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Classes, Workshops and Practice Sessions

Classes are offered by members of the community covering various aspects of Buddhism and meditation practice. The classes listed below are offered periodically.

Types of class enrollment

Drop-in. You may attend any class session.
Registration is required. Watch for an email notice of the enrollment period, containing instructions on how to sign up.

Please contact the teacher or facilitator with any questions or to show interest in the class. Showing interest in a class may make it happen sooner!

An Introduction to Mindfulness and Meditation
a 4 week series
Laura Liss

Saturdays, August 22, 29 and September 5 and 12, 2026
10-11:30am

This class offers a welcoming and accessible entry point into meditation and Buddhist practice — open to beginners, newcomers to the sangha, and anyone wishing to deepen or renew their practice.

Our exploration will be rooted in the Four Foundations of Mindfulness — body, feelings, mind, and phenomena — allowing for a guided experience of each as the series unfolds. Together we'll explore sitting posture, present-moment anchors, lightly guided meditation, and gentle inquiry. We'll also turn toward what motivates our practice — the aspiration to benefit all beings — and the significance of taking refuge in the Three Jewels: Buddha, dharma, and sangha.

Laura has been offering this series annually since 2022, weaving together mindfulness, yoga, and contemplative practice. Along with experience as a psychotherapist, social worker, partner, and mom, she is a Certified MBSR Instructor, meditation mentor, and yoga teacher. Beginning with yoga in 2005, she expanded her teaching in 2016 to include MBSR courses, mindfulness workshops, and meditation instruction. Her study of Buddhism began in 2017, and she completed the WHS Leadership Development Program in 2022.

All are welcome.

Contact: Laura Liss with questions.

A Joyous Path: Exploring the Core Wisdom of Buddhism

A 5 Week Class Series Beginning October 10th
Led by: Nisa King

There is joy in the lotus flower
unfolding deep within my heart
To be a jewel in the lotus flower, unfolding, is the joyous path!!!

As autumn invites us to turn inward and prepare for the quiet of winter, it is an ideal time to harvest the fruits of your spiritual practice. Times of seasonal and life transitions can often bring stress or uncertainty. How do we cultivate a steady inner light to meet life's changes with wisdom instead of reaction?

Whether you are stepping onto the path for the very first time or have practiced for decades, this course invites you to fortify your journey with the foundational teachings of the Buddha. Often dismissed as merely "basic," the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path offer a timeless map for transforming everyday challenges into rich soil for insight—offering fresh depth no matter where you are on your journey.

What You Will Discover:

The Blueprint for Peace: Explore the Four Noble Truths as a practical framework for easing stress and finding freedom.
A Clear Way Forward: Learn how the Noble Eightfold Path guides everyday mindful living, ethical choices, and deep meditation.
The C.A.L.M. Method: Master a somatic framework (Contact, Acknowledge, Liberate, Mindfulness) fusing neuroscience, Qigong, and Buddhist wisdom to regulate your nervous system and settle into profound inner stillness.

Course Format

This is an accessible, experiential course designed for real-world embodiment. Beginners will find a welcoming, supportive foundation, while experienced meditators will discover new dimensions to refine their practice.

Each two-hour session includes:

● Dharma Talk
● Guided Meditation & Silent Meditation
● Mindful Movement (Qigong)
● Interactive Discussion & Shared Insight

Leave each week feeling grounded, inspired, and connected to the simple, transformative joy at the heart of the Dharma.

When: Saturdays 10:00 to 12:00 October 10, 17, 24, 31 and November 7.

Where: In person at White Heron Sangha Meditation Center.

Cost: This course is free with Dana accepted.

Registration opening soon.

Contact Nisa King with questions.

Conversations on the End of Life

a monthly class series

Susan Quinones

This group gathering gives us an opportunity to explore the many topics that have to do with life’s end. Once a month, we will explore a different topic both as a group and in small groups to delve deeper into the beliefs, thoughts and feelings that we hold around these ideas.

It is my hope that we can learn from each other and be able to share about things that are not easily talked about in the wider community. How can we benefit from exploring things from a Buddhist lens and in doing so, support each other so that we can live each day with meaning?

The class is facilitated by Susan Quinones, a member of White Heron Sangha and registered nurse trained in Hospice and End of Life Care.

Contact: Susan Quinones with questions.

Accessing Mindfulness

a 4 week series
Mick Malotte

Suitable for Non-Buddhists and Buddhists alike.
A good introduction for those new to mindfulness meditation, also a good refresher for those with experience who want to establish a regular daily meditation practice and see more benefit in daily life.
Similar to courses Mick teaches at Stanford Medical School and UCSF Medical Center with added dharma depth.
Based on original mindfulness texts and current contemplative neuroscience. Optional companion books: “Introducing Mindfulness” by Bhikkhu Analayo and “Peak Mind” by Amishi Jha.

Daily Meditation Commitment: Minimum of 12 minutes every day for 5 weeks, based on recent neuroscience findings (reduced distress and improved well-being). Once benefits are experienced and meditation becomes an enjoyable habit, then natural motivation follows to continue and increase practice time, if desired, with greater benefits.

Mick’s passion is in making deep rooted mindfulness practices accessible, relevant, and helpful to those engaged in modern life in order to lessen distress and bring well-being and joy. He has been practicing and studying mediation for 30 years, mostly in the Insight and Mahamudra traditions. He is married, has two children, two grandchildren and is a retired physician.

Accordion Widget

More about Mick

Mick was trained as a meditation teacher through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In 2017 Mick completed Spirit Rock’s two and a half year CDL training program where he received instruction on how to lead dharma practices from Bhikkhu Bodhi, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, Sylvia Boorstein, Tara Brach, Gil Fronsdal and many others. Mick leads a Spirit Rock affiliated mindfulness sitting group at the White Heron Sangha in San Luis Obispo.

He has also been trained through UCSD to lead secular Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction courses and is a certified MBSR instructor. He teaches MBSR courses in the San Luis Obispo area.

Additionally, Mick trained at the University of Rochester with Ronald Epstein to lead mindfulness practices for healthcare professionals and graduated from their Mindful Practice Facilitator Training.

Mick now leads mindfulness trainings in person and virtually at academic medical centers around the country including Stanford Medical School, UCSF, UCLA, University of Washington, Baylor University and many others. He is an instructor at the UCSF Center for Mindfulness in Surgery.

Contact: Mick Malotte with questions.

Tara Meditation

Held occasionally - Check the schedule

James Coleman

Tara is the embodiment of enlightened mind, a manifestation of our own deepest wisdom. In this group, simple practices are performed together that help to connect us with her awakened wisdom and to manifest her love and power in our daily lives.

The visualization of the female Buddha Tara not only builds concentration, it helps balance our female and male energies, and helps free us from the limitations of our deluded sense of self.

Everyone is welcome, including newcomers.

Contact: James Coleman with questions.

Classes, Workshops and Practice Sessions

A Joyous Path: Exploring the Core Wisdom of Buddhism

What You Will Discover:

Conversations on the End of Life

Accessing Mindfulness

Tara Meditation

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