Sangha Meetings Dec-January 2o23-24

                                               Community of Mindfulness/New York Metro   

Inspired by the Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh 

  and the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism 

 

     

   This is the CMNY@CMNYMetro.groups.io email group, of the Community of Mindfulness New York Metro. Zoom and In-Person Sangha Meetings for December 2023 are listed below this section.  Each Sangha Meeting also has its own list, and links to subscribe are below: individual Sangha lists may post information about resuming person meetings, Study Groups and other special events for that Sangha Meeting. 

      

“Our true enemy is hatred, ignorance, fear and the seed of violence deep in our consciousness.”https://plumvillage.org/articles/an-invitation-to-sit-together-for-peace        

       See also these Plum Village Sanghas:  for Trauma Informed Mindfulness: https://www.embracesangha.org/ ,  Earth Holder Community: https://earthholder.training/.
    ARISE Sangha: https://arisesangha.org/ [Awakening Through Race, Intersectionality and Social Equity.]

       

We can offer financial support to our Monastic Community, and the Plum Village Community, at https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/ .  

    More Links to Teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Buddha are at the end of the email.

__________________________________________         

 

The Rock Blossom Sangha will have a New Years' eve gathering on Dec. 31 from 4:30 till 6:30 PM 

at Gethsemane Church, 1021 8th Avenue, Brooklyn. 

We will nourish our stability with sitting and walking meditation, followed by some of Thay's teachings on Beginning Anew. We'll then be invited to practice Beginning Anew in our own hearts for the New Year. As you may know, Beginning Anew can be used between two people who may have differences, or within oneself practicing with another person in mind. For this evening, we'll practice Beginning Anew in our hearts, with ourselves as we move into a new year. After our gathering, those who wish can join for dinner at a local restaurant.

It would be useful to know how large a gathering to expect. If you are interested in attending, please respond  happysangha@pipeline.com.

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Deep Looking, Deep Listening Zoom Circle  in relation to what is happening in Gaza and Israel 

Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism: Hosted by the Mindful Peacebuilding Institute--Co-facilitated byDharma Teacher Lyn Fine and others

Tuesdays: 10-noon  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84844763082?pwd=VS9RemNwU0dydVVyT0p5MjdNeXV4UT09  PW: listen  Meeting ID 848 4476 3082

 

In-Person Sangha Meetings

                Queens MorningStar Sangha Meeting:  10:00-Noon-2nd and 4th Sunday of the Month [No Meeting December 24th]

Next Meeting January 14, 2024.

At 35-30 81st street, Jackson Heights, 11372  #1H [Arrive on time between 9:50-10:00am]

Rock Blossom Sangha In-Person Meetings: first and 3rd Sunday of each month: 6:30-8:30pm 

[Please see above for information about New Years Eve December 31 Sangha 4:30-6:30]

                                                  Church of Gethsemane, 1012 8th Ave, Brooklyn. Please plan to arrive by 6:15/6:20 to settle in for our start time at 6:30.

                                                    [RSVP required for attending in-person meetings: rsvp to whoever sends out the email announcement-so please subscribe to Rock Blossom Email list--see below.]

 

2nd and 3rd Thursday of the Month: St Marks's Sangha at St. Mark's Church [131 E. 10th Street]

2nd and 3rd Thursday of the Month: 8-9:30am [hybrid meeting: zoom and in-person together; see next section for Zoom Meetings]

 

Wake Up New York: Fridays: In-Person 7:30pm-9:30pm

In-person at the Still Mind Zendo, 37 W. 17th Street, 6W [arrive no later than 7.45pm]

[Wake Up is a 'Young Adult' Sangha-age range 18-35] [See Below for Zoom Link.]

