Jan 30, 2014, the 5th Thursday

Dear Friends

This month, we get an extra Thursday to practice. On Jan 30, the fifth Thursday, we will be sitting, walking and drinking tea in meditation but we will also have some extra time for sharing. Please bring for sharing something that is precious to you or something that supports and nourishes your practice in some way…a poem, a story, a song, a picture, a rock.

Looking forward to practicing with you…

RESOLVE TO BEGIN – Waves and Water Sangha invites you to Saturday DMindfulness

Good afternoon dear friends!

This is a reminder concerning our Day of Mindfulness this Saturday from 9:45 to 3:00. We will explore our traditional practice of Beginning Anew with ourselves, families, friends, Sanghas, colleagues, neighbours. . . We will also look at the Lojong first slogan — RESOLVE TO BEGIN — with a commentary by Norman Fischer. It is very beautiful.

Please remember to bring a simple bag lunch.

Bethan

A few announcements…

NEW YEAR’S EVE
On December 31, Waves and Water Sangha will once again celebrate New Year’s Eve with Mountain Rain Zen Community. We will practice sitting and walking meditations as well as chanting and singing, ending with a series of bells at midnight to welcome 2014. Waves and Water Sangha will be offering the Metta Song. Words and music will soon be posted on the Waves and Water website (under Resources) so we could start practicing. The celebration continues between 7pm-midnight and you are welcome to come and leave as you wish.
Location : 2016 Wall Street, Vancouver : Map and directions here

DAY OF MINDFULNESS
Please join us for an exploration and celebration of BEGINNING ANEW on Saturday, January 11, 2014 from 10:00 to 3:00. We will focus on BEGINNING ANEW practice in ourselves, our families, communities, and the world.

GIVE THE GIFT OF DHARMA THIS HOLIDAY SEASON.
On Dec.14, Waves and Water Sangha, in partnership with Drishti Point Yoga Radio and the International Buddhist Film Festival Foundation, hosted a Film Screening of Peace Is Every Step, a feature documentary about Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village tradition. The cost of the Public Screening License included 25 Buddhist Film DVDs, many of which are still available. Please contact Farah Nazarali (farah@drishtipoint.ca) if you would like to buy Peace Is Every Step or to find out about other Dharma films available (including Kundun, Tulku, Lion’s Roar, Zen, Shugendo Now, Compassion in Exile). 1 DVD $25.00 2 DVDs $40.00

NEW HOME FOR MPC
Our sister Sangha, Mindfulness Practice Community of Vancouver, will be practicing at a new place, day and time in 2014. Starting Sunday January 5th, 2014, MPC will gather at Three Jewels Yoga (9 East Broadway, just west of Main) on Sundays 6:30 – 8:30pm. For more information, please visit the MPC website at: mindfulnessvancouver.org

December with Waves and Water Sangha

Dear Friends

You are invited to a special Day of Mindfulness with Waves and Water Sangha on Saturday DECEMBER 14. After our regular Day of Mindfulness, Drishti Point Yoga Radio will be presenting a film featuring our grandfather Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Sangha. PEACE IS EVERY STEP is a profound and touching film. It is a wonderful film for family and friends to better understand our practice. Please see our previous blog for more information on the film.

The Day of Mindfulness begins at 10:00 – Please arrive by 9:45 and bring a simple bag lunch – Tea will be available. For the Film, doors open at 1:00 pm. Please arrive by 1:15pm for 1:30 pm start.
Location : 2016 Wall Street, Vancouver Map and directions here .
* Donations accepted for Drishti Point expenses *

AS SEATING IS LIMITED, PLEASE RSVP (wwsangha[at]gmail.com) TO CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE! ALSO, DRISHTI POINT HAS A LIMITED NUMBER OF DVDs OF THE FILM PLUS A TALK BY THAY FOR SALE. CONTACT info@drishtipoint.ca TO RESERVE A COPY FOR YOURSELF OR FOR GIFT-GIVING!
Click hereto see the Trailer for the film

Please note that we will not be meeting on Thursday Dec 26. Our next gathering will be on Thursday January 6, 2014.

On December 31, Waves and Water Sangha will be joining Mountain Rain Zen Community in their New Year’s Eve Celebration. Beginning at 7pm, we will be practicing sitting and walking meditations as well as chanting and singing, ending with a series of bells at midnight to welcome 2014. There will be treats after midnight! All are invited. You are also welcome to come and go as needed between 7pm and midnight.

