Upcoming Teachings
Guiding Teacher Kim Allen teaches at Insight Meditation Center and other Bay Area Dharma groups, as well as farther afield and online, offering Dharma talks, retreats, and classes.
Regular teachings:
Friday sutta contemplation class: "In This Very Life" -- listed on the Sutta Classes page.
Quarterly "Uncontrived Half-Day" practice session (Sat or Sun) -- listed below under Talks, Classes, Daylongs. We aim for Jan/ Apr/ Jul/ Oct.
Another way to keep up: Kim sends a newsletter (about 8x/year) with a Dharma teaching essay and updates on new teachings.
Talks, Classes and Daylongs
March 2026
Online class: Foundations of Samadhi
Mar 1, 8, and 15 (three Sundays), 8:30-11:30am
Plus group practice discussions on Mar 7 (Sat, 8:00-9:00am) and Mar 9 (Mon, 6:00-7:00pm)
An Uncontrived program
Join the Uncontrived community in an in-depth practice period. Includes group practice discussion for more tailored guidance.
This focused program offers foundational instructions and daily-life practices that support the development of samādhi – a stable, gathered, and pleasant mindstate. Such mindstates are accessible through putting in place certain qualities and conditions named in the Buddha’s teachings. We will learn how samādhi is part of an "ecosystem" of mind that includes many other factors and qualities. Newcomers may feel ease to know that samādhi is a natural result of putting other conditions in place, and more experienced folks may gain appreciation of the wider context in ways that support insight.
Greater conceptual understanding of samādhi, as well as clearer experience with the factors that support it, can lead to a healthier relationship to it and a better chance that it will lead to the clear seeing and wisdom that are its potential. Registration required.
Learn more and register
Online talk series
Mar 2-6 (Mon-Fri), 7:00-7:45am
IMC’s morning meditation and Dharmette: 30 min sit, 15 min talk
On IMC’s YouTube channel livestream
Online class: See for Yourself — Experiencing Wisdom in Life
Feb 25, Mar 4, 11, and 18 (four Wednesdays), 7:00-8:30pm [can still register in March]
A Sati Center class
Buddhist teachings name wisdom, paññā, as a faculty that all humans possess, but may not have developed deeply. Wisdom is essential for liberating the heart from suffering, and is naturally developed through Dharma practice. This class aims to help participants recognize and deepen the Dharma wisdom already present in their life so that it can be applied to benefit themselves and others. The world dearly needs more wisdom, both as basic clarity and discernment and because it is intimately connected to compassion.
In this class, we will explore different facets of wisdom within the early Buddhist teachings, applying them in each session to our lives today. It will include readings from the suttas and more contemporary sources, meditation, teachings, and small- and large-group discussion.
Learn more and Register.
In-person daylong: Natural Intelligence
Insight Meditation Center (Redwood City, CA)
Mar 28, 9:30am-4:00pm (Sat)
In a world of virtual interaction, AI, and continual information flow, it is easy to lose touch with what is reliable and what is spiritually nourishing. Meditation can help us attune to a natural intelligence that resides within and includes both wisdom and heart qualities. This day of practice will support cultivating this Dharma intelligence. Learning to trust it supports our engagement with both the inner and outer worlds.
This daylong retreat will include alternating periods of sitting and walking, guided meditations, dharma talks, and contemplation. This day of practice is an opportunity to strengthen mindfulness, develop wisdom, practice with the IMC community, and ask a teacher questions. Appropriate for meditators who are already familiar with basic mindfulness instructions. Bring lunch. No registration needed.
April 2026
Online Sangha Session: Uncontrived Half-day
Apr 11 (Sat), 9:30am-Noon
Uncontrived
Join the Uncontrived sangha (that’s “Us”!) for a half-day of practice and teachings. Approximate schedule: 9:30 Sit with guidance, 10:15 Walking meditation, 10:45 Silent sit, 11:30 Dharmette and Q&A.
June 2026
In-person half-day retreat
Insight Meditation Center (Redwood City, CA)
June 10, 9:30am-12:15pm (Sat)
Join a half-day of silent practice with two sits, a walk, a Dharmette, and community connections afterward. Practice discussions with Kim are available.
Online Class: Five Dharma Resources
June 10th, 17th, and 24th, (three Wed’s), 4:00-5:30pm — 7:00-8:30pm Eastern time
Offered through Insight Meditation Society
Dharma practice can be seen as providing the heart and mind with rich and potent resources for waking up and for navigating life. The Buddha named a set of five key qualities in a wide range of suttas, calling them types of wealth, ways of fortifying the mind, modes of spiritual growth, accomplishments, and inspirations. We could call them “Dharma resources” – resources from which the heart draws to respond well to situations both on and off the cushion.
They are: Confidence (or faith), virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom. Over three sessions, we will explore these qualities through meditation, teachings, readings, and small group discussion. Participants will also be encouraged to practice with these resources in daily life.
Register through IMS Online.
