Both compassion and joy arise when we look closely at impermanence and the patterns of dukkha that keep us stuck in reactivity. Because when we see these patterns deeply, we know how often we are all caught in this way. So compassion naturally arises, along with joy in knowing that we can see clearly and know a way to freedom.
Donald Rothberg, PhD
Residential Retreat Teacher
Donald Rothberg, PhD, has practiced Insight Meditation since 1976, and has also received training in Tibetan Dzogchen, Mahamudra practice and the Hakomi approach to body-based psychotherapy. Formerly on the faculties of the University of Kentucky, Kenyon College, and Saybrook Graduate School, he currently writes and teaches classes, groups and retreats on meditation, daily life practice, spirituality and psychology, and socially engaged Buddhism. An organizer, teacher, and former board member for the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Donald has helped to guide six-month to two-year training programs in socially engaged spirituality through Buddhist Peace Fellowship (the BASE Program), Saybrook (the Socially Engaged Spirituality Program), and Spirit Rock (the Path of Engagement Program). He is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World and the co-editor of Ken Wilber in Dialogue: Conversations with Leading Transpersonal Thinkers.
Donald Rothberg's Upcoming Programs
Retreat | On-Land
December 1 - December 5, 2026 | Tuesday - Saturday | 4 nights
Transforming the Judgmental Mind, Cultivating the Wise Heart
8.75 CE Credits. Full - short waitlist. Commuter spaces available! Judgments—often reactive and automatic—are deeply embedded in both our personal lives and the dominant culture. They can distort our perceptions, make relationships with others difficult, and undermine our work in the world. In this retreat, we will explore the nature of such judgments (and their difference from non-reactive discernment) and how to transform them. We will cultivate mindfulness, inquiry, and heart practices such as lovingkindness, forgiveness, and compassion, all in the context of a small, supportive community.
Retreat | On-Land
January 11 - January 18, 2027 | Monday - Monday | 7 nights
Mettā Retreat: Teachings and Practices to Cultivate a Wise, Compassionate, and Resilient Heart
12 CE Credits. Registration Open. This retreat focuses on the cultivation of mettā, or lovingkindness—the development of a heart grounded in goodwill toward oneself and all beings. Through sustained practice, we train the heart in kindness, drawing on mindfulness to recognize and soften patterns that limit the heart. While centered on mettā, we also explore compassion, appreciative joy, and equanimity. Held primarily in noble silence, the retreat includes guided meditation, Dharma talks, and meetings with teachers.
Gullu Singh
Donald Rothberg
Diana Winston
Beth Sternlieb
Jonathan Relucio (Movement Teacher)
Ronya Fakhoury Banks (Teacher in Training)
Retreat | On-Land
September 13 - September 19, 2027 | Monday - Sunday | 6 nights
Settling, Seeing, and Luminous Awareness
Registration Open. During this retreat, we train in three inter-related modes of practice, the treasures of Buddhist tradition. First, we settle and stabilize our minds and bodies, becoming more concentrated. Secondly, we see more clearly when there is reactivity and when there is a strong sense of self, and we learn to be more with the impermanent flow of experience. Thirdly, we tune in to a non-dual luminous awareness that is a source of freedom and wisdom. Throughout, we support these practices with lovingkindness practice.
Donald Rothberg
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, October 28 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Donald Rothberg
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, November 4 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, November 11 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, November 18 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Drop-in | Online
Wednesday, November 25 | 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk
Our Wednesday Morning Meditation & Talk is led by Sylvia Boorstein, Donald Rothberg, Heidi Bourne, or other guest teachers. This group welcomes beginners and experienced practitioners to explore the Dharma.
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Donald Rothberg through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.