December 18: 2 Days of Mindfulness: Manhattan and Brooklyn

The Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

inspired by the teachings and practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

www.communityofmindfulnessnewyorkmetro.blogspot.com

18 D e c e m b e r 2 010

D a y O f M i n d f u l n e s s

"The Gift of Peace"

Give yourself a gift this holiday season, and join us for a Day of Mindfulness on Saturday, December 18. In this very busy and sometimes challenging time of year, we are reminded that when we practice love and compassion for ourselves, we generate peace in ourselves. When we are peaceful, we are able to offer the gift of peace to others.

Together we will hear a beautiful Dharma talk by our teacher, Thay, and practice sitting and walking meditation, mindful eating, deep relaxation, and compassionate listening. Going mindfully as a Sangha, we will nourish and support one another on the path of peace.

PROGRAM

10:00 welcome remarks

10:05 sitting meditation

10:30 indoor walking meditation

10:45 Thay's Dharma talk

11:50 sitting meditation

12:20 mindful movement

12:30 mindful lunch

1:15 walking meditation

2:00 total relaxation

2:50 tea ceremony

3:45 Dharma sharing

4:30 closing

We will enjoy

NOBLE SILENCE

for the entire day unless otherwise instructed

Chairs and cushions available. Bring a vegetarian lunch. Please do not wear fragrances. Beginners Welcome.

At Riverside Church, room 8-T, 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd Street, one block west of Broadway.

Facilitated by Nina Teng and Anne Woods. Nina practices with the Morningstar, Riverside and Green Island Sanghas. Anne practices with the Quiet Harbor Sangha and is currently spending two weeks at Blue Cliff Monastery.

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

Rock Blossom Sangha invites you to a Day of Mindfulness on Saturday, December 18 from 10am-4pm at Dance Theatre Etcetera (480 Van Brunt Street) in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

While some details are still being worked out, the day will likely include sitting and walking meditation, readings from Thay and outside the tradition, dharma sharing, deep relaxation, mindful movements or light yoga, some songs, and more. We ask that everyone bring a veggie lunch and please refrain from wearing strong fragrances.

Practitioners from all area Sanghas are welcome. Please RSVP to Joey at joeyschmit34@gmail.com

Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.

A bow,
Joey

September 18 Day of Mindfulness

The Five Remembrances:

A Day of Mindfulness September 18, at Riverside Church

91 Claremont Avenue, Room 8-T

10—4:30pm

"I am of the nature to grow old.

There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill-health

There is no way to escape having ill-health.

I am of the nature to die.

There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone that I love is of the nature to change

There is no way to escape being separated from them.

I inherit the results of my actions of body, speech and mind.

My actions are my continuation."

[From Plum Village Chanting Book, page 52.]

The Five Remembrances will be the focus of our mindfulness meditation practice on this day. Thich Nhat Hanh says: “In principle, we all know that we cannot avoid growing old, falling sick, dying, and being separated from these we love, but we do not want to give our attention these things. We do not want to be in touch with the anxiety and the fear….The Buddha himself taught the exercise and advised his followers to practice it every day….When we begin to practice conscious breathing, mindfulness is lit up within us. In that gentle light, if we simply acknowledge the presence of our fears and smile to them as we would smile to an old friend, quite naturally they will lose some of their energy.”

[Blooming of the Lotus, pages 67-9.]

Looking deeply into the Five Remembrances can also heighten our motivation to practice and “helps us to live the present moment in a joyous, calm, and awakened way.” [Page 69, Blooming of the Lotus.]

Our Day includes Sitting and Walking Meditation; mindful movements; Dharma Sharing; a Thich Nhat Hanh Dharma Talk; mindful eating; a Total Relaxation meditation after lunch and more.

Nina Teng and David Flint will facilitate the Day. Chairs and cushions available. We lunch together around 1-2:15. Bring a vegetarian lunch. Beginners welcome.

At Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, room 8-T, between 120-122^nd Street, one block west of Broadway.

_______________________

Lessons in Emptiness

Formerly glowing cheeks and pink lips,

today cold ashes and white bones.

Position, renown though unsurpassed,

they are but part of a long dream,

However rich and noble you are,

You are no less impermanent.

Jealousy, pride, and self-clinging,

But self is always empty.

Great strength, ability, and success,

but in them is no final truth.

Since the four elements come apart,

Why discriminate old from young?

Crevices erode even mountains,

More quickly the hero is dead.

Black hair has hardly grown on our head,

When suddenly it has turned white.

