A Buddhist Community Dedicated to Connection, Engagement, and Awakening

Hi, I’m Dr. Sean Oakes

Dr. Sean Oakes, smiling with a beard in a red vest outdoors

He/they, queer, Puerto Rican & English ancestry, living on unceded Pomo land in Northern California

I teach Buddhism, Yoga, and somatic practice focusing on the integration of meditation, trauma resolution, and social justice. On this site you’ll find an extensive teaching archive, on-demand courses, practice resources, and information on joining me for weekly classes, series, and retreats. I hope the material here is supportive for your practice.

Blessings on your path.

We’re in This Together

Good friendship, the Buddha famously said, is “the whole of the holy life.” (SN 45.2)

Our saṅgha—spiritual community—is an ongoing group of practitioners from around the world who participate in gatherings live or through recordings and the online forum (currently on FB, soon changing). We welcome both beginners and experienced practitioners, and new folks are always welcome to drop in.

Sunlit forest stream with mossy rocks and gentle waterfall

Weekly Tuesdays, 7:30-9pm Pacific
Online

Meditation, teachings, & Dhamma discussion. The primary gathering of our lovely Saṅgha.

Insight Meditation Satsang

Artwork of Buddha dying, Japan, Met

Monthly Fridays, 8:30-10am Pacific
Online

Group study of the Buddha’s teachings in the Pāli Canon. Currently reading the Dīgha Nikāya, The Long Discourses of the Buddha.

Book Club

All are welcome.

Access to our practice community is offered on a Gift Economy model, with nobody turned away for lack of resources, and gives access to both of the ongoing groups.

Please join us if you would be supported by saṅgha in this moment.

Upcoming Public Teaching

Featured
Vesak 2568: Celebrating the Buddha, our Root Teacher
May 12
Vesak 2568: Celebrating the Buddha, our Root Teacher

Monday Night Meditation & Talk
May 12
6:30-8:30pm Pacific
Spirit Rock, Online and On Land!

For over 35 years, the Monday Night sitting group at Spirit Rock has been a welcoming refuge to gather, hear the teachings of the Buddha, and practice insight meditation together as a community. The program includes a 30-40 min guided meditation, a short break, and a dharma talk.

Vesak 2568: The Radical Message of Siddhattha Gotama 
May 18
Vesak 2568: The Radical Message of Siddhattha Gotama 

Sunday, May 18 | 11am-12:30pm Pacific
Saṅgha Live, Online

I’m delighted to return to Saṅgha Live’s Sunday Saṅgha, with a guided meditation, Dharma teaching and Q&A. In celebration of Vesak (May 11) this year—Buddhist year 2568—I’ll tell some stories from the Buddha’s life and reflect on his extraordinary contribution to world culture, especially in support of nonviolence, justice, and equitable societies.

Freely offered on a donation/dāna basis.

Seeing the Dhamma: How Practice Leads to Understanding
May 22
Seeing the Dhamma: How Practice Leads to Understanding

5 Thursdays, May 22 – June 19 | 4-5:30pm Pacific
New York Insight, online

Path Class 3 | In this series we will explore the core analytical lists of the marks, defilements, aggregates, and sense bases. The heart of this study is the practice of applied mindfulness, where we bring persistent, loving attention to the world as we experience it, with the aim to see how it works and be free of its snares.

You do not have to have taken the other courses in the series to take this one, and beginners are welcome.

Breath, Body, and Awakening: Practicing the Ānāpānasati Sutta
Aug 7
Breath, Body, and Awakening: Practicing the Ānāpānasati Sutta

5 Thursdays, Jul 10 – Aug 7 | 1-3pm Pacific
Spirit Rock, Online

The class is part of our ongoing Pāli Canon study series, The Refuge of Dhamma: Exploring the Buddha’s Discourses. In this series we’ll read and practice with the Ānāpānasati Sutta (MN 118), the Buddha’s original instructions for the practice of mindfulness of breathing.

Dr. Sean Oakes sitting cross-legged on floor, hands gesturing as he teaches, with a plant on each side and books on the floor.

On-demand Courses

Explore our curated collections of meditations and teachings, designed for self-paced study & practice.

Read, Listen, Watch

Talks and meditations from the Tuesday Satsang and other teaching venues are archived on our YouTube channel each week. Subscribe and follow along.

Our audio archive includes 300+ talks and meditations. Longer series, including The Eightfold Path and The Perfection of Wisdom are collected in On-demand Courses.

Writing on Dharma, history, theology, performance, and social justice, including academic work and unpublished essays

Support for practice, healing, and study including a glossary of common Buddhist terms in Pāli, reading lists for Buddhism and Yoga, and counseling referrals

I’m honored to work with these excellent Dharma organizations

"Spirit Rock" text logo in dark font on a white background
East Bay Meditation Center logo with an orange lotus flower design
New York Insight Meditation Center logo with a maroon and orange flower design
Logo of Sangha Live with multicolored circle design
Gay Buddhist Fellowship logo featuring a colorful gradient circle
Insight Timer logo featuring a brown singing bowl above the text "Insight Timer."
Logo for Liberate App, featuring an outline of a person sitting in a meditation pose on a red background.
Bold white text on a bright pink background reads 'Global Compassion Coalition.'
Logo of Yoga International with white text on an orange background.