(Barre Center for Buddhist Studies) For practicing and non-practicing Jews (and allies) alike, Yom Kippur presents an invitation and a challenge. On the one hand, it is very widely observed -- often with family -- and invites a kind of introspection familiar to lovers of the Dharma. On the other hand, Yom Kippur can be profoundly alienating in its approach to ethical refinement, its theistic liturgy, and its contemporary cultural trappings. In this session, Jay Michaelson explores some Dharmic practices, texts, and wisdom for making the most of this "retreat of retreats" (Shabbat Shabbaton).

(New York Insight Meditation Center) The Buddhadharma has many applications: liberation, ethical refinement, and also, in challenging times especially, refuge (sarana). Unlike secular modalities, the Dharma is not a set of tools; it is meant also to be a shelter from the storm that offers and emotional, even embodied, consolation. Building on the framework of the triple gem — the refuges in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha — this talk explores how the Dharma can console all of us, particular LGBTQ+ and allied folks, in the contexts of climate anxiety, pandemic trauma, and political polarization.

(New York Insight Meditation Center) Dharma practice can be a valuable tool in working with internalized assumptions about sex, gender, and sexual orientation. Yet the reality, too, is that traditional Buddhism is patriarchal. Tonight we’ll explore some of the benefits of working with gendered concerns in our practice, and some of the ways in which progressive Buddhist communities are working with patriarchal, sexist, and sex-negative aspects of the Buddhist tradition.

Our Insight OUT refuge is open to students of all Buddhist traditions, as well as those who are in the beginning stages of exploring their meditation practice and have an interest in the Dharma. This PRIDE event is open to all who identify as LGBTIQ and their friends.

We gather to form a multicultural community in which we can support each other in our practice with a commitment toward social change.

(Barre Center for Buddhist Studies)

(Barre Center for Buddhist Studies)