Saturdays 9-10:30am: Stony Brook Sangha In-Person [Hybrid Meeting-Zoom link below]

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 380 Nicolls Rd in East Setauket NY

Poughkeepsie:Mindfulness And Meditation.: Mondays 6:15 p.m.- 7:15 p.m. Christ Episcopal Church 20 Carroll Street, Poughkeepsie, NY SunriseSanghaNY@gmail.com

 

                                                               Mid-Hudson Valley: Budding Flower Sangha:  https://buddingflowersangha.blogspot.com/

 

Zoom Sangha Meetings

Study/Practice Group on Meditation---2nd and 4th Mondays of the month: 6:30 pm

                                                       zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81448751365?pwd=KytYa3kyWHhXK1dGM3llTlRqa1kyUT09    Meeting ID: 814 4875 1365   Passcode: 301895 ,  One tap mobile +16469313860   

                                                                                Sangha Parents Group on Zoom: email for details to: jaysilverman314@gmail.com

                                                                              Sundays: 10-11:30am: Green Island Sangha 
                               https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82033666263?pwd=ZnNqbU5lb3ZRWk8yQnRHa0h1alowUT09 Meeting ID: 820 3366 6263 Passcode: 677467 Dial-in +1 929 205 6099

                                                                                    [https://green-island-sangha.mailchimpsites.com/    to receive email announcements]

Sundays: 6:30-8:30pm, Zoom Rock Blossom Sangha. Enter beginning 6:15pm

[This Zoom Happens weekly including when there is also a separate in-person meeting]

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89917569015?pwd=TVJGZ1BDS1EralpBRXlRVTJDUFUrdz09

Meeting ID: 899 1756 9015  Passcode: 241354    Dial-In: +16465588656             

                         Stonybrook Zoom Sangha: Mornings Monday through Friday: 7:30-8:00am                                    

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/154822492?pwd=RDE5R3l6L1pNSktUcXFKTTVCUkUydz09

Meeting ID: 154 822 492 Passcode: 074791,  Dial-In: 646-558-8656

Chrysanthemum Sangha’s 1rst and 3rd Monday LGBTQIA+ and Allies @8:00-9:30pm

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87649209787?pwd=OGJGRGhqTHRaUXJUS083UmZrVHlCQT09    

Meeting ID: 876 4920 9787     Password:  peace      Dial-in:  +1 929 205 6099 US (New York), Passcode: 622089[for dial-in]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChrysanthemumSangha

Tuesday Zoom Riverside Sangha: 7:00-9:00 pm

[Pre-Covid met at Riverside Church]

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88619055393?pwd=djRKRFV5aWdPV0g0SFNHQ1BrM01YQT09

Meeting ID: 886 1905 5393  Passcode: 959151   Dial-in 646-558-8656

 

Thursdays:  Zoom St Mark's Sangha: 8:00am-9:30 am 

                                                  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82160839379?pwd=YWxOZFcxNFgrQlJPZldiVGtiOHFCQT09         Meeting ID: 821 6083 9379   Passcode: 505070  Dial-in 646-558-8656

Thursdays 6:30-8:00pm:  Zoom Rock Blossom Sangha: [Enter beginning 6:15pm]

               https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89917569015?pwd=TVJGZ1BDS1EralpBRXlRVTJDUFUrdz09                  Meeting ID: 899 1756 9015  Passcode: 241354    Dial-in 646-558-8656

 

Thursdays 8:00-10:00pm:  Chrysanthemum Sangha: an LQGBTIA+ Sangha in the Plum Village tradition! 

Open to all practitioners who identify as LGBTQIA+

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87649209787?pwd=OGJGRGhqTHRaUXJUS083UmZrVHlCQT09  Meeting ID: 876 4920 9787     Password:  peace        

Dial-in:  +1 929 205 6099 US Passcode: 622089 [for dial-in]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/ChrysanthemumSangha

 

Wake Up New York: Zoom on the First Friday of the Month:@7:30-9:30pm  

[Wake Up is a 'Young Adult' Sangha-age range 18-35]

Zoom:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/778749815  Meeting ID: 778749815    Passcode: breathe  

WUNY Dharma Hall 

This is a 24/7 virtual Dharma hall that WUNY members may use at any time.  Join anytime and see who else is online, or invite others to sit with you on Zoom outside of the Friday night practice. 

