Insight San Diego offers a series of public, live, online Dharma talks. The currently scheduled talks are listed on this page. These meetings are 90 minutes in duration and include a 30-minute meditation with the teacher, plus a group discussion. **No registration is required,** just use the Zoom links posted below to attend events.

If you weren’t able to attend a talk, check out our Dharma Talk Library where we post recordings of some of these and other talks hosted by Insight San Diego. To be notified when new talks are posted, sign up to receive our email communications.

Generosity

Following a 2,500-year tradition in which the community financially supports the offerings provided, the teachings and meditation sessions in these events are offered on a generosity (Dana) basis. No one is turned away because they cannot give. We are encouraging attendees to give what their budget and hearts of generosity allow, and/or to sign up for monthly giving on our donations page. Information for giving dana to teachers is provided below with each event’s description.

Upcoming Talks

For talks marked as “Save the Date,” we will post additional information as soon as it is available.

All times are U.S. Pacific Time unless indicated otherwise.

Vinny Ferraro

Internal Kindness

Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Dharma Talk Summary: How do we stop withholding love from ourselves?

Since the mid-90s, Vinny has practiced insight meditation (vipassanā). He is the Guiding Teacher of the Big Heart City Sangha in San Francisco and has led a weekly sitting group for almost two decades. As a fully empowered Dharma Teacher through Spirit Rock/IMS, Vinny has taught residential retreats at Spirit Rock, Insight Meditation Society, and the Esalen Institute. Currently, he leads Spirit Rock's Year to Live course and teaches retreats and daylongs through Big Heart City and meditation centers across the country. Although meditation was not his initial path, it played a vital role in his personal journey, leading him away from drug addiction, incarceration, and violence decades ago. He now utilizes his extensive meditation practice and diverse experience to support individuals in finding their inner strength and overcoming social and personal limitations.

Join the talk via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81909658322?pwd=MxUgf7xbjPb3YcMevyJ4L5GHE10k6L.1

Marjolein Janssen

Exploring Mudita - The Joy of Sympathetic Joy

Sunday, January 26, 2025, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Dharma Talk Summary: Mudita, often translated as "sympathetic joy" or "appreciative joy," is the practice of finding happiness in the success and well-being of others. This essential virtue helps cultivate a generous heart and counteracts feelings of envy and jealousy, fostering deeper connections and a sense of interconnectedness.

Marjolein Janssen is originally from the Netherlands. She has been practicing insight meditation intensively in Europe, the US, as well as Myanmar, where she was ordained as a Buddhist nun. Marjolein brings both formal practice and practice in daily life to her teachings. She seeks to offer a practical approach to Buddhist concepts and ideas. Her sharing of the Dharma comes from her wish to contribute to the freedom and happiness of all beings. Marjolein lives in Richmond, VA, where she is the Guiding Teacher of the Insight Meditation Community. She is a graduate of Sati Center’s Buddhist Eco-chaplaincy program. This spring Marjolein will graduate from the Insight Retreat Center's Dharma Teacher Training as well as the Nature Dharma Teacher Training.

Dāna for Marjolein can be given at https://www.brightdharma.org/donate/

Join the talk via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86096067420?pwd=5Ybw02Yjt4KQAMwj6aNFwsbRx7Xvi3.1

Donald Rothberg

Cultivating Wise Speech: Its Importance in the Path of Everyday Awakening

Wednesday, February 12, 2025, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Dharma Talk Summary: Wise speech is an integral part of the traditional Buddhist path of awakening and a powerful way to energize our daily life practice, but is often underdeveloped in Western Buddhist practice. We’ll look in a very practical way at three aspects of wise speech: (1) developing presence in the midst of communication; (2) working with the four guidelines for skillful speech developed by the Buddha; and (3) becoming more mindful of and skillful with thoughts and emotions occurring during communication, both our own and those of others.

Donald Rothberg, Ph.D., is a member of the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Center, a guiding teacher for the Marin Sangha, and a regular teacher at the East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, California, Southern Dharma Retreat Center, and InsightLA. He teaches retreats and groups on concentration and insight meditation practice, lovingkindness practice, transforming the judgmental mind, mindful communication, working skillfully with conflict, and socially engaged Buddhism. He has practiced insight meditation since 1976, and has also received training in Tibetan Dzogchen, body-based psychotherapy, and trauma work. He has helped guide many six-month to two-year training programs in socially engaged spirituality, both Buddhist-based and interfaith, and is the author of "The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World," and the co-editor of Ken Wilber in Dialogue.

Dāna for Donald can be given at

PayPal: redmountain@donaldrothberg.com, if possible through “Family & Friends”
Venmo: @Donald-Rothberg plus the last four digits of Donald's cell phone, 4718, if asked
Mail a check to 1505 Holly Street, Berkeley, CA 94703.