Our well-wisher has just departed,

A mourner arrives on our death.

This six-foot skeleton of dry bones—

With what effort it seeks riches.

This wrapping of skin containing blood

Suffers year after year just because o attachment.

[From Breathe! You are Alive, page 71.]

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

Day of Mindfulness Aug 21,2010, 10-4:30pm, at Riverside Church

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

Inspired by the Teaching and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

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

Dear Friends,

This Saturday August 21 we will have our Day of Mindfulness, 10-4:30pm at Riverside Church, room 8-T.

During our Day together we will focus on Mindfulness of the Body: cultivating relaxation, ease and joy in the body; developing concentration; and practicing guided meditations looking into the interbeing and impermanent nature of the body.

We will practice mindful movements: the ten mindful movements in our tradition, walking meditation and other mindful movements that promote ease and well-being. These practices can also nourish our sitting meditation.

Several teachings from the Buddha and Thay on mindfulness of the body are below.

The Day begins at 10am and continues until 4:30. We eat together from 1-2pm: bring a vegetarian lunch. Our practice of slow and mindful eating-in silence-can be very enjoyable and powerful.

Everyone is welcome. Chairs and cushions available. Please do not wear fragrances. Come for all or part of the Day.

This Saturday David Flint will facilitate the Day.

At Riverside Church, room 8-T, 91 Claremont Avenue in Manhattan.

_______________________________________________________

Mindfulness of the Body

"I tell you, friend, that it isn't possible by traveling to know or see or reach a far end of the cosmos where one doesn't take birth, age, die, pass away, or reappear. But at the same time, I tell you that there is no making an end of suffering & stress without reaching the end of the cosmos. Yet it is just within this fathom-long body, with its perception & intellect, that I declare that there is the cosmos, the origination of the cosmos, the cessation of the cosmos, and the path of practice leading to the cessation of the cosmos."

[From 'Body Contemplation: A Study Guide, Section 1, Ed. Thanissaro Bhikkhu, at www.accesstoinsight.org]

_________________________________________________

"Further Bhikkus [Monks], a practitioner is aware of body as body, when, thanks to having put aside the Five Desires, a feeling of bliss arises during his concentration and saturates every part of his body....a practitioner who is aware of body as body, feels the joy which arises during concentration saturate every part of his body.' [Transformation and Healing, p. 64-65.]

_____________________________

"We recognize the presence of our body and return home to be one with it....If we do not come back to our home and care for it, who will? When we come home to it, our body breaths a sigh of relief and says "she has come back at last!....

The hairs on your head may seem ordinary, but each hair is an ambassador of truth. Please receive the credentials of your hair.

[From Breath! You are Alive, pages 45, 47-8, 1996]

Dharma Teacher Joanne Friday Sunday July 25 at Rock Blossom Sangha

Sunday July 25, 3-8:00pm Dharma Teacher Joanne Friday will lead an afternoon and evening gathering at the Rock BlossomSangha.

There will be sitting meditation, walking meditation, a Dharma talk, and other practices. We will begin at 3:00 PM promptly; people are encouraged to arrive by 2:45 so that we may make the most of our time with our teacher. At approximately 5:30 we will enjoy a mindful meal together, so please bring a vegetarian meal or snack.

If unable to be present for the afternoon, you are also welcome to join us at 6:30, which is our normal gathering time.

Please email Dennis, dbohn@pipeline.com if you have a question you would like Joann to address. Dennis will pass it on to Joanne.

Address: Church of Gethsemane, 1012 8th Avenue, Brooklyn [basement entrance]. F train to 7th Avenue or 2 or 3 trains to Grand Army Plaza and walk South on 8th Avenue for about 15 minutes.

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

Day of Mindfulness July 17, 2010

Day of Mindfulness July 17, 10-4:30pm, at Riverside Church, room 8-T

Cultivating a spirit of "aimlessness*" in our practice will be the theme of this Day, facilitated by Walter and Tasha of the Morningstar Sangha [Queens].** The Day includes sitting and walking meditation, eating together in mindfulness, readings, Dharma Sharing practice, singing and more-all rooted in the practice of awareness of breathing. Everyone is welcome to attend.

Lunch is around 1-2:15: bring your own vegetarian food. Cushions and chairs available. Please do not wear fragrances.

_____________________________

*For more on aimlessness see: Chapter 19 in The Heart of the Buddha's Teachings; Chapter 9 in Cultivating the Mind of Love and Nothing to Do, Nowhere to Go.

At Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, one block west of Broadway, between 120-122nd St.

