Dear Sangha,
Our practice has two fundamental aspects, stopping and looking deeply. When we stop, stop the thinking, speaking, physical activity, and look deeply into the present moment, without relying on words, symbols or ideas, we get in touch with our bodies, our breath, our feelings. We are in the present moment. We experience the world afresh. We can get insight into the nature of our life, that we are alive, that the world is alive and full of wonders, that we inter-are with all beings and with the whole of being. This is enlightenment. This is to be a Buddha, which literally means one who is awake. Our practice offers nothing less than the deep experience of the wholeness of the world, the Interbeing of everything, Nirvana, which is the world unfettered by concepts. It is the realization of our self as the whole cosmos, even the source of the cosmos, the Ultimate Dimension, and the clear experience of all beings as aspects of our true self, our true home. We come together as a Sangha to practice awakening and support the awakening of our fellow Sangha members, awakening the collective consciousness of the Sangha, with the aim of sharing our awakening with the world. We exist at a dramatic moment in the history of life on earth when everything depends on a shared awakening worldwide, shared by all of humanity. We are living at the most thrilling possible of times and we are participants in the movement to awaken humankind and create a thriving planet for all future children, including the non-human children, even the mountains, rivers, and oceans. We are called to greatness at this time and blessed with a beautiful Earth and a beautiful Sangha to practice and transform with, to transform ourselves and all beings. Please join with our Sangha this Sunday as we move more deeply into ourselves and our moment.
Keith
Universal Emptiness of the Heart
True Enlightenment Garden
practicing mindfulness in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh