Common Ground Meditation Center

05/14/2026

Spring Work Day this Saturday, Intro Workshop Next Saturday! -

Hello friends, Over the past year, I’ve noticed a deepening reverence for the simple power of the Four Noble Truths, what Bhikkhu Bodhi calls, “the matrix of the teachings.” Many of us have heard these phrases hundreds of times. I’m curious what happens when you take them in now: There is du...

05/07/2026

Half-Day Retreat this Saturday, Spring Work Day Next Saturday! -

Dear Common Ground Friends, Is it possible to change the quality of our life simply by cultivating a sincere interest in calmness? Because of habit, our attention is often drawn to what is dramatic, intense, and personally juicy. However, the heart can be trained to be equally interested in what is....

04/30/2026

Lovingkindness this Friday, Half-Day Retreat Saturday May 9th! - https://mailchi.mp/commongroundmeditation/april172024-10460144

04/24/2026

Chanting Workshop Saturday, Earth Day Peace Walk Sunday -

Dear Common Ground Friends, The Dhamma invites us fully into our lives in every profound and ordinary moment. By attuning willingly to the ordinary experiences of body and mind, we come into alignment with the transient currents of sensation, feeling, and mental impressions. The simple and trustwo...

04/17/2026

Registration Open for Spring and Summer Work Practice Periods at our Retreat Center! -

Dear Common Ground Friends, We have truly built a remarkable and beautiful community and may it be that we continue to do so for the generations. Our individual contributions are nuanced, our familiarity with Common Ground varied, yet we’re all inextricably linked to this experiment in some way. M...

04/07/2026

Wise Speech Workshop Saturday, BIPOC Daylong Retreat Next Saturday! -

Dear Common Ground Friends, An important part of our practice is realizing the liberating shift when our heart releases its clinging to the content of mental proliferation. This release can happen at any moment, and reveals a more inclusive, receptive, and intimate presence with things as they are.....

04/03/2026

Lovingkindness Tonight, Half-Day Retreat Saturday, Wise Speech Workshop Next Saturday! -

Dear Common Ground Friends, The Buddha's final words to his attendant Ānanda carry an unmistakable clairty and tenderness, inspiring us still more than 2,600 years later: "There are these roots of trees, these empty huts. Meditate, Ānanda, do not delay, or else you will regret it later. This is my...

03/27/2026

Retreat Saturday, Community Potluck on Sunday! -

Dear Common Ground Friends, No matter the particular meditation technique one uses, Buddhist practice depends on developing a continuity and stability of present-moment awareness. So much of this path, the development of wisdom and compassion, depends on learning what attitudes of mind, what choices...

03/20/2026

Daylong Retreat on March 28th; Community Potluck on March 29th! -

Dear Common Ground Friends, I’ve always appreciated the simplicity of the first noble truth. It can be translated like this: there is suffering. It is so ordinary that we can almost miss its depth. After all, we can all agree that life includes plenty of small and, well…extraordinarily difficult...

03/14/2026

In-Person Programs Cancelled Tomorrow Due to Blizzard; Online Options Available -

Dear Common Ground Friends, We've been monitoring the storm that is approaching the Twin Cities and have decided it best to cancel all in person programming tomorrow, Sunday, March 15th. Here are some more specific updates.