Dear Thay, dear Sangha,

Please join us this Sunday from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Albuquerque Zen Center, 2300 Garfield Ave. SE.

With David leading the meeting, we can enjoy reciting the 14 Mindfulness Trainings. He says “Whenever I read them I always find many little gems of wisdom-which I really need in these chaotic times. The trainings are a storehouse of mindfulness based ethics that I need every day to help me come back to my mindfulness and to be fully present. I look forward to again sharing them together.”

Please note that the Zoom option for our Sangha meetings has been discontinued. For those who wish to attend Zoom meetings in our tradition, every month there are about 100 Zoom meetings of Sanghas worldwide. These are listed at plumline.org.

At last week’s meeting there was a discussion of the Zoom option and all attendees were encouraged to share their comments. Setting up and taking down Zoom equipment requires substantial time and effort. Attendance on Zoom has been extremely low lately, the volunteer who has been setting up and taking down the equipment for three years (Jon) has resigned from this duty, and nobody volunteered to take it over. At the end of the discussion the Sangha voted by a majority to discontinue the Zoom option for our meetings.

All members are encouraged to join us in person. For those concerned about Covid exposure, it is the policy of the Albuquerque Zen Center that everyone attending in-person events must be fully vaccinated. Also, masks are optional so anyone wishing to wear a mask at an in-person meeting may do so. Two HEPA air filters are running in the Zendo at each meeting. If you need transportation to and from meetings please let us know, along with your address, and we can announce it to the Sangha to see if another member can help.

To maintain an atmosphere of reverence and tranquility in the Zendo we’ll be observing 10 minutes of Noble Silence before each meeting.

Dana (generosity) is one of the virtues cultivated in Buddhism. It is customary to offer Dana in appreciation for the benefits received and to support the Sangha. Dana can be financial and it can also be in other forms such as helping with setup or breakdown of meetings and days of mindfulness.

With metta,
🙏🏼