New Year' Eve Celebration; Tuesday Dec 25 and Jan 1 no meeting at Riverside Church

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New Year's Eve Potluck and Celebration Monday December 31, 8:30-midnight: at the home of Marleenee Tamarong, 230 Riverside Drive, 3-M, at 95th Street/Riverside Drive in Manhattan. marleeneet@yahoo.com. Come and go as you please. Bring yourself and vegetarian food/non-alcohol drinks to share. At 11:15 we will have a sitting and ceremony, and then a bell ringing at midnight. Bring bells.

Dec 25 and Jan 1: No Tuesday Night Meditation at Riverside Church. Meetings resume on Tuesday January 8, 7-9:30pm.

November 17 Day of Mindfulness: Let the Buddha Breathe

Days of Mindfulness: the third Saturdy of the month, at Riverside Church, in room 630-MLK or 19-T, 10-4:30pm.

Day of Mindfulness December 15: 'Holiday Stopping.'

Day of Mindfulness: November 17, 10-4pm. Riverside Church, 19-T

"Let the Buddha Breathe...the emptiness of self" is the theme of our November 17 Day of Mindfulness, 10-4pm, at Riverside Church, room 19-T. We will listen to a talk by Thich Nhat Hanh, from the October retreat at the Blue Cliff Monastery, on this theme. And we will enjoy Sister Chan Khong [on CD] leading us in total relaxation.

Join us for sitting and walking meditation, singing, eating together in mindfulness, the Five Mindfulness Trainings and more.

Bring a vegetarian lunch. Lunch is around 1-2:15. Please do not wear fragrances. Chairs and cushions available.

91 Claremont Avenue is between 120-122nd Street, one block west of Broadway. #1 train to 116th/Broadway, or m104 or m5 buses to 120th/Broadway or 120th Riverside Drive.

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Day of Mindfulness Saturday October 20th, 10-4:30pm, at Riverside Church
Room 630-room may change and signs will be posted.
At 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St., one block west of Broadway.

Sitting and walking meditation, mindful eating, singing, Five Mindfulness Trainings, Dharma Sharing.
We will also listen to part of a Dharma talk given by Thich Nhat Hanh at the recent Blue Cliff retreat.
Come for all or part of the Day. Bring your own vegetarian lunch. Lunch is around 1:15-2:30.
Chairs and cushions available.
Fragrance free.
Facilitated by Marjorie Markus and David Flint.


New Sangha meetings in Sunnyside, Queens: 1rst and 3rd Sunday of the month, 4:30-6pm, nteng@earthlink.net
Next meeting is October 21.
39-94 44th Street (between Skillman and 39th Ave)
Sunnyside NY 11104
718 786 5462
Train: take #7 train to 46th/Bliss St. station. Go downstairs and cross Queens Boulevard to its north side (opposite from the Sunnyside arch), then turn right onto 44th Street, continue for 2 1/2 blocks (past 43rd Ave and Skillman Ave). There's a driveway on the other side of the street and then a courtyard/mews - the house is in the first mews.

Day of Mindfulness September 15: Calming the Fearful Mind: A Day of Beginning Anew

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro
Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh
invites you to enjoy
a Day of Mindfulness
This Saturday
September 15
10-4:oopm
Riverside Church, 19-T.

" Calming The Fearful Mind-
A day of Beginning Anew"

Facilitated by Marjorie, marjoriem4@juno.com

[At 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St., one block west of Broadway. Bring a vegetarian lunch. Lunch is around 1-2:15. Sitting and walking meditation, listen to Dharma Talk from Stonehill Retreat on Beginning Anew practice. No prior experience necessary. Come for all or part of the Day.

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July 15 Peace is Every Step DVD, July 21 Morning of Mindfulness, 10-1pm

'Peace is Every Step' DVD Viewing
Sunday July 15, 2:30-5:30pm

We will watch this DVD about Thich Nhat Hanh's life
and then have Dharma Sharing, and then snacks and tea.
Nina Teng will host the meeting.
Please RSVP to Nina 718-786-5462, nteng@earthlink.net.

