Category Archives: Programs

Mindful Flower Arranging

Classes, Non-denominational

Join us for June’s Mindful Creativity class on mindful flower arranging on Sunday June 22, from 1 PM to 3 PM! The beauty and symbolism of flowers have long played an important role in Buddhist traditions. Erin Strickland will lead a guided sensory meditation using flowers and then participants will be free to create their own beautiful floral arrangements. Flowers will be provided by the BDC. Bring a vase (or use mason jars from the BDC) and take your arrangements home to enjoy. In person only. Register online.

Untangling Patterns of Reactivity

Half-Day Retreat, Insight

Join the Bozeman Insight Community for a half-day online retreat with guest speaker nico hase.

Guest speaker nico hase

Even if you consider yourself the kind of person who remains calm in the face of crisis, sometimes things just get to us. If we’re not careful, we might find ourselves growing tangled in negative thought patterns. Without a dose of healthy awareness, a cycle of reactivity can deepen, leaving us feeling disconnected from what we truly feel in every moment.

The Buddhist path offers us a way to untangle the tangles and step into freedom. In this half-day online retreat on Saturday June 21 from 10 AM to 1 PM, visiting teacher nico hase will offer reflections and practices that help us understand where our reactivity comes from, and how to gradually release ourselves from its grip.

We invite you for a morning of meditation and inquiry as we walk the path together to greater freedom, connection, and space.

The session will begin with a 30-minute conversation and opening talk around the theme, followed by alternating periods of sitting and walking meditation with light guidance. We’ll conclude with a closing talk and time for questions and dialogue.

Speaker bio: nico hase lived in a monastery for six years before earning a PhD in counseling psychology and becoming an Insight Meditation teacher full time. He currently mentors mindfulness teachers, teaches online and in-person retreats, and speaks with students in one-on-one sessions. He and his beloved life partner devon are the authors of How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Buddhist Survival Guide for Modern Life. Find out more at www.devonandnicohase.com

The Path of Most Resilience: Buddhist Perspectives on Facing Adversity

Classes, Insight
A path is bright in spite of dark clouds

Bozeman Insight Community invites you to join an evening with guest speaker, nico hase. Online, Thursday June 19, 6:30-8 PM.

Adversity is an inevitable part of life: from illness to loss to the moral injury that comes from witnessing injustice. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. It keeps us engaged, calm, and energized as we continue to serve a world on fire.

In this evening gathering with nico hase, co-author of How Not to Be a Hot Mess: A Buddhist Survival Guide for Modern Life, we will explore teachings and practices that contribute to resilience. Nico will discuss how hyper-individualism contributes to fragility, and why community is so important for overcoming our obstacles. The session will also unpack how meditation can help us balance our hearts and minds so that we can connect with others, navigate the difficulties of shared spaces, and ultimately find resilience in the engaged sangha that our world so desperately needs.

Join us for an intimate evening of stories, reflections, and meditations about how Buddhist teachings and practices contribute to our resilience in the face of life’s challenges.

No registration necessary.

SoundGate: Sounds of Compassion

Non-denominational, SoundGate,

On Friday June 6 from 7-8 PM, meditate to the healing sounds of Brian Sparks’ Tibetan bowl harmonics. Brian received his spiritual teaching from several masters in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. His teachers blessed his bowl work by giving him the specific “Prayer of Aspiration” and granted him many Buddhist empowerments.

Brian Sparks with his Tibetan bowls

No registration necessary! Donations gratefully accepted. Any funds collected will be split evenly with Brian.

Intro to Meditation

Classes, Non-denominational

On Saturday May 17 the BDC will host an Intro to Meditation class from 9 AM to 12:30 PM. This class will focus on what to do when you get stuck in your practice and ways to expand your “meditation toolkit.” Bring your questions and spend the morning learning and exploring how to bring curiosity and compassion to your practice.

This class will be offered in person and via Zoom.

Mahasangha Half Day Retreat

Half-Day Retreat, Non-denominational

The Bozeman Dharma Center will host a Mahasangha Half-Day Retreat on Saturday May 10 from 9 am to noon. This even allows you to get a feel for the different groups that practice at the BDC and practice in a community. Make connections with dharma friends old and new. In addition to sitting and walking meditation, chanting, and tea, we will perform a Wesak Ceremony celebrating the Buddha’s birthday, enlightenment, and passing! The Wesak Ceremony will begin at 11:10 and is child-friendly. Offered in person and via Zoom. Please bring flowers if you can!

