Kamala Masters and Tara Mulay

Kamala Masters

Photo of Kamala Masters

Kamala Masters is one of the founders and teachers of the Vipassana Metta Foundation on Maui. She teaches retreats in the Theravada tradition at venues worldwide, including being a Guiding Teacher at the Insight Meditation Society at Barre, Massachusetts. Practicing since 1975, her teachers have been the late Anagarika Munindra of India and the late Sayadaw U Pandita of Burma, and Sayadaw U Tejaniya of Burma with whom she continues to practice. Kamala has a commitment to carrying and offering the purity of the teachings of the Buddha in a way that touches our common sense and compassion as human beings, and allows the natural inner growth of wisdom. She lives on Maui where she raised four children, and is now blessed with seven grandchildren. Kamala practiced both insight and loving kindness meditations intensively under the guidance and preceptorship of Sayadaw U Pandita, in the USA, Australia and in Burma as a nun and a lay woman.

Tara Mulay

Tara Mulay teaches and mentors Insight Meditation practitioners to refine their mindfulness practice, both on the meditation cushion and in daily life. Her dharma offerings stem from the lineage of Mahasi Sayadaw, and she has gratefully drawn influence from many other teachers within and outside of the Mahasi lineage, including Howard Cohn, Kamala Masters,  Joseph Goldstein, and Sayadaw U Tejaniya.  Tara practiced criminal defense law in California for over 20 years.  She was a leader of Mission Dharma in San Francisco, and in 2016 she co-founded the San Francisco Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Insight Sangha.  In 2021, she was authorized to teach by Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.

Tara felt initially drawn to dharma practice upon encountering the Buddha’s teachings rejecting caste as a measure of worth and of capacity for awakening. She believes classical Buddhist practices, designed to cultivate compassion, non-greed, non-hatred, and non-delusion, are uniquely potent vehicles for empowering people in marginalized communities and effecting social change. For more information visit Taramulay.com.

Other practice opportunities in the upper midwest

TCVC is one of many organizations sponsoring insight meditation retreats in the Upper Midwest. Here are some other practice opportunities you may be interested in.

Common Ground Meditation Center

Located in Minneapolis, MN, Common Ground Meditation Center hosts a variety of retreats. Check their website for half-day and daylong retreats.

There are usually two residential practice periods each month at the Praire Farm Retreat Center.

Madison Insight Meditation

April 19-21, 2024 ANUSHKA FERNANDOPULLE at Holy Wisdom Monastery

June 28-30, 2024 CHAS DICAPUA at Holy Wisdom Monastery

October 13-19, 2024 AYYĀS at St. Anthony Spirituality Center

May 5-13, 2025 AJAHN SUCITTO at St. Anthony Spirituality Center

Minneapolis Insight Meditation Community

Weekly meditation and discussion sessions are offered via Zoom. People of all levels of meditation experience are welcome.

Rochester Meditation Center

Weekly meditation sessions in person and via Zoom. Retreats are also offered periodically.

Koronis Ministries

Koronis Ministries is a large facility that hosts a variety of groups, both spiritual and secular. The center is located in Central Minnesota, near Paynesville, on the shores of Lake Koronis.

Koronis reminds of Koinonia Retreat Center, which closed shortly after our last retreat before the pandemic in February, 2020. Like Koinonia, Koronis is located in a quiet setting on the shores of a beautiful lake with lots of hiking trails. TCVC will have near exclusive use of the entire facility, including a new, state-of-the-art meeting space for our meditation hall. There’s plenty of space for indoor walking meditation and a dedicated room for mindful movement.

Koronis has a variety of accomodations. There are hotel-style rooms with private bathrooms along with dorm-style rooms where the bathroom and shower facilities are shared. All rooms are single-occupancy.

Koronis is located some 90 miles west of the Twin Cities, about a 2-hour drive. TCVC will do our best to connect participants with others who would like to carpool to the retreat center, including those flying in from out of state.

Koronis Ministries lakefront

Listening to life: meditation from the receptive heart

This will be the theme for the TCVC retreat February 18–25 with Chas DiCapua and Rebecca Bradshaw

In meditation we receive our embodied experience, letting it teach us the way life is and how to hold the vast range of joy and sorrow that comes with being human. This retreat will focus on listening to our life moment by moment, letting go of demands of how it should be and resting fully in how it is. This receptive meditation takes us deeper into the truth of things, helping our heart orient towards wisdom and compassion. Our daily schedule will include guided insight and loving kindness meditation instructions, talks on the teachings, and meeting time with teachers. Optional qi gong will also be offered.

The retreat will be held at Koronis Retreat Center in central Minnesota, near Paynesville.

