East Bay Meditation Center

Every Body Every Mind Sangha
2023-01-22 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-01-29 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-02-05 18:00 - 19:30, 2023-02-12 18:00 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Every Body Every Mind Sangha is a weekly practice group for people living with disabilities, limitations, differences and chronic illnesses.
Sundays
6:00 pm – 7:30 pm

ONLINE WITH SPECIAL HYBRID DATES
March 23rd 2025 with Arisika Razak
April 20th 2025 with Anne Finger
May 18th 2025 with Mushim Ikeda
June 22nd 2025 with Anne Finger
No registration needed to attend these meetings in person. More hybrid dates may be announced in the future.

To join online, please email: ebem at eastbaymeditation dot org to request a Zoom link.
Please come and take part in this time to meditate, share our lives and support with each other, and learn more about the dharma. There is no need to register for these weekly meetings, just come and share this path together!
EveryBody, EveryMind Teacher Group: Debra Kerr, Kenji Oshima, Anne Finger, Master John W. Ellis IV, Beth Smith, Mushim Ikeda, Victor Jih, & Zac Krohn
For more info, visit the Every Body Every Mind Sangha Website.

ONLINE: Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
2023-01-23 18:30 - 20:00 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Trans/Gender-Expansive Deep Refuge Group
Fourth Mondays (online over zoom)
6:30-8pm PM PST
This deep refuge group is by and for trans/gender-expansive people. Our goal is to provide a welcoming community space for trans/gender-expansive folks who are interested in exploring meditation and other aspects of Buddhist practice. Both beginners and experienced practitioners welcome!
To be added to the email list, please email tgedeeprefuge@eastbaymeditation.org with a quick note about your interest in the group. We look forward to practicing with you!

HYBRID: Beginning a Meditation Practice
2023-01-25 18:30 - 20:30 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
4 Class series, Wednesdays January 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th 2023
Online on Zoom and in-person @ 285 17th St, Oakland, CA 94612
6:30 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter)
Closed Captioning Provided
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 5-month Curriculum
Are you looking for a way to start a mindfulness meditation practice, but don’t quite know how? These classes will give you the basics of stationary and walking/gentle movement meditation in the vipassana (insight) style, and metta (loving kindness or good will) meditation. Don’t worry about “getting it right” – if you can sit – on a folding chair, on floor cushions, in a wheelchair – or lie down – and breathe, you’re off to a good start! This series is for those seeking stress reduction, or it can be the gateway to those new to Buddhism. Meditation can help you, over time, to develop a sense of increased physical well-being, mental clarity, compassionate connection, and spiritual growth.

Please note: Registered participants will receive a zoom link to join us online with their Eventbrite confirmation email. Thank you for your support
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks and be fully vaccinated against covid19, which at this time means having received the covid bivalent booster no less than two weeks before the event. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.)

To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products — more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears HERE.
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

ONLINE: People of Color Sangha
2023-01-26 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-02-02 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-02-09 19:30 - 21:00, 2023-02-16 19:30 - 21:00 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
The People of Color Sangha is a growing community of people of color waking up and getting free!
Thursdays
7:30 – 9 PM PST
Closed Captions Provided.
Zoom info: Meeting details are shared through their mailing list (subscribe on their website), and their Facebook group.

ONLINE: Queer Leather Peer-Led Deep Refuge Group
2023-01-27 19:00 - 20:30 | Off Site Venue
The Queer Leather Meditation Deep Refuge Group is a peer-led meditation group for those of us who have a meditation practice and are queer and leather/kink-identified. We meet on the 4th Friday of every month from 7–8:30 p.m. We are open to and welcome new drop-in participants, whether this is your first sit or your 10,000th! For upcoming meeting details or to join our mailing list or online groups, please visit http://www.queerleathermeditation.org/. If you have questions please contact admin@queerleathermeditation.org.

