Purpose
Creating a small sangha for meditation practitioners younger than 40 in the South Denver area. Support for study and daily practice.
About
We’ll meet every other week at a local library in south Denver. The conference rooms can be booked up to 60 days in advance, so the schedule will be sent out on an ongoing basis.
The primary time and meeting location will be Koelbel library on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:00pm. We’re going to try to keep the schedule as consistent as possible, but might need to make small adjustments in case the meeting rooms at Koelbel are booked out. Here is a list of the other Arapahoe public libraries in case of scheduling conflicts.
Each session will feature an agreed upon reading from a book about the practice. We’ll begin by sitting together for 30 minutes, then break for tea before a discussion about our practice and the week’s reading. This is an opportunity to share our practice experience and learn from each other.
It’s important to understand that there will be no teacher in this group. We’re meeting together as serious students. Beginners who want to establish a committed practice are welcome, but they’re encouraged to learn the practice from a qualified teacher.
The group will be focused on Theravaden Buddhist meditation from the Burmese/Thai Tradition. Here is a reading list that we’ll choose from. The first book will be Insight Meditation, by Joseph Goldstein.
The first two introductory meetings will be held at Koelbel Library on Tuesday, November 28th and Tuesday, December 12th, from 6:30-8:00pm. This is an opportunity to try it out and see if it’s a good fit for you. We’ll then start meeting again in the new year with a set group for a set period of time, probably 4-6 months. After the period ends, if we choose to we can re-form another group for another period of time.
The group will be no more than 12 people, and once the group is established we’ll do our best to establish a shared sense of commitment from members. Things happen, of course, and people will have to miss meetings, but we hope group members will do their best to be present at each meeting.
Other Details
We ask that members be mindful of their health and that they don’t attend meetings if they’re sick or know they’ve been exposed to covid or other contagious illnesses.
This will be an in-person group so far as possible, but in case of a snow storm or icy roads we’ll have the option to move it online.
Contact
Please contact Billy Hansen (541-951-6677, billyhansen6@gmail.com) if you’re interested in trying out the group. If you cannot make either of the first two sessions but would still like to join the group please reach out to Billy to discuss.