Online daylong: Beautiful Mind and Heart
June 13, 6:00am-1:00pm (Sat) — 9am to 4pm Eastern time
Offered through Insight Meditation Society
This day is devoted to connecting with the beautiful side of both the cognitive mind and the heart – two aspects of citta, the heart-mind. We will learn and practice the Recollection of the Buddha, which is infrequently taught in the Insight world. We’ll also practice mettā, lovingkindness or goodwill, and muditā, appreciative joy. These beautiful practices strengthen and align the citta to support walking the path to freedom.
Classical instructions and guidance on cultivation of the citta will support the opportunity to explore devotional practice, develop concentration, practice with the IMS community, and ask a teacher questions.
Register through IMS Online.
Special online program: Dedicated Practitioner Program, Summer 2026
Living Dharma 1: View and Virtue
Jun 14-Aug 9 (eight Sundays; no class July 19), 9:00-11:30am
Session includes full-group teachings (10:00-11:30) and a small cohort group session beforehand (9:00-9:45)
An Uncontrived program
Note that you do not need to attend all sessions (I know summer is busy). The full-group sessions will be recorded.
The Buddha’s teachings offer a clear and beautiful encouragement for us to cultivate a full spiritual life that frees the heart from suffering. Living the Dharma is an ongoing process of refining our understanding, actions, meditation, and lifestyle.
We are called to embody wisdom and care throughout the fullness of our life. In this program, we will focus on honing our engagement with and embodiment of right view, speech, action, and livelihood (factors 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the eightfold path), including such topics as karma, the four noble truths, bodily intuition, harmony, truthfulness, and non-harming. Interestingly, all of these factors function both on and off the cushion.
The program includes meditation, suttas, teachings from Kim, reflective writing, and a small cohort group you’ll be with through the whole program.
Prerequisites: An established meditation practice and familiarity with the foundational mindfulness meditation instructions.
Learn more and register
Multi-Day Retreats
March 2026
Online weekend retreat: The Six Sense Bases: Clarity and Wisdom
Mar 20-22 (Fri evening to Sun midday)
A Sati Center event
Co-taught with Leigh Brasington
In this weekend online retreat, we will explore a less-taught area of the Dharma: The Six Sense Bases (the five physical senses plus the mind). The Buddha pointed out how prone we are to attachment and hence dukkha around sense experience, and yet, to live is to be in continual contact with the sense world. What to do? Clarity and wisdom are needed.
The retreat will consist of alternating sitting and walking practice, guided by a range of instructions and teachings from the suttas about the sense bases. Each day will also include Dharma talks and Q&A. Participants are encouraged to set up conditions of silence and seclusion to the degree possible.
Note: The opening session on Friday evening will be recorded and posted immediately. Please feel free to register even if you are in a time zone that does not allow attendance on Friday
Registration is open! Sign up here.
In-person residential retreat: Insight Retreat
Insight Retreat Center (Santa Cruz, CA)
Mar 29-Apr 6 (Sun-Sun, 7 nights)
Co-taught with Diana Clark, Ying Chen, and David Lorey
Registration is open at InsightRetreatCenter.org. (Scroll down to the Mar 29 entry).
This retreat is offered within IMC's Culture of Generosity; there will be no registration fee (and there will be an opportunity to support the teachers and organization by donation).
May 2026
In-person residential retreat: Insight Retreat
Big Springs Retreat Center (outside of Sierra City, CA)
May 13-20 (Wed-Wed, 7 nights)
Co-taught with Diana Clark, Ying Chen, and David Lorey
Registration is open on Insight Retreat Center's "offsite retreats" page. (Scroll down to May 13 entry)
This retreat is offered within IMC's Culture of Generosity; there will be no registration fee (and there will be an opportunity to support the teachers and organization by donation).
In-person residential retreat: Awakening the Pure Heart
Seven Oaks Retreat Center (Madison, VA)
May 25-31 (Tues-Sun, 5 nights)
Co-taught with Marjolein Janssen
This retreat focuses on cultivating insight and the awakening of the heart. Inspired by a traditional Buddhist teaching that compares the mind to a cloth that can be cleansed and brightened, we will explore practical ways of recognizing and releasing unhelpful mental and emotional patterns. As these patterns soften, qualities such as confidence, clarity, kindness, and the four brahmavihāras naturally begin to reveal themselves.
Learn more and register
July 2026
In-person residential retreat: Listen, Heart, Peace: An Insight retreat
Big Bear Retreat Center (SoCal)
July 12-19 (Sun-Sun)
Co-taught with Diana Clark
Careful attention to our inner life awakens the heart and mind to the possibility of peace in the present moment. Supported by the quiet beauty of the natural surroundings and the shared field of community practice, we will explore classical insight practices, highlighting that these are also forms of opening the heart and evoking greater freedom. This silent retreat will include sitting and walking meditation, Dharma talks and practice discussions with the teachers. It is suitable for both new and experienced meditators.
This retreat is offered in collaboration with the Insight Retreat Center (IRC) as a dana retreat with no registration cost. There will be an opportunity to support the teachers, who are not otherwise compensated.
Registration is open!
There are no upcoming events at this time.