This Monday evening, we will meet in person at our meditation space at 3812 Northampton St NW DC 20015 from 7-8:30 PM. Camille will facilitate the evening. 

If you are following along with the summer reading book (Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet by Thich Nhat Hanh) this week we are reading pages 79 to 92. You do not have to read the book to join our Monday evening meditations or conversations.

A paragraph from this week's reading:

"In our time of globalization, harmony will be impossible without some kind of shared values or global ethic. The "Five Mindfulness Trainings" are five short paragraphs that express a Buddhist contribution to a global spirituality and ethic.  They propose a spiritual practice that can bring about true happiness and true love, protect life, restore communication, and bring about the healing of the planet and of every one of us on Earth. They are a way out of this difficult situation in the world. The insights of no-self and interbeing are a firm foundation from which you can change your life and behavior.  From these insights, right action - for your own well-being and the wellbeing of our planet - will naturally flow.  Following the path of the Five Mindfulness Trainings, you can already set off on the path of transformation and healing and you can become a bodhisattva, helping to protect the beauties of diverse cultures and helping to save the planet."

On each Monday night this summer, we will read a section of one of Thich Nhat Hanh’s books, which will serve as our meditation and dharma sharing topic for the evening. The book is Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet and this Monday we will start with pages 1. - 37.

We will read the Five Mindfulness Trainings together and focus our dharma conversation on the Third Mindfulness Training, specifically one of the additions to this training that were finalized in 2022:

Recognizing the diversity of human experience, I am committed not to discriminate against any form of gender identity or sexual orientation.

These changes to the Third Mindfulness Training came about as a result of input from the worldwide sangha, especially the LGBTQIA+ community and allies. The new text helps us become more aware of our discriminating/fearful mind and sets an intention not to discriminate based on forms of gender identity or sexual orientation.

I recently purchased the Shambala little book called “The Pocket Thich Nhat Hahn,” which literally fits in your pocket. I was thumbing through the little gems in the book which cover a wide variety of Thay’s teachings and insights.  Two of them, not directly related, really spoke to me, particularly at this time.  One was about recognizing and addressing our “habit energy;”  the other was about the need to rest. The connection for me was a powerful one.

Near the end of his life, the Buddha spoke about being an island unto ourselves. Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) often refers to this island as a place of refuge inside of ourselves. There’s even a Plum Village practice song called The Island WIthin:

Breathing in, I go back to the island within myself.

There are beautiful trees within the island,

There are clear streams of water, 

There are birds, sunshine, and fresh air.

Breathing out, I feel safe.

I enjoy going back to my island.

This week will welcome folks who are new to us at 6:15 and offer some guidance on the flow of the evening.

Dear Thay, dear friends,

On Monday we will practice together and then read and explore our experience with the Five Remembrances, a verse recited regularly by Buddhists all over the world:

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.

This Monday evening, we will read the Five Mindfulness trainings and focus on True Happiness- the second Mindfulness Training

There is so much I can learn from this training, True Happiness. I read and practice this training over and over and I still find bits of understanding and wisdom that I have missed. 

In Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay)’s book Happiness, Thay says, “Happiness is not something to seek out, but instead something to relax into.” 

We can cultivate happiness in each moment. I often find that I can touch happiness when I am resourcing myself in nature. In moments when I am stressed, feeling tense, and not able to concentrate, I can often find happiness in taking a walk, watching and listening to the birds, enjoying all the colors in nature, and gardening. All of these activities help me to center, calm, and find peace. And yet when I go home and back to the challenges in my life, I am often back where I started - stressed, tense, and agitated. 

Dear Friends,

This Monday is a special week as we will be welcoming monastic dharma teachers to our practice period. We will meet in person at the OHMC meditation space at 3812 Northampton Street NW AND we will offer a hybrid option this week for those who aren’t able to attend in person. Link to register for the online practice in full write up here.

On Monday evening we will welcome either one or two monastic dharma teachers:   Sister Hein Nghiem (Sister True Dedication) and possibly Brother Phap Huu. 

Our evening will flow as usual with sitting meditation and walking meditation and then we will open the floor to hear from the monastics. If there is time, we will open to dharma questions and sharings from the sangha. The evening will unfold naturally.

Hearing from monastic dharma teachers is a rare and precious opportunity to be in the company of people who have given their lives to the practice and have studied and practiced for many years with Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay). We can learn from their words and from their whole being. 

This week our subject of focus will be on creativity.

I thought for this evening we would take a slightly different topic for discussion, that of creativity. Creativity is a long time interest area of mine, and one I have returned to in recent months. Some of the more interesting books I have recently read have explored the more esoteric aspects of creativity and touch upon practices aligned to our mindfulness practice. 

Buddhism emphasizes the cultivation of a clear and focused mind through mindfulness and meditation. This can allow for creative insights and expressions to arise spontaneously, without attachment to ego or external validation. In Zen, creative expression is seen as a way to embody the present moment and express one's true nature. Creativity may also require dedication and persistence, as exemplified by authors who set daily word targets and do not leave their desks until they are reached.