39-94 44th Street (between Skillman and 39th Ave)
Sunnyside NY 11104
718 786 5462
Train: take #7 train to 46th/Bliss St. station. Go downstairs and cross Queens Boulevard to its north side (opposite from the Sunnyside arch), then turn right onto 44th Street, continue for 2 1/2 blocks (past 43rd Ave and Skillman Ave). There's a driveway on the other side of the street and then a courtyard/mews - the house is in the first mews.

Bus: take the Q32 (it runs from Penn Station up Madison and east on 59th Street across the Queensborough Bridge) to 44th Street stop. Go across Queens Boulevard, walk down 44th Street past 43rd Ave and Skillman Ave. The house is in the first mews after the driveway on the left side of the street.


Morning of Mindfulness, Saturday July 21, 10-1:00pm
at Riverside Church, #630 [Please Note: the day ends at 1pm.]
Come for all or part of the Day. Sitting and walking meditation, singing, Dharma Sharing, and being joyfully together.

At 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St., one block west of Broadway
[Facilitated by Marjorie Markus and David Flint]


See www.communityofmindfulnessnewyorkmetro.blogspot.com ;
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Day of Mindfulness June 16 2007

Saturday June 16: Day of Mindfulness at Riverside Church, 10-4:15pm

The Day includes sitting and walking meditation, mindful discussion, eating with awareness, mindful movements, singing, reciting the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Beginners welcome.

Tasha Chuang and David Flint will facilitate the Day.

Come for all or part of the Day.

Bring a vegetarian lunch. Lunch is from 1:15-2:15. Chairs and cushions available. Fragrance free.

At 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St., one block west of Broadway.
Room 630 [But check at Security Desk].

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Day of Mindfulness May 19, May 20 Listen to Dharma Talk

Saturday May 19: Day of Mindfulness at Riverside Church, 10-4:30pm
The Day includes sitting and walking meditation, mindful discussion, eating with awareness, mindful movements, singing, reciting the Five Mindfulness Trainings.
Come for all or part of the Day.
Bring a vegetarian lunch. Chairs and cushions available. Fragrance free.
At 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St., one block west of Broadway.
Room 19-T


Sunday May 20, 2-4:30 pm. We will Listen to Thich Nhat Hanh dharma talk
and then have Dharma Sharing and then snacks and tea.
Nina Teng will host the meeting. Please RSVP to Nina 718-786-5462, nteng@earthlink.net.

39-94 44th Street (between Skillman and 39th Ave)
Sunnyside NY 11104
718 786 5462
Train: take #7 train to 46th/Bliss St. station. Go downstairs and cross Queens Boulevard to its north side (opposite from the Sunnyside arch), then turn right onto 44th Street, continue for 2 1/2 blocks (past 43rd Ave and Skillman Ave). There's a driveway on the other side of the street and then a courtyard/mews - the house is in the first mews.

Bus: take the Q32 (it runs from Penn Station up Madison and east on 59th Street across the Queensborough Bridge) to 44th Street stop. Go across Queens Boulevard, walk down 44th Street past 43rd Ave and Skillman Ave. The house is in the first mews after the driveway on the left side of the street.

April 21 Morning of Mindfulness: 10am -1pm at Riverside Church

Our April 21 Day of Mindfulness will be a 'morning of mindfulness,' from 10-1pm. At Riverside Church, room 19-T, at 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St., one block west of Broadway.

Faciliated by Meg Dellenbaugh and Tasha Chang. The teachings of non-self and the practice of the Three Touchings of the Earth will be a focus of the morning. Please arrive on time as stay for the whole time, if possible. Chairs and cushions available. Beginners welcome. Fragrance free.

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"The secret of transformation Is in the way we handle this very moment.

