you need a brother or sister, or friend to remind you what you already know.
The Dharma is in you, but it needs to be watered in order to manifest and become a reality.
– Venerable Teacher and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh
Dear Friends on the Path:
Welcome to the Open Heart Sangha (OHS)!
We are so glad you are interested in joining our sangha and practicing together! This guide was designed to help you learn about the OHS and what to expect at a sangha gathering.
No one needs to be experienced to join us and you don’t need to bring anything. All are welcome to practice with us.
Intention
The Open Heart Sangha meets together to support each other’s practice of mindfulness in the Plum Village tradition of Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Living and practicing close to Deer Park Monastery is a great condition of happiness for us. In gratitude to the community, we are also a sangha of service and activism; many of our members like to support each other and the Deer Park monastic community (monks and nuns) in many ways.
Logistics
OHS offers two weekly practices.
- Sundays, 4 - 5:30pm PST In-person meeting at the Unitarian Universalist Church, Bard Hall, in Hillcrest area of San Diego, CA.
- Tuesdays, 5:30 – 6:30pm PST An online meeting https://zoom.us/j/281395522?pw
d=Z3JEd0EvQ1N6L014bjNMc1VvdFJk QT09 password: Thay
How We Practice Mindfulness Together
Our Sangha is a community of people practicing mindful living in order to bring about and to maintain awareness. Our gatherings are an opportunity for practicing together joyfully, aware that our speech and actions can help each other practice more deeply. We practice with sincerity and respect for the teachings and practice as they have been transmitted to us by our teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh (affectionately called Thay), and his students.
We sit in a circle to include everyone. Within our Sangha, we have several members that share the responsibilities each week of facilitating our practice. Each week is a little different and our schedule may include:
- Introduction - We briefly introduce ourselves, the topic, and/or the schedule.
- Sitting Meditation - This will be guided or in silence.
- Facilitator Talk - The facilitators share on the topic of their choice, which may include audio or video clips, excerpts from one of Thay’s books, or other Dharma teachings.
- Walking/Movement Meditation
- Singing Meditation/Chanting - We often sing songs of practice and occasionally chant.
- Dharma Sharing - Participants share their experiences with mindfulness practice.
- Announcements - We will share information about future gatherings or events related to Sangha.
- Closing - With a sound of the bell we will bow to each other in the circle and then outward to share the fruits of our practice with the rest of the world.
We often bring our hands together and lower our head in a bow. This is a symbol of offering a lotus flower to the group, to indicate we are present, we are aware and would like to speak, and the group bows back to invite the speaker and indicate deep listening. We bring our hands together, symbolizing bringing together the body and the mind, at the heart, recognizing the miracle of being alive. This gesture is not required!
The Bells
Listen, listen, this wonderful sound brings me back to my true home.
You will hear that we invite bells during our gathering. The bell of mindfulness is the voice of our Sangha and supports us in our practice. Whenever the bell is invited, we stop talking, settle our mind, and go back to following our breath. The bell reminds us to arrive in the present moment—the only place and time where life is available. We begin with three sounds of the bell and end with one or two sounds of the big bell or the small bell.
Getting Ready
We are invited to arrive 5-10 minutes early so that we can come to the gathering with mindfulness and without hurry. By the start of Sangha, we try to take our seats, so that everyone is ready and comfortable when the bell is invited. If we are late, we will try to join the group without disruption.
We are invited to silence our cell phones before coming to Sangha.
Sitting Meditation
Chairs and cushions are provided, and you are welcome to bring your own cushion, whatever supports your comfort. When we first begin to sit, we first become aware of our breath. We breathe in and out and concentrate on the fact that we are breathing in and out. We do not need to control our breath. Feel the breath as it actually is. It may be long or short, deep or shallow. Whenever we notice that we are carried away by our thoughts or emotions, we gently return to our breathing to anchor us to the present moment.
Walking Meditation
In walking meditation, we walk just to walk. We don’t try to get anywhere. With each step we arrive, here and now, in the present moment. No matter where you are walking, be aware of your feet with the earth and be aware of the contact of the air as it enters your body. Walking meditation is something we can practice throughout our day.