ONLINE: Maha Sangha with Arisika Razak and Ramona Lisa-Ortiz Smith
2023-01-27 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-02-03 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-02-10 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-02-17 19:00 - 20:30 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Friday, January 7th Teachers: Arisika Razak and Ramona Lisa Ortiz-Smith
Maha Sangha for All People & Communities
Creating Freedom in Community
Every Friday night at EBMC, 7:00 – 8:30pm.
Zoom Info: email mahasangha at eastbaymeditation dot org to ask for a Zoom link.
The EBMC Maha Sangha for All People and Communities is a meditation and dharma group with an emphasis on radical inclusivity and social justice.
Maha is a Pali word meaning whole, great, larger/largest, deepest, and Sangha is a Pali word for community, or community of practitioners. Together, these words represent a place where all people and communities are warmly invited to explore the Dharma together in keeping with East Bay Meditation Center’s core mission to foster liberation, personal and interpersonal healing, social action, and inclusive community building. We hope that you will join us.
The EBMC Maha Sangha’s leadership team of teachers, dharma leaders, and sangha members includes: Arisika Razak, Baruch Golden, Chinh Nguyen, Crystal Johnson, Fresh! Lev White, Jd Doyle, Lisa Moore, Shahara Godfrey, Syra Smith, Shay, and Anni Mackin.
Contact: mahasangha at eastbaymeditation org

HYBRID: Collectivizing Care toward Liberation
2023-01-28 09:30 - 16:00 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Saturday, January 28th 2023
With Dr. Renato Almanzor
Online on Zoom and in-person @ 285 17th St, Oakland, CA 94612
9:30AM – 4:00PM PST (Time Zone Converter)
Closed Captioning Provided
Overview
Care and caring can become overly focused on the individual, and consequently become “too capitalistically driven and centered on luxurious pampering that has very little to do with sustainable nurturing and all to do with spending money, which for the communities that actually need the most care, they cannot access!” (Aimaloghi Eromosele). Aimaloghi Eromosel also offered that “There is no self-care without community care.”
This workshop draws from Dharmic values and other spiritual traditions and social justice movements so that we embrace our purpose and activism as acts of healing and loving. We will acknowledge that in life, there is suffering, and awaken the love, power, and justice within our communities. We will take away from this program a deep acceptance that “caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare” (Audre Lorde).
The workshop will be experiential in nature, allowing for thinking, feeling, and doing alone and in with others. The facilitator will cultivate community agreements toward fostering “brave space,” yet in every community, the issues we broach (e.g., White supremacy, patriarchy, homophobia, oppression) may be trigger addressed and unaddressed trauma. I will facilitate a process that nurtures healing, yet does not eliminate the potential for harm.

Please note: Registered participants will receive a zoom link to join us online with their Eventbrite confirmation email. Thank you for your support

Dr. Renato Almanzor is a transformation catalyst, whose experience emerges from over 25 years developing leaders committed to equitable communities, multicultural organizations, and social justice. As a leadership expert, he has delivered keynote addresses, workshops, and seminars on issues related to leadership for equity, cultural diversity, and social change. Much of his work has been dedicated to supporting community leaders working with and in low-income communities and communities of color. He has a PhD and MA in organizational psychology, an MS in counseling, and BA in psychology, as well as certifications in coaching and Zumba Instruction. He is a proud alum of the first Practices in Transformative Action program at the East Bay Meditation Center, where he also served as an apprentice the following year. If you would like to make a gift to support Renato’s teachings, please do so via Venmo: @dralmanzor
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks and be fully vaccinated against covid19, which at this time means having received the covid bivalent booster no less than two weeks before the event. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.)

To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products — more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears HERE.
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

ONLINE: 8 Step Buddhist Recovery Deep Refuge
2023-01-28 10:00 - 11:30, 2023-02-04 10:00 - 11:30, 2023-02-11 10:00 - 11:30 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Every Saturday from 10AM – 11:30AM PST / PDT ONLINE
Compassionate Dharma Deep Refuge Buddhist meetings focus on ways to heal addiction. Based on the Eight Steps to Recovery developed by Dr. Mason-John M.A (hon.doc) and Dr Groves, we believe this inclusive approach can build a solid foundation for those at any level of recovery and for those who have yet to seek help.
Through these practices we hope you gain a practice that can sustain you in your recovery.
We are a multi-recovery space. Whether you are navigating addiction to substances like drugs and alcohol, or process addictions, such as disordered eating, codependency, or sex and love addiction–you are welcome here.
Advance Registration is not required.
For additional information, please contact: ebmcrecovery at gmail dot com.

