Sunday, November 29

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I hope you holiday was full of love and gratitude.

This Sunday, November 29th is an auspicious day for those of us in the USA practicing in the Plum Village Tradition. It marks the beginning of the Winter Rains Retreat. It’s a time to come back to ourselves, to look deeply and strengthen our spiritual roots. It is the only retreat of the year that is primarily oriented for monastics and the residential community and those participating do not leave the grounds and often do not go online. As lay practitioners we have many responsibilities in the world but can take advantage of visiting Deer Park on days of mindfulness or staying for a week or weekend if able.

We can also make this a deeper practice period for ourselves and are also invited to come back to ourselves, to look deeply, and to strengthen our spiritual roots by setting an intention for the period. This might be to practice sitting meditation every day, even if only 10 minutes, visit the monastery, listen to Dharma talks each week, etc. Last year Phap Ho offered long time practitioners this schedule as a suggestion and many OI’s will be following it again this year. Do not feel obliged to take on more than is comfortable but please do be encouraged to look deeply and set a real intention. Embracing the path of healing and transformation in this way helps us all heal. By observing the retreat period we genuinely honor Thay, all of our spiritual and blood ancestors, elevate the Sangha and create conditions for peace and harmony in the world.

In the spirit of this I will offer a reading from Phap Hai’s new book “Nothing To It” this Sunday. It is based on a series of 10 talks he gave at a prior Winter Retreat and covers the heart of Buddha’s teachings with his usual insight, encouragement and inspiration. It's a wonderful book and if members of the Sangha are interested we can buy 10 or more copies at a 50% Sangha discount at Parallax Press.

In other news, we now have an Earth Holder Sangha web site and are encouraged to get involved with the People’s Climate Prayer “Contemplation and Action” November 29 – December 11, 2015. I hope the Sangha can join the Climate Marchg again this year and consider other ways to participate. The Earth Holder Sangha offers some good suggestions: http://www.earthholder.org/what-you-can-do

Wishing you well,

Pete
True Ocean of Joy

Sunday, November 15: The Art of Resting

Dear friends,

Our teacher, Thay, says "Resting is a very important practice. We have to learn the art of resting...The problem is that not many of us know how to allow our body and mind to rest. We are always struggling; struggling has become a kind of habit. We cannot resist being active, struggling all the time. We struggle even during our sleep." At this time of year, as the days become shorter, the weather cooler, and as the holiday season approaches, it is a wonderful time for us to practice the art of resting and mindfulness of body. This Sunday, we will explore and practice this art together as a sangha.

May you enjoy some rest between now and then :-)

Stephanie
(who will be facilitating :)

Sunday, November 8

Marge will facilitate using the topic “Present Moment, Wonderful Moment,” and she will be joined by Stephanie and Tree who will guide parts of our practice. As our teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, said: "We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat in a way that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of happiness that is available. We are very good at preparing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to be awake, alive in the present moment."

We will take more time for Dharma sharing at this gathering, so sangha members may share with each other ways that they are able to stay in the present moment, enjoying each wonderful moment.