Teachers
Dana DePalma & Ying Chen
Format
Three live-online classes
Dates
Wednesdays, March 11, 18, and 25, 9:00 am – 11:00 am PT
Description
This three-part class series will explore “Wholeness” in depth, as part of our winter and spring theme of “Wholeness and Unity.” Wholeness is the state of having integrated your psychological and spiritual insights into your being; it includes the aspiration and practice of integrating our deepest realization into all aspects of life. Rather than comparing our circumstances to some ideal, we'll explore how the conditions for awakening exist right here and now, in the fullness of our lives.
In this series, we’ll ground ourselves in the “First Practice Ground” — a foundational orientation of wise view and wise intention, held with open availability and presence. This is an orientation we establish and return to in our practice. It allows us to root our lives in our deepest values and aspirations, meeting life with goodness, clarity, and kindness. From here, practice shifts from striving for a different experience to training our hearts to align with what is good and true.
Together, we’ll explore what it means to welcome our lives “just as we are and just as our life is” as part of our training. We’ll cultivate inclusion and non-rejecting, learning to dial down reactive doing and to establish ourselves as aligned, available, and grounded. We’ll center in Sammā Sati (wise mindfulness or presence), informed by the Four Noble Truths — recognizing both the immensity of the challenge and the profound opportunity of human birth.
As we settle more deeply into this First Ground, we’ll open to both the manifest dimensions of our lives and more subtle ways of knowing. We’ll explore the Subtle Heart — an energetically alive, tender, and discerning dimension of experience — and how allowing “knowing to know” can reveal our personal experience as an expression of something impersonal and universal. This perspective can both soften and strengthen us, supporting courage, wisdom, and kindness in how we meet each moment.
This class warmly welcomes both newcomers who are exploring these teachings for the first time and returning community members who are engaging in this exploration throughout the winter-spring season. The 2-hour live meetings in this series will include guided meditations, talks, and community "reports from the field” with responses from the teachers.
Model of Mutual Support
This program is offered in the Buddhist tradition of dāna, which means freely giving. When you register, you will see donation options ranging from $25 - $250. However, you are welcome to offer any amount you wish below or above this range. Finances need not be a barrier to participation. Any offering is gratefully accepted, tax-deductible, and supports both the teachers and Dharma Ground.