One thing you’ll notice about compassion, lovingkindness, and sympathetic joy is that they have a preference for what’s good, and an understanding that pain and suffering is a misfortune we all face. And yet that preference for the good, and seeing what’s painful as a misfortune, will keep us in our reactivity. With deeper wisdom, as we become intimate with life, as we have lived long enough and felt into what an actual human life is like, we see that there is this up and down motion: there’s pleasure and good fortune, then states that are very difficult when we experience pain and loss. To be an open-hearted human means that we have to come to terms with the fact that there will be some pleasure, there will be some pain, and that we don’t have much control over that. And so equanimity grows over time, with perspective.
Tempel Smith
Residential Retreat Teacher
Tempel Smith teaches Mindfulness, Insight and mettā meditation with an emphasis on Buddhist psychology and mind-body awareness. He spent a year as a monk in Burma with Sayadaw U Pandita and Pa Auk Sayadaw. Tempel serves on the Spirit Rock Guiding Teachers Council, organizes the Dedicated Practitioners Program (DPP) and Living Dharma retreats for Spirit Rock, and teaches classes in the East Bay.
Tempel Smith's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
February 3 - March 28, 2026 | Tuesday - Saturday | 53 nights
2026 Insight Meditation 2-Month Retreat - Application
Application Open. Spaces Still Available! 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
Tuere Sala
James Baraz
JD Doyle
Vance Pryor
Brian Lesage
Tara Mulay
Tempel Smith
Kristina Baré
Anushka Fernandopulle
Greg Scharf
Rasika Link
Retreat | On-Land
March 2 - March 28, 2026 | Monday - Saturday | 26 nights
2026 March Insight Meditation 1-Month Retreat - Application
Application Open. Spaces Still Available! 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.
Tara Mulay
Tempel Smith
Tuere Sala
Anushka Fernandopulle
Kristina Baré
Greg Scharf
Rasika Link
Retreat | On-Land
July 8 - July 17, 2026 | Wednesday - Friday | 9 nights
Summer Lovingkindness Retreat
Spaces Still Available! The Buddha’s teachings on the four divine sanctuaries (brahmavihāras) include meditations on universal friendliness (mettā), compassion (karuṇā), altruistic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekkhā). Aimed at purifying our hearts and developing concentration, these divine sanctuaries help us find inner peace and powerfully engage with the world. This retreat will deepen our understanding of selfless love and its role in ending suffering. Practitioners are encouraged to combine this retreat with the Insight Meditation retreat to further develop concentration and purify the heart.
Tempel Smith
John Martin
Anushka Fernandopulle
Devin Berry
bruni dávila
Kristina Baré
Rasika Link
Retreat | On-Land
July 17 - July 26, 2026 | Friday - Sunday | 9 nights
Summer Insight Retreat
Spaces Still Available! The Buddha's unique Insight Meditation techniques open a direct experience with our human mind and body, allowing us to deeply see into the nature of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, and non-self. Having these direct insights uproots the ignorance that keeps us trapped in cycles of suffering. Practitioners are encouraged to combine the Summer Insight Retreat with the Summer Lovingkindness (mettā) Retreat, although this is not required. For those attending both retreats, teachers will guide and integrate the retreats as one offering.
Tempel Smith
Bonnie Duran
Anushka Fernandopulle
bruni dávila
Devin Berry
Kristina Baré
Marcy Reynolds
Retreat | On-Land
October 3 - October 12, 2026 | Saturday - Monday | 9 nights
Concentration (Samādhi) Retreat: Cultivating Joy and Contentment
Spaces Still Available! Concentration (samādhi), the unification of mind, is essential for deepening meditation and was emphasized by the Buddha as a path to awakening. This retreat offers practical techniques to strengthen focus and stability, supporting both Insight (vipassanā) practice and access to deeper absorption states (jhanas). Whether you're new or experienced, you’ll receive guidance on sustaining attention, calming the mind, and integrating concentration into your practice—building a foundation for greater clarity, ease, and transformation.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Tempel Smith through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.