Online: What Can I Offer, How Can I Care, What Can I Lay Down?
with Leslie Booker
Sunday, January 25th, 2026 | 10:00am – 5:00pm ET
Due to the impending snow storm, we have moved this program to be online only.
It can be hard for many of us to integrate what we’re hearing in dharma talks and practicing on the cushion, into our everyday lives.
And sometimes these 2600-year-old teachings are hard to reconcile with the level of complexity and nuance of our modern world.
The teachings on the Paramis, the 10 attainments of the heart, give us direct instruction on just how to do that. Considered the origin story of the Buddha, they start with the basics: Dana (generosity), Sila (ethical conduct) Nekkhamma (renunciation).
On this Day of Practice, we’ll be exploring what we can offer, how we can care and what we can lay down in order to be released from our suffering. Weaving together early Buddhist stories, lived experience and time for contemplation, we’ll reflect on what these teachings offer around living from a generous heart, acting ethically in a complex world, and discovering the freedom that comes from letting go—of possessions, identities, and views that keep us bound.
This retreat is open to both new and experienced practitioners and will be a day of still and moving practices, journaling, dharma talks and discussion.
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.
Online (Zoom) Registration:
Please register below for online participation via Zoom. If you are able, registering at the “Supporter” level enables others to attend at the “Subsidized” level. Thank you for your generosity! (Please note that the registration price includes a base level of teacher support, and you will have the opportunity to donate more after the program.)
If you are registering via a mobile device such as a phone or tablet, you can scroll right and left and up and down within the below form if it is partially obscured or cut off.
CLICK HERE to open the registration form in a new browser window.
Bring a Buddy: If you are a member of our Circle of Friends, you’re invited to bring a Dharma buddy to this program for no additional cost. Simply select “1” from the drop-down next to the Bring a Buddy level, and enter your special discount code (provided in your Circle of Friends welcome email) to reduce the price to that of a single, standard registration. This registration will grant attendance for you and your buddy.
Volunteering
All of our programs rely on volunteers to support our teachers and staff with various tasks and responsibilities. Volunteering allows you to participate in our programs at no cost. To inquire about volunteering opportunities, please fill out our inquiry form, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Teacher(s)
Leslie Booker
Booker is a heart – centered, spirit – driven activist and meditation teacher committed to creating a culture of belonging through her teaching and writing. She completed Spirit Rock’s 4 year Retreat Teacher Training in 2020, and shared the practices of yoga and mindfulness with New York City’s most vulnerable populations for over a decade. Booker has co – authored and contributed to several publications including the trauma – informed anthology Practicing Liberation and its accompanying workbook, for folks working towards social justice. She is a co-founder of the Yoga Service Council at Omega Institute and the Meditation Working Group of Occupy Wall Street. In 2020 she was invited to be a Sojourner Truth Leadership Fellow through Auburn Seminary and was voted by her peers as one of the 12 Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement.
Booker moved to Philadelphia in August of 2020 to vote in a swing state, and currently serves as the Guiding Teacher of New York Insight.
W | LeslieBooker.com
IG | TheRealBookerProject
FB | LeslieBooker