Meeting ID: 747 524 725    Passcode: wakeup

 

Saturdays 9-10:30am: Stony Brook Sangha

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/683720024?pwd=ZXM2dU1mTFFSdlcvNVQ3bnZXUi9EQT09           Meeting ID: 683 720 024       Passcode: 051883    One tap mobile: 646-558-8656      

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 Sangha Email Groups:  The CMNY group is the 'Parent' group that all of us belong to. The individual Sangha email groups post events and information specific to those Sangha Meetings. To subscribe to Individual Sangha Email Groups see the list below.

              CMNY+subscribe@CMNYMetro.groups.io   [This is the 'Parent' Email Group that all are subscribed to.]

DharmaTalkVideos+subscribe@CMNYMetro.groups.io  [For those interested in viewing Dharma Talks by Thay then having a zoom Dharma Sharing .]

RiversideSangha+subscribe@CMNYMetro.groups.io 

RockBlossom+subscribe@CMNYMetro.groups.io

StMarksSangha+subscribe@CMNYMetro.groups.io

QueensMorningStarSangha+subscribe@CMNYMetro.groups.io

WakeUpNewYork+subscribe@CMNYMetro.groups.io  [Young Adult Sangha]

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 https://thichnhathanhfoundation.org/  [Donations to support our Monastic Communities, and the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism, may be made here.]

Subscribe to the Mindfulness Bell: https://www.mindfulnessbell.org/subscribe  

https://www.bluecliffmonastery.org/   [Monastery in Pine Bush, NY] 

www.plumvillage.org

 

More Teachings from Thich Nhat Hanh, Plum Village and the Buddha

Deepen Your Practice: Mindfulness of Feelings: https://deerparkmonastery.org/dharma/deepen-your-practice-mindfulness-of-feelings/?mc_cid=5f5d998406&mc_eid=b001ad9f26
A Mindful Christmas – Part 1: Difficult Relationships:  https://plumvillage.org/articles/a-mindful-christmas-part-1-difficult-relationships

An Invitation to Sit Together for Peace: https://plumvillage.org/articles/an-invitation-to-sit-together-for-peace    
Recommendation, Thich Nhat Hanh  https://plumvillage.org/library/songs/recommendation-alone-again-poem-song

     Questions & Answers Session | Thich Nhat Hanh | Day 5 of the Israeli Palestinian Retreat (2003)      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-54X5U9rCsg

     Please Call Me By My True Names, Thich Nhat Hanh:  https://plumvillage.org/articles/please-call-me-by-my-true-names-song-poem

 

 This Silence is Called Great Joy: A Teaching by Thich Nhat Hanh  https://www.lionsroar.com/this-silence-is-called-great-joy-a-teaching-by-thich-nhat-hanh/#:~:text=There%20is%   20a%20classic%20Buddhist,silence%20is%20called%20great%20joy.

The Wisdom of Master Lin Chi [Rinzai]-Talk One: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ18q4NTaXA&list=PLZRU-BBZ8HIJaTTF2za1EyU7279PTurIl&index=1

 Free from Notions: A Talk on the Diamond Sutra, https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/free-from-notions-the-diamond-sutra

    Discourse on the Absolute Truth: https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-absolute-truth 

 

Stopping/Calming/Looking Deeply with Mindful Breathing: https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/rebuilding-health/?mc_cid=4b50273cc8&mc_eid=b001ad9f26

Expanding the Spectrum of Love, Brother Bao Tang: https://plumvillage.org/articles/expanding-the-spectrum-of-love