Day of Mindfulness March 17
10-4:30,
Riverside Church,19T.
Marjorie Markus will facilitate. At 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St.one block west of Broadway. Come for all or part of the Day.


"The secret of transformation
Is in the way we handle this very moment."
Day of Mindfulness March 24 with Budding Flower Sangha,
10-4pm
David Flint will lead the Day.
See end of this post for the teaching that will be the focus of our Day together.
In New Paltz at Reformed Church of New Paltz, 92 Huguenot St.
See www.buddingflower.org for directions to church. If you would like to come up from NYC let me know, davidrflint@gmail.com.

Teaching for March 24 Day of Mindfulness:
"The Path of Practice
Meditating on the nature of interdependence
Can transform delusion into enlightenment.
Samsara and suchness are not two.
They are one and the same.

Even while blooming, the flower is already in the compost,
And the compost is already in the flower.
Flower and compost are not two.
Delusion and enlightenment inter-are.

Don't run away from birth and death.
Just look deeply into your mental formations.
When the true nature of interdependence is seen,
The truth of interbeing is realized.

Practice conscious breathing
To Water the seeds of Awakening.
Right view is a flower
Blooming in the field of mind consciousness.

When sunlight shines,
It helps all vegetation grow.
When mindfulness shines,
It transforms all mental formations

We recognize internal knots and latent tendencies
So we can transform them.
When our habit energies dissipate,
Transformation at the base is there.

The present moment
Contains past and future.
The secret of transformation
Is in the way we handle this very moment.

Transformation takes place
In our daily life.
To make the work of transformation easy,
Practice with a Sangha

Nothing is born, nothing dies.
Nothing to hold onto, nothing to release.
Samsara is nirvana.
There is nothing to attain.

When we realize that afflictions are no other than enlightenment,
We can ride the waves of birth and death in peace,
Traveling in the boat of compassion on the ocean of delusion,
Smiling the smile of non-fear. "

[From Transformation at the Base, Thich Nhat Hanh]

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Mindfulness Practices: Five Mindfulness Trainings, Shining Light, Generosity

The Five Mindfulness Trainings

The Five Mindfulness Trainings represent the Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and ethic.

They are a concrete expression of the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, the path of right understanding and true love, leading to healing, transformation, and happiness for ourselves and for the world. To practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings is to cultivate the insight of interbeing, or Right View, which can remove all discrimination, intolerance, anger, fear, and despair. If we live according to the Five Mindfulness Trainings, we are already on the path of a Bodhisattva. Knowing we are on that path, we are not lost in confusion about our life in the present or in fears about the future.

Reverence For Life

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance, which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, non-discrimination, and non-attachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world.

True Happiness

Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and reverse the process of global warming.

True Love

Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. Knowing that sexual desire is not love, and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself as well as others, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without true love and a deep, long-term commitment made known to my family and friends. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are one, I am committed to learning appropriate ways to take care of my sexual energy and cultivating loving kindness, compassion, joy and inclusiveness – which are the four basic elements of true love – for my greater happiness and the greater happiness of others. Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully into the future.

Loving Speech and Deep Listening

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.

Nourishment and Healing

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body and consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the Earth.

Ways of Practicing the Five Mindfulness Trainings and Cultivating Mindfulness

“ I would like to offer some exercises that can help us use the Five Precepts [AKA Mindfulness Trainings] to cultivate and strengthen mindfulness. It is best to choose one of these exercises and work with it meticulously for a week. Then examine the results and choose another for a subsequent week. These practices can help us understand and find ways to work with each precept.

Refraining from killing: reverence for life. Undertake for one week to purposefully bring no harm in thought, word or deed to any living creature. Particularly, become aware of any living beings in your world (people, animals, even plants_ whom you ignore, and cultivate a sense of care and reverence for them too.

Refraining from stealing: care with material goods. Undertake for one week to act on every single thought of generosity that arises spontaneously in your heart.

