JOIN US for in person sangha
MONDAY July 14, 7:00pm - 8:30pm EDT
Annie will facilitate
Meditation schedule
Upcoming events
Love is the Strongest Force
We’re honored to share that Dharma Teacher Annie Mahon’s article, Love is the Strongest Force, has been published on the Plum Village website.
Written at the start of the current administration, the piece explores how fierce compassion—rooted in mindfulness, community, and the Four Noble Truths—can help us respond to injustice and suffering without turning away from love. Annie reflects on how practicing boundless care allows us to transform both personal and collective pain, and to build sustainable communities that truly care for all.
OHMC Annual Book & Back-to-School Drive
OHMC invites you to participate once again in the Book & Back-To-School Drive to benefit the children served by Washington DC’s Community Family Life Services (CFLS). This is the fourth year that OHMC is participating in this project, serving approximately 25 children annually.
This year’s drive—taking place between June 22 and July 28—will help prepare students for the upcoming 2025–2026 school year starting in September.
Whether you donate a gently used book, purchase from the school supply registry, or send a gift card, your offering helps kids begin the school year with the tools they need.
We are all one
We recognize the struggles of immigrants because many, though not all, of us have experienced immigration, arriving in this country ourselves or our ancestors arriving before us. We also stand in solidarity with members of the LGBTQ+ community who experience discrimination and hardship.
To offer support, we warmly invite you to review the information and links we provided.
Organizations we support
Support VOLAR (Village of Love and Resistance)
VOLAR’s mission is to co-create a cooperative community in East Baltimore owned by Black and Brown people … built through the reclamation of land, healing, reconnecting and building a base of community power.
Learn how VOLAR has evolved and where it is going — and how you can be a part of this incredible initiative.
LEARN MORE
Engaged Buddhism / Deep Listening to our Differences
by Annie Mahon
In this article we explore the transformative art of deep listening while door knocking in the lead up to the US election from Annie Mahon, an engaged practitioner and Dharma teacher in The Plum Village Tradition.
New book release from friend of our sangha, Magda Cabrero:
WALKING ON EARTH WITH THICH NHAT HANH: My Experiences with Silence & The Sanctuaries & Kindred Spirits I Found in Many Places
by Dr. Magda De La Paz Cabrero
First Mindfulness Bell article in Spanish:
Inhabiting Interbeing / Habitando el Interser
We're so excited The Mindfulness Bell has published their first article in Spanish!
All are invited to join our community
Mindfulness is being here now, with kindness and open hearted curiosity.
The Opening Heart Mindfulness Community is open to everyone and meets to practice sitting and walking meditation and discuss mindfulness-related topics every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Circle Yoga. We practice together in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
No previous mindfulness or meditation experience necessary.
No registration is required, and there is no fee to attend. Donations are joyfully accepted to support this and other similar programs Sitting meditation can be done on the floor or in a chair.
In consideration of those who have chemical sensitivities, we ask that you do not wear any fragrances (including essential oils) while attending Opening Heart meditation events.
Making-Visible
The Opening Heart Mindfulness Community created this special sangha to build awareness on the issues of social injustice facing our country and the world today.
Dear friends,
This week, we will meet Monday evening, July 14, from 7-8:30PM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, July 16, from 7-8AM EDT online; and Friday, July 18, from 12-1PM EDT in person / online (hybrid).
On Monday evening, Annie will facilitate and we will continue our reflections on Thay’s teaching in his book, The Art of Power. This week we will focus on Chapters 4 (Getting What We Really Want) and 5 (The Secret of Happiness), pages 65-97.
In Chapter 4, Thay writes:
Right or wrong action can be determined by using the single criterion of suffering or nonsuffering. Whatever causes suffering in the present or the future, for ourselves and people around us, is the wrong thing to do. What brings well-being in the present and the future is the right thing. The criterion is clear…
That is why, to be happy, to be a real bodhisattva, we need to take some time each day to sit down, look into ourselves and identify the kind of energy that’s motivating us and where it is pushing us. Are we being pushed into the direction of suffering and despair? If so, we must release this intention and find a more wholesome source of energy. Our volition should be bodhicitta, the mind of love, the intention to love and serve.