Sunday, December 15, 2019

Day of Mindfulness December 21 at Riverside Church, 20-T, 10:00-4:30pm

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro
Inspired by the Teaching and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh
Invites you to a Day of Mindfulness 

Walking Joyfully in the Ultimate Dimension
With David Flint
Saturday December 21, 10am – 4:30pm
  Riverside Church, 20-T, 91 Claremont Ave., NYC---(North of 120th Street and West of Broadway)

Image result for Thay walking joyfullyImage result for desert plantsImage result for “When sunlight shines                                               It helps all vegetation grow When mindfulness shines It transforms all mental formations
In our Day together, we share 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.***
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. 
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Walking joyfully in the Ultimate Dimension,
Walk with your feet,
not with your head.
If you walk with your head you’ll get lost.

Teaching the Dharma in the Ultimate Dimension,
Falling leaves fill the sky.
The path is covered in Autumn Moonlight.
The Dharma is abundant in all Directions.

Discussing Dharma in the Ultimate Dimension,
We look at each other and smile.
You are me, don’t you see?
Speaking and listening are one.

Enjoying lunch in the historical dimension,
I feed all generations of ancestors
And all future generations.
Together, we will find our way.

Getting angry in the historical dimension,
We close our eyes and look deeply.
Where will we be in 300 years?
We open our eyes and hug.

Resting in the Ultimate Dimension,
Using snowy mountains as a pillow
And beautiful pink clouds as blankets.
Nothing is lacking.

Meditating in the Ultimate Dimension,
Sharing Prabhutaranta’s Lion Seat,
Every moment is a realization,
Every fruit is ripe and delicious.
[Cultivating the Mind of Love, Kindle Location 887; end of Chapter 14.]
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Please bring your own vegetarian or vegan lunch.
Please do not wear fragrances.  Come for all or part of the Day
Chairs and cushions available.
All are welcome!
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***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.
 
Related Teachings for Contemplation
“the effect of meditation is the fire under a pot, the sun’s rays on the snow, and the hen’s warmth on her eggs….
there is no attempt at reasoning or analysis,
just patient and continuous concentration [allowing truth to reveal itself.]”
With our patient and continuous practice
we “follow our breathing
and meditate on the beginningless and endless nature of ourselves and the world.”
[From The Sun, My Heart]”

When we see there is already a precious jewel in our pocket,
We give up every attitude of craving or coveting…..
Seeing that we are the sun, we give up the candle’s habit of fearing the wind.
Seeing that life has no boundaries, we give up all imprisoning divisions.”
[Breathe! You are Alive, 3rd edition, Kindle location 841]

“Before you can answer the question, “What will happen to me after I die?” you need to answer another question,
“What is happening to me in the present moment?”
Examining this question is the essence of meditation.
If we don’t know how to look deeply to what is happening to us in the here and the now,
how can we know what will happen to us when we are dead?”
[This Silence is Called Great Joy, Thich Nhat Hanh]

Interbeing
The sun has entered me.
The sun has entered me together with the cloud and the river.
I myself have entered the river, and I have entered the sun with the cloud and the river.
There has not been a moment
when we do not interpenetrate.
But before the sun entered me,
the sun was in me —also the cloud and the river.
Before I entered the river,
I was already in it.
There has not been a moment
when we have not inter-been.
Therefore you know
that as long as you continue to breathe,
I continue to be in you.
[Interbeing, in Call Me By My True Names]