Refraining from sexual misconduct: conscious sexuality. Undertake for one week to observe mindfully how often sexual feelings arise in your consciousness. Each time, note what particular mind states you find associated with them, such as love, tension, compulsion, caring, loneliness, desire for communication, greed, pleasure, aggression, and so forth.

Refraining from false speech: speech from the heart. Undertake for one week not go gossip (positively or negatively) or speak about anyone you know who is not present with you (any third party).

Refraining from intoxicants to the point of heedlessness. Undertake for one week or one month to refrain from all intoxicants and addictive substances (such as wine, marijuana, even cigarettes and/or caffeine if you wish). Observe the impulses to use these, and become aware of what is going on in the heart and mind at the time of these impulses.

_________________________________________________________________

SHINING THE LIGHT

It is very precious to have someone show us how our practice is going. When a friend shines light on our practice we benefit greatly, because we have many wrong perceptions that can keep us in a prison of self-pride. That is why when we are offered guidance; we can make progress very quickly.

Find a friend, a sister or a brother in the practice whose way of looking at you is different from your way of looking at yourself. Then ask them with all your heart: “Please be compassionate to me. Please shine light on me, and help me and guide me in my practice.” Its’ important that you ask them with all your sincerity, because sometimes we are proud or angry and the other person doesn’t dare tell us the truth.....

If you choose just one person, you might pick someone who you think would just say positive things about you....The more people who shine light on your practice, the more light there will be in that darkest place of your suffering.

Listen carefully to what the people say who shine light on your practice. It doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree with them; pay attention to everything exactly as they say it. It takes time to look deeply into what they have said. Perhaps those people have seen something you haven’t been able to see about yourself.... Each person you ask will have some wrong perceptions, that is true. But the guidance you receive will make your understanding of yourself more correct, and the fruit of your practice will be greater.

If you are the person who shines light on a friend’s practice, use all of your wisdom and understanding. Avoid manifesting irritation or blame as you offer advice, and deliver your words with care, love and insight. Find the good qualities, and the precious things in that person, and remind them of the positive elements that are available to them.

Then you talk about their weaknesses and their negative tendencies. You do your best to look clearly into the suffering and obstructions of that person..... Why can’t that person be happy? Maybe they have a habit energy from the past that does not allow them to enjoy the present moment. Maybe that habit energy is one of being too hasty. Perhaps they received that tendency from their grandparents. That is not their fault. You don’t blame anyone—you don’t take all the responsibility on yourself or put all the responsibility on the other person.... So no blaming and no punishing, because these things are not helpful. You only need to look deeply, and that will give you compassion....

If the other person has obstructions and internal formations, you ask yourself, “how have I contributed to this?”.... Then ask yourself, “How have I contributed to making that person freer and happier?”.... If you see that you have not helped them much, you promise yourself that from now on you will be more positive in helping that person....

Take refuge in each other. Support each other. That is a method of practice.
[Excerpts from ‘Shining the Light,’ in Friends on the Path, pages 294-5.]

No Strings Attached
The Buddha's Culture of Generosity
by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu© 2009
“How can I ever repay you for your teaching?”

Good meditation teachers often hear this question from their students, and the best answer I know for it is one that my teacher, Ajaan Fuang, gave every time:
“By being intent on practicing.”
Each time he gave this answer,

I was struck by how noble and gracious it was. And it wasn't just a formality. He never tried to find opportunities to pressure his students for donations. Even when our monastery was poor, he never acted poor, never tried to take advantage of their gratitude and trust. This was a refreshing change from some of my previous experiences with run-of-the-mill village and city monks who were quick to drop hints about their need for donations from even stray or casual visitors.

Eventually I learned that Ajaan Fuang's behavior is common throughout the Forest Tradition. It's based on a passage in the Pali Canon where the Buddha on his deathbed states that the highest homage to him is not material homage, but the homage of practicing the Dhamma in accordance with the Dhamma. In other words, the best way to repay a teacher is to take the Dhamma to heart and to practice it in a way that fulfills his or her compassionate purpose in teaching it. I was proud to be part of a tradition where the inner wealth of this noble idea was actually lived — where, as Ajaan Fuang often put it, we weren't reduced to hirelings, and the act of teaching the Dhamma was purely a gift.

