Events
Events hosted by Buddhism & Mindfulness at All Souls
Currently, all programs are online.
No experience is necessary. Join us!
For information about the Zoom login and password,
please go to the All Souls NYC website calendar,
go to the Events page in All Souls Connext, our virtual community,
or consult the most recent email sent out by Pamela Patton.
If you aren’t on Pamela’s email list and would like to join,
please let her know via our Contact Us page.
Ongoing events
Mondays, 10:00am–11:30am
Meditation & Discussion led by Pamela Patton
Please join us!
Join us for a talk and a meditation followed by a discussion (you can choose whether you’d like to go to a breakout room or stay in the main room for a larger group conversation). The topics are different each week — some examples include destructive emotions and the Buddhist understanding of impermanence.
Once a month this program is led by Rev. Karen G. Johnston.
Alternating Tuesdays, 1:00pm–2:30pm
Dharma Study Group led by Harry Miller
Please join us!
This is a drop-in group — all are welcome to attend once or as many times as you like. We explore basic teachings of Buddhism using both a philosophical and, more importantly, a practical, approach. We study important Mahayana texts like the Heart Sutra and the Diamond Sutra. We perform a close reading of the texts, paragraph by paragraph and line by line when necessary. It is a very interactive class — what is most important is that everyone be comfortable with the material and make progress in their own way.
Thursdays, 10:00am–11:30am
Transforming Our Suffering led by Pamela Patton
Please join us!
Please join us for a discussion of A Fierce Heart: Finding Strength, Courage, and Wisdom in Any Moment by Spring Washam. You are most welcome to attend whether or not you’ve done the reading. We start with a short meditation; Pamela summarizes the chapter and shows a video to support the reading; Harry Miller reflects on the teachings, and then we have a discussion (you can choose whether you’d like to go to a breakout room or stay in the main room for a larger group conversation). Each session is standalone, so you can drop in whenever you wish.
About the book:
Spring Washam is a founding teacher of the East Bay Meditation Center, one of the most diverse and accessible meditation centers in the United States. In A Fierce Heart, Washam shares her contemporary, unique interpretation of the Buddha’s 2,500-year-old teachings with powerfully written chapters that get to the heart of mindfulness, wisdom, and compassion. Woven throughout the book are stories from the author’s life, family, and community, along with many soulful, heartfelt stories from all over the world. Washam’s teachings truly focus on strength, courage and wisdom, making the Dharma welcoming to as large and wide a community as possible. Anyone who has suffered will benefit from the life-saving teachings of this charismatic teacher. Her humor, enthusiasm, and energy are a balm.
About the author:
Spring Washam is a well-known meditation teacher, author and visionary leader based in California and Peru. Spring is considered a pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based healing practices to diverse communities. She is one of the founders and core teachers at the East Bay Meditation Center, located in downtown Oakland, CA. She received extensive training by Jack Kornfield, is a member of the teacher’s council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in northern California, and has practiced and studied Buddhist philosophy in both the Theravada and Tibetan schools of Buddhism for the last 20 years. In addition to being a teacher, she is also a shamanic practitioner and has studied indigenous healing practices for over a decade. She is the founder of Lotus Vine Journeys, an organization that blends indigenous healing practices with Buddhist wisdom. Her writing and teachings have appeared in many online journals and publications such as Lions Roar, Tricycle, and Belief.net. She has been a guest on many popular podcasts and radio shows. She currently travels and teaches meditation retreats, workshops and classes worldwide.
Other books we’ve read include: When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödrön, A Fearless Heart by Thupten Jinpa, Happiness by Matthieu Ricard and The Misleading Mind by Karuna Cayton.
Tea & Talk with Pamela Patton
Monthly on Thursdays Noon-1pm and Sundays 1-2pm, see calendar above for specific dates
Please join us!
No need to make an appointment; just drop in for friendly conversation, to discuss spiritual questions, and to connect with other members of our community. All are welcome.
Series
CBCT® (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training) with Ellen Mendlow and Marshall Kupka-Moore
Fridays, September 16 – November 4, 10am – Noon. This course is FREE and ON ZOOM.
This series is fully subscribed. If there is enough interest, we will offer it again.
CBCT® is a system of contemplative exercises designed to strengthen and sustain compassion which was developed by Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD, Executive Director of the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics at Emory University.
This course usually costs $300-400, but our teachers, Ellen Mendlow and Marshall Kupka-Moore, are offering it to us for free. During the program, we will practice attentional stability, self-compassion and emotional awareness, as well as exercises and reflections to better understand our relationship with self and others. Through engaging with these practices-–derived from Tibetan Buddhist traditions and grounded in extensive research– informed compassion can become a spontaneous response that permeates our lives.
CBCT® attendees receive weekly teachings, an in-depth CBCT® guide, and access to guided meditations via the CBCT® app. Classes are highly interactive and include background on research along with meditations. (For a taste of CBCT® check out Emory University’s Compassion Shift page.) CBCT® practices are secular and accessible to all–you do not need prior meditation or other background to participate and benefit.
Date with Death Club with Pamela Patton
Sundays, October 2, November 6, December 4, January 8, February 5, March 5, April 2, May 7, and June 4, 2-4pm, ON ZOOM
Created by Karen G. Johnston, MSW, M.Div, DwDC explores mortality in community. DwDC is an opportunity to learn, share, and deepen your own understanding of what death means to you and how you want to approach death -- particularly your own. Informed by spiritual sensibilities, but no specific religious dogma, DwDC just may be for you. Designed as a multi-session learning experience, DwDC participants can attend one, many, or all of the offered sessions. DwDC is not a bereavement or grief support group. While it may be healing of the human condition, the nature of the DwDC is not specifically therapeutic.
