Sunday, March 4, 2007

"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]

Email cmnymetro-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to receive email announcements.