Join the talk via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89621901485?pwd=V0TFaLmZ6LhbyFWPKfzNC49j2sIo74.1

Jaya Rudgard

Wise Attention (Yoniso manasikāra)

Sunday, March 16, 2025, 10:00 AM - 11:30 PM

Dharma Talk Summary: From ancient spiritual traditions to modern psychology, human beings have recognised that where and how we place our attention shapes our experience for better and for worse. These days, when our attention has become a commodity, learning how to use it wisely has become a necessary life-skill. This session will explore some core Buddhist teachings on the topic of wise attention and how we might apply these teachings in our own life.

Jaya Rudgard became interested in dhamma as a teenager, and from 1996 to 2005 lived and practiced as a nun in the Thai forest tradition at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery in England. She subsequently trained as an Insight Meditation teacher at Spirit Rock in California and Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts. She leads meditation retreats and courses in the UK and internationally, and serves on the teacher council of Gaia House Retreat Centre in England and the faculty of Bodhi College. Jaya has extensive experience teaching Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Mindful Self-Compassion and teaches retreats for Mindfulness teachers and teachers in training. She also enjoys practising and sharing qigong.

Dāna for Jaya can be given at https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=MMYX28VRXQ4V6

Join the talk via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83350421657?pwd=LUWBDq0NnpzQnjYpj0G0PmuHZCqD5x.1

Devon + Nico Hase

The Path of Most Resilience - Buddhist Perspectives on Facing Adversity

Sunday, April 13, 2025, 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Dharma Talk Summary: Adversity is an inevitable part of life: from illness to loss to the moral injury that comes from witnessing injustice. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. It keeps us engaged, calm, and energized as we continue to serve a world on fire.

In this special discussion with nico + devon hase, authors of "How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Buddhist Survival Guide for Modern Life," we will explore teachings and practices that contribute to resilience. We will discuss how hyper-individualism contributes to fragility, and why community is so important for overcoming our obstacles.

We’ll also unpack how meditation can help us balance our hearts and minds so that we can connect with others, navigate the difficulties of shared spaces, and ultimately find resilience in the engaged sangha that our world so desperately needs.

Join us for an engaging morning of stories, reflections, and conversations about how Buddhist teachings and practices contribute to our resilience in the face of life’s challenges.

Nico + Devon Hase teach Insight Meditation online and in person. They mentor meditation teachers, lead retreats at Insight Meditation Society, Spirit Rock and other centers, and work one-on-one with long-term students. Find out more at https://www.devonandnicohase.com.

Dāna can be given at Venmo with @Devon-Hase or https://www.paypal.com with @satimindful.

Join the talk via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85172401451?pwd=dkj7m2zB1AKDXEtjlqbzCtdlcmdVRi.1

Susie Harrington

Returning to Our Roots: Practicing With Nature

Wednesday, May 14, 2025, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Dharma Talk Summary: The peace that comes from spending time and practicing in nature provides a natural support for cultivating tranquility and joy in our hearts and clarity in our meditation.

The peace that comes from spending time and practicing in nature provides a natural support for cultivating tranquility and joy in our hearts and clarity in our meditation.

Susie Harrington teaches meditation nationwide and is the guiding teacher for Desert Dharma, which serves many communities in the Southwest near her home in Moab, Utah. She has trained in the Insight tradition since 1989, and in 2005 was invited into teaching by Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Guy Armstrong. She has also received teachings from many others, including Tory Capron, Adyashanti, and Tsoknyi Rinpoche. She often offers retreats outside, believing nature to be a profound teacher, and a gateway to our true self. Her teaching is deeply grounded in the body and often emphasizes the expression of mindfulness in speech and daily life. Susie brings the skills of inquiry, relational dharma, and the psychological/spiritual interface to her teaching, informed by her ongoing study of the Diamond Approach by A.H. Almaas and as a graduate of Hakomi Therapy (a somatic psychotherapy modality). She offers a two-year intensive program, Dharma in Daily Life, where she delights in mentoring the innate qualities of heart and wisdom in everyday practice. Her practice is rooted in periods of long retreat both indoors and outdoors, which offer nourishment and inspiration for her teaching. She was an outdoor professional for over 30 years, including years as a river guide, mountaineering guide, and backcountry ranger, and now finds her greatest delight in sharing her love of the dharma and the natural world.

Dāna for Susie can be given at https://desertdharma.org/retreats/donate.html

Join the talk via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86589430536?pwd=FaNWI9obU45vTebudhixymIUaxEtO4.1

Save the Date for future talks

Tuere Sala - June 25, 2025

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Previous Talks in 2025

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Dharma Talk Series