Buddhist retreat this weekend

The Three Jewels: An Exploration of the Buddhist Path, a weekend retreat with Acharya Mitchell Levy, will be held today and tomorrow from 1 to 7:30 p.m. at the Santosha Yoga Studio, 14 Bartlett Ave., Cranston.

The Three Jewels consist of the Buddha, as the example and inspiration of realizing our inherent wakefulness; the Dharma, as the wealth of teachings guiding us on a path of personal realization; and Sangha, those who practice meditation and work with selfless compassion for the benefit of others.

The retreat is open to anyone who is interested in exploring these topics, whether as a beginner or one who is ready to take refuge in the three jewels. The Refuge Vow will be offered by Acharya Levy tomorrow evening at the close of the program for those who wish to take this step.

Levy is a professor of medicine at Brown Medical School, medical director of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Rhode Island Hospital and director of Critical Care Services for Brown University School of Medicine. He began his study of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism in 1971 and was appointed an Acharya, or senior teacher, in the Shambhala Buddhist lineage in 2004.

To register, call Lucy McKenna at (401) 575-8015 or e-mail register@providence.shambhala.org. The suggested donation is $125.

Election-year conversations

The public is invited to join in a conversation with the Rev. Duane Clinker on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the social room of Beneficent Church, 300 Weybosset St., Providence. The topic will be “Thy Kingdom Come: Politics and Radical Faith.”

The event is part of a series of election-year conversations sponsored by the Southeast New England Program of the American Friends Service Committee. Future topics include “The War Comes Home Part 1: PTSD” on Aug. 26, “The War Comes Home Part 2: The Costs of War” on Sept. 23, and “Immigration” on Oct. 23. The speaker will open the topic and those in attendance are invited to join the discussion.

For information, call the AFSC-SENE office at (401) 521-3584 or e-mail sene@afsc.org.

Vacation bible schools

Park Place Congregational Church, 71 Park Place, Pawtucket, will hold its Vacation Bible School for children ages 5 through 12 on Wednesday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. All are welcome. The cost to participate is a canned good. For more information, call (401) 726-2800.

The annual community Vacation Bible School for children ages 4 through 12, sponsored jointly by Hope Congregational Church, UCC, and Newman Congregational Church, UCC, will be held at Newman Congregational Church, 100 Newman Ave., East Providence, from 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 11-15. The cost is $5 per child with a maximum charge of $20 per family. Advance registration is recommended and registration forms are available at either of the partner churches. For more information, call Ruth Hainsworth at (401) 434-4742.