In-Person and Online: Getting Over Grasping – The Buddha’s Teachings on Generosity
Sit, breathe and come back to yourself.
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In New York Insight Meditation Center’s words
In-Person and Online: Getting Over Grasping – The Buddha’s Teachings on Generosity with Leslie Booker Tuesdays, December 3 – 17, 2026 | 6:30pm – 8:30pm ET In-Person Location: New York Insight at 115 West 29th Street, 12th Floor As we move into this season of gift giving and gift returning; navigating who deserves and who doesn’t, and trying to find the heart of this season through the noise of cash registers — this is a perfect time to revisit the Buddha’s teaching on Generosity: how we relate to it, avoid it, over think it, under-utilize the wisdom of the body, misunderstand its impact, and how to offer with integrity. Session 1: Wait, It’s Not a Fee for Service? We’ll start where most of us do — assuming generosity is transactional, a fee for dharma talks rendered and something that is limited to a financial exchange. Then we’ll unlearn that, exploring dana as a reciprocal field that extends out. Session 2: Ego, Conceit and Shame: What Blocks Us From Living in a Shared World. On the near enemies of generosity — over-giving, toxic generosity, being “generous to a fault” — and why giving until you’re depleted isn’t what the Buddha had in mind! It’s a burnout plan masquerading as an overly generous heart. Session 3: The Pre-Requisite to Giving! Once you give a gift, it’s out of your hands — they can use it, forget it, or regift it entirely. It’s no longer ours but a true offering and understanding, that folks can use this (or not!) in any way that works for them. And how do we release this attachment to outcome? By doing some embodied pre-work to release that grasping. We’ll close with the Buddha’s teaching on the integrity of giving. Note: This program will be recorded. The recording will be sent to all registrants after the program, so please feel free to sign up even if you cannot join in real time. In-Person Registration: Please register below for in-person participation . If you are able, registering at the “Supporter” level enables others to attend at the