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HomeSince the founding of the Regina Insight Meditation Community (RIMC) in 1993, we have shared a commitment to exploring and practising the Buddha's teachings together, primarily through the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Over the years, the teachings we offer have expanded through the influence from different spiritual traditions which share in common the cultivation and nurturing of awareness, presence and awakening that enable us to live with more clarity, wisdom, compassion and love. Realizing that everything is and always has been interdependent and that our happiness and well-being are directly related to others' happiness and well-being, we practice for our own benefit, for the benefit of each other, and for the benefit of all living beings and of our precious Earth itself. From its beginning, our community (sangha, in Pali) has welcomed anyone who wishes to practise with us. We endeavour to be a sanctuary for all of us through our mutual agreement to respect and honour each person's direct, diverse and unique experience. In these turbulent times, our practice to wake up to what is true and real is becoming increasingly essential amidst the pressures of division, polarization, climate change and oppression. We are now being challenged to discover on ever deepening levels what it means to be a true human being, where wisdom and compassion, rather than ignorance, determine our choices. We are guided by the Buddha's ancient teaching, "hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed". We value and celebrate diversity, inclusivity and respect for all beings and the inherent dignity of all people. Through the invitation of our founder, Dana Anjali, Sharda Rogell has been RIMC's guiding teacher since shortly after its inception. She actively continues to support, nourish and lead our sangha through her ongoing teachings on retreats and in the Wednesday Night Sitting Group (WNSG) as well as through her integral role in supporting the growth of our community. Howie Cohn has also been highly influential in our sangha's development through teaching many of our retreats since 2003 and regularly leading our WNSG after we began holding it on Zoom in 2020. Chris Gilboy opened his home to host the WNSG in the late 1990s. In 2012 he became our Community Dharma Leader and offered on-going classes until the start of the pandemic. He currently leads the WNSG on a regular basis and, along with Dana, holds and supports our sangha in ways that allow for the continued flourishing of our community.
We are grateful that we live and practise on this land, recognizing and honouring that it is Treaty 4 land, home to the Anihšinapek, nêhiyawak, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota peoples as well as to the Métis/Michif Nation
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