May 15 Day of Mindfulness

Dear Friends,

Ishmael Wallace will lead the May 15 Day of Mindfulness at Riverside Church. The Day includes sitting and walking meditation, eating together in mindfulness; deep listening and mindful speaking; singing and more.

The theme for the Day is "Breaking free from society's molds" and Ishmael will share readings from Thich Nhat Hanh's book 'Fragrant Palm Leaves.' [Fragrant Palm Leaves is a book of selections from Thay's diaries.]

Bring a vegetarian lunch [lunch is around 1-2:15pm]. Chairs and cushions available. Beginners welcome. Please do not wear fragrances.

AT Riverside Church, 91, room 8-T, 91 Claremont Avenue, one block west of Broadway, between 120-122nd Street.

10-4:30pm.

People of Color Retreats and Days of Mindfulness

Gatha for Healing Racial, Systemic and Social Inequity

Offered by the ARISE Sangha

Awakening through Race, Intersectionality, and Social Equity

Aware of the suffering caused by racial, systemic, and social inequities, we commit ourselves, individually and as a community, to understanding the roots of these inequities, and to transforming this suffering into compassion, understanding and love in action.

As a global community of practitioners, we are aware of the disproportionate racial violence and oppression committed by institutions and by individuals, whether consciously or unconsciously, against African Americans and people of color across the United States and beyond.

We know that by looking deeply as individuals and as a community, we can engage the collective wisdom and energy of the Sangha to be our foundation for Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Mindfulness, and Right Insight. These are the practices leading to nondiscrimination, non-harming, and non-self which heal ourselves and the world. 

Day of MIndfulness April 17, 2010

Offering Joy each morning, Relieving pain each Afternoon: A Day of Mindfulness, April 17, 10-4:30pm.

At Riverside Church, 8-T (91 Claremont Avenue)

Thay's Year of the Tiger gatha 'Offering Joy each morning, Relieving pain each Afternoon'* will guide our practices of Sitting and Walking Meditation today. We eat together in silence and mindfulness around 1-2:15.
Faciliated by Walter Lyons and Nina Teng.
Chairs and cushions available. Please do not wear fragrances. Everyone welcome. [Bring a vegetarian lunch.]
Join us in room 8-T at Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St., one block west of Broadway.
*Thay=Thich Nhat Hanh.

Thich Nhat Hanh offers Bat Nha Koan

Thay [Thich Nhat Hanh] has offered a new meditation practice: the Bat Nha Koan. We are invited to look deeply into this.
http://j.mp/8WHNq2.

Day of Mindfulness March 20, 2010

FLOW LIKE A RIVER:A DAY OF MINDFULNESS

Sponsored by the Community of Mindfulness New York Metro in Collaboration with Mindful Peace Building*

Saturday, March 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.Riverside Church, Room 8-T 91 Claremont Avenue, NY, NY

Water flows over these hands.May I use them skillfully,To preserve our precious planet.--Thich Nhat Hanh

We will take time to put aside our daily activities, nourish ourselves, and explore bringing mindfulness and awareness of our interbeing with water into our lives. On this day, which coincides with World Water Day, we will practice sitting meditation and walking meditation by the river. We will share stories, poems and reminiscences about waters we have loved, share a vegetarian lunch, practice deep relaxation, touching the earth, and dharma sharing.

Please bring stories, poems, or reminiscences about water as well as something vegetarian for lunch and a blanket for deep relaxation. Facilitated by David Ostwald (True Path of Equanimity) and Birgitte Moyer-Vinding (True Path of Light). David and Birgitte practice with the Riverside Sangha , the Sunday Morning Sangha, which they founded in 2006, and with Lyn Fine in Berkeley, CA. Please feel free to come for all or part of the day. If you have questions, please call David or Birgitte at (212) 645-0834.
* Mindful Peace Building was founded by Dharma Teacher and CMNY co-founder Lyn Fine. For more information, see http://www.mindfulpeacebuilding.org/.

Saturday February 20: Day of Mindfulness, 10-4:30pm

Being Wonderfully Together supporting each other in our mindfulness practice. Sitting and Walking Meditation, Mindful Movements, Singing, Eating Meditation, Dharma Sharing.

At Riverside Church, Room 8-T, 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd St., one block West of Broadway.

Being on retreat is a Treat!

