Yong Oh
Residential Retreat Teacher
Yong Oh serves as a teacher on the Dharma Council for the Durango Dharma Center and is a core teacher for Sacred Mountain Sangha. Yong began meditating through the Soto Zen tradition and eventually transitioned to study, practice and teach in the Insight tradition. He is also a visiting teacher for the Chattanooga Insight Meditation group, and teaches retreats at the Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock Meditation Center and Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center.
Yong is a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s two-year Community Dharma Leaders program and the Sacred Mountain Sangha two-year Dharmapala training, taught by his primary teachers Kittisaro and Thanissara. He is a graduate of the 2017-2021 Insight Meditation Society Retreat Teacher Training program.
He is also an acupuncturist, loves mountains and forests and bringing the practice of meditation into nature, and has a particular interest in devotional expression, and supporting caregivers as well as communities of color in the Dharma.
Yong Oh's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
September 5 - September 8, 2024 | Thursday - Sunday | 3 nights
The Doorway to Freedom and Peace: The Three Characteristics
The radical premise of the Buddha’s teaching is that realizing the truth—what Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki called "things-as-it-is"—is the doorway to freedom and peace. During this retreat, we will engage mindfulness and compassion to turn toward the living truth that arises each moment, with an emphasis on the Three Characteristics of Reality: all things are impermanent (aniccā), ultimately unreliable (dukkha), and ownerless (anattā). Our time will include silent meditation and movement along with instructions, Dharma talks, and meetings with teachers.
Retreat | On-Land
November 15 - November 22, 2024 | Friday - Friday | 7 nights
Natural Radiance: Exploring the Freedom of Awareness
Awareness is a beautiful, hidden jewel that is innate in everyone. In this meditation retreat, we will explore this quality of awareness—what it is, and how to cultivate and abide in awakened presence. We will investigate how mindfulness supports a depth of awareness through various meditation practices, and we will consider what obscures the clarity of awareness both in meditation and in everyday life. As our mindfulness grows, we discover how this capacity for awareness is available in every moment.
Retreat | On-Land
November 22 - November 30, 2024 | Friday - Saturday | 8 nights
Reclamation of the Sacred: Journey into Refuge, Presence, and Love
In helping us to deepen our refuge and reconnect with what is most precious and sacred in this life, this retreat draws from teachings and practices that open us to the heart of compassion. Informed by a synthesis of Theravāda Buddhism as transmitted through the Thai Forest Tradition and the teachings of Ajahn Chah, and Mahāyāna practices and teachings around Quan Yin’s compassionate Bodhisattva Path, this retreat includes devotional practices, Dharma talks, meditation instructions, Yoga sessions, and meetings with teachers.
