Spring 2026 Practice Support Group:
Embracing Truth: The Five Daily Recollections
Led by IMT Dharma Leader David Bornstein
“The Four Heavenly Messengers” is a well-known story about the Buddha. Young Siddhartha lived a life of wealth and privilege where all his needs were met. His father Śuddhodana was leader of the Sakyan clan who wished for his son to follow in his footsteps. Having heard a prophecy that Siddhartha would become either a great leader or great spiritual teacher, Śuddhodana shielded his son from every discomfort, mistakenly believing that Siddhartha would never have a reason to wander. His plan failed.
At the age of 29, Siddhartha traveled beyond the castle walls on four occasions, encountering suffering and spiritual inspiration he couldn’t have imagined: a man hunched over with age, a dying man, a corpse, and a wandering ascetic. These experiences propelled him on a six-year spiritual quest which culminated in his full awakening beneath the Bodhi tree. Siddhartha dedicated the remainder of his life to teaching what he had come to understand.
These formative experiences never left him. He encouraged his students to contemplate these five truths each day:
I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape aging.
I am of the nature to become sick. There is no way to escape illness.
I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.
Everything I love and all that is dear to me are impermanent. There is no way to escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true possessions. I am the owner of my actions, the heir of my actions. There is no way to escape their consequences.
Contemplating old age, sickness, loss, and death goes against our cultural norms. Our youth-obsessed culture views these inevitabilities as mistakes; problems to be solved, managed, and avoided at all costs. But far from being disempowering or morbid, contemplating reality in this way can have the effect of bringing vividness, gratitude, resilience, and wisdom into our daily life. The Buddha teaches that fully embracing the truth of things is liberating.
The 4-Week Practice Support Group (PSG) is designed to help you establish a consistent and nourishing daily practice. Each session will include guided meditation, Dharma talk, and time for inquiry and connection. When questions or challenges arise, you’ll have the opportunity to explore them here.
Zoom sessions will be recorded and posted on a password-protected page available only to PSG members. Recordings will allow participants time to reference past teachings or view missed sessions.
Participating in a Dharma group is one of the most supportive ways to deepen your meditation practice. This PSG is suitable for anyone who has received and practiced basic instructions in mindfulness.
WHEN
Sundays: May 10, 17, 24, 31
10am - 12pm MST
WHERE
(via Zoom only)
COST
Suggested Donation: $125-$40
No one will be turned away for financial reasons.
ABOUT THE TEACHER
David Bornstein, MSW began meditating in 1997 and has worked with many teachers including Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Anna Douglas. He graduated from Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s Dedicated Practitioner’s Program in 2016 and completed the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program created by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach, in 2019. In January 2025 David begins Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leader (CDL) program, a two-year training that, for over 20 years, has been preparing the next generation of dharma leaders.