Wise Aspiration — A Daylong Buddhist Insight Meditation Retreat
Date: Saturday, September 27th, from 10:00am to 4:00pm+ Pacific Time
Location: Portland Friends of the Dhamma @ 1404 SE 25th Ave, Portland, OR 97214. It was also be offered via Zoom.
Cost: Gift economy / aka donation
Registration: RSVP required; email me via David AT Pathofsincerity DOT com. Please note if you want to come in-person or virtually.
There will be a daylong retreat every other month; see further below for the schedule & mission statement.
Retreat Overview
This daylong retreat will offer an exploration of our deepest, most heartfelt aspirations. The focus will be less on intellectual ideas of what we should do with our life, and more on what is the most important thing right now. To feel that right now aspiration in our bones and find the courage to really live it.
We’ll draw upon the Buddha’s teachings on “right intention” and bring an interest to cause & effect. How do we cultivate a wise aspiration? How to find the courage to follow through on it? What are the downstream effects of an aspiration we really live?
Meditators will be encouraged as much as possible to not think about our aspirations, but to fuse our heartfelt intentions with present moment awareness — to be here now in a simple, loving, non-reactive way.
Meditators of all experience levels and backgrounds are welcome. There are no prerequisites, requirements, or prior experience with this community needed.
Logistics
The meditation portion of the day will go from 10:00am to 4:00pm PT, with a lunch break around 1pm. This whole period will be in “Noble Silence.”
The day will feature a couple of short dharma talks, several periods of sitting meditation around 45 minutes long, walking meditation, and time for questions. We will balance direct instruction with plenty of time in silence, as that is the true teacher. Please bring your own lunch.
You are welcome to leave at 4:00pm or stick around for up to another hour for informal socializing and treats!
Cost
Offered on the gift economy (aka, generosity or donation).
Your presence is the biggest gift, though if you’re able, monetary contributions are always appreciated & help keep the ship afloat. For more info on why I choose to teach entirely on donation, check out this article on “the gift economy.”
Donations can be made in person or electronically via this link.
Bi-Monthly Daylong Retreats – Schedule
- March 28, 2026 – Theme TBD @ Portland Friends of the Dhamma
- January 24, 2026 – Theme TBD @ Portland Friends of the Dhamma
- November 22, 2025 – Theme TBD @ Portland Friends of the Dhamma
. - September 27, 2025 – Wise Aspiration @ Portland Friends of the Dhamma
. - July 26, 2025 – The Four Elements @ a riverside horse ranch
- May 24, 2025 – Flowing Awareness @ H.O.W Temple
- March 29, 2025 – Essential Insight @ H.O.W Temple
- January 25. 2025 – The Power of Silence @ H.O.W Temple
. - November 16, 2024 – Courageous Compassion @ H.O.W Temple
- September 7, 2024 – Uprooting Affliction @ H.O.W Temple
- July 27, 2024 – True Nature @ a riverside horse ranch
- May 25, 2024 – Mindfulness of Mind @ H.O.W Temple
- March 30, 2024 – No Self, No Problem @ H.O.W Temple
- January 20, 2024 – The Power of Silence @ virtual
- November 11, 2023 – Embodied Awareness @ H.O.W Temple
- September 2, 2023 – Opening To What Is @H.O.W Temple
Daylong Retreats – Mission Statement
In a world that pulls our attention in so many directions, there is something incredibly powerful about taking a whole day with meditation as our top priority. In that spirit, here are the two primary purposes of these bi-monthly retreats:
- To create the conditions for people to go deeper into the dhamma — into a more robust stability of mind, peace, loving-kindness, and liberating insight.
- To practice the entire Noble Eightfold Path — as the Sangha Service Days focus more on the virtue section of the Buddha’s Eightfold Path, these days will focus more on the meditation & wisdom sections. This allows us to make a regular practice of the entire path, and do so not in isolation but with others!
Teacher Bio
David Sudar is a former Buddhist monk, who has completed over 3 years of silent retreats, including an intensive 21-month Vipassana Meditation retreat in Myanmar with his core teacher, Sayadaw U Tejaniya. He currently works as a Buddhist & meditation teacher in Portland, OR. He has taught extensively for the 10% Happier app, Pause Meditation, and the Path of Sincerity Sangha.