Often in Dharma teachings we hear that the self is empty, and that we need to let go of this self. There’s the sense of transcending the realities of our existence, and that what we’re aiming for is to transcend—to realize that it’s all empty. But in actual practice, we bring our identities and our ways of being into the process of investigation. Not in order to avoid them, or overcome them, or accentuate them, but in order to be more present. We don’t have to get rid of our identity to learn about the true nature of who we are. We practice to understand deeply what identity is.
JD Doyle, MA
Residential Retreat Teacher
JD Doyle (they/them) served as Core Teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center, where they co-founded the Alphabet (LGBTQIA+) Sangha, and is Guiding Teacher at Insight Santa Cruz. They graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Retreat Teacher Training in 2020. They teach at sanghas across the US and in Canada. JD began studying and practicing Buddhism in 1995, at Insight Meditation Society and at Spirit Rock and continued with extensive retreat practice in Thailand and Burma in the Theravadan lineage. For over twenty-three years, they worked as a public-school teacher. JD holds a BS in Environmental Studies from Cornell University, a bilingual multicultural teaching certificate from UC Santa Cruz, and a Masters in Language and Literacy and Sociocultural Studies from the University of New Mexico. They are committed to celebrating the diversity of our human sangha, transforming the impacts of racism on our communities, expanding concepts of gender, and living in ways that honor the sacredness of the Earth.
JD Doyle's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
November 3 - November 8, 2024 | Sunday - Friday | 5 nights
Nourishing the Beautiful: A Retreat for the LGBTQIA+ Community
Open to all self-identified LGBTQIA+.
Spaces Available. Awakening to the beauty that is within and around us is an essential part of the Buddhist path, and it is particularly important to those of us who have been taught to view ourselves and the world in a different light. Practicing together, we will closely consider—and deeply nurture—what beauty means for us, both individually and collectively. This retreat supports all levels of practice and inclusivity for LGBTQIA+, GNC, and non-binary communities, and is open to all levels of experience.
Retreat | On-Land
February 1 - March 29, 2025 | Saturday - Saturday | 56 nights
2025 Insight Meditation 2-Month Retreat - Application
Applications Still Being Accepted. An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained, dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of Insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness combined with training in lovingkindness and compassion, and practice will be structured around a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, Dharma talks, and practice meetings with teachers.
Dawn Scott
Vance Pryor
Tuere Sala
Brian Lesage
devon hase
JD Doyle
Tara Mulay
Tempel Smith
Devin Berry
Anushka Fernandopulle
Kristina Baré
Francisco Morillo Gable
Marjolein Janssen
Rasika Link
Retreat | On-Land
February 1 - March 1, 2025 | Saturday - Saturday | 28 nights
2025 February Insight Meditation 1-Month Retreat - Application
Applications Still Being Accepted. An extended period of retreat offers the rare opportunity for sustained, dedicated practice. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing profound clarity and depth of Insight practice. Instruction will follow the traditional four foundations of mindfulness combined with training in lovingkindness and compassion, and practice will be structured around a daily schedule of silent sitting, walking, Dharma talks, and practice meetings with teachers.
Retreat | On-Land
August 17 - August 21, 2025 | Sunday - Thursday | 4 nights
Five Spiritual Powers: Cultivating Resilience, Balance, and Love
Registration Opens - April 16. The Buddha’s teaching on the five spiritual powers (confidence, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom) offers a path to cultivate these capacities of the heart and transform habits that no longer serve us. Grounded in these teachings, together we will learn powerful and sustainable ways to restore our humanity and bring freedom to all beings. This retreat offers silent meditation, opportunities for movement meditation, Dharma talks, and time to be in nature and honor the natural rhythms of your own practice.
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, October 23 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Rainbow Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified LGBTQIA+.
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.
JD Doyle
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, November 20 | 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Rainbow Saṅgha
Open to all self-identified LGBTQIA+.
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.
JD Doyle
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with JD Doyle through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.