So I was saddened when, on my return to America, I had my first encounters with the dana talk: the talk on giving and generosity that often comes at the end of a retreat. The context of the talk — and often the content — makes clear that it's not a disinterested exercise. It's aimed at generating gifts for the teacher or the organization sponsoring the retreat, and it places the burden of responsibility on the retreatants to ensure that future retreats can occur. The language of the talk is often smooth and encouraging, but when contrasted with Ajaan Fuang's answer, I found the sheer fact of the talk ill-mannered and demeaning. If the organizers and teachers really trusted the retreatants' good-heartedness, they wouldn't be giving the talk at all. To make matters worse, the typical dana talk — along with its companion, the meditation-center fundraising letter — often cites the example of how monks and nuns are supported in Asia as justification for how dana is treated here in the West. But they're taking as their example the worst of the monks, and not the best.

I understand the reasoning behind the talk. Lay teachers here aspire to the ideal of teaching for free, but they still need to eat. And, unlike the monastics of Asia, they don't have a long-standing tradition of dana to fall back on. So the dana talk was devised as a means for establishing a culture of dana in a Western context. But as so often is the case when new customs are devised for Western Buddhism, the question is whether the dana talk skillfully translates Buddhist principles into the Western context or seriously distorts them. The best way to answer this question is to take a close look at those principles in their original context.

It's well known that dana lies at the beginning of Buddhist practice. Dana, quite literally, has kept the Dhamma alive. If it weren't for the Indian tradition of giving to mendicants, the Buddha would never have had the opportunity to explore and find the path to Awakening. The monastic sangha wouldn't have had the time and opportunity to follow his way. Dana is the first teaching in the graduated discourse: the list of topics the Buddha used to lead listeners step-by-step to an appreciation of the four noble truths, and often from there to their own first taste of Awakening. When stating the basic principles of karma, he would begin with the statement, “There is what is given.”

What's less well known is that in making this statement, the Buddha was not dealing in obvious truths or generic platitudes, for the topic of giving was actually controversial in his time. For centuries, the brahmans of India had been extolling the virtue of giving — as long as the gifts were given to them. Not only that, gifts to brahmans were obligatory. People of other castes, if they didn't concede to the brahmans' demands for gifts, were neglecting their most essential social duty. By ignoring their duties in the present life, such people and their relatives would suffer hardship both now and after death.

As might be expected, this attitude produced a backlash. Several of the samana, or contemplative, movements of the Buddha's time countered the brahmans' claims by asserting that there was no virtue in giving at all. Their arguments fell into two camps. One camp claimed that giving carried no virtue because there was no afterlife. A person was nothing more than physical elements that, at death, returned to their respective spheres. That was it. Giving thus provided no long-term results. The other camp stated that there was no such thing as giving, for everything in the universe has been determined by fate. If a donor gives something to another person, it's not really a gift, for the donor has no choice or free will in the matter. Fate was simply working itself out.

So when the Buddha, in his introduction to the teaching on karma, began by saying that there is what is given, he was repudiating both camps. Giving does give results both now and on into the future, and it is the result of the donor's free choice. However, in contrast to the brahmans, the Buddha took the principle of freedom one step further. When asked where a gift should be given, he stated simply, “Wherever the mind feels inspired.” In other words — aside from repaying one's debt to one's parents — there is no obligation to give. This means that the choice to give is an act of true freedom, and thus the perfect place to start the path to total release.

