Hello Sangha Friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, July 27, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, July 29, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, July 31, 12-1PM ET online.

This week, Ellen will guide our meditation. Ellen shares:

This Monday we’ll gather in person to read and discuss the Second Mindfulness Training, “True Happiness” (full text below). It’s a very inspirational teaching – one that seems so simple, and yet is so deep and complex.

I thought it would be interesting to connect this training to Thay’s book we are reading this summer At Home in the World.  It was wonderful to find so many little gems included in a number of the short pieces that reference happiness.  Here are a few (which you can read to get the full context for these excerpts):

“Sleeping in sleeping bags on planks of wood did not prevent us from being happy.”  (Enjoy Your Sleeping Bag)

“Usually, it only takes a few minutes to drink a cup of tea, but in taking time to be truly present for one another like this, we nourish mutual understanding and happiness.” (Lotus Tea)

“But raking these leaves is not simply to have a clear path to jog or walk along; raking leaves is just to enjoy raking leaves.  So I hold the rake in such a way that makes me feel happy, peaceful, and solid during the whole time of raking.”  (Raking Leaves)

“Don’t miss the opportunities you have to sit down, without having to worry or think about doing anything.  Lay down your burdens, your worries and projects.  Just sit and feel that you are alive.  Sit with your son, your daughter, your partner, your friend.  That’s enough to be happy.”  (A Palm tree in My Garden)

Dear Friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, July 20, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, July 22, from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, July 24, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday evening, Marie will guide our meditation. She shares:

      This week we will focus on the second half of the chapter “War and Exile” in the book At Home in the World, by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), where the themes of practice, interbeing and engaged mindfulness shine brightly. Several quotes from these pages feel fresh and resonate deeply, strengthening my commitment to practicing – full stop. I will share some of them here, and I look forward to learning what feels meaningful to you.

“Many things can be taken from us, but no one can ever steal our determination or our freedom. No one can ever steal our practice” (74). This feels like a rallying call and motivates me to see past the parts of me that sometimes feel sorry for myself and want to give up. I can practice with them, bringing compassion and understanding, as opposed to allowing myself to be captured by them, getting caught in wrong perceptions and feeling powerless.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, July 13, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, July 15, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, July 17, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

This week, Annie will guide our meditation. She shares:

For this week, we will focus on the first half of the chapter “War and Exile” in the book At Home in the World, by Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay). 

In this chapter, we read about some of Thay’s experiences living in Vietnam during the war with the French and then the American Vietnam War. He starts the chapter writing about his meeting with two different soldiers. In the first meeting, he starts to realize that the French (and later the American) soldiers were also victims of the war. They were all young men who didn’t know whether they would ever make it home to their families. He writes:

With this insight, I no longer had any anger toward the young soldier. Instead compassion for him arose within me, and I only wished him well. 

He also saw how the war itself turned the soldiers into his enemies, and how this is the nature of war. 

Under different circumstances, we could have become close friends, maybe even loving each other as brothers.

Dear Friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, July 6, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, July 8, from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, July 10, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday, our evening meditation will be facilitated by Magda. We will continue our Monday evening summer reading of Thich Nhat Hanh’s At Home in the World. Our discussion will focus on the second chapter, Life in Vietnam, with special emphasis on the story of the Hermit and the Well, summarized below. Read on for Magda’s reflections on this story. 

In The Hermit and the Well, Thầy recalls searching for a hermit in the mountains as a child. Unable to find him, he instead discovered a beautiful natural well where he rested and fell asleep. Though the hermit was absent, the solitude and intimacy with nature allowed him to experience the hermit’s presence in another form. When friends later asked about the journey, he chose silence.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, June 29, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, July 1, from 7-8AM ET online; Thursday morning, July 2, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, July 3, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

This week, Camille will guide our meditation. She shares:

Welcome to our Monday evening sangha. As you may know, we are beginning our Monday evening summer reading of Thich Nhat Hanh’s book At Home in the World. Tonight, we will begin our discussion with the introduction and will continue discussions on the book through August 31. Feel free to read along with the book this summer if you have it, or if not, please just come and enjoy as we share aspects of this lovely book full of “lessons on compassion, love, endurance, and resilience.”

