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Exploring the Buddha's Teaching to the Kalamas: Self-reliance and Investigation

When: Wednesdays, Sept. 9–30

Where: Online via Zoom

Time: 7–8:30 pm

Cost (pay what you can afford):

$70 (member/supported)

$80 (base)

$90 (benefactor)

This fall, Matthew Daniell is teaching three monthlong series on core discourses (suttas) of the Buddha: the Kalama Sutta (September), the Anapanasati Sutta (October), and the Bahiya Sutta (November). Each is a standalone series that does not require the others for comprehension, although they are complementary and mutually reinforcing!

The Kalama Sutta is a classic teaching in which the Buddha encourages us to investigate experience for ourselves, free from preconceived beliefs and biases. It invites us to recognize the unexamined forces that shape how we think and act, and instead relate directly to our own experience. Rather than becoming caught up in assumptions or dogma, we are encouraged to discover genuine freedom through firsthand experience. These principles can be applied to formal meditation practice and also to daily living in general.

In each class session, guided and silent meditation periods will be complemented by reflection and a discussion period.  

Matthew Daniell is the guiding teacher of NSIMC. He has been practicing Buddhist meditation since the 1980s, including over a decade in Asia, where he practiced Zen intensively in Japan, Tibetan Buddhism in India, and Insight meditation in Burma, India, and Thailand. Read more at Matthew’s teacher page.

NSIMC programs have a tiered pricing structure to accommodate people of varying means. Please pay at the highest level that is comfortable for you; paying at a higher level helps support people who need to pay at a lower level. To register and pay online, click below; for other payment options or questions, send an email to northshoreimc@gmail.com.

Exploring the Buddha's Teaching to the Kalamas, Sept. 2026
from $70.00
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July 26

How to Relax Deeply with Insight Meditation, with Max Johnson

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September 12

At Home in the World: Daily Life as Meditation, with Matthew Daniell