Monday, December 15, we will meet in person.
Go to calendar for our schedule
Address for OHMC meditation space:
3812 Northampton St. NW, Washington DC 20015
Please arrive a few minutes early so we can invite the bell on time. You may also arrive 15 minutes early to practice working meditation by helping us set up cushions.
Dear friends,
This week, we will meet Monday evening, December 15, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, December 17, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, December 19, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).
Annie will facilitate on Monday evening. Annie shares:
Sometimes life can feel overwhelming and, for some of us, the holidays can ramp up our thinking and busyness. I would guess that we all have experienced times when we are so distracted that we forget to notice our life passing by.
Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) used to share a story about a time he stayed in a cabin in the woods. He went out for a walk, and while he was out a windy storm came up. Unfortunately, he had left the windows of his cabin open, and when he returned, his papers were everywhere. This is sometimes how our minds can feel: as though thoughts and feelings are blowing around inside, and it doesn’t feel like we can sort it all out.
As Thay’s story continues, he says that when he arrived back at his cabin, he immediately closed the doors and windows. He shut out the wind and rain and then he took the time he needed to reorganize his papers. In this way, he suggests that we learn how to close the doors and windows of our senses whenever we feel overwhelmed.
One way to do this is to sit or lie down, close our eyes, turn off any podcasts or music we are listening to, and come back to our breathing. Then we can start to put our inner world in order one breath at a time. We need to practice to become the true Queen (or King or Monarch) of our own inner world. Having sovereignty over our inner lives is the pathway to ease and joy in our lives, and Thay and the Buddha have given us many teachings to help us do just this.
The Buddha’s very last teaching to the sangha was on this subject. Thay tells the story of this teaching in a dharma talk called Being an Island:
When the Buddha was 80, one day he was very sick and he knew that he would not live much longer. He was in the vicinity of Vaishali, a city north of Ganges River. He spent his time visiting groups of his disciples around the cities and gave them short dharma talks, easy dharma talks recommending practices.
He said, “My dear friends, we should not take refuge in anything except in ourselves. There is an island, very safe, very peaceful within every one of us. And we should go back to ourselves and take refuge in that island. Don’t take refuge in anything else, in anyone else. Go home to yourself and take refuge in the island of self.” And the Buddha repeated that teaching in many short dharma talks.
Each of us can create this island of refuge inside by learning to let go of our non-stop thinking, and practicing to transform the emotional states that keep us caught and distracted.
This week, we will enjoy a guided meditation on coming back to our island. Together, touching our solidity breath by breath, we will recapture our throne as the King or Queen of our inner world. After our meditation period, we will have time to share our lives and our experiences with each other.
I am excited to get to be with you all.
With love,
Annie.