Dharma Sharing
Dharma sharing is a very important practice of sharing our insights and transformation our suffering. During Dharma sharing, we practice loving speech and deep listening. It is a special time for us to share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties and our questions relating to the practice of mindfulness. By learning to speak out about our happiness and our difficulties, we contribute to the collective insight and understanding of the sangha. By learning to listen deeply, we can see our connections with other people.
Dharma sharing is not a time to engage in theoretical or abstract conversations about theories or texts but rather, we will only speak directly from our own experiences and from our heart. We will refrain from characterizing the experiences of others, giving unsolicited advice, or inserting ourselves into their stories. By avoiding “cross-talk,” or directly addressing other members, we honor and safeguard each individual’s sharing. We will remember not to spread news that we do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which we are not sure. We will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord.
By practicing deep listening while others are speaking, we help create a calm and receptive environment. Mindful of our own inner dialog, if we refrain from agreeing, disagreeing or wanting to respond, we can choose to come back to being present with the person speaking. By being present to sangha members, we support healing, joy, and spiritual growth of the individual and ourselves.
Whatever is shared during Dharma sharing is confidential. If a friend shares about a difficulty he or she is facing, we will respect that he or she may or may not wish to talk about this outside of the Dharma discussion time.
Please click here to learn more about the practice of mindfulness.
Contributions (Dana)
At the UU, since we pay rent, we collect donations, as many Sanghas do. Following the Buddhist tradition of practicing generosity, called dana, we often share opportunities (at Sangha or through e-mail) to support Deer Park and the Plum Village communities. We understand that everyone is in a different place and some people may not wish to or be able to donate. No one is ever obligated and there are no expectations to donate. Your breathing and your smile are enough! 😊
At the DBT, we do not ask for donations to the Sangha. There is a place to share dana to support the DBT.
Cultivation of Diversity
Our Sangha seeks to cultivate the deep and rich diversity, in all aspects, that is found in our community. We aspire to make all people who seek to practice feel welcome and supported and to help them succeed on their path of practice. We seek to take actions and be open to eliminate cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual, physical, and economic barriers to the practice. We all seek to diversify our relationships, commit to open-mindedness toward other points of view, examine our own beliefs and actions, and increase the compassion in how we live our lives and understand each other.
Names and Terms You May Hear at Sangha
- Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Master and founder of our Plum Village tradition of engaged Buddhism. He is a leading teacher, peace activist, environmentalist and author of over 100 books that are read around the world. We often call him ‘Thay’ which means teacher.
- Engaged Buddhism is a tradition of Buddhism that does not turn away from the world or suffering but rather engages it directly through the practices of mindfulness, understanding, love, and service.
- Sangha is a community of people who practice together.
- Dharma is the teaching of the Buddha.
- Plum Village is the monastery and practice center where Thay lives in southern France.
- Deer Park Monastery is a practice center in Escondido where many Sangha members visit for Days of Mindfulness and retreats.
- Mindfulness Trainings are the Plum Village practices and statement of ethics of how we live and practice. They are not rules or commandments. They are the path to happiness. There are The Five and The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings we are invited to practice with.
- OI is short for Order of Interbeing, the lay order of the Plum Village Sangha. Lay people (not monks or nuns) who formally receive transmission The Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings are considered to be ‘ordained’ in the practice.
- Practitioners are people who study and practice mindful living and meditation. Practitioners may be Buddhists (and are often not) and may follow any spiritual tradition.
A Sangha is a community of resistance,
resisting the speed, violence, and unwholesome ways of living
that are prevalent in our society.
Alone we are vulnerable, but with brothers and sisters to work with, we can support each other. We cannot go to the ocean as a drop of water—we would evaporate before reaching our destination. But if we become a river, if we go as a Sangha, we are sure to arrive at the ocean... We should not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by despair… a Sangha can help us from sinking into despair.
that are prevalent in our society.
Alone we are vulnerable, but with brothers and sisters to work with, we can support each other. We cannot go to the ocean as a drop of water—we would evaporate before reaching our destination. But if we become a river, if we go as a Sangha, we are sure to arrive at the ocean... We should not allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by despair… a Sangha can help us from sinking into despair.
-- Thich Nhat Hanh
Adapted from the Really Beneficial Sangha’s Intro handout, much of which was excerpted from the Deer Park Monastery website and Transformation and Healing by Thich Nhat Hanh.