Mindfulness of Sexual Desire: https://plumvillage.org/library/dharma-talks/mindfulness-of-sexual-desire-dharma-talk-by-br-phap-luu-2018-11-11/

To Be Is to Inter-be | Thich Nhat Hanh | Plum Village #Shorts

Thich Nhat Hanh: 'Where do We Go,'  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvcTgmF4Xug   

Four Mantras for Relationships and Meditations for the Sick and Dying, Thich Nhat Hanh   https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/meditations-for-the-sick-and-dying

My Face Before My Mother was Born: https://plumvillage.org/articles/my-face-before-my-mother-was-born

The Spirit of Plum Village   https://www.lionsroar.com/the-spirit-of-plum-village/  

Mahanama Sutta: Being a Lay Buddhist https://accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/an/an08/an08.025.kuma.html

Unborn and Indestructible [song]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ct0L0cZLk

Walking Meditation:  https://deerparkmonastery.org/video/introduction-to-walking-meditation/

Cultivating the Five Powers, Sister D: https://www.lionsroar.com/cultivating-5-powers/?utm_source=Lion%27s+Roar+Newsletter&utm_campaign=f

Suffering Can Teach Us, Thich Nhat Hanh https://plumvillage.org/transcriptions/suffering-can-teach-us

Store of Precious Virtues Discourse: https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/store-of-precious-virtues-discourse-practice-of-the-highest-understanding/

Gatha for Healing Racial, Systemic and Social Inequity http://arisesangha.org/resources/gatha-for-healing/http://arisesangha.org/resources/gatha-for-healing/

Sutra on Transforming Violence and Fear: https://www.parallax.org/mindfulnessbell/article/sutra-on-transforming-violence-and-fear/

 Befriending Our Habits;   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDKfnBmL9xE&list=PLHB1Zqu9mBt9HNGw87amjLZM2OTHV01uh&index=46

On Dying, Pain and Being Alone: https://plumvillage.org/articles/on-dying-pain-and-being-alone/

Discourse on the Teachings to be Given to the Sick: https://plumvillage.org/library/sutras/discourse-on-the-teachings-to-be-given-to-the-sick/

 What is Mindfulness?: https://plumvillage.org/mindfulness/mindfulness-practice/

 Now We Have A Path: Plum Village Dharma Seals: Sister Annabel  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWpZsG88K4M&t=2194s 

 Thich Nhat Hanh on Meditation:

Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing - Meditation Teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh  

First two tetrads: https://youtu.be/HLi6ZuRpsvo?t=3129  

Tetrads three and four: https://youtu.be/lY6MfxIbtKw?t=1834           

Half Day of Mindfulness Saturday December 16 on Zoom: Resting in the Ultimate Dimension

                                                COMMUNITY OF MINDFULNESS/NEW YORK METRO

Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

    invites you to

Resting in the Ultimate Dimension: A Day of Mindfulness with Dharma Teacher David Flint

Saturday December 16: 10-1:30pm on Zoom

 

In our time together, we share the Practices of Sitting and Walking Meditation, Total Relaxation, Dharma Sharing, and more: all grounded in mindful breathing and noble silence.

10:00: Sitting Meditation

10:30: Walking Meditation/Mindful Movements

10:45: Sitting Meditation

11:15: Walking Meditation/Mindful Movements

                                      11:30: Deep Relaxation [AKA Total Relaxation]

12:30: Dharma Sharing

               1:15: Closing: Three Refuges/Sharing the Merit

David has been a student of Thich Nhat Hanh for over 30 years. He received Lamp Transmission from Thay in 2011. David is a Co-founder of the Community of Mindfulness New York Metro and the Riverside and Queens MorningStar Sanghas. David currently works as a Home Hospice Social Worker for Calvary Hospital. David is interested in bringing a Zen Attitude and Zen Questions to our Breath Awareness practice.