ONLINE: Buddha's Four Big Truths (4 Noble Truths)
2023-02-01 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-02-08 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-02-15 18:30 - 20:30 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
February 13th Update: Until further notice, all programs will be online-only, due to the theft of audio/video tech during a break in. We are sorry we can’t host you and will send out updates when we have them
Wednesdays February 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd 2023
With Mushim Patricia Ikeda

Online on Zoom and in-person @ 285 17th St, Oakland, CA 94612
6:30 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter) Closed Captioning Provided
Part of EBMC’s Core Buddhist Teachings – 7-month Curriculum
Why do we suffer? How can we be released from suffering? The Buddha’s first teaching after his Enlightenment is called the Four Truths for Noble Ones. These form the foundation of Buddhist life and understanding. The four “big” truths address human suffering and oppression, analyze their root causes, and describe a path of liberation from human suffering that is both profound and practical. Dharma talks, mindful journaling, meditation, community building and optional readings. Beginners in meditation are welcome.

Please note: Registered participants will receive a zoom link to join us online with their Eventbrite confirmation email. Thank you for your support

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is a socially-engaged Buddhist teacher, community activist, diversity, equity and inclusion consultant, parent and author based in Oakland, California. She has a background in both monastic and lay Buddhist practice. At EBMC, Mushim is also guiding teacher of the award-winning yearlong Practice in Transformative Action (PiTA) program, which provides secular mindfulness training for justice activists. Mushim is the recipient of a Global Diversity Leadership award; an honorary doctor of sacred theology degree from the Starr King School of Ministry; and was named one of Colorlines’s 20 transformative racial justice leaders in 2018.
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks and be fully vaccinated against covid19, which at this time means having received the covid bivalent booster no less than two weeks before the event. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.)

To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products — more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears HERE.
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

ONLINE: Maha Sangha
2023-02-03 19:00 - 20:30, 2023-02-10 19:00 - 20:30 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Maha Sangha for All People & Communities
Creating Freedom in Community
Every Friday night, 7:00 – 8:30pm.
Hybrid, every 4th Friday of the month
Event Details: Meets weekly on zoom, and starting to meet once a month in person, email mahasangha at eastbaymeditation dot org for more info and get on our newsletter
The EBMC Maha Sangha for All People and Communities is a meditation and dharma group with an emphasis on radical inclusivity and social justice.
Maha is a Pali word meaning whole, great, larger/largest, deepest, and Sangha is a Pali word for community, or community of practitioners. Together, these words represent a place where all people and communities are warmly invited to explore the Dharma together in keeping with East Bay Meditation Center’s core mission to foster liberation, personal and interpersonal healing, social action, and inclusive community building. We hope that you will join us.
The EBMC Maha Sangha’s leadership team of teachers, dharma leaders, and sangha members includes: Arisika Razak, Fresh! Lev White, Rebekah Eppley, Sarwang Parikh and Shay.
Contact: mahasangha at eastbaymeditation org

ONLINE: WE BELONG: Heart practice for QTBIPOC
2023-02-06 18:30 - 20:30, 2023-02-13 18:30 - 20:30 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
February 13th Update: Until further notice, all programs will be online-only, due to the theft of audio/video tech during a break in. We are sorry we can’t host you and will send out updates when we have them
Mondays, February 6th, 13th, 20th & 27th, 2023
With Patrick Brown and René Rivera
6:30 – 8:30PM PST (Time Zone Converter)
Closed Captioning Provided
As our world burns in conflict and violence we return to heart practice to find refuge and belonging. As Queer and/or Trans People of Color we are under attack, sometimes at multiple identity locations. This class series will create a space for us to practice together, to build community, belonging and resilience to hold our outrage, fear and grief. We will use the four divine abodes of Lovingkindness, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity as a foundation to resource ourselves to meet this moment.
This class is suitable for both new and experienced meditators and open to self-identified Queer and/or Trans People of Color.

Please note: Registered participants will receive a zoom link to join us online with their Eventbrite confirmation email. Thank you for your support

Patrick Brown is an activist, advocate and teacher from Chicago. Patrick moved to California and first came to EBMC in 2010 as a practitioner with the People of Color and Alphabet Sanghas. As an advocate and facilitator, his professional career is focused on racial equity and leadership development and is supported by his practice and the teachings of the Dharma. Patrick completed EBMC’s Commit to Dharma program in 2015 and he is a proud graduate of the Community Dharma Leaders’ fifth cohort (CDL5) training with Spirit Rock. Patrick has served on the POC and Alphabet coordinating committees and recently began teaching both at EBMC and in Sanghas throughout the Bay Area. Patrick is grateful for the deepening of his practice in the EBMC community and committed to expanding access to the Dharma to all beings.

