When Ashley Sharp moved to Richmond in 2016, she wanted to begin a sitting group that served her new community of Richmond. She invited her Spirit Rock Community Dharma Leader colleagues, Mary Davis and Thomas Davis IV to this new venture to bring Insight Meditation to Richmond. We had our first meeting on March 16, 2016 in the Child’s Art Room of the Richmond Art Center.
Over the years there have been many changes: we moved locations to the Open Door Methodist Church in the East Richmond Heights; Ashley moved on to start her own retreat center in Fort Bragg, CA; Thomas left us to join InsightLA; our move to Zoom with the beginning of the pandemic; and the addition of a Saturday community sit.
Through it all we have grown a community grounded in integrity, vulnerability, and compassion. In each meeting we do a community check-in where people have an opportunity to share both their struggles and their joys. We are led each week by a rotation of teachers, including Mary Davis, community teachers Ellen Carlton and Desto, as well as visiting Insight Meditation teachers. We also meet in person one Saturday a month to meditate, socialize, and snack.
Thomas Davis, Ashley Sharp, and Mary Davis
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Silence is Golden, Let's Get Rich!
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Opening Night
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Humble Beginnings
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Thomas, Ashley, and Mary
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Community Gathering
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The Kids Craft Room where it all started!
Let’s Practice Together
In addition to our Insight Richmond gatherings, there are additional opportunities to practice with the Banyan Community.
Wednesday Night Sangha
We meet each Wednesday evening from 6:30 - 8:00pm PT on Zoom. Each session includes a 30-minute guided sit, a community check-in, and a dharma offering from Mary, or one of our community teaches, or a visiting Insight Meditation Teacher. Drop-in basis.
Suggestion donation $5-$20, though no one is turned away for inability to pay
Saturday Meditation
Every Saturday from noon - 1pm PT, drop in for a a community chat and check-in followed by a half-hour guided sit by Mary or one of our community teachers.
Donations welcome, though not expected
Mindful Friends Group
A space for our friends from the Banyan community to continue to learn and practice together. We’ll meet on Wednesdays from 3:00 - 4:00pm PT.
Please contact for additional information. Offered on a sliding scale.
Other Offerings TBD
I would love to be able to offer class series, mentorship groups, or whatever folks are needed to grow in wisdom and compassion. I would love to hear what you would be interested in. These offerings would be offered on a sliding scale, with scholarships available. Feel free to reach out and let me know what you need.
Late Night Sangha
The continuation of the beautiful 11pt PT Banyan community meditation sangha.
Please contact for additional information. Offered on a sliding scale
About Mary Davis
Mary fell in love with the teachings of the Buddha about 30 years ago. She started her Buddhist studies while practicing in a Tibetan tradition where she also took on leadership and teaching roles. She has been practicing in the Insight Meditation tradition for almost 20 years during which time she has attended over 25 residential retreats, including long retreat, and completed Spirit Rock's two-year Community Dharma Leader program in 2017. She has been mentored by Howie Cohn for over a decade.
During her career as a manager at Kaiser Permanente, she served as the Mindfulness Leader for the San Francisco Medical Center. In that role she wrote a weekly newsletter, led two lunchtime sits a week, and offered a number of Lunch and Learn lectures on mindfulness topics. In 2019, she completed the Mindful Self-Compassion Teacher Training and has incorporated the concepts into many of her teachings. Upon retiring from Kaiser in 2022, she began mentoring with Banyan, an online mindfulness meditation community.
In 2016, Mary, along with her Community Dharma Leader colleagues, Ashley Sharp and Thomas Davis IV, started Insight Richmond to offer the practices and teachings of the Western Theravada/Insight Meditation. While both Ashley and Thomas have moved onto other dharma adventures, Mary has continued to lead the group.
Mary Davis has also served as the President of the Mission Dharma Board for the past five years, having served on the Board since its inception in 2016. In addition, Mary has led a number of introductory courses, as well as sat in for Howie on Tuesday nights. She was also one of the facilitators for the Eight-Month Investigating our Whiteness program in 2020/2021 In addition, she is a regular guest teacher at the Alameda Sangha, as well as the SF Sangha.
Mary's greatest joy is building communities where people can deepen their meditation practice as well as feel safe and seen. She brings authenticity, humor and compassion to her dharma offerings. She is available for one-on-one mentoring. If interested, please contact her below.
