Day of Mindfulness December 15 2018 and November 20th 2018

COMMUNITY OF MINDFULNESS/ NEW YORK METRO

Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

invites you to a 

“APPy” Holiday

Day  of Mindfulness

Saturday, December 15, 2018

Sitting begins at 10 am Day  concludes at 4:30pm

Please RSVP:  marjoriemarkus@aol.com (very helpful but not required to attend) 

 🥗

In the Morning We will experience the benefits of practicing with the New 

Plum Village APP (available free at app store)

and reflect on how it may  support and enliven our individual practice.

In the Afternoon We will  enjoy our  annual  mindful POTLUCK 

veggie/vegan  lunch, Deep Relaxation  and Co-Creating  an afternoon of Joyful deep Connections

…   🏽 Please bring a Seasonal Song, Poem, Remembrance, Musical Instrument if you like

                                                                                                                                                                           & Back By Popular Demand

                                                                                                                                                                                        Sangha Carols                                                                                                                                                               

       Veggie/Vegan Offering for POT LUCK MIndful Lunch will be appreciated 🥦

                        🏽  We aspire to be  a Fragrance Free Environment 

                                   Please RSVP:  marjoriemarkus@aol.com (very helpful but not required to attend) 

                                       Riverside Church * Room 20T*  91 Claremont Avenue,  120-22nd, W of Broadway

                    Thay & Sr Chan Khong being introduced to the computer world (PV 1996)                            

Chan Khong

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

Inspired by the Teaching and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

Invites you to a Day of Mindfulness November 20th

When Mindfulness Shines

With David Flint

“When sunlight shines                                              

It helps all vegetation grow

When mindfulness shines

It transforms all mental formations”

In this Day of Mindfulness we allow the Sunlight of Awareness to naturally generate mindfulness, concentration and insight with the Practices of Sitting and Walking Meditation, Total Relaxation, Dharma Sharing, Mindful Eating, Mindful Movements and more: all grounded in mindful breathing and noble silence.***

Thay teaches us that "In the historical dimension, every dharma is a conditioned dharma. In the ultimate dimension, every dharma is an unconditioned dharma."  "If we are skillful we can touch Nirvana with our insight into interdependent co-arising, impermanence and non-self. We see that Nirvana lies right here in the present moment: in the table, the chair, the mountain, the cloud and each cell of our body."

Can we allow the 'ordinary' experiences of our breath and body; sensations, emotions and mental activities to reveal their true nature: '' the 'unconditioned,' ‘the ultimate dimension,’the 'Silence that is called Great Joy.'

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.

[And the ‘concepts’ of unconditioned/conditioned; ‘Silence that is called Great Joy’, Nirvana, etc. can and will only lead to more concepts, not to freedom.  So what do we do?]

Schedule

10:00am-4:30pm. Arrive beginning at 9.50am. [Come for all or part of the Day, at anytime.]

10:00-12:50pm: Sitting and Walking Meditation, Mindful Movements, Personal Practice Time.

1:00-1:50: Lunch.  Eaten together in mindfulness and silence.  [Bring your own vegetarian lunch.]

2:00-2:40: Total Relaxation.

2:50-3:20:  Walking and Sitting Meditation

3:30-4:30: Dharma Sharing. Close the Day.

Beginners Welcome.  Chairs and Cushions Provided.

Please do not wear fragrances.

Bring your own vegetarian lunch.

***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.

http://communityofmindfulnessnewyorkmetro.blogspot.com/

____________________________________________________

The Buddha taught that [instructions to Bahiya].

"Then, Bahiya, you should train yourself thus: In reference to the seen, there will be only the seen. In reference to the heard, only the heard. In reference to the sensed, only the sensed. In reference to the cognized, only the cognized. That is how you should train yourself. When for you there will be only the seen in reference to the seen, only the heard in reference to the heard, only the sensed in reference to the sensed, only the cognized in reference to the cognized, then, Bahiya, there is no you in terms of that. When there is no you in terms of that, there is no you there. When there is no you there, you are neither here nor yonder nor between the two. This, just this, is the end of stress."