This is why the Buddha adopted dana as the context for practicing and teaching the Dhamma. But — to maintain the twin principles of freedom and fruitfulness in giving — he created a culture of dana that embodied particularly Buddhist ideals. To begin with, he defined dana not simply as material gifts. The practice of the precepts, he said, was also a type of dana — the gift of universal safety, protecting all beings from the harm of one's unskillful actions — as was the act of teaching the Dhamma. This meant that lavish giving was not just the prerogative of the rich. Secondly, he formulated a code of conduct to produce an attitude toward giving that would benefit both the donors and the recipients, keeping the practice of giving both fruitful and free.
We tend not to associate codes of conduct with the word “freedom,” but that's because we forget that freedom, too, needs protection, especially from the attitude that wants to be free in its choices but feels insecure when others are free in theirs. The Buddha's codes of conduct are voluntary — he never coerced anyone into practicing his teachings — but once they are adopted, they require the cooperation of both sides to keep them effective and strong.
These codes are best understood in terms of the six factors that the Buddha said exemplified the ideal gift:
“The donor, before giving, is glad; while giving, his/her mind is inspired; and after giving, is gratified. These are the three factors of the donor…
“The recipients are free of passion or are practicing for the subduing of passion; free of aversion or practicing for the subduing of aversion; and free of delusion or practicing for the subduing of delusion. These are the three factors of the recipients.”
— AN 6.37

Although this passage seems to suggest that each side is responsible only for the factors on its side, the Buddha's larger etiquette for generosity shows that the responsibility for all six factors — and in particular, the three factors of the donor — is shared. And this shared responsibility flourishes best in an atmosphere of mutual trust.

For the donors, this means that if they want to feel glad, inspired, and gratified at their gift, they should not see the gift as payment for personal services rendered by individual monks or nuns. That would turn the gift into wages, and deprive it of its emotional power. Instead, they'd be wise to look for trustworthy recipients: people who are training — or have trained — their minds to be cleaned and undefiled. They should also give their gift in a respectful way so that the act of giving will reinforce the gladness that inspired it, and will inspire the recipient to value their gift.

The responsibilities of the recipients, however, are even more stringent. To ensure that the donor feels glad before giving, monks and nuns are forbidden from pressuring the donor in any way. Except when ill or in situations where the donor has invited them to ask, they cannot ask for anything beyond the barest emergency necessities. They are not even allowed to give hints about what they'd like to receive. When asked where a prospective gift should be given, they are told to follow the Buddha's example and say, “Give wherever your gift would be used, or would be well-cared for, or would last long, or wherever your mind feels inspired.” This conveys a sense of trust in the donor's discernment — which in itself is a gift that gladdens the donor's mind.

To ensure that a donor feels inspired while giving a gift, the monks and nuns are enjoined to receive gifts attentively and with an attitude of respect. To ensure that the donor feels gratified afterward, they should live frugally, care for the gift, and make sure it is used in an appropriate way. In other words, they should show that the donor's trust in them is well placed. And of course they must work on subduing their greed, anger, and delusion. In fact, this is a primary motivation for trying to attain arahantship: so that the gifts given to one will bear the donors great fruit.

By sharing these responsibilities in an atmosphere of trust, both sides protect the freedom of the donor. They also foster the conditions that will enable not only the practice of generosity but also the entire practice of Dhamma to flourish and grow.

The principles of freedom and fruitfulness also govern the code the Buddha formulated specifically for protecting the gift of Dhamma. Here again, the responsibilities are shared. To ensure that the teacher is glad, inspired, and gratified in teaching, the listeners are advised to listen with respect, to try to understand the teaching, and — once they're convinced that it's genuinely wise — to sincerely put it into practice so as to gain the desired results. Like a monk or nun receiving a material gift, the recipient of the gift of Dhamma has the simple responsibility of treating the gift well.

The teacher, meanwhile, must make sure not to regard the act of teaching as a repayment of a debt. After all, monks and nuns repay their debt to their lay donors by trying to rid their minds of greed, aversion, and delusion. They are in no way obligated to teach, which means that the act of teaching is a gift free and clear. In addition, the Buddha insisted that the Dhamma be taught without expectation of material reward. When he was once offered a “teacher's fee” for his teaching, he refused to accept it and told the donor to throw it away. He also established the precedent that when a monastic teaches the rewards of generosity, the teaching is given after a gift has been given, not before, so that the stain of hinting won't sully what's said.