In the introduction of the book, Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) talks about his being exiled from his native country, Vietnam. At first, he shares that his exile was very hard. His first couple of years, he spent traveling to different countries and lecturing on the practice of Buddhism, and yet he felt he had not really arrived. He had not found his “true home.” He would dream at night about his beloved Vietnam and wake, never really remembering where he was. He was not living in the here and now.

As time went on, Thay became active working with children and spiritual leaders of different countries and began to appreciate the natural environment that was quite different from Vietnam. His practice eventually brought him back to his true home in the here and now. He stopped suffering and learned to live joyfully in the present moment.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, June 22, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, June 24 from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, June 26, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday, Rachel H. will facilitate. She shares:

In early June, my students took one of their many annual standardized assessments. I am not a fan of these tests, and I do not bring an open heart to my thinking about them. As I was reading over a student’s shoulder, I was alarmed to see a question about triangle classification that had two correct answers. We had done a lesson on the topic the day before, and I felt like a real expert. 

I took a picture and contacted the assistant principal, and we were about to contact the central office, when he looked at the question one more time and saw the triangle’s angles differently. I was wrong! My first response was to keep arguing (inside my head), but I finally let go and laughed at my attachment to that imagined mistake. 

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, June 15, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, June 17, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, June 19, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

This week, Ellen will guide our meditation. She shares:

These are hard days and times. Stress feels like  the common denominator, and I find it hard to see and feel the joy and happiness that is available to us. Our teacher, Thay, has written extensively on ways mindfulness can show us the joy that’s there in front of us, and how to find that joy through mindfulness. This is different from the peace and serenity that we know mindfulness can bring with practice.

I was looking at various videos of and writings by Thay on this topic of joy. He makes it seem so easy and obvious though for me, and perhaps others, that’s not the case. But what better time to focus on how we can touch joy and happiness and how mindfulness helps us do that than now?

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, June 8, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, June 10 from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, June 12, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday, Susie will facilitate. She shares:

As I continue my meditation practice, I’m reminded again and again that it will always be just that — practice. I will always be a student. I don’t expect to ever say I’m “good” at meditation or give myself an A. Instead, I try to meet myself with forgiveness, non‑judgment, tolerance, acceptance, and love as I simply breathe in and breathe out.

 When I sit with this truth, I find myself reflecting on relating — our mindfulness practice of interbeing. Being with others, and recognizing that we inter‑are, naturally brings me back to how I relate not only to those around me, but to myself.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, June 1, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, June 3, from 7-8AM ET online; Thursday morning, June 4, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, June 5, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

This week, Annie will guide our meditation and Suzanne will offer her reflections on Planting Seeds of Mindfulness.

Like many in a busy, modern world, I suffer from “monkey mind,” and its unhelpful cousin, rumination. Either my mind jumps from one topic to another like a monkey swinging through the trees, or it dwells on some past injury or an uncertain future. In the hope that reinvigorating a lapsed regular meditation practice would support more mindfulness, I turned to Thich Nhat Hanh’s (Thay) classic book The Miracle of Mindfulness for inspiration and instruction. It delivers motivation for those days when it is hard to find time or when the process of concentrating on the breath seems impossible.

Thay teaches us that mindfulness and living in the present moment throughout the day is the antidote to the suffering caused by these common mental habits:

Mindfulness is like that–it is the miracle which can call back in a flash our dispersed mind and restore it to wholeness so that we can live each minute of life.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, May 25, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, May 27, from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, May 29, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday, Annie will facilitate. We will practice Touching the Earth, a practice to deepen awareness of our interbeing nature. 

I’ve been reflecting on the moment we are in - personally, culturally and politically - and I'm seeing that one of the things that most divides us is when we forget our interbeing nature - we are all in this together -  and believe instead that we are separate individuals. 

When we slip into believing we are separate, we create enemies that we then blame and target. In the moments when we remember and recognize our interbeing, we naturally want to protect life and care for everyone; we see that no one is outside of the whole. The Buddha and Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) often taught about the interdependent nature of all beings. When we calm our bodies and minds and look deeply, we are able to see that we are not disconnected. There is no way for us to live apart from the rest of life. 

