Monday, March 9, 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, March 9, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, March 11, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, March 13, 12-1PM ET online/in person (Hybrid).
Camille will facilitate on Monday evening. Camille shares:
My mother passed away four weeks ago. She was almost 96 and had been declining for a couple of years. Although she had become sick and weak, I was still not prepared for her to pass. She was a most compassionate, beautiful, loving, and kind soul and a beloved mother, wife, grandmother, great-grandmother, teacher, and friend to all.
I have been holding a lot of sadness and grief and loneliness as I miss my mother deeply, and at the same time have been generously nourished by friends, family, and sangha. I am so thankful for that. I am grateful for our teacher Thay and our practice of mindfulness, as I have found much peace, wisdom, and solace during these challenging times. When Thay shares about our continuation, I can remember that my mom is still alive in me and in all those around me. She had a profound influence on me and my ten siblings, and she will not be lost. Her laughter and silly jokes, her yummy food, and green thumb can be found in all of us.
On Monday night, I will share a video that was helpful to me: Is there a way to deal with the loss of a beloved one?
In the video, Thay shares that our thoughts, speech, and actions in our everyday life are our continuation and that it is not just the body but also outside the body where we see our continuation. Like a cloud that is beautiful as a cloud, and then takes on another form when it becomes rain, both can be beautiful. I like to think my beloved mother is like the cloud–still beautiful but in another form. She is still available to me in the here and now, and I can cherish what is available to me in this present moment by looking at my family, knowing that my mother is in them. That makes me so happy. Thay shares that our ancestors are still alive in every cell of our bodies. When I breathe in, I am breathing in with my mom and her mom and her mom and so on.
There is a song that I listen to on the Plum Village app that has really resonated with me. It is sung by the Plum Village monk Brother Bao Tang (Treasure), and I share the words below:
My Mother, my father, they are in me and when I look I see myself in them. The Buddha, the Patriarchs, they are in me and when I look I see myself in them. I am a continuation of my mother and my father. I am a continuation of all my blood ancestors, it is my aspiration to preserve and continue to nourish seeds of goodness, seeds of skill, seeds of happiness which I have inherited. It’s also my desire to recognize the seeds of fear and suffering I have inherited and bit by bit to transform them.. I am a continuation of the Buddha and the teachers. I am a continuation of all my spiritual teachers. It is my deep aspiration to preserve, develop and nourish seeds of understanding, seeds of love, seeds of freedom which they have transmitted to me. In my daily life I also want to sow seeds of love and compassion in my own consciousness and in the hearts of other people. I am determined not to water the seeds of craving aversion and violence in me, or in others. With resolve and with compassion I give rise to these aspirations. May my practice be an offering of the heart.
I vow to continue to water seeds of happiness and love that I have inherited from my mother, to recognize the seeds of fear and suffering that I have also inherited from my mom and all my ancestors, and to work to transform them.
I hope you enjoy these words from the song by Brother Bao Tang and also the short video of Thay’s.
Some thoughts to consider:
-How do we deal with or remember the loss of a beloved one?
-How might our practice help us cherish, love, and sow wholesome seeds from our ancestors and not water the unwholesome seeds?
-How do we cherish and treasure those beloved ones that are still living and available to us?
We would be happy to hear from you on this topic or anything else that is important or alive in you. May we and all our ancestors and descendants be happy, well, peaceful, safe, and free from suffering.
I look forward to seeing you in person on Monday night.
In love and light,
Camille
PS
In honor of my mother, I wrote a short poem I wanted to share, inspired by Thay’s “Call Me By My True Names,” as he shares how we are in everyone and everyone is in us.
Mom, you are like a busy bee sharing sweet nectar
To nurture and sweeten all of those around you.
And you are the strength of a thousand busy bees
Creating a safe nest for all of us.
You teach us to laugh and cry and to fear and hope
So that our hearts are always open.
You are a mother to all that walk in our doors,
Friends lingering never wanting to leave.
Because of you, we grow more love for one another
As we recognize you in each of us.
You have always been our guiding light and support
And we shine because of you.
Your endless love and open heart are always there for us
In good times and in challenging times.
Thanks for always being there when we needed you most.
We love you always and forever more.