All of these principles assume a high level of nobility and restraint on both sides of the equation, which is why people tried to find ways around them even while the Buddha was alive. The origin stories to the monastic discipline — the tales portraying the misbehavior that led the Buddha to formulate rules for the monks and nuns — often tell of monastics whose gift of Dhamma came with strings attached, and of lay people who gladly pulled those strings to get what they wanted out of the monastics: personal favors served with an ingratiating smile. The Buddha's steady persistence in formulating rules to cut these strings shows how determined he was that the principle of Dhamma as a genuinely free gift not be an idle ideal. He wanted it to influence the way people actually behaved.

He never gave an extended explanation of why the act of teaching should always be a gift, but he did state in general terms that when his code of conduct became corrupt over time, that would corrupt the Dhamma as well. And in the case of the etiquette of generosity, this principle has been borne out frequently throughout Buddhist history.

A primary example is recorded in the Apadanas, which scholars believe were added to the Canon after King Asoka's time. The Apadanas discuss the rewards of giving in a way that shows how eager the monks composing them were to receive lavish gifts. They promise that even a small gift will bear fruit as guaranteed arahantship many eons in the future, and that the path from now to then will always be filled with pleasure and prestige. Attainments of special distinction, though, require special donations. Some of these donations bear a symbolic resemblance to the desired distinction — a gift of lighted lamps, for instance, presages clairvoyance — but the preferred gift of distinction was a week's worth of lavish meals for an entire monastery, or at least for the monks who teach.

It's obvious that the monks who composed the Apadanas were giving free rein to their greed, and were eager to tell their listeners what their listeners wanted to hear. The fact that these texts were recorded for posterity shows that the listeners, in fact, were pleased. Thus the teachers and their students, acting in collusion, skewed the culture of dana in the direction of their defilements. In so doing they distorted the Dhamma as well. If gift-giving guarantees Awakening, it supplants the noble eightfold path with the one-fold path of the gift. If the road to Awakening is always prestigious and joyful, the concept of right effort disappears. Yet once these ideas were introduced into the Buddhist tradition, they gained the stamp of authority and have affected Buddhist practice ever since.

Throughout Buddhist Asia, people tend to give gifts with an eye to their symbolic promise of future reward; and the list of gifts extolled in the Apadanas reads like a catalog of the gifts placed on altars throughout Buddhist Asia even today.

Which goes to show that once the culture of dana gets distorted, it can distort the practice of Dhamma as a whole for many centuries. So if we're serious about bringing the culture of dana to the West, we should be very careful to ensure that our efforts honor the principles that make dana a genuinely Buddhist practice. This means no longer using the tactics of modern fundraising to encourage generosity among retreatants or Buddhists in general. It also means rethinking the dana talk, for on many counts it fails the test.

In pressuring retreatants to give to teachers, it doesn't lead to gladness before giving, and instead sounds like a plea for a tip at the end of a meal. The frequent efforts to pull on the retreatants' heartstrings as a path to their purse strings betray a lack of trust in their thoughtfulness and leave a bad taste. And the entire way dana is handled for teachers doesn't escape the fact that it's payment for services rendered. Whether teachers think about this consciously or not, it pressures them subtly to tell their listeners what they think their listeners want to hear. The Dhamma can't help but suffer as a result.

The ideal solution would be to provide a framework whereby serious Dhamma practitioners could be supported whether or not they taught. That way, the act of teaching would be a genuine gift. In the meantime, though, a step in the direction of a genuine culture of dana would be to declare a moratorium on all dana talks at the end of retreats, and on references to the Buddhist tradition of dana in fundraising appeals, so as to give the word time to recover its dignity.