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

Day of Mindfulness January 16, 2010: 10-2:30pm, Community Meeting 2:45-4:30

Saturday January 16: Day of Mindfulness, 10-2:30,

Day of Mindfulness and CMNY Community Meeting

This SaturdayJanuary 16, 2010

The Riverside Church, Room 8T, 91 Claremont Ave(betw. 120-121, 1 block West of Broadway)

DOM: 10 am to 2:30

Meeting: 2:45-4:30

We will Begin Anew, this 2010, by honoring our Ancestors and reconnecting with our True Selves. Please bring an ancestral photo or memento for our communal altar. Please arrive promptly to support the energy of the day.

Together we will enjoy a short ceremony that will include sitting, monastic chanting and touching the earth. Our day together will also include walking meditation, Dharma sharing and deep relaxation. Bring your own veggie bag lunch for eating meditation and please refrain from wearing fragrances.

**********************************************************************

Please RSVP for Day of Mindfulness and/ or Community Meeting, thank you,

marjoriem4@juno.com

Community Meeting:

Proposed Agenda Items [not necessarily the order of discussion]: Your ideas
Report of Networking Comittee
Report on Board of Directors of CMNY-possible new members; resignations.
Discussion about possible CMNY fund raiser for Bat Nha Monastics
Report of the response to the CMNY fund raising letter sent out last month.
Continuation of visioning/ brainstorming for CMNY

You are welcome to attend the meeting if you were unable to attend the Day of Mindfulness earlier, but please be prompt so we can begin together as one organism.


he Riverside Church, Room 8T, 91 Claremont Ave(betw. 120-121, 1 block West of Broadway)

Community Meeting Minutes of November 21, 2009

Community Meeting Minutes:
The Community of Mindfulness/ NY Metro (CMNY)
November 21, 2009
Facilitator: Karen
Note Taker: Bernadette ( Bernadette, Karen, Marjorie and David coordinated this final version)

Participants: there were 14 participants, representing 8 different local Sanghas: Cedar Knoll, Joyful Sounding, Morning Star, Quiet Harbor, Quiet Mountain, Riverside, Rock Blossom and Rutgers.

Agenda:
Review of Community of Mindfulness/ New York Metro (CMNY) and January Elections (David)

Report from Networking Group (Bernadette)

Treasury Report and Financial Aspect of Events ( Marjorie)

Sharing

Closing

Discussion and Proposals:

Review of CMNY and January Elections ( David)

In the 1990's, a Sangha had been practicing regularly under the leadership and guidance of Lynn Fine, who now lives in California and is a Dharma teacher. Around 1996, there came a need to establish a decision making process to help the Sangha make decisions about activities, such as how organize a retreat, how to offer scholarship money, where and how much we should donate.

From these meetings, the process of "Deciding to Decide" evolved. This is a decision making process based consensus and is informed by the practice of the Mindfulness Trainings. Many of those involved in these early meetings continue to practice and use "Deciding to Decide" with their current local Sanghas. ( You can read this document which is copied at the end of these minutes.)

The experience the Sangha had in establishing these guidelines led to discussions about the Sangha becoming incorporated as a non-profit 501c corporation. The Sangha worked together and we became incorporated in 1999. This required the establishment of bylaws, a board with elected officers carrying specific responsibilities, and other procedural requirements necessary to be non-profit 501c3 in NYS. This was all accomplished and is an expression of the Mindfulness Trainings within our organization.

The CMNY, Inc. is not responsible for directing the various Sangha Groups/meetings. It is presently responsible for the monthly Days of Mindfulness at The Riverside Church; represents our Practice/Sangha on the Buddhist Council of New York and coordinates participation at the Meditate NYC yearly event and maintains 2 CMNY websites. It has in the past raised money for a public school charity and for scholarships to Sangha retreats for practitioners. CMNY has also been a vehicle for working with our monastics at Blue Cliff and with Thay's tours, retreats (example. Sangha Building Table participation), etc.

The 501c3 status has been maintained over the years. David Flint can provide anyone with a copy of the bylaws or other information about the Community of Mindfulness/ NYMetro as a 501c3.

