Monday, July 20, we will meet online.
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.
“When you address me as ‘Venerable Nhat Hanh,’ I answer, ‘Yes.’ When you call the name of a child who was raped, I also answer, ‘Yes.’ If you call the name of the pirate (who raped the child), I will also say, ‘Yes.’ Depending on when I was born and under which circumstances I grew up, I might have been the girl or I might have been the pirate… When I’m able to see that I am all those people, my hatred disappears, and I am determined to live in such a way that I can help the victims, and also help those who create and perpetuate war and destruction” (81) . “...You are there for me, and I am here for you; that is the teaching of interbeing.” (88).
In this increasingly divisive world, where we are inundated with news of the (often needless) suffering of so many and competition for our attention is constant, I sometimes find myself wanting to judge and react, forgetting that this only adds to the frenzy. Pausing and looking deeply to see and feel our interconnectedness can be a balm. But how can we remember when things feel fraught?
Thay answers this question for us: “The practice of mindfulness is like a boat, and by practicing mindfulness, you offer yourself a boat. As long as you continue to practice, as long as you stay in the boat, you will not sink or drown in the river of suffering...” (86).
He also answers it earlier in the chapter, when Thay wrote of his friendship with Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. and described how , when learning of Dr King’s assassination, Thay “...made a deep vow to continue building what he called ‘the beloved community” (73). Reading these words, I feel such gratitude to both Dr. King and dear Thay for all that they have done to build a “beloved community.”
I look forward to practicing together and to learning which aspects of the chapter resonated for you.
With a warm bow,
Marie