Online: The Buddha’s Teachings on Courage and Confidence
with Celeste Young
Sunday, October 12th, 2025 | 10:00am – 1:00pm ET
Online through Zoom
How do we sustain our practice in overwhelming times? Most of us struggle to find the balance between applying too little effort and striving too much in our meditation and Dharma practice. We may go through phases of feeling deeply connected and committed, only to become discouraged or pulled away by life’s challenges. At other times, we may feel inspired and enthusiastic about practice but unsure how to channel that energy effectively.
What’s needed is a kind of balanced determination. The Buddha’s teachings on wise effort and the cultivation of vīriya—the courageous energy needed to stay present and continue practicing—offer powerful support. This wholehearted effort is strengthened when paired with saddhā, or trust and confidence in the path, which grows as we give ourselves wholeheartedly to practice. Together, vīriya and saddhā can sustain us as we move toward greater freedom, helping us meet the challenges of today’s world with clarity and resilience.
In this three hour program, we will create a quiet refuge to explore these essential qualities and cultivate kind attention to the body and heart. The half day will include:
- Guided meditation
- Dharma talks
- Walking meditation and mindful movement practice
- Mindful inquiry, discussion, and Q&A
Online Registration:
Please register below. 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 the Subsidized level is not realistic for you, you are warmly invited to register at the Pay What You Can level and offer any amount you like.
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)
Celeste Young
Celeste Young is a Theravadin Buddhist mindfulness and Dharma teacher. She has been practicing meditation and sitting retreats since 2002. She was one of the first teachers to be empowered at InsightLA, a nonprofit Buddhist and secular mindfulness organization based in Los Angeles.
Since 2011, Celeste has worked with thousands of meditation and Dharma students teaching classes, leading silent meditation retreats, and working with individual students. She teaches both in the US and internationally. Additionally, she has led corporate sessions and retreats for organizations such as Netflix and the University of Southern California.
For the last 14 years, her own practice has been centered around yearly long silent retreats in the Insight meditation tradition lasting from one to three months in length. She is also a certified Life Balance Strategist and is extremely passionate about this work which empowers people to make mindful change in their lives. She sees life balance strategy work and Dharma teaching and practice as a pragmatic way of supporting people in living their deeper values and navigating their lives with much more clarity and well being. Sharing in the Dharma with others brings her immense joy.