On retreats, dana could be discussed in a general way, in the context of the many Dhamma talks given on how best to integrate Dhamma practice in daily life. At the end of the retreat, a basket could be left out for donations, with a note that the teacher hasn't been paid to teach the retreat. That's all. No appeals for mercy. No flashcards. Sensitive retreatants will be able to put two and two together, and will feel glad, inspired, and gratified that they were trusted to do the math for themselves.
See also: The Economy of Gifts, by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

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Mindfulness Meditation: Walking and Sitting

COMMUNITY OF MINDFULNESS/NY METRO
Inspired by the teachings and practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

WALKING MEDITATION
“Your Steps are Most Important: What activity is most important in your life? To pass an exam, get a car or a house, or get a promotion in your career? There are so many people who have passed exams, who have bought cars and houses, who have gotten promotions, but still find themselves without peace of mind, without joy, and without happiness. The most important thing in life is to find this treasure, and then to share it with other people and with all beings. In order to have peace and joy, you must succeed in having peace within each of your steps. Your steps are the most important thing. They decide everything.”
“Your half-smile and your peaceful steps are bright and shining pearls. They are beautiful but they are separate. The breath is the string that brings them together into a necklace, without a single gap between them. Be conscious of your breath and your walking meditation will be truly fruitful.”
“Walk more slowly than you usually do, but not too slowly, while breathing normally. Do not try to control your breathing. Walk along this way for a few minutes. Then notice how many steps you take as your lungs fill and how many steps you take as they empty. In this way, your attention includes both breath and steps. You are mindful of both….Your half-smile brings calmness and delight to your steps and your breath….After a few hours of serious practice, you will find that the four of them—the breath, the counting, the steps, and the half-smile—blend together in a marvelous balance of mindfulness. This is equanimity, created by the practice of walking meditation. The four elements of breathing, counting, stepping, and the half-smile become one.”
[From A Guide to Walking Meditation, by Thich Nhat Hanh.]
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MINDFULNESS AND SITTING MEDITATION
Sitting Posture
“Sit or lie down in a way that allows your body to rest. Sitting, your head and spine form a straight line. Relax all your muscles. Find a way of sitting that allows you to sit for at least 20 minutes without becoming too stiff or tired. As soon as you sit down, pay attention to your breath. Then notice your posture, a little bit everywhere. Relax the muscles in your face. If you are angry or worried, those muscles will be tense. Smile lightly, and you will relax hundreds of muscles in your face. Then notice your shoulders, and let go of the tension there. Don’t try too hard. Just breathe mindfully, and scan your whole body.”
Mindfulness of Breathing
“Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.”
“The object of mindfulness is your in-breath and your out-breath, and nothing else. Observe the reality of your in-breath all throughout its duration. Stay at one with your out-breath all the way through”
“You don’t need to make an effort to stop your thinking. Just by concentrating on your breathing one hundred percent, your thinking will quiet itself. You don’t need to force yourself to be mindful. Just enjoy your breathing.”
“A period of sitting meditation is time worth living. Don’t interfere with your breathing. Breathing takes place by itself. Just light the lamp of mindfulness and shine it on your breathing. Don’t modify, bend, or make your breathing the way you think it is supposed to be. If your in-breath is short, let it be short. If your out-breath is long, let it be long. Become aware of your in-breath and out-breath as they are….After a few minutes you will notice an improvement in the quality of your breathing, and a feeling of well-being will be born in you.”
Mindfulness and Concentration
“Mindfulness makes our eyes, our heart, our non-toothache, the moon, and the trees deep and beautiful. And when we touch our suffering with mindfulness, we begin to transform it. Mindfulness is like a mother holding her baby in her arms and caring for her baby’s pain. When our pain is held by mindfulness it loses some of its strength….
Mindfulness recognizes what is there, and concentration allows you to be deeply present with whatever it is. Concentration is the ground of happiness. If you live twenty-four hours a day in mindfulness and concentration, one day is a lot.”
Quotations from Thich Nhat Hanh, in The Mindfulness Bell, Issue 23, pages 1,4.