On Monday night our sangha will honor Earth Day (April 22). The Chesapeake Earth Holder Community will join our practice. Magda will facilitate and lead us through the Five Earth Touchings, a guided meditation to contemplate what has been transmitted to us by our blood and spiritual ancestors. Participants will be able to practice in their chair if they prefer.  

“All of us have to become buddhas in order for our planet to have a chance”. Thich Nhat Hanh, Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, p. 5

Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) asks us to follow the example of Dharanimdara, a Bodhisattva he describes as “the one who holds the Earth.” Thay declares that Earth holders are needed in these times; that all those who have that source of strength in themselves need to find one another to turn this century into one of spirituality and collective awakening. Earth holders, he says, should meditate together, creating communities of resistance that promote interbeing with the Earth. Today we have invited the Chesapeake Earth Holder Community, of which I have recently become a member, to join our practice.

This Monday evening, we will have the opportunity to read the Five Mindfulness Trainings* together. 

This week we will focus our discussion on the first training, Reverence for Life: 

Reverence For Life

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance, which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, non-discrimination, and non-attachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world.

In this training Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), reminds us that our anger is not a small thing. Our anger, often born of dualistic and discriminative thinking, can lead to causing harm, even killing if we don’t know how to transform it. Even if we don’t kill anyone, our anger can cause us to suffer quite a bit, cause others to suffer, and cause families and communities to break. Our dualistic thinking can often manifest as thinking we are right/good and the other party is wrong/bad.

In the 12-step program I belong to, we have a practice of writing down the people and institutions we are angry at or have resentment toward.

Please join us as we contemplate the question: Who am I? 

Some may read this, and say ‘yes, I ask myself that question periodically,’ or ‘I know exactly who I am. Next!’

Thich Nhat Hanh writes: 

When you ask the question, “Who am I?”—if you have enough time and concentration—you may find some surprising answers. You may see that you are a continuation of your ancestors. Your parents and your ancestors are fully present in every cell of your body; you are their continuation. You don’t have a separate self. If you remove your ancestors and your parents from you, there’s no “you” left.

In thinking about this week's gathering, I wanted to build on the inspirational and thought-provoking discussions we've had in the last few weeks.

We have been focusing on the concept of "beginning again" and renewal; about intention and awareness, and  about our habit energies. These made me think about something I rarely focus on or prioritize in my life:  allowing and fostering stillness and space.  

This means prioritizing time to give myself stillness, shedding the daily worries, responsibilities and "to do" lists. Creating space to just be or even space to do something that gives me ease and pleasure.

As I reflected on this, I realized that, at least for me, stillness and space are not necessarily the same as sitting on my cushion as I do for a little bit every morning.  I'm not sure I even know how to create stillness and space in my life, though I'm sure I really need it.  

Fear can arise from worry, sadness of losing loved ones, fear that can arise when we hold on to the past and fear of what could happen in the future, fear of not being good enough or not being accepted and feeling excluded, fear of ill health and staying safe, and fear of conflict.  

I have experienced all of these and more. At times I hold on to these fears unskillfully and then the feelings consume my whole being causing me to lose myself in body and mind. I can lose the ability to find ease or peace.  My fears can unintentionally have a ripple effect on those I love, causing them harm. 

This Monday evening, February 27,  Annie will facilitate and we will meet in person at our meditation space at 3812 Northampton Street NW DC. 

We will read together the Five Mindfulness Trainings (full text below.) 

“When someone asks, ‘Do you care? Do you care about me? Do you care about life? Do you care about the Earth?’, the best way to answer is to practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings. This is to teach with your actions and not just with words. If you really care, please practice these mindfulness trainings for your own protection and for the protection of other people and species. If we do our best to practice, a future will be possible for us, our children, and their children.”  — From “For A Future To Be Possible” by Thich Nhat Hanh

This week we will focus our attention on the Fifth Mindfulness Training: Nourishment and Healing which includes this line:

I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins. 

During a recent OHMC conversation, someone asked this question, one I have heard many times on retreats and during dharma sharings: 

Do we really need to give up drinking alcohol if we want to follow this path?

This week we will have the chance to explore this question together.

Dear Thay, dear sangha,

This week, we’ll continue with Ellen’s theme of attention and intention.  Specifically, we invite you to notice those moments when you don’t follow through on an intention, are inattentive and/or are reactive in ways that you later regret. And once you have noticed, what happens next?

In the section on Habit Energy from The Pocket Thich Nhat Hanh, Thay writes: Our habit energies are often stronger than our volition (intention). We need the energy of mindfulness to be present with our habit energies in order to stop the course of destruction. With mindfulness we have the capacity to recognize the habit energy every time it manifests. "Hello my little habit energy, I know you are there."

Rachel shares:  When I first sat down to write this I was not present. My focus was on everything except writing: Am I comfortable in my seat? Is my phone ringer off? I’m enjoying the sounds of airplanes around me. Let me clean my glasses first… I realized that all these distractions tend to turn up when I'm not in a space of mindfulness.

Over the last few weeks I've been living mostly in a space of non-mindfulness. Being "too busy" for consistent practice perpetuated more impatience and irritation, and eventually I found myself in a rut that became difficult to come out of.