Cache Valley Sangha

We practice meditation

and share an interest in MINDFULNESS and the teachings of Buddhism

meetings

The Sangha supports its members through weekly group meditation and the sharing of wisdom from various traditions.
We meet at the Unitarian House every Monday from 7:15 to 8:45pm, typically beginning with a thirty-minute meditation followed by teachings and discussion.

Check out our weekly calendar

Sign up to receive our newsletter, which includes our weekly meeting calendar of topics and facilitators, dharma quotes, links to dharma talks and guided meditations, and selected writings from buddhist teachers. It also includes retreat announcements, news, and occasional vegetarian recipes.

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Contact

For more information about the sangha, contact us and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
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Beyond Meditation practice

We value sangha wisdom and build community around awareness

We are an open and welcoming group of people that values the innate wisdom of the sangha. Teachings are offered through facilitations by members of the sangha. We draw from different Buddhist literature, excerpts from recorded dharma talks, and our own experience. We also share wisdom by exploring questions or topics posed by members and in general discussions of the insights and difficulties of practice.

monthly calendar of our sangha nights

Sangha has been meeting online at the same day and time. For the link to our Zoom meeting, please sign up to receive our newsletter.

[February 27]
‍Jared will facilitate a group discussion on "The Middle Way (Nagarjuna)"

[March 06]
‍Adam will facilitate a group discussion on "A continuation of Not Self"

[March 13]
‍Dan will facilitate a group discussion on "Thinking & Listening in Meditation"

[March 20]
‍Jared will facilitate a group discussion on "Dependent Arising and Emptiness"

The Cache Valley Sangha

A community for mindfulness and meditation in Cache Valley

A community for spiritual practice

Meditation, daily mindfulness, and following the teachings of the Buddha are our focus. We welcome both traditional and contemporary versions of Buddhism, and we open the embrace of Buddhism to include complementary insights from other spiritual traditions that emphasize mindfulness, awakening, and compassion.  

Our Sangha is not a formal Buddhist community in the traditional sense. We have no ordained teacher, master, or monks.

The sangha is intensely practice-based, drawing on different Buddhist traditions—Mahayana, Zen, Vajrayana, Theravada—rather than being formally aligned with one particular tradition.

Some members also participate in more formal communities, such as Thich Nhat Hanh's community and the Big Mind Zen Center of Salt Lake City, or are actively working under teachers in traditions such as Tibetan Buddhism and the Vedanta tradition.

In addition, we have members active in local churches--Catholic, Mormon, and Unitarian Universalist, for example. Many members also participate in the general community through work with local spiritual and charitable programs which are consistent with the teachings of the Buddha.   We also, whenever possible, invite formal teachers to present at our Monday evening meetings and mindfulness retreats that occur two to three times per year.

Our Aspirations as a Sangha and as Individual Practitioners

Our focus is on the insights of evolving Buddhist traditions and exploring other teachings of mindfulness practice.
The Buddha’s first and most basic teachings are that:
    There is suffering.
    There are reasons for suffering.
    There is an end to suffering.
    There is a path to the end of suffering.
Our path is to embrace every part of our lives – the joy, the sadness, and every experience in between.
Our path is to let go of cravings and aversions, and thereby experience the enlightenment possible in each moment.
Our path is to live in alignment with our values.
The Buddha taught that we awaken and transcend suffering through a combination of ethics, meditation, and wisdom.
In our practice, we aspire to cultivate the Four Limitless Qualities:
    Lovingkindness
    Compassion
    Joy
    Equanimity
These qualities are cultivated through constant and close attention to every part of our lives.
We approach all teachings in the spirit of the Buddha’s advice:
Do not believe anything:
    just because it has been handed down for many generations,
    just because it is spoken and rumored by many,
    just because it is found written in religious books,
    just on the authority of your teachers and elders.
Only accept what passes the test by proving useful and beneficial in your life.
We welcome all who would join us in this journey.

Members Organizing the Sangha

Leadership Group

A group of members of the sangha organize the meetings, teachings, and events we offer.
Any regular member of the sangha is welcome to join the leadership group.
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Currently participating in the leadership group are: Tim Slocum, Gregory Madden, Jim Akers, Anne Shifrer, Byron Ray, Daniel Judd,
Megan Simper, Jeff Sheen, Dhanna Prem, Emily James, and Ariel Blair.

Care Committee

Our mission is to support sangha members who may be facing challenges or sorrows.
We can sit with you, help problem solve, or rally the resources of the larger sangha in times of need. Please contact one of the following people if you or someone else in the sangha might need our support.
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For information, contact Anne Shifrer (coordinator), Jim Akers, Katherine Zukor, or Marianne Christian.

Resources to start meditating

Here is a link to an excellent beginning meditation course produced by the Insight Meditation Center. It includes (1) Instruction on how to meditate, (2) Guided meditations you can listen to, and (3) “Homework” – recommendations for creating a regular mediation practice.

Below is a video of Ayya Anandabodhi's talk when she virtually visited our sangha on July 2020. You can also download the audio here.
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Attitudes in Mindfulness Meditation

If you have interest in mindfulness meditation, below is a great resource to practice. Jon Kabat-Zinn shares his view of the the attitudes to cultivate in mindfulness meditation.
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CVSangha

The Cache Valley Sangha

We practice meditation

meetings

Newsletter

Contact

Beyond Meditation practice

monthly calendar of our sangha nights

The Cache Valley Sangha

A community for spiritual practice

Our Aspirations as a Sangha and as Individual Practitioners

Members Organizing the Sangha

Leadership Group

Care Committee

Resources to start meditating

Attitudes in Mindfulness Meditation

All meetings

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Fridays

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