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 October 20, 2018 at Riverside Church

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

Inspired by the Teaching and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

Invites you to a Day of Mindfulness:

Nourishing Happiness and Transforming our Deepest Fears

With Dennis Bohn

“In Buddhist texts, consciousness is said to be a field, a plot of land in which every kind of seed has been planted – seeds of suffering, happiness, joy, sorrow, fear, anger, and hope. The quality of our life depends on which of these seeds we water. The practice of mindfulness is to recognize each seed as it sprouts and to water the most wholesome seeds whenever possible."

In the morning we’ll focus on nourishing joy and happiness. In the afternoon we’ll maintain the energy we have cultivated and then touch the transformation of our deepest fears. Of course, we’ll be nourishing mindfulness throughout the day.

Deep relaxation is an especially important practice in our busy and chaotic lives. We invite you to bring whatever covering, blankets or props that will be useful for your full enjoyment of the practice of deep relaxation. [Which is done lying down. The room has a carpeted floor.]

You are encouraged to bring a vegetarian lunch so that you can enjoy the nourishment of being with sangha for the full day.

____________________________________________________________________

Chairs and cushions available.

Please do not wear fragrances.

Date/Time: Saturday October 20th, 10:00am-4:30pm. Full Day recommended, but not required.

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

Lunch: beginning between 12.30-1pm.  Bring your own vegetarian lunch.

Touching the Earth Day of Mindfulness with the WakeUp Sangha, September 15th 2018

COMMUNITY OF MINDFULNESS/ NEW YORK METRO
Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh
invites you to a
Day of Mindfulness
Saturday, September 15 🌻 10am to 4pm
The Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, NYC,   Room 20T

“Touching the Earth:
            Transforming the Suffering in and Around Us.”
        Facilitated by the Wake Up Sangha

We are a diverse group of young people practicing the living art of mindfulness and meditation.  We have grown out of the teachings and under the guidance of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. We are part of a worldwide movement of young Buddhists and non-Buddhists practicing mindful living. We share a determination to live in an awakened way, to realize the path of understanding and love, and to help our society, which is overloaded with intolerance, discrimination, craving, anger, and despair. We aim to experience joy and ease in our pursuits, keeping it real with the laughter, sanity, and friendship that bloom from practicing mindfulness together. Our practitioners are aged 18-35.

                   “We are thrilled to share our Wake Up practice with
                 the Whole Community at this Day of Mindfulness”🌻

Eleanor Milburn joined Wake Up NY in 2015 and has loved being a practitioner, facilitator, and caretaking council member for this supportive sangha. She currently works at an international NGO that helps vulnerable youth heal and develop skills through dance.
Morgan G. Long is a writer and an environmental activist. She works at a nonprofit by day and is interested in art making and strategizing on how to save the world at night.
James Lalino discovered the Plum Village tradition when a kind stranger gave him a copy of one of Thich Nhat Hahn’s books while he was riding a cross-country train traveling by himself through France. A veteran film industry lighting technician by day and political communications upstart by night, James has been practicing mindfulness with the Wake Up New York sangha for over four years now and serves on its sangha Care-Taking Council.
Donald R. Corr, Dharma name ‘Nourishing Freedom of the Heart,’ does his best to practice full awareness of breathing when washing the dishes. He is a professional photographer.

Bring: Your own Vegetarian Lunch, & a sweater 🥦 Chairs and Cushions Available
Please Do Not Wear Fragrances
Kindly RSVP to marjoriemarkus@aol.com

Day of Mindfulness August 18 2018: with Brother Thay Phap Tri [aka Brother Ivar], at Riverside Church 10:00am-4:00pm

COMMUNITY OF MINDFULNESS/ NEW YORK METRO

Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

invites you to a

Day of Mindfulness

Saturday August 18  10am to 4pm

The Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, NYC,   Room 20T   

With our dear Monastic Brother

Thây Pháp Trí

Building a Statue of Responsibility

Thây, Nhat Hanh, our dearly beloved teacher, while answering questions after his talk at the US Library of Congress in 2003 said, "I think we have to make a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast of America in order to counterbalance (the Statue of) liberty. Because liberty without responsibility is not true liberty. You are not free to destroy.”

Figuratively speaking, as Buddhist practitioners in the Plum Village tradition, how can we help to realize his wish?  Could it be, as a concrete expression of our gratitude to him, that we accept responsibiity for our practice-to ourselves, our families, our community and the world we live in- and fulfill it by becoming a living Statue of Responsibility?  If so, Where would we start ?