Please join us!
The Skillful Means and Perfections When We Need Them Most with Pilar Jennings
Monthly on ZOOM on Mondays from October 2022 to March 2023, 7-8:30pm
Please join us for a new series with Pilar. In Buddhist teachings, the Skillful Means (upaya) are a colorful invitation for teachers to reflect on how best to offer the healing methods and insights in the Buddhist tradition given the needs of a particular group. In this six-class series, we will explore what it means to practice the Buddhist ethics of loving-kindness and compassion during times of acute duress. We will consider the ways in which we might best practice this tradition in a world informed by social media, polarization, and the ripple effects of a pandemic. As a template for this conversation, we’ll reflect on the six Paramitas (perfections), those qualities thought to nurture a clear mind and open heart, as we think through how to develop these qualities as we navigate the continued challenges of our time.
Each session will include a dharma talk, a brief meditation, and time for questions.
No prior experience with Buddhism is necessary. All are welcome!
10/17 – Skillful Means in 2022: What does Buddhism look like in the West? What might it become?
11/14 – Generosity in a time of individualism
12/12 – Ethics & Patience: How to tolerate suffering with equanimity
01/09 – Joyous Effort: How to celebrate the happiness of others
02/06 – Meditation: Calm Abiding – How to help the mind find a place of stability and rest
03/06 – Wisdom: Seeing clearly, working with reality
We are asking for donations for this course: $140 for 6 weeks or $25 per class. Please let me know if you’d like to take this course and it would be difficult for you to donate the suggested amount; a sliding scale is available. If you register you will have access to recordings of the classes. Email Pamela@AllSoulsNYC.org to register.
Fridays, September 16 – November 4, 10am – Noon. This course is FREE and ON ZOOM.
This series is fully subscribed. If there is enough interest, we will offer it again.
CBCT® is a system of contemplative exercises designed to strengthen and sustain compassion which was developed by Lobsang Tenzin Negi, PhD, Executive Director of the Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics at Emory University.
This course usually costs $300-400, but our teachers, Ellen Mendlow and Marshall Kupka-Moore, are offering it to us for free. During the program, we will practice attentional stability, self-compassion and emotional awareness, as well as exercises and reflections to better understand our relationship with self and others. Through engaging with these practices-–derived from Tibetan Buddhist traditions and grounded in extensive research– informed compassion can become a spontaneous response that permeates our lives.
CBCT® attendees receive weekly teachings, an in-depth CBCT® guide, and access to guided meditations via the CBCT® app. Classes are highly interactive and include background on research along with meditations. (For a taste of CBCT® check out Emory University’s Compassion Shift page.) CBCT® practices are secular and accessible to all–you do not need prior meditation or other background to participate and benefit.
Date with Death Club with Pamela Patton
Sundays, October 2, November 6, December 4, January 8, February 5, March 5, April 2, May 7, and June 4, 2-4pm, ON ZOOM
Created by Karen G. Johnston, MSW, M.Div, DwDC explores mortality in community. DwDC is an opportunity to learn, share, and deepen your own understanding of what death means to you and how you want to approach death -- particularly your own. Informed by spiritual sensibilities, but no specific religious dogma, DwDC just may be for you. Designed as a multi-session learning experience, DwDC participants can attend one, many, or all of the offered sessions. DwDC is not a bereavement or grief support group. While it may be healing of the human condition, the nature of the DwDC is not specifically therapeutic.
Please join us!
The Skillful Means and Perfections When We Need Them Most with Pilar Jennings
Monthly on ZOOM on Mondays from October 2022 to March 2023, 7-8:30pm
Please join us for a new series with Pilar. In Buddhist teachings, the Skillful Means (upaya) are a colorful invitation for teachers to reflect on how best to offer the healing methods and insights in the Buddhist tradition given the needs of a particular group. In this six-class series, we will explore what it means to practice the Buddhist ethics of loving-kindness and compassion during times of acute duress. We will consider the ways in which we might best practice this tradition in a world informed by social media, polarization, and the ripple effects of a pandemic. As a template for this conversation, we’ll reflect on the six Paramitas (perfections), those qualities thought to nurture a clear mind and open heart, as we think through how to develop these qualities as we navigate the continued challenges of our time.
Each session will include a dharma talk, a brief meditation, and time for questions.
No prior experience with Buddhism is necessary. All are welcome!
10/17 – Skillful Means in 2022: What does Buddhism look like in the West? What might it become?
11/14 – Generosity in a time of individualism
12/12 – Ethics & Patience: How to tolerate suffering with equanimity
01/09 – Joyous Effort: How to celebrate the happiness of others
02/06 – Meditation: Calm Abiding – How to help the mind find a place of stability and rest
03/06 – Wisdom: Seeing clearly, working with reality
We are asking for donations for this course: $140 for 6 weeks or $25 per class. Please let me know if you’d like to take this course and it would be difficult for you to donate the suggested amount; a sliding scale is available. If you register you will have access to recordings of the classes. Email Pamela@AllSoulsNYC.org to register.
One-time-only events
Events hosted by Shantideva Center
Our Dharma partner, Shantideva Center, offers Dharma courses, teachings and retreats, meditation for every level of practice from complete beginners to advanced practitioners, and courses for wellness and mindful living. Click here to go to the Shantideva Center calendar of events.
Other Events beyond All Souls
The Buddhism & Mindfulness mailings include suggestions for events happening beyond All Souls. You can subscribe to our mailing list here.