Zoom:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82053139543?pwd=bWhMT004bW5XSEZXRkF2Y1J2ZVVrQT09  Meeting ID: 820 5313 9543     Passcode: peace

Dial-In: 6469313860,  Passcode: 162600  Meeting ID:    820 5313 9543

Teachings For Contemplation

“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]

__________________________

“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….  “[We] follow our breathing and meditate on the beginningless and endless nature of ourselves and the world.” 

[From The Sun, My Heart]”

___________________

Patacara 

[A Buddhist Nun' at the time of the Buddha]

With plows the fields are plowed;

With seed the earth is sown;

Thus wives and children feed;

So young men win their wealth.

Then why do I, of virtue pure,

Doing the Master's Teaching,

Not lazy nor proud,

Nibbana not attain?

Having washed my feet,

Then I watched that water,

Noticing the foot-water

Flowing from high to low.

With that the mind was calmed

Just as a noble, thoroughbred horse.

Having taken my lamp,

I went into my hut,

Inspected the sleeping-place,

Then sat upon the couch.

Having taken a pin,

I pushed the wick right down, and

Just as the lamp went out,

So all delusions of the heart went too.  — Theragatha 112-116

______________________________

“Just as flowers and leaves are only part of a plant, and just as wavers are only part of the ocean, perceptions, feelings and thoughts are only part of the self. Blossoms and leaves are a natural manifestation of plants and waves are a natural expression of oceans. It is useless to repress or stifle them. We can only observe them, because they exist we can find their source, which is exactly the same as our own.

When we meditate we seem to have two selves: one is the flowing river of thoughts and feelings and the other is the sun of awareness that shines on them. Which is our own self. Which is true, Which False, which is good, which bad. Please calm down my friend. Lay down your sharp sword of conceptual thinking. 

Don’t be in such a hurry to cut yourself in two. Both are self. Neither is true. Neither is false. They are both true and false.

When the sun of awareness shines on the river of our perceptions the mind is transformed. Both river and sun are of the same nature.”

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“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.

  [From the “Path of Practice” verses, in Transformation at the Base]

Unborn and indestructible [Song---   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ct0L0cZLk]

Unborn and Indestructible

Beyond time and space, 

I am my teachers, I am my friends, 

I am one and yet I am many, 

I am none, I am all, no beginning, no end. 

Unborn and indestructible,

Beyond time and space, 

This body is not me, 

These perceptions are not me, 

And I am not limited by this body, 

I am one with all life, I have always been free.

Song---   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_ct0L0cZLk

The Old Mendicant

Being rock, being gas, being mist, being Mind, being the mesons traveling among the galaxies at the speed of light, you have come here, my beloved. And your blue eyes shine, so beautiful, so deep. You have taken the path traced for you from the non-beginning and the never-ending. You say that on your way here you have gone through many millions of births and deaths. Innumerable times you have been transformed into firestorms in outer space. You have used your own body to measure the age of the mountains and rivers. You have manifested yourself as trees, grass, butterflies, single-celled beings, and as chrysanthemums. But the eyes with which you look at me this morning tell me that you have never died. Your smile invites me into the game whose beginning no one knows, the game of hide-and-seek.

O green caterpillar, you are solemnly using your body to measure the length of the rose branch that grew up last Summer. Everyone says that you, my beloved, were just born this Spring. Tell me, how long have you been around? Why wait until this moment to reveal yourself to me, carrying with you that smile which is so silent and so deep? O caterpillar, suns, moons, and stars flow out each time I exhale. Who knows that the infinitely large must be found in your tiny body? Upon each point on your body, thousands of Buddha fields have been established.With each stretch of your body, you measure time from the non-beginning to the never-ending. The great mendicant of old is still there on Vulture Peak, contemplating the ever-splendid sunset. Gautama, how strange! Who said that the Udumbara flower blooms only once every 3,000 years? The sound of the rising tide— you cannot help hearing it if you have an attentive ear. [Thich Nhat Hanh in Call Me By My True Name]