Thây Pháp Trí, who some know as Br Ivar, first arrived in the Upper Hamlet of Plum Village to test the waters in late 1993,  the shoe fit, and he's been part of the community ever since. 

Thây Pháp Trí, received the robes of a novice monk in 1995, became fully ordained as a Bhikkhu in 1996, receiving the lamp as a Dharma teacher from Thây in 2001, at which time he  was transferred to Deer Park Monastery and practiced there until Blue Cliff Monastery opened in 2007 where he became Abbot  in 2010, a position he held until asking to go on sabbatical in March of 2012. 

He began his extended sabbatical years in Vermont, at the former Maple Forest Monastery. From the very beginning, and with the encouragement of Thay, he invited others to join him.  This has become Rose Apple Society, a contemplative center for self practice, open to all members of all folds of the Sangha,  who upon request, receive permission to come and practice there.

We will enjoy mindful breathing, sitting and walking meditations, eating together in mindfulness, a dharma talk and the opportunity to ask questions of Brother Tri.

Bring: Your own Vegetarian Lunch, & a sweater 🥦 Chairs and Cushions Available 

Please Do Not Wear Fragrances & kindly RSVP to marjoriemarkus@aol.com

Day of Mindfulness with Valerie Brown: Cultivating Mindfulness With Deep Listening on July 21 2018

Cultivating Mindfulness through Deep Listening

with Valerie Brown

A Day of Mindfulness of the

Community of Mindfulness NY/Metro on July 21, 2018

at

91 Claremont Avenue, room 20-T, The Riverside Church, NY, NY 10025

“You listen not for the purpose of judging, criticizing or analyzing. You listen only to

help the other person to express himself and find some relief from his suffering.”

Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh

“The first duty of love is to listen.”

Paul Tillich

Listening is a vital and overlooked life skill and the cornerstone of building trustworthy

relationships. Listening is an act of love, extending toward collegiality, agreeableness,

understanding, and compassion. It is a mindset of being rather than doing. Strong

listening skills are a critical aspect of cultivating peace within and peace in the world.

At the heart of authentic listening is the courage to be fully human, to take risks, to care deeply, and to take action even in the midst of change and uncertainty.

The basis for cultivating listening skills is mindfulness, and this Day of Mindfulness focuses on basic mindfulness skills to support, greater awareness, understanding and relational trust.

To enhance individual and collective mindful awareness, this Day of Mindfulness will largely be held in silence with the exception of a period of deep listening practice in small and large groups.  

What to Bring/How to Prepare

Please bring a bring a journal for writing, a vegetarian lunch, yoga mat, and blanket for deep relaxation. Meditation cushions and chairs are provided.  Please review these deep listening guidelines by the Center for Courage & Renewal before the Day of Mindfulness:  http://www.couragerenewal.org/touchstones/

Wear loose fitting, comfortable clothing for mindful movement.  Come for all or part of the Day of Mindfulness, and please do not wear fragrances.

Tentative Schedule  10:00 am to 4:30pm

(The schedule is subject to change.)

10:00-12:30 Opening Circle: Welcome and introductions, guided sitting and walking

meditation, mindful movement, Dharma talk, individual and group reflection

12:30-2:30/3:00 pm Silent lunch-mindful eating (Bring your own veggie lunch), deep

relaxation, outdoor walking-weather permitting

2:30/3:00-4:15 pm Individual and group reflection and sharing

4:15 pm Closing Circle

                                                          

About Your Facilitator:  Valerie Brown, ‘True Sangha Power,' received Lamp Transmission at Plum Village, June 2018, and is a Dharma Teacher in the Plum Village tradition, and has been a member of the Order of Interbeing since 2003.  She has been practicing in the Plum Village/Thich Nhat Hanh tradition since 1995. Valerie is a member of the Plum Village ARISE sangha [https://arisesangha.org].  

Valerie transformed her high-pressure, twenty-year career as a lawyer-lobbyist, representing educational institutions and nonprofits, to human-scale work with leaders and teams to foster trustworthy and authentic connections. Through her writing, she seeks to foster a more compassionate and peaceful world.

Valerie is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and as a certified Kundalini yoga teacher, she helps ‘leaders’ discover the wisdom of the body.  She leads an annual transformational pilgrimage to El Camino de Santiago, Spain, to celebrate the power of sacred places.

Visit her website for more information:  www.leadsmartcoaching.com