December 16 Holiday Season Day of Mindfulness: Children and Parents invited to afternoon.

COMMUNITY OF MINDFULNESS/ NEW YORK METRO

Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

invites you to a

Holiday Season Day of Mindfulness

Saturday, December 16, 2017

Please join us at 10am to begin our day

as we support each other in Sangha  by enjoying  sitting &

walking meditation together as one body

We are also inviting Sangha Parents with their *young  folks to join

us for a POT LUCK Veggie Lunch at 1pm.

After lunch  we will have time to meet and practice with our

Sangha’s young Buddhas and their loved ones.

We look forward to celebrating the joys of multi generational Sangha.

All young folks, Infants to Teens,  are welcome and the afternoon activities will center on getting to know eachother better,

enjoying music & more as we  build community.

Please bring musical instruments, a story, song, poem, artwork,dance, if you wish

This is a precious opportunity for parents and children to spend time with the larger Sangha and for the community to be nourished by their presence!  Within the energy of a social gathering, we will be able to

share our experiences of practicing with our families and sangha over beverages and snacks.”

Please RSVP: MarjorieM4@juno.com (helps us to set up a comfortable space....but not required)

Please bring a Veggie offering to our POTLUCK MIndful Lunch

*Zack Foley  and Leora Amira  facilitate our monthly Planting Seeds/Generations Sangha and will guide our afternoon practice together.

At:  The Riverside Church * Room 20T*   91 Claremont Avenue,  between 120-22nd, one block West of Broadway.

       10:00am-1:00pm: Adult Practice.

       1:00-4:30pm: Multi-Generational Sangha: Parents/Children, with 1:00-2:00pm Vegetarian Potluck.

Preparing for Winter: Day of Mindfulness October 21, 2017

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

Preparing for Winter: Mindfulness as Medicine

October 21: 10:00am-4:30pm, at Riverside Church, 20-T

Dear Friends,

Winter can bring many challenges from increased illness to low mood, malaise and depression (Seasonal Affective Disorder). In addition to a flu shot for our immune system, we can strengthen our spiritual life. We'll explore some methods of PM---Preventative Maintenance or Medicine-- to help nourish us through these months. 

We will use the Buddha's insights, as transmitted by our Teacher Thay, and informed by the Sutras. And we will incorporate some of the findings from neuro-science 

Our Day includes sitting and walking meditations, Dharma Sharing, Mindful Eating and singing, and breathing together in Community.

Come for all or Part of the Day.

No Experience Necessary.

The Day will be led by Dennis Bohn.  Dennis received Lamp Transmission from Thay in 2011, and practices with the Rock Blossom Sangha in Brooklyn.

________________________________

When: Saturday October 21: 10:00-4:30pm

Where: 91 Claremont Avenue, The Riverside Church, Room 20-T

Chairs and Cushions available.

Bring a vegetarian lunch. [Lunch is around 1:00-2:00pm.]

Please do not wear fragrances.

www.communityofmindfulnessnewyorkmetro.blogspot.com

Discovering our True Home: A Day of Mindfulness September 16 2017, with John Bell

COMMUNITY OF MINDFULNESS/ NEW YORK METRO 

inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh 

Invites you to a Day of Mindfulness with *John Bell Saturday September 16th 10am-4pm � Discovering Our True Home 

Deep inside, each of us knows we are whole. But we forget because we’ve been conditioned to think that we are separate. On this Day we will experience mindfulness practices that give us glimpses of our inherent connections and free us from the feelings of separateness in order to inhabit our true home.

*The Day will be Facilitated by Dharma Teacher John Bell who has practiced with Thich Nhat Hanh for more than 30 years and was ordained as a Dharma teacher in 2010. In addition to guiding the Mountain Bell Sangha near Boston and leading Mindfulness Retreats across the USA, John co-founded Youth Build USA which offers education, construction training and leadership development to low-income young people across the USA and Internationally.

 Please RSVP: MarjorieM4@juno.com � Please Arrive by 9:45 Remember to Bring your Vegetarian Bag Lunch & Refrain from Wearing Fragrances.

