All posts filed under: Daylongs

Saturday, 7/25/2026, Day of Insight – A Daylong Meditation Retreat, with Leslie Booker

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Photo: Wave Hill Garden Saturday, July 25, 2026 Time: 10am – 5pm ET “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.” –The Buddha In modern society we are surrounded by noise – traffic noise, endless emails and phone calls, the chatter of people, and so forth. A silent retreat day is essentially a period of extended inward reflection, allowing you to achieve a greater clarity of mind. This retreat day will be one of noble silence for those who want to deepen their practice. It will include sitting, walking, and select inspirational readings for contemplation. Individual interviews will be available. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch to maintain the meditative atmosphere and concentration.

Saturday, 5/23/2026, Day of Insight – A Daylong Meditation Retreat, with David Grogen

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Photo: New York Botanical Garden, 2025 Saturday, May 23, 2026 Time: 10am – 5pm ET “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.” –The Buddha In modern society we are surrounded by noise – traffic noise, endless emails and phone calls, the chatter of people, and so forth. A silent retreat day is essentially a period of extended inward reflection, allowing you to achieve a greater clarity of mind. This retreat day will be one of noble silence for those who want to deepen their practice. It will include sitting, walking, and select inspirational readings for contemplation. Individual interviews will be available. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch to maintain the meditative atmosphere and concentration.

Sun. 10/12/2025: Sacred Homage: Fall Foliage and Nature Meditation at Chuang Yen Monastery, 10am – 3pm

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Join us for a contemplative day of meditation and reflection amid the fall foliage at Chuang Yen Monastery in Putnam County. This sacred site, home to the largest indoor Buddha statue in the Western Hemisphere, has housed Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi and a vibrant monastic community since 2006. Designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei, the monastery’s serene grounds and elegant halls—the Kuan Yin Hall (1985) and the Great Buddha Hall (1997), inaugurated by the Dalai Lama—offer a peaceful setting for spiritual practice. The halls house 10,000 mini buddhas and many antique Buddha statues. Past participants were deeply moved by the beauty and stillness of these sacred spaces, as well as the opportunity to learn about the monastery’s history, rituals, and deep ties to the Buddhist lineage. We’ll begin our day with quiet exploration, meditating among the walkways and halls as we immerse ourselves in the presence of this living temple. After a lovingly prepared vegetarian lunch offered by monastery volunteers, we’ll head outdoors to walk the grounds and appreciate the fall foliage, connecting with the changing …

Sat. 9/20/2025, Day of Insight – A Daylong Meditation Retreat, with Gary Singer

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“Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.” –The Buddha In modern society we are surrounded by noise – traffic noise, endless emails and phone calls, the chatter of people, and so forth. A silent retreat day is essentially a period of extended inward reflection, allowing you to achieve a greater clarity of mind. This retreat day will be one of noble silence for those who want to deepen their practice. It will include sitting, walking, and select inspirational readings for contemplation. Individual interviews will be available. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch to maintain the meditative atmosphere and concentration. Date: Saturday, September 20, 2025 Time: 10am – 4pm ET Photo: Red Maple Tree, Garrison Institute

Sun. 6/29/2025: Sacred Homage: Nature Meditation at Chuang Yen Monastery

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Location: 2020, Route 301, Carmel, NY 10512 Time: 10am – 3pm Join us for a contemplative day of meditation and reflection as we pay homage to the rich Buddhist lineage at the Chuang Yen Monastery, nestled in the peaceful Town of Kent, Putnam County.  This sacred space is home to the largest indoor statue of Buddha in the Western Hemisphere and has been the residence of Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi since 2006, alongside a vibrant monastic community. Designed by the architect I.M. Pei, the monastery’s beautiful grounds provide a serene backdrop for contemplation. The elegant Kuan Yin Hall, inspired by the architectural style of the Tang Dynasty, was completed in 1985, while the Great Buddha Hall, where the Dalai Lama presided over the groundbreaking ceremony in 1989, was finished in 1997. We will begin the day by exploring the monastery’s beautiful halls, soaking in the history and tranquility of the temple.  After a vegetarian lunch provided by the monastery (prepared with care by volunteers who dedicate their weekends to this service), we’ll venture outdoors for a …

Sunday, 1/5/2025, Day of Insight – A Daylong Meditation Retreat, with Leslie Booker

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Photo: Red Maple Tree, Garrison Institute Sunday, January 5, 2025 Time: 10am – 4pm ET “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.” –The Buddha In modern society we are surrounded by noise – traffic noise, endless emails and phone calls, the chatter of people, and so forth. A silent retreat day is essentially a period of extended inward reflection, allowing you to achieve a greater clarity of mind. This retreat day will be one of noble silence for those who want to deepen their practice. It will include sitting, walking, and select inspirational readings for contemplation. Individual interviews will be available. Participants are welcome to bring their lunch to maintain the meditative atmosphere and concentration.

Sat. 9/25/2021: Tending Grief in Nature – Jamaica Bay Wild Life Preserve

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Grief, if not attended, could often hold us hostage to life’s uncertainty and losses.  How do we open our heart and continue to let our life energy flow while facing and tending our grief intimately?  How do we establish a sense of connection with our loved ones when their bodies are no longer here? We will spend this day  outdoors to meditate, to free write, to experiment the elements, to share dreams…

Sun., 8/23/2020: Cultivating Wisdom and Resilience Through Nature-Based Mindfulness Practice (Online and Outdoors)

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As we go through an intense year of pandemic and social transformation, how do we access our inner resources regardless of external circumstances? Whether it is through a tree or sky meditation, listening to sounds of the birds or walking on grass barefoot, we can learn from the intelligence and wisdom from our natural environment, and reconnect and renew our body and spirit. Through this day you’ll be guided through nature meditation practices that connect to your senses and explore your internal and external experiences intimately. You can do these nature practices on your rooftop, porch, backyard, stupa, a neighborhood garden or park, anywhere that you can meditate outdoors. You don’t need to seek the most beautiful place to meditate – it is more important that it’s a place that you can easily access and that it can be in your routine so you can develop a regular nature-based practice on your own if you wish. We’ll also explore an indoor nature practice at the end of the day. Date: Sunday, August 23, 2020 Time: …

Sat. Nov. 23, 2019: We Are Nature: Remembering Our Sacred Connection to Earth

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Who: Sebene Selassie, DaRa Williams, and Lin Gordon  Date: Saturday, November 23rd, 2019 | 10:00am to 5:00pm Location: New York Insight Meditation Center Many of us speak of nature as if it is something external, having nothing to do with us except when we “visit it”. Nature is “out there” or in “the wilderness.” Dharma, which is often referred to as truth or teachings, can be translated as nature. Dharma as nature is everywhere, in and around us. Whether we are aware of it or not, We are always in connection to this truth, that we are this sacred earth. In this daylong program, we will take time to reconnect to our bodies, hearts and minds remembering that we are nature. Centering land and ancestors, we will cultivate meditative awareness to sense the sacred connection to earth that is always present when we open to it. We will explore how this understanding can support us in our lives, in relationship/connection, our work, and especially in our response to our current planetary crisis. We will use …