Some part of us desperately wants to control, and some part of us desperately wants to surrender—and we can't always choose which side we're on. But what's left in the wake of letting go is very quiet, potent love. Hatred requires energy, clinging. Love asks only that we let go.
Matthew Brensilver, PhD
Residential Retreat Teacher
Matthew Brensilver teaches at the Insight Retreat Center, Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society. He was previously program director for Mindful Schools and for more than a decade, was a core teacher at Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society. Matthew worked as a clinical social worker, serving severely and persistently mentally ill adults. He subsequently earned a PhD from the Dworak-Peck School of Social Work at USC. His dissertation examined the mechanisms of risk and resilience in maltreated adolescents in a large, longitudinal study in South Los Angeles. Before committing to teach meditation full-time, he spent years doing research on addiction pharmacotherapy at the UCLA Center for Behavioral and Addiction Medicine. Each summer, he lectures at UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center on the intersections between mindfulness, science and psychotherapy. He serves on the Board of Directors at Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Center.
Matthew Brensilver's Upcoming Programs
Short Program | On-Land
Sunday, July 27 | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Freedom Within Reach: Real Awakening in Ordinary Life
The attainment of enlightenment has a hallowed place in Buddhism. We often assume it’s some distant, rarified achievement that is only accessible for certain people at certain times. But what if each day could be punctuated by the experience of deep letting go? And what if nibbāna was something within our reach, or even inevitable? Our time together will explore the possibilities for nurturing freedom in the ordinariness of our lives. Please join us.
Short Program | Online
Sunday, July 27 | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Freedom Within Reach: Real Awakening in Ordinary Life
The attainment of enlightenment has a hallowed place in Buddhism. We often assume it’s some distant, rarified achievement that is only accessible for certain people at certain times. But what if each day could be punctuated by the experience of deep letting go? And what if nibbāna was something within our reach, or even inevitable? Our time together will explore the possibilities for nurturing freedom in the ordinariness of our lives. Please join us.
Retreat | On-Land
August 5 - August 10, 2025 | Tuesday - Sunday | 5 nights
Young Adult Retreat
Open to Young adults ages 18-32 years. Registration Open. Join a kind community to practice mindfulness and compassion. Give yourself a break from overstimulation and come home to the simple experience of being alive. In mindfulness meditation, we practice resting, looking deeply, knowing moment-by-moment what it’s like to be human. Some of us are hesitant to look because we’re concerned what we’ll find. But our practice shows us that the more deeply we look into experience, the more reason we have to love.
Training | Online
August 22 - December 13, 2025 | 6 Sessions | 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Buddhist Psychology Training
18 CE Credits. Deepen your meditation practice and nourish your work with clients in this training designed for clinicians, counselors, and mindfulness teachers. Through meditation, Dharma talks, small group explorations, and clinical case studies, you will develop greater confidence in applying mindfulness-based interventions with clients while enhancing your understanding of Buddhist psychology and meditation practices that illuminate our minds, foster goodness, and transform habits that compound suffering. This training brings both sides of ourselves—patient and healer—together as we practice and learn in community.
Matthew Brensilver
Retreat | On-Land
October 16 - October 24, 2025 | Thursday - Friday | 8 nights
Fall Insight Meditation Retreat
Registration Open. Grounded in the Thai Forest Tradition, this Vipassanā retreat will focus on quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity and depth of practice. During our time together, traditional meditation instruction will be combined with a spirit of lovingkindness, and the retreat will include silent sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talks, and practice meetings with the teachers.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Matthew Brensilver through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.