Dear Friends,
Please join us this coming Sunday from 5:00-6:30 p.m. at the Albuquerque Zen Center (AZC), 2300 Garfield Ave. SE. At each weekly meeting, you’re welcome to come early and join us for some herbal tea and socializing starting at 4:30 p.m.
Thay has said in his calligraphy “I am in love with Mother Earth”
Thay’s Mindfulness Trainings remind us to do our part in reducing unnecessary consumption and reversing the process of global warming.
Continue readingDear Friends,
Please join us on Nov 10 from 5-6:30 pm at the Albuquerque Zen Center to recite the wonderful 5 Mindfulness Trainings. These are our good friends on the path.
Two thousand six hundred years ago, the Buddha offerred certain guidelines to his lay students to help them live peaceful, wholesome and happy lives. They are the 5 Wonderful Mindfulness Trainings. With mindfulness as our foundation, we can become aware of what is going on in our bodies, our feelings, our minds, and in the world.
Continue readingPlease join us this Sunday at the Albuquerque Zen Center, 2300 Garfield SE. If you would enjoy visiting over a cup of tea, please come at 4:30. Sangha formally begins at 5 pm.
Our sangha is beginning a two part discussion of breathing. This coming Sunday we will consider how we can use our breath and how to practice breathing meditation. In December we will explore Buddha’s Anapanasati Sutra, the Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing.
When we breathe mindfully, our breath connects us to our bodies; it becomes a refuge and returns us to the present moment. As Thich Nhat Hanh writes,
“Breathing in, I know I am breathing in.
Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.
Breathing in, I calm my body.
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling in the present moment,
I know this is the only moment.”
In our daily lives when we find ourselves feeling tense, angry or defensive, we can practice taking three mindful breaths:
With the first breath, we pause.
With the second breath, we reconnect our mind
and body in the present.
With the third breath, we relax and smile.
Enjoy your breathing.
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After dharma sharing, we will have a brief organizational meeting to think about topics for our 2020 Sangha meetings as well as goals for our sangha. We also have an upcoming holiday potluck (December 8th) and a springtime Day of Mindfulness planned.
Dear Sangha
Please join us this coming Monday when we are fortunate to have Myra and Bee lead as we celebrate Earth Day 2018. We have a deep connection to our Mother Earth – we totally interare with the earth, yet as we look around us we are doing a good job of destroying those things we should be preserving. We are, for the most part, not leaving sustainable lives, we are not protecting wild places, and not moving toward renewable energy sources as fast as we should. We have a wasteful, throw-away culture. As Thay says, “The bells of mindfulness are calling out to us, trying to wake us up, reminding us to look deeply at our impact on the planet.” Please see https://earthholder.org/personal-commitment/ for the Earth Holder Personal Commitment form or download a PDF version. Please make your own copy if you need one. Continue reading
Dear Sangha,
We hope you can join Jon and I this coming Monday when we will take a look at the Heart Sutra or as Thay translates it, The Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore. If you can find it, look for The Other Shore-A New Translation of the Heart Sutra With Commentaries by T.N.H. (Parallax-Palm Leaves Press, 2017). This book goes into great detail explaining the Heart Sutra and about the problems with the old translation. As you know, the old translation was very confusing and raised many questions. We will look at some of this. This is a very important sutra recited in monasteries and sanghas around the world and a very misunderstood sutra. Continue reading