René Rivera (he, him) is a leader and bridge-builder, working and learning in all the spaces in-between race, gender, and other perceived binaries, as a queer, mixed-race, trans man. He teaches heart-centered, trauma-informed meditation and mindfulness practices at East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) and elsewhere. His path to spiritual leadership has included the Commit to Dharma and Practice in Action programs at EBMC and the Community Dharma Leaders program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. He works with the Ahimsa Collective as a restorative justice facilitator.
Cost: The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please do so via Paypal: paypal.me/eastbaymeditation or our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana 100% of our programming is sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds. Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks and be fully vaccinated against covid19, which at this time means having received the covid bivalent booster no less than two weeks before the event. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.)
In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including “natural” fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC – more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears on our website:
https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

HYBRID: Alphabet Sangha
2023-02-07 19:00 - 20:30 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
A meditation group for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Same-Gender Loving, and Two-Spirit communities. Because that’s such a mouthful, we call ourselves the Alphabet Sangha.
Tuesdays
7:00 – 8:30 pm
HYBRID on First and Third Tuesdays of the month! Meet at EBMC or online.
Please email: alphabetsangha at eastbaymeditation dot org to request Zoom link to join online.
For more information, visit the ALPHABET SANGHA WEBSITE

ONLINE: Nourishing Freedom: Finding the Middle Path to Body Liberation
2023-02-11 10:00 - 14:00 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Online, Saturday, February 11th, 2023 (via Zoom)
With Melvin Escobar and Marcella Raimondo
10-2pm PST (Time Zone Converter)
Closed Captioning Provided
Radically accepting ourselves and our experiences is a revolutionary act. We receive many problematic messages about food that make it challenging to nourish ourselves. Our bodies, especially those of us living in larger bodies, continue to be subject to great harm and derision. By weaving the timeless Dhamma with contemporary psychological frameworks, we will deconstruct aspects of structural oppression (including diet culture). We will be invited into somatic awareness practices, along with interactive and reflective exercises to explore kinder ways of relating to our bodies to create community on the middle path to body liberation for all.

Please note: Registered participants will receive a zoom link to join us online with their Eventbrite confirmation email. Thank you for your support
Teachers

Melvin Escobar, LCSW, RYT has devoted most of his life to serving people from marginalized communities, drawing on his life experiences as a cisgender able-bodied queer man of color from an immigrant working-class background. Melvin is committed to understanding and embodying healing around how patriarchy, capitalism, and diet culture work together to create more suffering in the world. He continues daily to learn the revolutionary potential of body-centered contemplative practices to create personal and social healing.

Marcella Raimondo, PhD, MPH is a queer cisgender able-bodied woman of color and a passionate and spirited clinical trainer speaking from her heart on multicultural issues in eating disorders since 1995. Marcella currently serves as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in Kaiser Oakland’s eating disorder clinic and also serves as adjunct faculty at the University of San Francisco and UC Berkeley Extension. Marcella herself recovered from anorexia nervosa over 15 years ago. Marcella trains in Kajukenbo at Hand to Hand Kajukenbo Self Defense Center in Oakland and holds a first degree black belt. Her recovery and her martial arts training inspire her dedication to multicultural body nurturance and community celebration.

To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please do so via Paypal: paypal.me/eastbaymeditation or our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana 100% of our programming is sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds. Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks and be fully vaccinated against covid19, which at this time means having received the covid bivalent booster no less than two weeks before the event. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.)
To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products — more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears on our website:
https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.

ONLINE: Multiracial Peer-Led Deep Refuge Group
2023-02-11 19:00 - 21:00 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
The Multiracial Deep Refuge Group is a monthly exploratory Deep Refuge Group for and by people who identify as multiracial. Our meetings include periods of mindfulness meditation and sharing of narratives and perspectives as we come together to be seen and to see one another. By sitting and exploring our own unique stories, we can come to know and care for the common threads that bind us together. Our collective work bravely expands the narrative that informs multiracial experience today. Meets 7pm-9pm on the second Saturdays of every month. Online and occasionally hybrid (in-person at EBMC + online).
Newcomers welcome- please contact us before your first visit: mrdrcoordinators at googlegroups dot com

ONLINE: Social Justice Lunchtime Sangha - Peer Led Deep Refuge group
2023-02-14 12:00 - 13:00 | East Bay Meditation Center, 285 17th Street, Oakland, CA, 94612, United States
Social Justice Sangha is a place to practice and reflect with #EBMCOakland organizers and activists. Includes a 30 minute meditation and time for sharing what’s on our hearts.

Contact: socialjustice at eastbaymeditation dot org
