The Secret of Transformation
An In-Person Day of Mindfulness with Dharma Teacher David Flint
Hosted by the the Queens MorningStar Sangha of the Community of Mindfulness New York Metro
Sunday August 31, 10:00am-4:00pm
“Let the sangha breathe as one body, chant as one body and listen as one body overcoming the
inferiority, superiority and equality complexes….
Whenever we hear the bell we automatically stop thinking. It has become a habit. We begin to give
our attention to our breath. We breathe in gently and become aware of our in-breath. We breathe
out gently and become aware of our out-breath. This is something very simple and easy to do,
but it is also very important that we know how to do it. If everybody in the meditation hall stops thinking
and breathes in and out mindfully, something will happen. What happens is that we no longer
experience ourself as an individual, but as a collective, the sangha body….and then a
new energy arises, much more powerful than the energy when we sit and breathe or walk alone.
That is the collective energy that has the ability to heal everyone present."
[Thich Nhat Hanh]
In this Day of Mindfulness we will enjoy Being Wonderfully Together, exploring the ‘Secret of Transformation’ in practicing sitting and walking meditation, Deep Relaxation, eating in mindfulness, Dharma Sharing and more: grounded in Breath Awareness, Noble Silence, and the Courage to Be Present with Ourselves [Our Questions, Suffering, Joy, Insight.]
“The present moment
Contains past and future.
The secret of transformation
Is in the way we handle this very moment. “
RSVP Required to: davidrflint@gmail.com and walter, wllfh@aol.com. [Space is limited.]
Attend Either Half or the Whole Day:
Arrive on time at either: 9:50-10:00 am, or between 12:30-1:15 [Lunch]
Depart at or After Lunch, , or at 4:00pm
Address: 35-30 81st Street, 1H, Jackson Heights, Queens: 11372
Bring: Your Vegetarian/Vegan Lunch; A Meditation Cushion if this is important [Chairs and several Cushions available.]
Schedule [Subject to Change]:
10:00-11:10 Sitting Meditation/Walking Meditation/Sitting Meditation
11:10-11:30: Walking Meditation/Mindful Movements
11:40-12:30: Sitting Meditation/Dharma Sharing
12:40-1:30pm: Mindful Lunch [[eating together in Silence. Bring your own vegetarian Lunch.]
1:40pm-2:20pm: Deep Relaxation
2:30pm-3:00pm Walking Meditation and Personal Practice
3:00pm: 3:15: Sitting Meditation
3:20pm-4:00pm Dharma Sharing/Closing
Teachings To Contemplate
“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]
______________________
“These moving feet reveal a walker,
But did not start him on his way.
There was no walker prior to departure
Who was going where?”
[Verses from the Center, p. 75]
“When Buddha’s don't appear
And their followers are gone,
The Wisdom of awakening bursts forth by itself.”
[Verses from the center, Page 18]
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]
__________________
The Buddha taught that
"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." [Bahiya Sutta]
Thich Nhat Hanh tells us that:
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
Now, how can we know what will happen to us when we are dead?....
I don’t care at all what happens to me when I die. That’s why I have a lot
of time to care about what is happening to me in the here and the now. When
I walk, I want to enjoy every step I take. I want freedom and peace and joy
in every step. So joy and peace and lightness are what I produce in that
moment. I have inherited it and I pass it on to other people. If someone
sees me walking this way and decides to walk mindfully for him or herself,
then I am reborn in him or in her right away—that’s my continuation. That’s
what is happening to me in the here and the now.
And if I know what is happening to me in the here and the now, I don’t need to ask the question,
“What will happen to me after this body disintegrates?” There is no
“before” and “after,” just as there is no birth and death. We can be free
of these notions in this very moment, filled with the great joyful silence
of all that is."
Thich Nhat Hanh, This Silence is Called Great Joy
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