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Resources for Valley Insight Sangha

Support Sangha

The impetus for Support Sangha arose out of a day-long retreat with Maddy Kline, which defined sangha as “like-minded people moving in the direction of freedom — together.”  Support Sangha is intended to build a strong community by responding to members who are in a transitional stage of healing, either physically or emotionally.

Our mission statement is: ”Our intention in providing support for sangha members is not only to take care of each other during a time of need; it is also to build connection, to embrace a sense of belonging and heartfelt community.” We offer support in many ways to members of our sangha who need it. What has been requested most has been delivering meals, offering transportation and companionship. But we can offer support in other ways, too, including bedside dharma, companionship, caregiver relief, reading aloud, gardening, stacking wood, mowing lawns, shoveling snow, light housekeeping, shopping, and picking up mail. We use Meal Train and email to contact and schedule members who have volunteered to offer support.

Our members include: Connie O’Leary, Shideko Terai, Kate Schaefer, Mindy Schorr and Terry Cioffredi. We meet on an ad hoc basis. If you need support, contact Connie OLeary (603-667-8820) or Shideko Terai (603-252-7898).

Self-Guided Nature Meditation Walk:

Lee Steppacher, an Upper Valley resident and trained Awake in the Wild meditation teacher, offers this guided meditation. Similar to a self-guided tour of a museum, this audio file can be downloaded to your phone and accompany you on a walk. You can walk wherever you like, and because you can turn  the audio on and off,  you can make the walk as long or as short as you like. Lee leads periodic guided nature walks: to be informed about them, please email her. 

Creating Your Own Self-Guided Meditation Retreat:

Karen Summer’s material includes how to clarify goals, avoid pitfalls, use creativity, and be your own teacher.

A meditation retreat experience can play an important role in the transformation of our hearts, minds, and bodies, which is at the core of the Dharma. It may seem that the pandemic has made retreat practice impossible, but VIMS teacher Karen Summer has presented us with a wonderful option— a structured in-home retreat.

Karen has significant personal experience with in-home retreats, undertaken over many years. Some have been as short as a half-day, others as long as a month. Karen has agreed to share her carefully formulated guidelines, along with a listing of related resources. Find the Full Text of Karen’s Guidelines here.

Newsletter/Dhamma Reflections

Valley Insight’s newsletter is published monthly. You’ll find back issues and sign up here. Dhamma reflections from the newsletter are reprinted here.

Valley Insight Library

Valley Insight’s library, located in the Barn at 14 Green Street in Lebanon has more than 150 books, CDs, magazines, and pamphlets cataloged. Books are shelved in alphabetical order by author. You may check out books for a month using the sign-out notebook there. And, now that we have a library, please consider donating your Theravadan (Insight)-related texts when you’re ready to pass them on. A box for new donations is located on the top shelf of the library.

Resources for Dealing with the Pandemic

Dhamma Resources (apps, suttas, dhamma talks)

  • Audio Dharma: recordings from Gil Fronsdal’s Insight community in CA, including talks by Gil, Andrea Fella, Nikki Mirghafori and others
  • Access to Insight: readings in Theravada Buddhism
  • DhammaTalks: talks by monastics in the Forest Tradition
  • Dharma Seed: vast collection of dhamma talks from Insight teachers, plus many other resources
  • ForestSangha: portal website for monastic communities in Ajahn Chah lineage.  Excellent source for downloadable publications and talks and audios of chanting by nuns and monks
  • Pariyatti: books and recordings in the S.N. Goenka tradition
  • Ten Percent Happier: App featuring podcasts, guided meditations, and other resources from many respected meditation teachers. Founded by Dan Harris, author of the book by the same name.

Major Insight Retreat Centers

Vermont/New England/Canadian Centers & Groups

Theravadan Monasteries