Participants will check in from 3–6 PM on Sunday, February 18 and reconnect with friends during an evening meal at 6 PM. The retreat begins at 7:30 PM.

The retreat will end the following Sunday, February 25 following a 10:30 AM brunch.

To support the integrity of the retreat, participants will be expected to commit to the entire retreat.

You can register online or by fill out the registration form within our newsletter.

We hope you’ll join us for this precious time, guided by wise and skillful teachers, in a beautiful and supportive setting.

Spring 2018 Update w/ News on Steve Armstrong

News about Steve

Many of you may have already heard, but for those that have not… In the last days of February, while installing some prayer flags at the sanctuary on Maui, Steve noticed that he had trouble speaking to his friend Roger. He immediately went to the emergency room and has since had brain tumor surgery. He has a rare, aggressive, fast growing cancer (GBM: glioblastoma multiforme) that cannot be cured but is treated with a standard protocol of radiology and chemo which he is undergoing now.

You can visit his Caring Bridge Site for what is truly an inspiring and heart-connecting chronicle of his journey. The site name is stevenkarmstrong.  Here’s the link: https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/stevenkarmstrong

Common Ground Meditation Center will be having an event on Tuesday, May 15th at 7 PM to help support Steve’s medical expenses.  You can also make a donation directly to Vipassana Metta Foundation here: http://vipassanametta.org/wp/donations/

Summer Retreat with Kamala Masters, June 15-24

There is still space for the June 15-24 retreat with Kamala Masters at Koinonia Retreat Center.  Click here to register. You can register online or use the registration form within the newsletter to mail along with a check. The focus of the retreat will be “Deepening Awareness of Life with Equanimity.”

TCVC offers scholarships for up to half the cost of a shared room at the retreat. If you wish, you may request to share a room with another person attending the retreat and we will make every effort to accommodate your request. Beginning meditators and people of all races, ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, gender identities, religions and abilities are welcome. If you have any questions or concerns about attending the retreat, please talk to the registrar. Email her at retreats@tcvc.info.

Wishing you well,
TCVC Board

New Year Greetings & Common Ground Practice Period

Hello all!

Our winter retreat with Rebecca Bradshaw and Chas DiCapua is full, but we do have a waiting list available. Registration for the summer retreat with Kamala Masters will open soon, so you can look forward to the newsletters in your inbox (and here) within the next month or two! Also, our sister organization, Common Ground, has their Winter 2018 Practice Period at Prairie Farm Retreat Center beginning on the afternoon of Saturday, January 13th and ending midday on Thursday, March 29th. Please contact Common Ground Meditation for more information about Prairie Farm Practice Periods or check out their Retreats Page for other retreat options.

Best wishes for 2018!

TCVC Board

Other Insight Meditation Retreat

Yellow Springs Dharma Center (not affiliated with TCVC) has now opened registration for their retreat in May 2018 with Rebecca Bradshaw. Please read the below information from Yellow Springs, take a look at their Vipassana Retreat Reg Form 2018, contact vipassana@ysdharma.org, or visit http://www.ysdharma.org/ for any questions:

Registration is now open for the Yellow Springs Dharma Center’s seven day Vipassana retreat with Rebecca Bradshaw from the Insight Meditation Society. Retreat dates are May 4-11, 2018. Rebecca will be assisted by Candace Cassin and Jessica Morey, both experienced practitioners and teachers. The retreat will take place at the Jesuit Spiritual Center at Milford, Ohio (just north of Cincinnati). We will also be offering a two day weekend option from May 4-6…This retreat is suitable for both beginners and experienced meditators.

For any questions or additional information, please contact us at vipassana@ysdharma.org. Also, please visit us at http://www.ysdharma.org/.

Best wishes,
Yellow Springs Dharma Center Vipassana Retreat Committee
Yellow Springs Ohio

Summer News and Insight Retreats in the Area

June Retreat News

Summer is almost ending and we wanted to give a quick update and a heads up for some local retreats happening soon. The TCVC summer retreat with Kamala Masters and Bonnie Duran was wonderful – the summer trees, animals, storms, and lake (as well as the awesome Koinonia staff!) supported our retreat as we were skillfully guided through the dhamma by Kamala and Bonnie. At the end of the retreat, Kamala presented TCVC with a gift of the recently published Manual of Insight written by one of her teachers, Mahasi Sayadaw. As said on the Widsom Publications website,  “Manual of Insight is the magnum opus of Mahasi Sayadaw, one of the originators of the Vipassana movement that has swept through the Buddhist world over the last century. The manual presents a comprehensive overview of the practice of insight meditation, including the foundational aspects of ethical self-discipline, understanding the philosophical framework for the practice, and developing basic concentration and mindfulness. It culminates with an in-depth exploration of the various types of insight and spiritual fruits that the practice yields.”

