Befriending Death, Embracing Life: An Online Insight Meditation Retreat

Instructor(s): David Chernikoff

Program Description:

It is said in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta: “Of all footprints, that of the elephant is supreme. Similarly, of all mindfulness meditations, that on death is supreme.” This retreat is an opportunity to take mindfulness of death into our hearts and to allow it to radically transform the way we live our lives. In a caring, supportive learning environment, we will combine the stillness of insight meditation with dharma talks, experiential exercises, and heart-felt discussions. Maranasati, the practice of death awareness, has the power to awaken us to a felt experience of the preciousness and mystery of this amazing human life. This retreat is an invitation to live fully, love well, and die joyfully.

Online Schedule:

This program is hosted on Zoom and closed captions are available. You can check the time of the group sessions in your timezone here: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com. The schedule of Zoom meetings for this program (shown in US Eastern Time) is as follows:

(*Indicates online activity. All times are Eastern Time - ET.)

Friday October 4th 

*7:30 – 8:15pm Opening session on Zoom

*8:15 – 9:00pm Meditation instruction and sitting practice on Zoom

9:00pm ET Rest or further practice

Saturday October 5th

*7:30 – 8:15 am Sitting practice on Zoom

8:15 – 9:30 am Home-based practice

*9:30 – 10:30 am Meditation instruction and sitting practice on Zoom

10:30 – 11:15 am Walking meditation instruction / Walking meditation 

*11:15 – 12:00 pm Meditation instruction and sitting meditation on Zoom

*12:00 – 12:30 pm Discussion / Q & A on Zoom (video optional)

12:30 – 2:00 pm Home-based practice

*2:00 – 3:00 pm Meditation instruction and sitting practice on Zoom

3:00 – 3:30 pm Walking meditation 

*3:30 – 4:30 pm Dharma talk on Zoom

4:30 – 5:00 pm Walking meditation 

*5:00 – 6:00 pm Experiential exercises on Zoom 

6:00 – 7:30 pm Home-based practice

*7:30 – 9:00 pm Sitting meditation / experiential exercises / discussion on Zoom

9:00 pm Rest or further practice

Sunday October 6th

*7:30 – 8:15 am Sitting meditation on Zoom

8:15 – 9:30 am Home-based practice

*9:30 – 10:15 am Meditation instruction and sitting practice on Zoom

10:15 – 11:00 am Walking meditation 

*11:00 – 12:30 pm Closing session on Zoom

Please note that although sessions will be recorded, they will not be made available to participants.

Cancellation Policy:

Registration fees for all online programs are nonrefundable after the program start date. Cancellations prior to the program start date incur a $25 cancellation fee. Application-based and online path programs incur a $50 cancellation fee in 2023 and a $100 cancellation fee beginning 2024.

DEI:

As we work to become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community, we invite feedback/suggestions you may have regarding ways that we can make participation in the program more accessible and welcoming. Please email us at contact@buddhistinquiry.org.

About the Instructor(s):
• 

  David Chernikoff

  David Chernikoff is a meditation teacher, spiritual counselor, and life coach who taught psychology and meditation at Naropa University for many years. A student of meditation since 1971, David completed the inaugural Community Dharma Leader Training at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and began teaching Insight Meditation in 1988. His teaching has been influenced by senior teachers from the Insight Meditation Society and Spirit Rock, Zen teacher Yvonne Rand, and spiritual guides from other contemplative traditions, most notably Ram Dass, Father Thomas Keating, and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. In the early 1980s, he worked at Ram Dass’s Hanuman Foundation Dying Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico and then became the director of Mesilla Valley Hospice in Las Cruces, N.M. He later spent three years in Nepal doing public health development work for the Seva Foundation and studying with Tibetan Buddhist teachers. After returning to the U.S., he became the education and training director for the Spiritual Eldering Institute, now called Sage-ing International. In that role, he taught conscious aging programs throughout the U.S., in Canada, and in Ireland. David is currently one of the guiding teachers of the Insight Meditation Community of Colorado and teaches retreats and workshops throughout the U.S. He is the author of Life, Part Two: Seven Keys to Awakening with Purpose and Joy as You Age. (www.davidchernikoff.com)