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, May 18, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, May 20, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, May 22, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

On Monday, our evening meditation will be facilitated by Ellen. Ellen shares:

Greetings. This Monday we’ll read and discuss the Fifth Mindfulness Training: Nourishment and Healing.

I have often found this particular training to be so full, so deep, and honestly, so overwhelming. There’s so much spirit, wisdom, and guidance here that it’s hard for me to know where to begin with trying to actualize this for my daily living. That’s a good problem to have!

Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay)’s focus here is on consumption: what we consume and how, taking great care to avoid harmful things; about not letting ourselves be consumed by the negative seeds of regret and sorrow; and how we must not consume to avoid our pain. All profound teachings.

Dear Thay, dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, May 11, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, May 13, from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, May 15, 12-1PM ET online.

Our evening meditation will be facilitated by Marie. She shares:

On Monday, we will practice together, recite the Five Remembrances, and then share our experience and/or responses to them. The Remembrances originate from the Buddha’s teachings on impermanence, and Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) encouraged us to recite them regularly as a way to transform fear into acceptance and appreciation of life.  

The Five Remembrances:

I am of the nature to grow old. There is no way to escape growing old.

I am of the nature to have ill-health. There is no way to escape having ill-health.

I am of the nature to die. There is no way to escape death.

All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. There is no way to escape being separated from them.

I inherit the results of my actions of body, speech, and mind. My actions are my continuation.

Ironically, I had forgotten about the Five Remembrances until recently. 

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, May 4, from 7-8:30PM ET online/in person (Hybrid); Wednesday morning, May 6, from 7-8AM ET online; Thursday morning, May 7, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, May 8, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

On Monday, May 4, we will meet in person and online to practice together and to hold our sangha’s annual meeting. If you can join in person, we will have tea, snacks, and socializing from 6:30 to 6:55. If you are joining online, we will begin at 7:00. 

The OHMC sangha, or community, gathers on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We gather for retreats and half-days of mindfulness. We gather for potlucks, tea, walks, and apple picking. As one of the three jewels, sangha brings us together to support each other, to grow together, and to practice Thay’s teachings. 

I am happy to have this chance to pause and consider Opening Heart as a community that we create together. My face-to-face interactions happen mostly on Monday evenings, on Northampton Street, but the sangha is with me when I consider how to help my students explore decimals, or how to talk to my daughter when she frets about the AP tests coming up, or when I take a moment to see that the sky is a glory of clouds and color. I delight in imagining the ripples we all make in the world as members of the Opening Heart community. 

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, April 27, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, April 29, from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, May 1, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday, our evening meditation will be facilitated by Camille. Camille shares:

Community has always been important to me as it has given me a sense of belonging, support, and purpose, especially in moments when I have needed it most. Coming from a large family, I have always been drawn to communities,  whether that means starting new communities or joining existing communities. My work community, volunteer community, and neighborhood community are a big part of my life. All have helped shape my values, helped me grow, and made challenges easier to face. 

Being part of my sangha community has included all of that and has given me a greater sense of being understood. It reminds me that I am not navigating things alone. I feel lifted up like I truly matter. I am not just receiving in sangha, but I can show up for others as well. There is space for us to show up for each other. We inter-are, as our teacher Thay would say. Being in sangha has been about contributing, listening, and building something together that supports all of us. I value this space where folks show up with compassion and kindness.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, April 20, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, April 22, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, April 24, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

On Monday, our evening meditation will be facilitated by Annie. Annie shares:

I am so grateful for the Dharma and the ways that Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) has offered it to us. During these days of the many crises facing our country and the world (often referred to as the polycrisis), I need the support of the Dharma to help me stay grounded and make sense of it.

Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) spoke often of the insight of interbeing. He often used the metaphor of a flower to describe it:

“When we contemplate a flower like this, we see the flower is full of everything: the cloud, the sunshine, the Earth, time, space, the gardener—everything has come together to help the flower to manifest. Why do we say it is empty? It is empty of only one thing: a separate existence…”

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, April 13, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, April 15, from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, April 17, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday night, Christopher and Sunil from Wake Up DC will facilitate alongside Magda. The Engaged Mindfulness Circle has invited them as a continuation of the Cartas de Paz Project with Casa de Paz Colorado—a letter-writing initiative to support individuals detained by ICE that began on April 4 and will continue on May 2. Christopher and Sunil will guide a session exploring the role of Wake Up DC through a lens of compassion and interbeing, inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s teachings and legacy. 

“The soul is healed by being with children.”

-Fyodor Dostoyevsky

“Every child begins the world again.”

-Henry David Thoreau

At a recent art exhibition I participated in at Cedar Lane Unitarian Universalist Congregation, I noticed a little girl speaking with Mary Smith from our sangha as they stood before my illustration, The Gifts for Little Girls. The piece is intricate, filled with many elements—including twelve girls—yet the child’s attention rested on a single small figure: a girl sitting quietly beneath Bodhisattva Quan Âm, meditating and receiving a dove from Avalokiteshvara. The moment quietly filled me with hope. I found myself imagining future generations receiving an education rooted in interbeing and the Wake Up spirit—children growing up in mindfulness and deep awareness.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, April 6, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, April 8, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, April 10, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

On Monday, our evening meditation will be facilitated by Camille. Camille shares:

In these challenging times, where we want to take actions to help those who are suffering and raise awareness of inequities in the world, we also need to take time to rest. 

In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War and a time of social injustice, our teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and other activists knew they had to go out and help. In his book Creating True Peace, Thay wrote they “would become exhausted if we did these things without nurturing our spirit.” He believed that rest is essential.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, March 30, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, April 1, from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Thursday morning, April 2, from 7-8AM ET online, and Friday, April 3, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday, our evening meditation will be facilitated by Ellen. Ellen shares:

Lately, I’ve been acutely aware of the powerful expectations I’ve created for myself for many years. This has built decades of pressureful “shoulds” that I have felt and strived to achieve but often fell short. I should look at things differently; I should be more patient and not interrupt others; I should be kinder and more compassionate… You get the picture. Just “being” has not felt enough. 

Society has created a lot of expectations for many, especially in my experience for women and moms–particularly working moms. Mindfulness has brought me an awareness of this inner dynamic that brings both peace and some relief, along with a desire to find a way to use mindfulness and my breath to let go.

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, March 23, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, March 25, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, March 27, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).

Annie will facilitate on Monday evening. Annie shares:

This past weekend, I noticed I was behaving in a way that caused me to wonder if I might have some suppressed anger. I was surprised to hear myself telling a humorous story that showed some of the people in a quite unfavorable light. This is an old habit, one I thought I had transformed.

As soon as I sat with my feelings (after apologizing to the folks I was speaking to), I realized that the amount of terror, war, unfairness, and violence I have been taking in every day on the news had led to a buildup of anger and fear inside of me. I’ve been reaching for the news as a way to feel some sort of control over an uncontrollable world. And while we have never had control over the world, right now feels like a particularly worrisome moment for so many beings throughout the cosmos. 

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, March 16, from 7-8:30PM ET online; Wednesday morning, March 18, from 7-8AM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, March 20, 12-1PM ET online.

On Monday night, Magda will guide us through a meditation for healing our inner child and strengthening our connection with our ancestors. She will share her insights on the topic.

Thầy’s teachings help my inner child heal. They also bring healing to my relationship with my ancestors and allow my ancestors to heal through me.

I have noticed how much of the suffering we experience as children comes from our parents and their parents. During dharma sharing with my sangha and with my Plum Village retreat families, I often hear people lamenting their relationships with one or both parents. I have also heard monastics speak about similar difficulties. Often, however, they conclude their sharing by expressing how their meditation practice has helped transform and release that suffering. For instance, when Brother Pháp Dung spoke at the Huế retreat for the pilgrims who attended Thích Nhất Hạnh’s ashes ceremony, he shared how his practice helped him heal his anger toward his father.