Chairs and Cushions Available.

Saturday September 16: 10:00am-4:00pm.
At The Riverside Church *Room 20T* , 91 ClaremontAvenue. Between 120-122 Streets, Manhattan.

August 19 2017: No Day of Mindfulness at Riverside Church; We will Attend 'Walk With Me' documentary and mindfulness activities at Rubin Museum; August 20th

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

Dear Friends,

We will not have our August 19 Day of Mindfulness at Riverside Church in order to participate in and support the opening of the  'Walk With Me' documentary at the Rubin Museum.   Walk With Me "is a cinematic

journey into the world of a monastic community who practice the art of mindfulness with Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh."

http://rubinmuseum.org/events?event_series=5493 is the link to purchase tickets: there are two showings on Friday August 18, three showings on Saturday, and more on Sunday August 20th and during the following week.  

Friday August 18 

6.30-8.30: showing of 'Walk with Me' followed by Q and A.

8:50: Silent Meditation.

9:30-11:00pm: Walk With Me.

________________________________________

Saturday 

There will be Monks and Nuns from Blue Cliff Monastery attending and offering Mindfulness Practice:  It is possible to practice together from 10:00-3.50pm, as below.  Or to come for later showings and activities.

  

  10:00am-11:30-Sitting and Walking Meditation in Union Square led by Monastics

    11:30-12:30pm: Mindful Lunch at the Rubin Museum [bring or buy your food.]

    12:30-2:00pm:  Meet and Greet Monastics [Rubin Museum]

    2-3:30pm: Walk With Me.

   ___________________________________

   3:40-3:50:  Sitting Meditation

   4:00-5:30pm. Walk With Me

   5:40-5:50:  Sitting Meditation

    6:00-7:30pm: Walk With Me

Sunday

  3:00-4:00pm: Monastic Meet and Greet [Rubin Museum]

  4:00-6:00pm:  'Walk with Me' followed by Q and A.

July 15 2017: Day of Mindfulness. The Secret of Transformation

The Secret of Transformation: A Day of Mindfulness

"The present moment

Contains past and future.

The secret of transformation

Is in the way we handle this very moment."

In our July 15, 2017 Day of Mindfulness, we will explore this 'Secret of Transformation,'   with the Practices of Sitting and Walking Meditation, Dharma Sharing, Mindful Eating, Mindful Movements and more: all grounded in mindful breathing

"When we realize that afflictions are no other than enlightenment,

We can ride the waves of birth and death in peace"

Is this our experience right now?

Can this Teaching become a question to plant into the Storehouse Consciousness?

We will maintain Noble Silence***, supporting each other with our presence and practice.  

There will be guided meditations and suggestions for working skillfully with whatever presents itself.

And there will also be silent meditations and Individual Practice time.

Beginners Welcome.

Chairs and Cushions provided.

Lunch is from 1:00-2:00pm: bring your own vegetarian lunch.

Please do not wear fragrances.

          ***Noble Silence means: we refrain from all talking and "chit-chat" except during Dharma Sharing.  Thus

               we support our Sangha Friends in their practice.  And the 'outer silence' allows us to look more deeply into our own life.  We allow the calmness and silence to penetrate our flesh and bones.

          When: Saturday July 15, 10:00-4:30pm: come for all or part of the Day.

          Where: The Riverside Church, #20-T, 91 Claremont Avenue, in Manhattan.

By Donation [Dana, Free-Will Donation, Generosity]: Donations mainly pay the rent to Riverside  

               Church and the CMNY also donates to the TNH fund.

         David Flint will lead the Day.  David is a Dharma Teacher in the Plum Village/Thich Nhat Hanh lineage,  receiving Lamp Transmission from Thay in 2011. He practices with the Riverside and Queens Sangha.

