In-Person and Online: Getting Over Grasping – The Buddha’s Teachings on Generosity

In-Person and Online: Getting Over Grasping – The Buddha’s Teachings on Generosity

with Leslie Booker

Thursdays, December 3rd – 17th, 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, navigating who deserves what and trying to find the heart of this season through the noise of consumerism, this is a perfect time to revisit the Buddha’s teaching on generosity. We’ll explore how we relate to it, avoid it, and overthink it, how we underutilize the wisdom of the body, how we misunderstand the impact of generosity, and how we can 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 “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.

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.