Small group mentoring with mary davis
Dates: Saturdays, January 21 - March 18 (10 weeks)
Time: 10:00 am - 11:30 am PT
Where: Zoom (link to be supplied upon registration)
Cost: $100 - $200 suggested dana (and, of course, arrangements can be made for those who cannot afford the suggested amount)
What is Group Mentoring?:
Group mentoring is a small (no more than 12 people) who meet weekly with a trained teacher for practice, dharma wisdom, discussion, and connection. The format is highly interactive, with much of the wisdom arising from the group itself.
Is There a Curriculum?
For this series, for our small group and large group discussions, we are going to focus on the Eightfold Path. Between meetings, you will be given resources (dharma talks and/or readings) to prepare you for the next week's discussion.
Who Would Benefit from Group Mentoring?:
Although many of us have been gathering weekly with Mission Dharma for years, some crave more connection with others in the sangha, and want more opportunities to discuss their practice as a group. Group mentoring is a place where we can integrate the teachings with our daily life and develop deep connections with our fellow sangha members.
What Group Mentoring is Not:
Each session will include:
Do I Have To Do the Full 10 Weeks?
Part of the magic and the benefit of a mentoring group is the consistency of connection with the group and our practice. Of course, life happens and there will be times that you won’t be able to attend. However, we do ask that you commit to attending at least 8 of the 10 sessions.
ABOUT YOUR MENTOR, MARY DAVIS
Training:
Community Dharma Leader, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, 2015-2017
Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher Training, 2019
Mindfulness Mentor Training Program, 2022
Teaching/Mentoring Experience:
Insight Richmond: Co-Founder, Lead Teacher, 2016 - present
Mission Dharma: Board President, Class Teacher, Guest Teacher, 2014 - present
Mindfulness Lead - Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, 2015 - 2022
Facilitator - Mindful Leader 2020 - present
Cloud Sangha: Mentor 2022 - present
Mary fell in love with meditation in 1997 and practiced in a Tibetan Buddhist tradition for ten years before coming to Insight Meditation. She is one of three Co-Founders and currently the Lead Teacher of Insight Richmond, a weekly sangha in her hometown of Richmond, CA. During her 25-year career in healthcare administration, she brought her love of mindfulness to the staff and physicians in the form of weekly lunchtime sittings and talks about mindfulness and self-compassion. She has been a regular attendee of Mission Dharma since 2010, and has served on the Board since its inception in 2016, in addition to leading introductory classes and substituting on on Tuesday nights. Mary has also been mentored by Howie Cohn for over a decade.
Mentor Statement:
When the pandemic started in March 2020, I pivoted my small sangha, Insight Richmond, to a much more interactive, intimate format with individual check-ins and group discussions. I feel so privileged to witness the evolution of the group to embody the true refuge of sangha. There is a beautiful sense of trust, vulnerability, and wisdom that arises from the group, and continues to deepen week after week.
With my work as a mentor for the Cloud Sangha Community Discussions, I continue to be amazed at how deep and nourishing the connections can be even in drop-in groups. Facilitating and mentoring small groups keep showing me what the Buddha meant when he said that sangha is the whole of the path.*
I am excited and honored to bring this offering to Mission Dharma, my spiritual home.
ENDORSEMENTS:
"I want to highly recommend the Small Group Mentoring with Mary Davis. In addition to all the ways that Mary has supported Mission Dharma as a teacher and board president, she brings decades of practice and teaching experience across Buddhist traditions . She has wisdom, warmth, humor and a special ability to create a safe practice and learning environment.. This is the inaugural mentoring group that Mission Dharma is offering and Mary is the right one to bring it to life." ~ Howie Cohn, Guiding Teacher, Mission Dharma
"Mary is such a gifted and sensitive facilitator. She has a kind heart and calm approach. I have been attending her classes at the beginning of the pandemic and felt connected right away with the community she created. She has a strong communication style even when the topic was challenging. She is a great listener and I am grateful for her teachings!" ~ Annalisa S., Mission Dharma and Insight Richmond sangha member
Interested? Click the registration button below or if you have questions, email: sf.mission.dharma@gmail.com
Group mentoring is a small (no more than 12 people) who meet weekly with a trained teacher for practice, dharma wisdom, discussion, and connection. The format is highly interactive, with much of the wisdom arising from the group itself.
Is There a Curriculum?
For this series, for our small group and large group discussions, we are going to focus on the Eightfold Path. Between meetings, you will be given resources (dharma talks and/or readings) to prepare you for the next week's discussion.
