Days of Mindfulness April, March 2009

Day of Mindfulness April 18: Our Roots and Our Place in the World

Dear Friends,

 

Our April Day of Mindfulness is this Saturday, April 18, 10-4:30, in room 8-T at Riverside Church.  Ishmael Wallace and Walter Lyons will facilitate.  Ishmael practices with with the Riverside Sangha, and Walter with the Morningstar Sangha [Queens] and the Riverside Sangha.

 

The poet T. S. Elliot wrote that  "April is the cruelest month, breeding/ Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/ Memory and desire, stirring/ Dull roots with spring rain..." 

 

The Day will include practicing the Earth Touchings* and exploring the question of 'our roots and our place in the world,' engaging with the above words of T. S. Elliot. 

 

We will also practice Total Relaxation.  

 

As always, and right now, conscious breathing is the heart of our practice. 

 

Chairs and cushions available.  Bring your own vegetarian lunch.  Please do not wear fragrances.

 

At 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd Street, one block west of Broadway.  Walk past security desk and go to elevators on the right.  Room 8-T

 

Take care,

David Flint

 

*The Earth Touchings are found in the Plum Village Chanting Book, and in the book Touching the Earth

Day of Mindfulness Saturday March 21, 10-4:30, Riverside Church

Meditating on the changing of the seasons and the vernal equinox will be our entry into interbeing and non-duality.  And we will absorb the "Dharma Rain" of a talk by Thay.  So lets enjoy a Day of Mindfulness together.

The practice of Conscious Breathing and the presence of our friends on the path support each of us, and strengthen our mindfulness and concentration.  

Schedule for the Day

10-10:15--arrive and settle in

10:15-11 Sitting and walking meditation

11-11:50; Dharma Talk

Noon-2pm: Walking meditation [outside if weather permits];Dharma Sharing; Lunch

2-2:30  Mindful Movements

2:30-3:15pm: Sitting and walking meditation

3:20-4pm: Singing/5 Mindfulness Trainings

4-4:30: Dharma Sharing/Close

Chairs and cushions available.  Bring a vegetarian lunch.  Please do not wear fragrances.

Facilitated by Nina Teng David Flint.  Nina practices with the Morningstar Sangha [Queens] and Riverside Sangha [Riverside Church and Rutgers Church meetings.]  David practices with the Riverside Sangha.

Room 8-T, Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, one block west of Broadway, between 120-122nd Street.

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Sunday March 22: Celebrate World Water Day: David Ostwald and Birgitte Moyer offer a mindful observation of World Water Day.  11-4:30pm, West Village apartment overlooking the Hudson.  

Bring: vegetarian lunch and reflect on how water is a part of it, and was used to grow, process and prepare it.  Bring your questions, concerns, information about water availability, economics, sustainability, sanitation and so on.  We will do some practices incorporating these.

Schedule: 11:00-Sitting and walking meditation; 12:30-Vegetarian Pot Luck Lunch; 1:45-Water, The World and Us: 3:45-Brief Meditation; 4-Sangha Sharing; 4:30-Close.

Call 212-6450834; email dostwald.att.net for address.   David and Birgitte practice with the Riverside Sangha and also in California with Dharma Teacher Lyn Fine.

          

Day of Mindfulness March 21, 2009

Community of Mindfulness New York Metro

Inspired by the Teachings and Practice of Thich Nhat Hanh

In this New Year, we will Begin Anew by engaging in stopping, resting and looking deeply. Our 'teacher' and guide will be the Full Awareness of Breathing Sutra. [Thay has said that he felt 'like the happiest person on earth' when he found this teaching.]
We will practice somewhat in the 'classical' manner, following the order of the meditations: the breath and body; feelings; mind states; impermanence and interbeing.


10am-4:30pm: lunch is around 1:15-2:15. We eat together in silence: bring a vegetarian lunch.
Cushions and chairs available.



In room 630-MLK, at Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Avenue, between 120-122nd Street, one block west of Broadway.



Faciliated by David Flint, davidrflint@gmail.com



See the 'Ongoing Events' link for weekly meetings.



Email cmnymetro-subscribe@yahoogroups.com to receive email announcements.

Welcome to the Community of Mindfulness

Welcome to the Community of Mindfulness New York Metro. 

The Community of Mindfulness/NY Metro [CMNY] is inspired by the teachings and practice of Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community of Engaged Buddhism. The CMNY is part of a network of worldwide sanghas [communities]: a community of Lay Practitioners, Nuns and Monks.

Thich Nhat Hanh’s monastic training and retreat centers include Plum Village, France (www.plumvillage.org) and in the USA: Blue Cliff Monastery in New York [www.bluecliffmonastery.org], the Deer Park Monastery, Escondido, California (www.deerparkmonastery.org,) Magnolia Grove in Mississippi (www.magnoliagrovemonastery.org)  See www.plumvillage.org for a complete listing.

To practice in community is a great gift. As a community of mindfulness we support each other in cultivating mindfulness and the capacity to embody and offer love in our daily lives: for ourselves, our families, friends and co-workers, and for the well-being of our society and our planet. Our practice has included weekly and biweekly meditation groups, days of mindfulness and weekend retreats, affinity groups for people with common interests, study groups, community sings, socially engaged practice and the practice of organizing and making decisions in a mindful and harmonious way. All of our activities and gatherings are grounded in the practices of conscious breathing and silent sitting and walking meditation. Beginners are welcome.

CMNY affinity groups have included Planting Seeds Family Practice, Touching Our Root Traditions, Being With Illness and Healing, Socially Engaged Practice and others.  Individuals have offered mindfulness practice with women and staff of an alternative to incarceration program, at a program for people suffering from mental illness, at centers for homeless people, at workplaces, schools, at the Open Center, at Columbia University and through the arts.

See 'Sangha Meetings' link a for listing of meetings. [11/1/20: Meetings are now Virtual, on Zoom, do to COVID. To receive the Zoom links for weekly meetings, email davidrflint@gmail.com

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“When we are in a Sangha [community], we are like a drop of water in a river. We allow the Sangha to hold us and transport us. Don’t be like a drop of oil in the river, not mixing with the other drops of water—that way you arrive nowhere. Allow yourself to be transported by the Sangha so that your pain, sorrow, and suffering are recognized and embraced. You have to trust the Sangha. Imagine you are a drop of water that would like to go to the ocean. If you go alone, you might evaporate, but if you allow yourself to be embraced and transported by the Sangha, then you will get there. You suffer only when you are a separate drop of water. Please remember this.” [Thich Nhat Hanh in Peace Begins Here, pages 42-3]

Send blank Email to CMNY+subscribe@CMNYMetro.groups.io to receive announcements of Sangha Meetings.