Through practice, we can learn to make our own hearts a place of peace and integrity. With a quiet mind and an open heart we can sense the reality of interdependence. Inner and outer are not separate. Once we see this clearly, we can extend the same principles of love and mindfulness to every area.
Quiet your mind. Open your heart. See your life in a new way.
On the land, online, or on-demand, Spirit Rock supports you at every stage of your path to grow a vibrant, nourishing spiritual life. Join us to practice Insight Meditation, Dharma teachings, and mindfulness in a diverse, inclusive community dedicated to the liberation of all beings.
Practice Guides
Dive into the teachings of the Buddha and get to know Spirit Rock with our new Practice Guides, with free talks and meditations from Spirit Rock teachers to help you start, restart, sustain, and deepen your practice.
New to Spirit Rock?
If you’re new to Spirit Rock, or returning after some time, start here to learn about our practice, tradition, and community, including selected talks from some of our most beloved teachers.
What is Insight Meditation?
Develop a new practice of meditation and mindfulness, or refresh yourself on the basics. This guide lays out the fundamental teachings of the Buddha, with tools and techniques to cultivate compassion, learn meditation, and strengthen mindfulness.
Deepening on the Path
Integrate wisdom and lovingkindness into all aspects of your life. As your practice unfolds, you’ll find here a rich foundation for engaged exploration and integration of the Dharma. Let our experienced teachers guide you further down the path to inner freedom and personal healing.
Featured Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
July 29 - August 4, 2024 | Monday - Sunday | 6 nights
The Spirit of Insight, Dharma & Awakening
The essence of Buddhist practice is embodying the Dharma experientially. In this retreat we will use mindfulness meditation to study our experiential reality within all our activities, including meditation, movement, eating, resting, and listening. When we are present and investigate our experiential reality moment by moment, insight arises, and the Dharma reveals itself within our body, heart, and mind. As the living, embodied truth unfolds, we awaken to the Buddha within and discover the depth and breadth of our own human potential.
Retreat | On-Land
August 5 - August 10, 2024 | Monday - Saturday | 5 nights
Young Adult Insight Meditation Retreat
Open to ages 18-32. Come practice silent mindfulness and Insight Meditation in community with your peers. Give yourself a break from constant overstimulation and external demands as we create a supportive space for cultivating greater calm, spaciousness, and presence. Together we will explore the ancient practices of guided and silent sitting, walking, and heart meditations, along with movement, teacher meetings, and Dharma talks. Over the course of the week, we will extend these practices until the entire day is one of steady, continuous awareness.
Retreat | On-Land
August 11 - August 18, 2024 | Sunday - Sunday | 7 nights
The Elements: Cultivating an Embodied Experience of Emptiness and Fullness
A fundamental aspect of establishing embodied mindfulness involves contemplations of the elements—earth, water, fire, air, and space. These five elements are universal, and when we contemplate them in relation to the body, they may bring a cooling of the grasping mind and profound realizations of emptiness and fullness. In contemplating the elements and their interrelationship, we will allow them to support the non-conceptual knowing from which insights naturally arise. This retreat includes guided and silent meditations, movement, and teacher meetings.
Retreat | On-Land
September 2 - September 5, 2024 | Monday - Thursday | 3 nights
Coming Home to Ourselves
Come home to yourself with the simple and direct practice of being present for your experience. Insight Meditation allows the restless heart to settle through the gentle practice of repeatedly connecting with and returning to the here and now. It is here in the present moment where we discover the peace and well-being we yearn for. This retreat is suitable for beginners as well as experienced practitioners and is silent except for practice instructions, teacher-led Q&A, and practice discussions.
Training | Online | Dharma Institute
September 2024 - April 2025 | Times variable - see details.
Deep Dive Dharma: Liberation and the Sure Heart's Release
Deep Dive Dharma is an online program for experienced practitioners on essential Buddhist teachings of liberation. Through meditation and interactive inquiry we will explore the Three Characteristics, Emptiness, Suchness, Dependent Origination, the Two Truths, Nature of Mind, Awareness, and Awakening. The heart of the program is bringing these complex teachings alive in our daily lives through embodied relational inquiry. One of the unique features of this program is the exploration of both Theravāda and Mahāyāna teachings. This is intended for experienced practitioners already familiar with fundamental Buddhist teachings.
Drop-in Groups
Explore weekly ongoing meditation groups and programs for beginning to experienced practitioners, including affinity groups for BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, women, and those in recovery. All drop-in groups are donation-based (by dāna), and meet online, with select Monday Night gatherings taking place on the Spirit Rock land.
* Please note that our campus is closed to the public and only accessible to retreatants attending residential retreats or CMC events.
All drop-ins are online unless specifically noted. Thank you.
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
Mondays | 7:15 pm - 9:15 pm
For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice Insight Meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a Dharma talk.
Upcoming:
Jul 29:
Diana Winston
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Wednesdays | 10 am - 12 pm
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Upcoming:
Jul 31:
Donald Rothberg
Rainbow Saṅgha
Wednesdays | 6 pm – 7:30 pm
Our Rainbow Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified practitioners within marginalized gender and sexuality groups such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, two-spirit, and gender non-conforming.
Upcoming:
Jul 31:
bruni dávila
Thursday Morning Women’s Group
Thursdays | 10 am - 12 pm
This drop-in group offers self-identified women a place to come together in community to share our wisdom and strengthen our sense of belonging in the world. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Upcoming:
Aug 01:
Grace Fisher
BIPOC Voices: Weekly Sunday Saṅgha
Sundays | 9:00am - 10:30 am
The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Saṅgha is a weekly gathering of self-identified BIPOC practitioners that provides a safe place to meditate and explore the Dharma in light of our experiences. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Upcoming:
Jul 28:
Amana Brembry Johnson
Dharma and Recovery Group
2nd Friday per Month | 7:15 pm - 9:15 pm
Our Dharma & Recovery group explores the intersection of recovery with Buddhist teachings and practices. We welcome all people who identify with any of the full range of addictions, from substances to behaviors, as well as habitual thought and emotional patterns. Beginners and experienced meditators are welcome.
Upcoming:
Aug 09:
Kevin Griffin
Dharma Training Programs
Our Dharma Training Programs offer in-depth study of the teachings and practices of the Buddha and the Insight Meditation lineage, professional trainings, and continuing education, both online and on our campus.
Dharma Library
Supporting practitioners worldwide, our new online Dharma Library offers meditations, talks, audio, video, articles, courses, and more from our 30-year archive of teachings, as well as newly-recorded material designed specifically for self-paced study and practice.