Location : 2016 Wall Street, Vancouver Map and directions here .

Wishing you all a peaceful holiday season,
Waves and Water Sangha

PEACE IS EVERY STEP film **DATE CHANGE** Saturday DECEMBER 14

Dear friends –

WE MUST RE-SCHEDULE THE DAY OF MINDFULNESS AND MOST WONDERFUL FILM SCHEDULED FOR NOVEMBER 9 TO DECEMBER 14. OUR APOLOGIES FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE. PLEASE RSVP TO CONFIRM YOUR ATTENDANCE! ALSO, DRISHTI POINT HAS A LIMITED NUMBER OF DVDs OF THE FILM PLUS A TALK BY THAY FOR SALE. CONTACT info@drishtipoint.ca IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RESERVE A COPY FOR YOURSELF OR FOR GIFT-GIVING!

On Saturday DECEMBER 14, during our regular Day of Mindfulness, join Drishti Point Yoga Radio and the Water and Waves Sangha for a film featuring our grandfather Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Sangha. PEACE IS EVERY STEP is a profound and touching film. It is a wonderful film for family and friends to better understand our practice.

The Day of Mindfulness begins at 10:00 – Please arrive by 9:45 and bring a simple bag lunch – Tea will be available. For the Film doors open at 1:00 pm, please arrive by 1:15pm for 1:30 pm start

2016 Wall Street, Map and directions here .
* Donations accepted for Drishti Point expenses *.
Copies of the DVD will be available for sale.

SEATING IS LIMITED! Please let us know immediately if you are planning to attend: wwsangha(at)gmail.com


Click hereto see the Trailer for the film

ABOUT THE FILM: Zen Buddhist Teacher, author and poet, Thich Nhat Hanh has had a profound impact on contemporary Buddhism and social action. His efforts to achieve an early peaceful end to the American war in Vietnam earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a forty year exile from his homeland. His ongoing work teaching reconciliation and meditation with war veterans, widows, orphans, refugees, therapists, activists, and ecumenical groups has gained him a large and respectful following around the world. This film was filmed on location in Plum Village, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and at various retreats around the US, and includes rare archival footage from Vietnam detailing the work of his School of Youth for Social Service in the 1960s.

PEACE IS EVERY STEP film on Saturday November 9

Dear friends –

On Saturday November 9, during our regular Day of Mindfulness, join Drishti Point Yoga Radio and the Water and Waves Sangha for a film featuring our grandfather Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Sangha. PEACE IS EVERY STEP is a profound and touching film. It is a wonderful film for family and friends to better understand our practice.

The Day of Mindfulness begins at 10:00 – Please arrive by 9:45 and bring a simple bag lunch – Tea will be available. For the Film doors open at 1:00 pm, please arrive by 1:15pm for 1:30 pm start

2016 Wall Street Location map here: http://wavesandwater.org/site/location/

* Donations accepted for Drishti Point expenses
* Copies of the DVD will be available for sale

SEATING IS LIMITED! Please let us know immediately if you are planning to attend: wwsangha(at)gmail.com

You can see the Trailer for the film here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dpyWD7y84ms
 
ABOUT THE FILM: Zen Buddhist Teacher, author and poet, Thich Nhat Hanh has had a profound impact on contemporary Buddhism and social action. His efforts to achieve an early peaceful end to the American war in Vietnam earned him a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a forty year exile from his homeland. His ongoing work teaching reconciliation and meditation with war veterans, widows, orphans, refugees, therapists, activists, and ecumenical groups has gained him a large and respectful following around the world. This film was filmed on location in Plum Village, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and at various retreats around the US, and includes rare archival footage from Vietnam detailing the work of his School of Youth for Social Service in the 1960s.

Day of Mindfulness date correction – November 9

My apologies for the e-mail flurry – the November date was incorrect

NOVEMBER9: PEACE IS EVERY STEP (VIDEO)
We will practice in the morning as above and beginning at 1:00 we will watch the Plum Village video “Peace is every step” which talks about the deep roots of our tradition – including Thay and Sr Chan Khong as young adults and their journey together as the Sangha grows. The video (approximately 2 hours) will be followed by Dharma discussion. Please register for this day by replying to wwsangha[at]gmail.com

Days of Mindfulness October and November

Good afternoon!