                                                           

                                                            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]

         

Day of Mindfulness June 17 at Riverside Church

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

Practicing in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh

Invites everyone to

A Day of Mindfulness

Achieving Happiness in Stressful Times

Saturday, June 17, 2017

10:00am-4:00pm

     

Please join us for a day of meditation, contemplation, and practice of specific strategies to calm the mind.  We will enjoy guided sitting and walking meditation, and nourish ourselves in Noble Silence,

The day will be facilitated by Heidi Spitzer.  Heidi practices with  Sangha on the Hudson in Piermont, NY.  She was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2005.  

Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, Manhattan

(North of 120th Street and West of Broadway)

Please bring your own vegetarian lunch.

Chairs and cushions available.  Please do not wear fragrances.

Beginners Welcome!

Five Mindfulness Trainings Transmission Ceremony July 9 2017

Dear Friends,

On Sunday July 9,  there will be the opportunity to formally receive the  Five Mindfulness Trainings, in a Transmission Ceremony.  The Transmission will be offered by our four New York Dharma Teachers: Dennis Bohn [Rock Blossom Sangha]; Jeanne Anselmo [Green Island Sangha]; David Flint [Riverside Sangha, Queens Sangha] and Marjorie Markus [Riverside Sangha, Birdbath Sangha.]

The Five Mindfulness Trainings 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. “

When we receive the Trainings in a Transmission Ceremony, we are supported and nourished by the collective energy of the Sangha.  

You can receive only those Trainings you feel in accord with and committed to practicing, as well as receiving all Five Trainings.

Those who wish will receive a Dharma Name, along with the Certificate of Transmission.  The Dharma Name reflects your aspirations and is an inspiration to stay connected to your aspiration. If you are interested in receiving the Trainings, and/or learning more about it, please contact:   

David Flint, davidrflint@gmail.com,  Marjorie Markus, marjoriemarkus@gmail.com, or Dennis Bohn, dbohn@pipeline.com

[If you do practice in a Sangha Meeting feel free to contact the one of us already known to you.]

See the Five Mindfulness Trainings and commentary at: http://communityofmindfulnessnewyorkmetro.blogspot.com/search/label/Mindfulness%20Practices

Date/Time: July 9, 6.30-8.30pm.  

Location: Gethsemane Church 1012 8th Avenue Brooklyn [Rock Blossom Sangha.]

.

Take care,

David Flint

May 20 Day of Mindfulness: Precepts, Concentration and Insight

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

"Precepts, concentration, and Insight--the nature and function of all three are one." In our Day of Mindfulness, we will explore this insight.  Being wonderfully together we practice sitting and walking meditation, enjoy singing and total relaxation, mindful eating, mindful breathing and engage with the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings. 

10:00-1:00pm: Sitting and walking meditation,

                           Mindfulness Practices

1:00-2:00pm: Lunch

2:00-4:30pm: Total Relaxation, Dharma Sharing

                         Sitting and Walking Meditation

             _________________

Our Day will be led Zack Foley.  Zack has been practicing mindfulness with the Riverside Sangha since 2004. In 2011, he helped co-found the Wake Up NYC young adult sangha with several close sangha friends. Zack was ordained into the Order of Interbeing in 2013.  In 2015, he helped co-found the Middle Way all ages sangha with "graduates" of Wake Up NYC.  He is also one of the co-facilitators of the newly formed Planting Seeds Sangha for Parents and Children.

Zack is a social worker and a jazz musician. Zack says that Sangha Practice brings him great joy, solidity and freedom.   

_________________________     

At: The Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, 20-T

When:  Saturday, May 20th: 10:00am-4:30pm: come for all or part of the Day.

Chairs and Cushions Available.

Bring your own vegetarian lunch.

Please do not wear fragrances.

__________________________

The great way of Reality,

Is our true nature’s pure ocean.

The source of Mind penetrates everywhere.

From the roots of virtue springs the practice of compassion.

Precepts, concentration and insight –

The nature and function of all three are one.

The fruit of transcendent wisdom,

Can be realized by being wonderfully together.

Maintain and transmit the wonderful principle,

In order to reveal the true teaching!

For the realization of True Emptiness to be possible,

Wisdom and Action must go together.

Zen Master Lieu Quan, root teacher of the Thich Nhat Hanh/Plum Village Lineage.