There's no way to get through a life without difficulties. To be able to do it with grace, kindness, and generosity of spirit—with a heart that reaches out and joins other people either in actual physical company or in wishing them well—that’s what it’s about. We are working on habituating our minds to kindness. Because in a life that's inevitably challenging for everybody in it, meeting it with kindness is the most comfortable way to be in the world, for oneself and for everyone else with whom one interacts. This is the antidote to the difficulties that life brings with it.
Sylvia Boorstein, PhD
Residential Retreat Teacher
Sylvia Boorstein, PhD, has been teaching Dharma and mindfulness meditation since 1985. She is a founding Spirit Rock teacher, a psychologist, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She is particularly interested in emphasizing daily life as mindfulness practice and including informed citizenship and social activism as integral to spiritual maturation. Her books include: It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness; Don't Just Do Something, Sit There: A Mindfulness Retreat; That's Funny, You Don't Look Buddhist: On Being a Faithful Jew and a Passionate Buddhist; Pay Attention for Goodness' Sake: The Buddhist Path of Kindness and Happiness Is an Inside Job: Practicing for a Joyful Life.
Sylvia Boorstein's Upcoming Programs
Class Series | Online | Dharma Institute
August 1 - August 29, 2024 | 5 Thursdays | 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Everyday Life as Mindfulness Practice
Join us for a foundational series on the common-sense teachings of mindful awareness. With a focus on interactive discussion, meditation, and community building, Sylvia (via video recording) and Heidi (live via Zoom) will share practical, accessible, timeless teachings that support the integration of mindfulness, non-harming, and kindness into the complexities of our everyday lives. Connect and be nurtured by the support of saṅgha, shared stories, and meaningful moments as we bring our practice more fully into everyday life.
Retreat | On-Land
September 9 - September 13, 2024 | Monday - Friday | 4 nights
Founders Retreat: Insight Meditation with the Spirit Rock Founding Teachers
Spirit Rock invites you to a special Insight Meditation Retreat with senior Spirit Rock teachers who have been here since the beginning. This retreat emphasizes quieting the mind, opening the heart, and developing clarity and depth of practice. Traditional instructions based on the Foundations of Mindfulness will be combined with daily mettā (lovingkindness) practice, silent sitting and walking periods, guided movement sessions, practice meetings with teachers, and daily Dharma talks.
Retreat | On-Land
December 8 - December 18, 2024 | Sunday - Wednesday | 10 nights
Meeting the Three Characteristics through Cultivating Stability, Well-being, and Confidence
In this retreat, we tend to the three qualities of stability, well-being, and confidence, all of which support insight into the three characteristics of existence. Then we explore and befriend these characteristics—namely, aniccā (impermanence, inconstancy), dukkha (stress, unsatisfactoriness, suffering) and anattā (not-self, impersonality, ungovernability)—in our own lived experience. When we understand and make peace with these characteristics, we have more ease, compassion, and freedom in our lives, and we can be of more benefit to ourselves, others, and the world.
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, September 4 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
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.
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, September 11 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
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.
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, September 18 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
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.
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, September 25 | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
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.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Sylvia Boorstein through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.
