Santikaro was ordained as a Theravada monk in 1985 and subsequently trained at Suan Mokkh Monastery with Buddhadasa Bhikkhu, a leading Thai teacher and reformer of Theravada Buddhism.  He became Ajahn Buddhadasa's primary English translator and was abbot of nearby Suan Atammayatarama.  In 2001, he returned to the Midwest and retired from monastic life in 2004.  He is the founder of Liberation Park, a modern expression of Buddhist practice, study, and social responsibility, located in rural southwestern Wisconsin.  There he continues to teach, explore nature, and translate the work of his teacher.  He teaches Buddhism and meditation with an emphasis on the early Pali sources and is a lucid interpreter of the original teachings and discourses.

Saturday, May 10, 7 - 9 pm.

How Clinging to Gender Subverts Enlightenment, with Rita Gross.

Rita Gross is an internationally known feminist scholar-practitioner, a senior teacher in Jetsun Khandro Rinpoche's meditation center, Lotus Garden, and also a senior teacher of Shambhala Buddhism.  She is professor emerita of comparative studies in religion at UW, Eau Claire.  Her work on Buddhism and gender has been influential in academic and Buddhist communities.  She is the author of Buddhism After Patriarchy, and Soaring and Settling: Buddhist Perspectives on Contemporary Social and Religious Issues. Her newest book, A Garland of Feminine Reflections will be published soon.

                          

 

Wednesdays, 9:05 - 10:05 am

Led by Mark Nunberg and Merra Young

Five Wednesdays, March 5 - April 2, 5:30 - 6:45 pm

Seven Wednesdays, April 16 - May 28, 5:30 - 6:45 pm