Welcome to the Port Townsend Sangha

The Port Townsend Sangha website provides information on Meditation, Fellowship and Dharma Study opportunities in Port Townsend, Washington. While our focus is on Vipassana, or Insight Meditation, all who wish to meditate or who are interested in the dharma are welcome at all announced events. Program details and schedules are below.

The Sangha is an informal, leaderless, volunteer-driven, peer-led group. It’s members include all seekers interested in the Buddhist path. Sangha members and friends have gathered weekly for over 23 years. If you have questions, please email us.

WEDNESDAY MEDITATION ON ZOOM: The Sangha meets every Wednesday evening at  7 PM on Zoom to meditate, listen to a dharma talk, and discuss our practice. The links to these meetings are below, or will be sent if you subscribe to our newsletter.

MONDAY MEDITATION AT THE FRIENDS MEETINGHOUSE:  On Mondays, participants gather in person at 7 PM at the Friends Meeting House on the corner of Sheridan and 19th Streets in Port Townsend.

OUTDOOR MEDITATION IN THE PARK ON THURSDAYS NEXT SUMMER: This summer and early fall, the Sangha met weekly, each Thursday at 6:30 PM in Chetzemoka Park, in Port Townsend. We hope to resume in the Summer of 2025.

RETREATS: The Sangha offers weekend and one-day Retreats, open to the public. The most recent was held on July 19th and 20th, and was led by Tuere Sala, of Seattle Insight Meditation Society.

NEWSLETTER:  A weekly newsletter is sent to subscribers with the link to the Wednesday Zoom meetings and information on events and programs.

CHANT:  At the start of weekly meditation, we often play the devotional chant known as the Salutation to the Buddha. A recording and the words of the chant may be found here.

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Wednesday March 19th Meditation and Discussion

Jon Kabat-Zinn

Please Join us Wednesday

At 7 PM, March 19th on Zoom

For Meditation and a Talk

By Jon Kabat-Zinn

 

 

Here is the link to this online gathering

After 30 minutes of meditation, we hear and then discuss a talk by Jon Kabat-Zinn titled “The Foundations of Modern Mindfulness”.  The talk may be previewed here.

Jon Kabat-Zinn  is an American professor emeritus of medicine and the creator of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at theUniversity of Massachusetts Medical School. Kabat-Zinn was a student of Zen Buddhist teachersPhilip Kapleau, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Seung Sahn, and a founding member of Cambridge Zen Center. His practice of hatha yoga, Vipassan? and appreciation of the teachings of Soto Zen and Advaita Vedanta led him to integrate their teachings with scientific findings He teaches mindfulness, which he says can help people cope with stress, anxiety, pain, and illness. The stress reduction program created by Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), is offered by medical centers, hospitals, and health maintenance organizations, and is described in his book Full Catastrophe Living.
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Day-long Retreat April 19th

Steve WilhelmYou Are Invited

To a Day-long

Meditation Retreat

Led by Steve Wilhelm

Of Seattle Insight

Meditation Society

 

Saturday, April 19th from 9 AM to 4:30 PM

In person at the Port Townsend Friends Meetinghouse

Online via Zoom

Equanimity – No Enemies – Even in Trying Times

This daylong program includes teachings, walking and sitting meditation, and discussion opportunities in small groups and in the larger gathering.

 

Steve writes:  The Buddha always saw the potential for full awakening and compassion in every being, no matter how difficult their actions.  In this way, he approached every being with equanimity and loving kindness and in his heart he had no enemies.  For this daylong, we bring these teachings into 2024, in a very alive and visceral ways.  We will explore how to find equanimity and a kind heart and to demonize nobody, despite difficult conditions.

Steve has offered valuable presentations and conducted retreats for the Port Townsend Sangha for several years. Here is more information about Steve and his work.  

Registration and Dana

Due to space limitations, registration is required for in-person attendance. Please Register Here.

Registration is not required to attend via Zoom. To participate on Zoom, go to this link after 8:45 AM on the day of the retreat. 

There is no charge for this event. If you would like to make a donation to support Steve’s work, you can use his PayPal link. If you prefer to make a donation in person, dana baskets for Steve or the Sangha will be at the door. All are welcome regardless of donations.

 

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Wednesday March 26th Zoom Meditation

 

Jack KornfieldPlease join us on Zoom 

7 PM on March 26th, for

Meditation, Discussion,

And a Dharma Talk by

Jack Kornfield

 

 

Here is the link to this online gathering

After 30 minutes of meditation, we will listen to a dharma talk with Jack Kornfield on “Vastness and Love”. Jack explores the threefold training in Buddhism which shows us the vastness and love within when we quiet ourselves.

Jack Kornfield trained as a Buddhist monk in the monasteries of Thailand, India and Burma. He has taught meditation internationally since 1974 and is one of the key teachers to introduce Buddhist mindfulness practice to the West. After graduating from Dartmouth College in Asian Studies in 1967 he joined the Peace Corps and worked on tropical medicine teams in the Mekong River valley. He met and studied as a monk under the Buddhist master Ven. Ajahn Chah, as well as the Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw of Burma. Returning to the United States, Jack co-founded the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts, with fellow meditation teachers Sharon Salzberg and Joseph Goldstein and the Spirit Rock Center in Woodacre, California.

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Meditation at the Port Townsend Friends – Every Monday

You Are Invited to Attend

Meditation and  Discussion

At 7 PM in Port Townsend

Each Monday at the Friends

 

The sangha gathers each Monday, at the Friends Meeting House on the corner of Sheridan and 19th Streets in Port Townsend, WA.

The subject matter of dharma talks is chosen, and discussions are led by volunteers on topics most often related to insight meditation (vipassana).

We arrive silently before 7 PM, begin mediation at 7 PM. After about 20 minutes, a bell rings as a signal for who wish begin walking meditation. The group takes a break for tea at 7:40 – for socializing. At 8 PM, dharma talks, presentations and discussions begin.

More information on the weekly format is found here. All are welcome.

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Service and Dana

Dana is charitable giving. Each year, members of the Port Townsend Sangha contribute time and funds to organizations providing services to the most vulnerable members of our community with the goal of reducing suffering among the area’s most  at-risk populations.

In 2024, donations were made to Dove HouseJumping Mouse and Bayside Housing, offering counseling, shelter, support for children and services to the homeless and others in need. For more information on Sangha charitable donations, please contact us.

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The Sangha Lending Library

The PT Sangha Library shares space with the Quaker’s Library at the Friends Meetinghouse. It is open on Monday evenings when the Sangha meets.

We have a wide variety of books on Buddhism, Buddhist practice, meditation and other spiritual traditions.

Search Our Library Collection Online

Learn more about how the library works at the the Lending Library.

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Port Townsend Sangha’s Nonresidential Weekend Retreats

The Port Townsend Sangha conducts non-residential weekend retreats with visiting teachers live, in person, and on Zoom. Information on the Sangha’s Retreat Program is found here.

Information on these events is posted on this website and is sent to our mailing list.

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Port Townsend Sangha One Day Retreats

One-day meditation retreats are offered the Sangha in person and on Zoom. There is no charge to attend.

Information on these events will be posted here, and Zoom meeting invitations will be sent to our mailing list or may be obtained by writing us.  More information is here.

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More Opportunities for Dharma Study and Meditation

There are other current opportunities for Vipassana and Dharma Study and Meditation in or around Port Townsend.

Below are some suggestions and additional links.

Continue reading

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