We were filled with joy at this gracious gift (accepted here by board member Naomi Baer) as well as the teachings Kamala and Bonnie offered to us throughout the week, and we already are looking forward to our winter retreat with Rebecca Bradshaw and Chas DiCapua!

2016 Kamala Offering Book
2016 Kamala Gift – Photo by Vanee Songsiridej

Other (non-TCVC) Retreats in the Midwest

Chicago
Acceptance and Compassion
Practicing with Life’s Milestones & Challenges

Fall Retreat: October 13th, 2016 to October 16th, 2016
With Santikaro Upasaka
Sponsored by Insight Chicago Meditation Community

Dates:
11:00AM Thursday, October 13th 2016 – 12:00PM Sunday, October 16th 2016

http://insightchicago.org/insight-chicago-fall-retreat-2016/

Ohio
Seven Day Vipassana Retreat (with 2-day Option)

Spring Retreat: May 5th, 2017 to May 12, 2017
Two day option from May 5th to May 7th
With Rebecca Bradshaw and Candace Cassin
Sponsored by Yellow Springs Dharma Center

For any questions, or additional information, please read the 2017 Yellow Springs vipassana retreat flyer here or contact the Yellow Springs Dharma Center Retreat Committee at ysdharma.org@gmail.com

Summer Retreat 2016 Updates

Retreat Updates

We’ve still got plenty of space available for the June 17–26 retreat: “The Deepening of Love, Awareness and Wisdom” with our teacher Kamala Masters assisted by Bonnie Duran. We’re sorry to inform you that Vance Pryor won’t be assisting on this retreat, but hopefully he’ll come again another time.

We have a wait list for singles, but on May 20 (the registration due date) we’ll be confirming singles on the wait list if we don’t fill with doubles. We expect there to be single rooms available for people who have not yet registered also.

Click here to view the Grassroots Dhamma newsletter with the registration form. TCVC offers scholarships for up to half the cost of the retreat. If there are any questions you have or concerns about attending the retreat, we encourage you to talk to Matthew Buzzard, the registrar. Matthew can be reached at 612-810-7703 or retreats@tcvc.info.

The spirit of this retreat aims to strengthen our ability to maintain a continuous quality of awareness, not only on retreat but also in our daily life. We’ll explore the Four Foundations of Mindfulness with an emphasis on awareness of the qualities of mind. Sayadaw U Tejaniya’s teaching of Mindfulness of Mind will be offered along with one of his books, which participants may read during the retreat as a support for their practice.

Article by Bonnie Duran

Whether or not you’re interested in the retreat, check out this article by Bonnie Duran Mistaking a Stick for a Snake Bonnie talks about how she came to practice meditation and also gives a very interesting explanation of the causes of racism–how our perceptions may lead us to a distorted view–and how mindfulness can help us avoid putting these distorted conceptual overlays over what’s really happening.

Other retreat opportunities in the Upper Midwest

After the retreat this June, TCVC won’t have another retreat until next February when Chas DiCapua and Rebecca Bradshaw will teach at Koinonia Retreat Center. So we thought we’d share some other excellent retreat opportunities available in the Upper Midwest.

Common Ground Meditation Center offers half-day and day-long non-residential retreats at their center in Minneapolis, four residential meditation retreats per year at Holy Spirit Retreat Center in southern Minnesota, and ongoing opportunities for independent retreat practice at Praire Farm in western Wisconsin. Most retreats are led by Mark Nunberg, the guiding teacher. http://commongroundmeditation.org/

Madison Vipassana offers residential retreats with Theravada teachers, including Ajahn Succito, Sharon Salzberg and James Baraz this year, at various locations in eastern Wisconsin. http://madisonmeditation.org/

Insight Chicago Meditation Community offers non-residential day-long retreats along with residential retreats in the greater Chicago area. http://insightchicago.org/

Liberation Park provides facilities for practitioners undertaking personal retreats guided by Santikaro in the Thai Forest tradition near Norwalk, Wisconsin. http://www.liberationpark.org/

Arrow River Forest Hermitage is a monastery and meditation center in northern Ontario, Canada. Short and long term retreats are guided by resident bhikku Ajahn Punnadhammo. http://www.arrowriver.ca/

Mid America Dharma offers non-residential and residential retreats in Kansas City and other locations in Missouri and Illinois. http://www.midamericadharma.org

Yellow Springs Dharma Center hosts an annual Vipassana Retreat led by Rebecca Bradshaw in Milford, Ohio. http://www.ysdharma.org/our-traditions/vipassana/

Wishing you well,
TCVC