Waves and Water Sangha will host regular Days of Mindfulness in October and November. Please see the information below for updated information. Everyone interested in the engaged Buddhist tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh is welcome. Please see our website for more information: www.wavesandwater.org

OCTOBER 12: WATERING SEEDS OF JOY
We will settle at 9:45 and begin with sitting and walking meditation, followed by a Sutra service and a formal silent meal (please bring a bag lunch). In the afternoon we will study and learn the practice song WATERING SEEDS OF JOY (words and music available by clicking the RESOURCES menu on the website). The Day of Mindfulness will end at 4:00. Danna of $10-$20 is appreciated but no one is turned away for lack of funds.

NOVEMBER12: PEACE IS EVERY STEP (VIDEO)
We will practice in the morning as above and beginning at 1:00 we will watch the Plum Village video “Peace is every step” which talks about the deep roots of our tradition – including Thay and Sr Chan Khong as young adults and their journey together as the Sangha grows. The video (approximately 2 hours) will be followed by Dharma discussion. Please register for this day by replying to wwsangha[at]gmail.com

Waves and Water Sangha – Fall program

As we move into the fall season at Waves and Water Sangha we continue with our Thursday evening practice and our Days of Mindfulness on the second Saturday of the month. We welcome old friends, new friends and those who walk together steadily on the path.

This week we begin a new program – one focused on the Paramita teachings that support us as we “cross over to the other shore” – the shore of well-being. This is a powerful choice – one that can be difficult to sustain alone without a raft! The teachings are the raft and the Sangha is our support. Together, we support not only ourselves and each other. We support our families, workplaces, communities and the world.

THIS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12 we begin our program of practice. The first paramita, allows us to explore our attachment, aversion and indifference towards the very many different opportunities we have to offer GENEROSITY. We will begin to investigate both our reactions and our responses to opportunities of offering time, energy and material resources as well as a generosity of spirit. Each four weeks, we will begin to explore another of the six Paramitas, grounding our practice and our ways of making sense of our lives individually and as a community.

THIS SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 14 IS A DAY OF MINDFULNESS. Beginning at 9:45 and ending at 3:00 we will engage in mindfulness through sitting, walking, eating, chanting and discussion. We will begin to consider how we can offer GENEROSITY within our various communities – in particular our Sanghas but also out in the world. Being a welcoming presence in the world, providing a beautiful space for deep looking, offering tea and other nourishment, sounding a bell of mindfulness – these are all practices that provide a strong container anywhere, at any time. Please bring a bag lunch. Following the formal practice those who can stay will offer service by cleaning the meditation hall.

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22 Our Sangha sister Kim has also let us know about an engaged practice that will help open our hearts – A walk for reconciliation on Sunday, September 22. Sangha members may want to discuss walking together as a river! For more information http://reconciliationcanada.ca/participate/walk-for-reconciliation/

SATURDAY OCTOBER 12 Farah Moolji Nazarali [Yoga Name: Sarita] will offer the video Peace is Every Step as part of our Day of Mindfulness (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpyWD7y84ms). This beautiful documentary of more than two hours allows us to experience the roots of our practice in the engaged Buddhist tradition of Plum Village. We hear and see Thich Nhat Hanh and his students over the years as they build the community that we now see throughout the world.

Please contact us at wwsangha[at]gmail.com – all who wish to practice in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh are welcome to attend.

A wonderful day of practice planned for Saturday! July 13!

Dear friends –

As I create the schedule and practice materials for tomorrow’s Day of Mindfulness I feel such joy and peace! I am listening to Brother Michael chant “Joyfully Sharing the Merit.” As a second Brother joins him in the last verses, I can feel the hairs on my arms adjust their posture! So beautiful!

Tomorrow, as we investigate what we identify within ourselves as strong emotions and unwholesome actions we will listen and study this chant, allowing all the peace and joy to enter us.  All our faith in our mindfulness practice will awaken!

All those interested in practicing in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh are welcome. You can find out location at http://wavesandwater.org/site/location/

Please remember to arrive at 9:45 and to bring a bag lunch!

Smiling, Bethan