Open Community Practice and Dharma Talk

with Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Wednesday February 19th 2025, 7:00-8:30pm

via Zoom

Suggested donation: $7-25*

Practice together with other sangha members in a relaxed atmosphere (7:00) and enjoy a dharma talk (7:35).

Aishah Shahidah Simmons (she/her) is a Black feminist lesbian survivor-healer and Theravadin Buddhist. She is a trauma-informed, certified Mindfulness meditation teacher through Sounds True and Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, and a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Teacher through Brown University's School of Professional Studies. Aishah has been studying and practicing vipassana meditation since 2002 and has more than one year of cumulative silent retreat practice in the United States and India. A member of the 2025-2028 Spirit Rock and Insight Meditation Society Retreat Teacher Training cohort, Aishah's primary Insight dharma teachers are Tuere Sala and DaRa Williams.   Aishah is also an internationally acclaimed filmmaker, author, and lecturer whose award-winning works, "NO! The Rape Documentary" and "love WITH accountability" (AK Press, 2019) break silences around childhood and adult sexual violence, offer healing paths for trauma and provide distinct visions for humanely disrupting the inhumane epidemic of sexual violence. Since June 1995, Aishah has screened her work, guest lectured, and facilitated over 400 workshops and dialogues across the North American continent and several countries in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. Learn more about Aishah at https://linktr.ee/afrolez

*If you have the means, please consider a donation tonight. Dana, which is the ancient Pali word for “generosity”, is a fundamental aspect of the Buddha’s teachings. Our teachers have historically received 60% of the dana given for dharma talks, and while this is still true, since the pandemic, we do make sure teachers receive a minimum guaranteed amount. Insight Western Mass operates entirely on the sangha's acts of generosity. Those who donate more are helping to make the center accessible to all. Everyone is welcome to all of our offerings regardless of ability to donate.

You can give online or send checks to Insight Western Mass, 116 Pleasant Street, Suite 242, Easthampton, MA 01027. FYI: we check for mail once per week.

Zoom Link
Password: 242. 

Dial in by phone for audio only: Call (646) 558-8656. Meeting ID: 943 156 1684. Password: 242