Over the years energy and interest in the CMNY non-profit corporation did diminish, although energy for practice in our Sangha meetings expanded and blossomed. Now with the presence of Blue Cliff, and Thay's events at the Beacon and the recent retreats, there has been renewed energy and "more interest in connecting to each other". Therefore, discussion about CMNY is experiencing renewed interest. There have been 3 community meetings this year and the next meeting is scheduled for January 16, 2010 at 2:45 pm, at the Riverside Church following a shortened Day of Mindfulness.
***


Report on the Networking Group( Bernadette)

The Networking group is a discussion forum via conference phone, open to anyone who wishes to participate to discuss how our Sanghas can share and communicate. There have been three conference calls. The phone call happens just like a dharma discussion drawing on Dharma discussion guidelines. The benefit of conference call is the ease: you don't have to travel anywhere and members from different Sangha's can communicate. Participants on one call were from Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan and Westchester. Discussion is open, and we practice mindful speech. This is a forum to share ideas about inter Sangha communication, as we foster communication between us in the process. Ideas that have been shared include Facebook, a newsletter, the role of Blue Cliff in relation to Sanghas. The next call is scheduled for Jan 11, 2010 at 8:30 pm. All are welcome to join in! Just make this free call: 218-862-6420 and then enter code 786-789 when prompted.

***
Treasury Report and Financial Aspect of Events (Marjorie)

Beacon Events

Total cost to the CMNY for the Beacon Events was $1309.( Boxed lunches for 70 monastics; gatha cards; food for monastics where they were lodged, ribbons to support monastics of Bat Nha on walking meditation with Thay, transportation and printing costs).
Of these costs $660 have been generously donated. Of the remaining $649, CMNY has already paid out $143. There remains $506 to be reimbursed.

"Meditate NY", (November 8, 2009 )
Total Costs: $148. CMNY sent a $100 contribution to Blue Cliff Monastery to express our gratitude and to help pay the travel expenses for the monastics who participated in the "Meditate NY” event. Misc expenses, paid out $28. $20 of this was generously donated.

Current Treasury has $500.

Proposal: Marjorie proposed sending an e-mail for Fundraising to pay outstanding bills and to create a cushion for future expenses. All agreed and there was no opposition to the proposal. Karen and Ken offered to assist Marjorie in creating the Fund Raising e-mail.

***
Sharing:

There was a go-round of questions: confusion about CMNY's relation to local Sanghas, a question about the organization's purpose; need to reflect on the monastics and their position since they are "living and breathing" the teachings and practice; question of how or does the structure serve the community; Decision by Consensus and Deciding to Decide seem to be very deep practices and valuable; what are ways we can explore going deeper into these various questions; what kind of being together do we want. If we weren't making the effort, these gatherings and this discussion would not be happening.

***
Closing:

Karen suggested that when questions and comments were made re central and/or decentralized structure , that we " hold this in a larger context where both can be possible and of value - rather than thinking it had to be one or the other". She encouraged us to "continue to move in the direction that draws you"
***

Next Meeting: January 16 at The Riverside Church, 2:45-4:30 pm; following the Day of Mindfulness( 10am-2:30 pm).

Respectfully submitted by,
Bernadette, with editing and the Sangha eyes of David, Karen and Marjorie


************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Decision Making “Deciding To Decide”

Introductory Awareness

1. We consider ourselves part of an international Sangha inspired by the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. All decisions will be made in the sprit of the Charter of the Order of Interbeing.

2. In our proposals for process and structure in the Community of Mindfulness/NY Metro, we consistently return to the spirit of the teachings:
Part of the process of decision-making involves letting go of attachment and preferences.

The process of how we respond when we feel that a decision didn’t go “our way" and our relationship to the mental formations arising from such situations is precisely one of the points of our sangha practice together.

The spirit of Beginning Anew be built into the planning meeting process as part of the culture, for example, at the end of each planning meeting, we give time for “flower-watering.”

A short quote from Thich Nhat Hanh or “Evoking the Bodhisattvas’ Names” may be read at the beginning of each planning meeting to set the tone.

3. Everyone attending planning meetings will be provided with a short working definition of consensus.

Process

Given that a range of disagreement is possible in the consensus model: a) an individual or individuals may express disagreement with a proposal and then stand aside so that the rest of the group may move ahead; b) an individual or individuals may wish to be noted in the minutes as disagreeing with the proposal, and then stand aside so that the rest of the group may move ahead with the proposal; c) an individual or individuals may take a principled position opposed to a decision and refuse to stand aside. In this case, the group may not proceed with the matter until consensus is reached. Discussion on the issue may, and probably will, continue.

Any individual who wishes to attend a Planning Committee meeting is welcome to attend and participate. However, in order that decisions will be blocked only by people with a significant commitment to the community and by people who are well-informed about the issues under discussion, there shall be two prerequisites for a person to block a decision. The person who wishes to stand in the way of a decision must : a) have practiced for at least one year with one of the sanghas affiliated with the larger CMNY/ Metro sangha, and b) have been present at a minimum of two of the past four planning meetings.