Tentative Schedule

9:00 Welcome 
9:05 Insight Group – 
9:25 Palyul – The Four Immeasurables 
9:45  Stretch/Walking Meditation 
10:00 Mindspace –  
10:20 Tergar – Tonglen 
10:40  Stretch/Walking Meditation 
10:50 Joining Rivers –  
11:10 Zen Group – Wesak celebration 
12:00 End (Stay for tea and cake!)

Awakening Through Change with Elaine Huang

Half-Day Retreat, Non-denominational

In times of profound change and uncertainty, we are often presented with unique opportunities to explore our true nature. The pressures of the external world can lead us to inner shifts that elevate our awareness beyond the ordinary.

On Saturday April 26 from 9 am to noon, Elaine Huang will lead participants through guided practices, meditations, and insightful talks designed to help participants uncover and draw from their deeper essence. Attendees will learn about psychological and neuroscience based concepts, along with somatic and mindfulness practices that both foster resilience and stabilize their recognition of fundamental nature. By the end of the session, participants will leave empowered with practical tools that nourish this renewed clarity and resilience in their everyday lives.

Elaine is a seasoned mindfulness teacher and guide, recognized for her extensive experience and skill in the field. She is a dedicated meditator and a certified mindfulness instructor. Elaine adeptly facilitates mindfulness retreats in various settings as well as leadership trainings in corporate environments. With two master’s degrees—one in social work and another in clinical psychology—she brings a rich educational background to her practice. Elaine’s expertise lies in supporting individuals on their journeys of personal growth and spiritual transformation.

Koan Salon with Michael Smith

Half-Day Retreat, Zen

Join us on Saturday April 5 from 9 AM to noon for a Koan Salon.

Koans can be offered in multiple ways. They can be healing stories, conversations, poems, fragments of song. Technically, koan is a Japanese term that refers to a legal public case. In Zen, koans are designed to give us pause, to enter deeply our own “case”, revealing how we look at the world.  During several short periods of meditation, we will sit with a phrase, a story, a poem. There will be walking meditation and time after each koan to consider together. All are welcome, no previous experience with koans is necessary. In person and online.

The Noble Search with Chaim Bryski

Daylong Retreat, Insight

Saturday, March 15 from 11 AM – 4:30 PM

While myths and legends abound surrounding the life of the historical Buddha (Pāli: Siddhattha Gotama; Skt: Siddhārtha Gautama), much of the traditional folklore began appearing only centuries after the Buddha’s lifetime. Yet the earliest Buddhist discourses (as collected in the Pāli Canon and its Chinese and Sanskrit parallels), focused as they are on the content of his teachings, contain no comprehensive biography of the Buddha.

Rather, scattered throughout these many thousands of discourses, we find numerous snippets of autobiographical narrative attributed to the Buddha himself. In these first-person accounts, often shared with his audiences for didactic purposes, the Buddha recounts a number of his own early-life experiences on his path to awakening, as a means of imparting some of the hard-won lessons and insights he gained over the course of his personal struggles and breakthroughs.

During this daylong study and practice program, we will examine a number of these ancient texts, explore their practical lessons and insights, and discuss and reflect upon their relevance and application to our own lives.

To enhance our exploration of the texts, the day will also incorporate short dharma talks and guided meditation practices, as well as periods of group discussion, peer-based dialogue, and personal reflection.

*Please note that all participants will receive a collection of the relevant texts we will be exploring. Hard copies of the material will be available to those attending in-person at the Bozeman Dharma Center, while those joining online will receive a digital PDF copy via email.

March SoundGate: Jessie Solon

Non-denominational, SoundGate

Join us on Friday March 7 from 7-8 pm for an evening of deep vibrational rejuvenation for the mind, body, and spirit! Jessie Solon facilitates relaxation through the use of sound healing instruments including crystal and Himalayan singing bowls, a symphonic gong, bells, & chimes, wave, and monochord. No registration necessary. Donations welcome. Any funds collected will be split equally between the BDC and the artist.