Who Would Benefit from Group Mentoring?:
Although many of us have been gathering weekly with Mission Dharma for years, some crave more connection with others in the sangha, and want more opportunities to discuss their practice as a group. Group mentoring is a place where we can integrate the teachings with our daily life and develop deep connections with our fellow sangha members.
What Group Mentoring is Not:
- Therapy. While our practice takes us into vulnerable territory, mentoring is not a substitute for therapy.
- A class. While we will be following a theme this series, participants will be expected to do some preparation between sessions in order to get the most of the discussion.
- One-on-one mentoring.
Each session will include:
- Lightly guided meditation
- Group check-in (sometimes open-ended, other times prompted)
- Short dharma offering introducing the discussion topic
- Break-out groups
- Group discussion
Do I Have To Do the Full 10 Weeks?
Part of the magic and the benefit of a mentoring group is the consistency of connection with the group and our practice. Of course, life happens and there will be times that you won’t be able to attend. However, we do ask that you commit to attending at least 8 of the 10 sessions.
ABOUT YOUR MENTOR, MARY DAVIS
Training:
Community Dharma Leader, Spirit Rock Meditation Center, 2015-2017
Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher Training, 2019
Mindfulness Mentor Training Program, 2022
Teaching/Mentoring Experience:
Insight Richmond: Co-Founder, Lead Teacher, 2016 - present
Mission Dharma: Board President, Class Teacher, Guest Teacher, 2014 - present
Mindfulness Lead - Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco, 2015 - 2022
Facilitator - Mindful Leader 2020 - present
Cloud Sangha: Mentor 2022 - present
Mary fell in love with meditation in 1997 and practiced in a Tibetan Buddhist tradition for ten years before coming to Insight Meditation. She is one of three Co-Founders and currently the Lead Teacher of Insight Richmond, a weekly sangha in her hometown of Richmond, CA. During her 25-year career in healthcare administration, she brought her love of mindfulness to the staff and physicians in the form of weekly lunchtime sittings and talks about mindfulness and self-compassion. She has been a regular attendee of Mission Dharma since 2010, and has served on the Board since its inception in 2016, in addition to leading introductory classes and substituting on on Tuesday nights. Mary has also been mentored by Howie Cohn for over a decade.
Mentor Statement:
When the pandemic started in March 2020, I pivoted my small sangha, Insight Richmond, to a much more interactive, intimate format with individual check-ins and group discussions. I feel so privileged to witness the evolution of the group to embody the true refuge of sangha. There is a beautiful sense of trust, vulnerability, and wisdom that arises from the group, and continues to deepen week after week.
With my work as a mentor for the Cloud Sangha Community Discussions, I continue to be amazed at how deep and nourishing the connections can be even in drop-in groups. Facilitating and mentoring small groups keep showing me what the Buddha meant when he said that sangha is the whole of the path.*
I am excited and honored to bring this offering to Mission Dharma, my spiritual home.
ENDORSEMENTS:
"I want to highly recommend the Small Group Mentoring with Mary Davis. In addition to all the ways that Mary has supported Mission Dharma as a teacher and board president, she brings decades of practice and teaching experience across Buddhist traditions . She has wisdom, warmth, humor and a special ability to create a safe practice and learning environment.. This is the inaugural mentoring group that Mission Dharma is offering and Mary is the right one to bring it to life." ~ Howie Cohn, Guiding Teacher, Mission Dharma
"Mary is such a gifted and sensitive facilitator. She has a kind heart and calm approach. I have been attending her classes at the beginning of the pandemic and felt connected right away with the community she created. She has a strong communication style even when the topic was challenging. She is a great listener and I am grateful for her teachings!" ~ Annalisa S., Mission Dharma and Insight Richmond sangha member
Interested? Click the registration button below or if you have questions, email: sf.mission.dharma@gmail.com
*From the Upaddha Sutta: Half (of the Holy Life)
Thus I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was living among the Sakyans. Now there is a Sakyan town named Sakkara. There Ven. Ananda went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, "This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie."
"Don't say that, Ananda. Don't say that. Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, & comrades, he can be expected to develop & pursue the noble eightfold path.
Thus I have heard that on one occasion the Blessed One was living among the Sakyans. Now there is a Sakyan town named Sakkara. There Ven. Ananda went to the Blessed One and, on arrival, having bowed down to the Blessed One, sat to one side. As he was sitting there, Ven. Ananda said to the Blessed One, "This is half of the holy life, lord: admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie."
"Don't say that, Ananda. Don't say that. Admirable friendship, admirable companionship, admirable camaraderie is actually the whole of the holy life. When a monk has admirable people as friends, companions, & comrades, he can be expected to develop & pursue the noble eightfold path.