Right view, the first limb of the Eightfold Path, points to the innermost orientation of the heart: how I understand the world. If I see the world through right view, I see what causes suffering and what doesn’t. I start to understand what helps and what hurts; what leads to liberation or further into confusion and pain. As wise view matures, it grows into this beautiful softening of the sense of separation between myself and others. Then moment to moment, seeing clearly what’s happening, and who’s here, all I want to know is “given the choices available to me in this moment, what’s going to help the most?”
Sean Oakes, PhD
Guest Teacher, Movement Teacher
Sean Oakes, PhD, teaches the Dharma with a focus on the integration of meditation, study, and self-inquiry with trauma resolution and social justice. He has studied in Theravāda, Zen, and Vajrāyāna Buddhist lineages, including training as a monk in Burma, and was authorized to teach Insight Meditation by Jack Kornfield in 2010. He completed the Dedicated Practitioner (DPP1), Mindfulness Meditation and Yoga (MYMT2), and Community Dharma Leader (CDL5) trainings at Spirit Rock. In addition to mentor Jack Kornfield, Dr. Oakes’ primary Buddhist teachers include Sylvia Boorstein and Eugene Cash, Kitissaro and Ṭhānissara, Ṭhānissaro Bhikkhu, Anam Thubten, and Sayadaw U Janaka, with whom he ordained as a bhikkhu for a Rains Retreat in Burma in 2002. He studied Yoga with Alice Joanou, Rachel Shaw, Amanda Moran, and David Moreno, and taught mindfulness-based Yoga āsana and prāṇāyāma for 10 years. He studied and performed for many years in music, dance, and performance art, and trained in Somatic Experiencing (SE) and Organic Intelligence (OI) with Steven Hoskinson, integrating the complex systems approach from OI in a distinctively Buddhist approach to trauma resolution. Sean teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center, East Bay Meditation Center, and online with Insight Timer, Yoga International, and other lovely organizations. He received his PhD in Performance Studies from UC Davis in 2016, writing on states of consciousness in Buddhist meditation and experimental dance, and lives in Northern California on ancestral Pomo territory with his family and beloved community.
Sean Oakes' Upcoming Programs
Class Series | Online | Dharma Institute
August 7 - September 4, 2025 | Thursday - Thursday | 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Breath, Body, and Insight: Practicing With the Ānāpānasati Sutta
The Ānāpānasati Sutta contains the Buddha’s original instructions for the practice of mindfulness of breathing. This beautiful and encouraging text lays out an embodied, heart-centered approach to meditation that unifies samādhi and insight practices. Our focus will be on getting oriented to the sutta in order to use it as an ongoing resource for practice. Each class includes significant supplemental materials, guided meditations, and an expansive exploration and group discussion of the text.
Sean Oakes
Upcoming Drop-Ins
Drop-in | On-Land
Monday, June 23 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
New TimeFor 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.
Sean Oakes
Drop-in | Online
Monday, June 23 | 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Monday Night Meditation & Talk
New TimeFor 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.
Sean Oakes
Dharma Library
Can't join us live online or on the land? Study and practice at your convenience with Sean Oakes through our new library of recordings, articles, and self-paced online courses.
