Anatta and the Four Noble Truths - Insight Meditation Center

Dear Friends of IMC
It’s hard to believe we’re fast approaching our Center’s first
birthday, coming up in January 2003. The past nine months have
been a true learning experience for me, as I suspect they have
been for many of you, as we navigate the uncharted waters of
running a community-based meditation center.
IMC is active nearly every day with retreats, regular sittings,
meditation classes and yoga sessions. In addition to Gil’s treasured
presence, a steady stream of wonderful guest teachers—
including in July our first resident guest teacher, Taraniya—has
given us an “enlightening” spectrum of interpretations on the
teachings.
One of the most gratifying aspects of this dream come true is
the number of new faces I see at the Center. In the years prior to
owning a building, as we worked towards making a permanent
home for our Sangha a reality, it was my deepest desire to be able
to offer the Dharma freely to all who enter our doors. If you are
someone who is new to IMC, I extend to you my warmest welcome.
A common question I hear from newcomers is “how is IMC
supported?” IMC relies totally on the ancient Buddhist tradition
of dana for the financial support of its building, activities and
teachers. Dana is the Pali word for Generosity, which means we
do not charge for any of the events at our Center (with the exception
of our fundraising benefits). Rather, we rely on the generosity
and gratitude of those who attend. Without voluntary donations,
we could not pay our bills and sustain the Center, nor
could our teacher support himself and his family.
So as you leave our building after a sitting, retreat, or yoga
class, please take note of the two dana baskets beside the door—
one for building operations and one for the teacher. Your generosity
will be much appreciated. I’d also like to extend my deepest
gratitude to all those who have so generously contributed
over the past nine months to keep our Center financially secure.
One last note on finances: in November we will begin our
annual fundraising effort aimed at paying off our mortgage. The
current goal is to raise $50K each year for the next four years in
order to pay off the loan completely. More on that in November.
Be well,
—Susan Ezequelle, IMC Board President
PLEASE ENROLL IN E-SCRIP!
E-scrip is a near effortless way of raising funds for our Center.
If you register your grocery club card, and/or credit card with E-
scrip, the participating merchants will donate a small percentage
of your purchases to our Center. After registering, this is completely
paperless and effortless. You can register online at
www.escrip.com, use the forms on the literature table at our
Center, or contact our E-scrip coordinator, who would be happy
to register you or answer your questions: Ines, inesfreed@hotmail.com
408/732-7535.
NOTE FROM GIL
Teaching in our new center has been a greater delight than I
could have imagined. I had not foreseen the degree to which
having a center has allowed us all to deepen our practice and to
give expression to so many people’s goodwill. I am both inspired
and grateful for how our community is coming together.
My family is also changing. In July we moved to Redwood
City, into a house one mile from the center, and in mid-October
we are expecting our second son.
Directions to IMC
1205 Hopkins Avenue in Redwood City.
From 101: Take Whipple exit. Go west. Turn left on El
Camino Real. Make the first right on Hopkins. Go 2
blocks. IMC is located at the corner of Birch and Hopkins.
From 280: Take Farm Hill exit and go east. Turn left on El
Camino Real. Turn left on Hopkins. Go 2 blocks. IMC is
located at the corner of Birch and Hopkins. Please do not
turn left onto Birch from Hopkins—Birch is one-way.
Parking
Please reserve spaces in our Center's parking lot and immediately
adjacent to the Center for those in need. The parking
lot kitty corner from the Center (Manzo Dental on
Hopkins) is open to our members for parking on evenings
and weekends.
The large lot behind 160 Birch (next to the VA center at
2946 Broadway) is available to us for parking on Sundays
ONLY. Please do not park in any of the other professional
office parking lots. Ample street parking is available.
E-MAIL LIST
To subscribe to the Insight Meditation Center E-mail list and
be able to receive and send announcements, please send a blank e-
mail to: insight-announce-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
You will soon receive an e-mail message back from Yahoo
Groups. Click Reply, then Send, without changing or adding anything.
Mailing List Options and Change of Address:
Contact Barbara Ryan at bryan@minitab.com or 650/493-7478 if:
• You wish to be added or removed from the Mailing List and/or
Directory, or for address, phone, or e-mail changes.
• You would rather pick up the newsletter at the Center, or read it online
but remain on the Mailing List.
• If you wish to receive an e-mail copy of our Sangha Directory.
Newsletter questions: Elena Silverman at e-lena@mindspring.com.
General Information about the schedule or events: 650/599-3456 or
e-mail info@midpeninsight.org.