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Dear Friends,

Waves and Water Sangha will be holding a Day of Mindfulness on Saturday, June 13 from 9:45 am- 3:15 pm at Mountain Rain Zen Centre  (2016 Wall Street, Vancouver). Looking deeply into how we keep our bodies healthy, we will consider how our practice of the fourth Paramita – Diligence – supports this practice. We will also consider how keeping our bodies healthy also supports our practice of the fourth Paramita – Diligence! The day will consist of sitting and walking meditation, sutra service, mindful eating, deep relaxation after lunch, a panel of sangha members sharing their insights around keeping our individual and collective bodies healthy and Dharma discussion. All are welcome. Please bring a bag lunch. Tea will be provided.

Suggested donation is $10-$25 and everyone is welcome – your presence is a gift. Please do not let financial issues determine your decision to attend!

For more information, please email us at [wwsangha@gmail.com].

Dear Friends —

In May we have been practicing with a phrase from the Refuge Chant: “I vow to live simply and sanely with few possessions.” In June, we will finish the sentence: “keeping my body healthy.” We will begin the month with the Ceremony to Recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings. During the rest of the month, we will explore the Dharma teachings and our everyday practice of eating mindfully, taking care of our bodies by taking care of the Earth, and taking refuge in silence and our bodies through the practice of Mindful Movement.

Our Day of Mindfulness will be held on Saturday, June 13 from 9:45 am- 3:15 pm at Mountain Rain Zen Centre . Looking deeply into how we keep our bodies healthy, we will consider how our practice of the fourth Paramita – Diligence – supports this practice. We will also consider how keeping our bodies healthy also supports our practice of the fourth Paramita – Diligence! The day will consist of sitting and walking meditation, sutra service, mindful eating, deep relaxation after lunch, a panel of sangha members sharing their insights around keeping our individual and collective bodies healthy and Dharma discussion. All are welcome. Please bring a bag lunch. Tea will be provided.

Dear Friends —

In May, we will explore a line from the Refuge Chant: “I vow to live simply and sanely with few possessions.” We will begin with a recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings and a panel of Sangha members who will talk about mindful consumption and how the Five Mindfulness Trainings support their intention to live simply. In the weeks to follow, we will deepen our connection to the Refuge Chant and notice how it feels in the body to live simply and sanely, with few possessions. We will continue by looking with curiosity at our daily lives, noticing what it means to take refuge in the Dharma – particularly the practice of letting go. What happens when we consider our possessions – material, emotional, ideological, intellectual? We will end this study period with the Sutra Service on Taking Refuge.

The Refuge Chant, words and MP3, can be found at : wavesandwater.org, under Resources–Plum Village Chants.
OR Click here for a direct link

Good evening dear friends –

As we have mentioned in recent blog posts, three Sisters from Deer Park Monastery are visiting Vancouver in conjunction with events organized through Hollyhock Centre. As well as offering an evening of practice this evening at the Peace Centre and a retreat on Cortes Island beginning Friday, they have joined the regular gatherings of the  Mindfulness Practice Community of Vancouver (Sunday) and North Shore Mindfulness Community (Tuesday).

Tomorrow, Thursday, we have invited them to practice with us at Waves and Water Sangha. This is a reminder that all of us are welcome to attend.

Smiling with the fourfold Sangha

Good afternoon dear friends.

As mentioned in our last blogpost, Hollyhock – a non-profit learning centre on Cortes Island – is bringing two Sisters from Deer Park Monastery to British Columbia for an evening program (April 22) in Vancouver and a four-day program at their centre (April 24-29).

http://hollyhock.ca/programinfo/the-only-way-out-is-in-vancouver/

The Mindfulness Practice Community of Vancouver is offering Sangha members   subsidized tickets for the Vancouver evening and invitesWaves and Water Sangha members to also contact them.

The tickets cost $38.09 and MPC is offering them for $17.50 in order to allow as many Sangha members as possible the opportunity to attend – as well as to offer the Sisters an experience of our Sanghas!

If you are interested, please email Harreson at harreson@mindfulnessvancouver.org

Good afternoon dear friends –

We would like to let you know about several things – a Day of Mindfulness April 11; our practice plans for the next few months; practice and retreat possibilities in other locations; and an update on Thay’s health sent from Plum Village. Before the message is a link to a joyful minute of shared time with Thay: Please enjoy your laughter

APRIL 11, 2015  DAY OF MINDFULNESS

Please join us on Saturday, April 11, for a Day of Mindfulness: This is a Ceremony! We will gather at 9:45 and complete our practice by 3:15. The morning includes three periods of sitting and walking meditation and a Sutra Service. We each bring a bag lunch and practice eating meditation together. Tea is provided.

In the afternoon, we begin with a guided relaxation – you are invited to bring a blanket or shawl. Then we will explore what it means that we have a “form” for our practice. How can we skilfully include “Ceremony” in our daily lives, in a way that supports our well-being and the well-being of others. There will be a talk and then some discussion in small groups. We will have a period of sitting meditation before completing the day.

Suggested donation is $10-$25 and everyone is welcome – your presence is a gift. Please do not let financial issues determine your decision to attend!

Our next Day of Mindfulness will be June 13: DILIGENTLY KEEPING OUR BODIES HEALTHY

SPRING PRACTICE

In April, we will continue to explore socially engaged practice by exploring a line from the Discourse on Happiness: “To live in the world, with your heart undisturbed by the world – This is the greatest happiness.” We will begin this Thursday with Thay’s poem and the song “Please call me by my true names” as a basis for considering, over the next weeks, how we might respond to our strong emotions of confusion, fear, and anger – emotions that often lead to righteousness and a sense of urgency.

In May we will explore a line from the Refuge Chant, “I vow to live simply and sanely with few possessions” beginning with a panel on mindful consumption. In June we will continue with that verse from the Reguge Chant: “And to keep my body healthy.” How can mindful eating and mindful movement support our practice.

RETREATS

Hollyhock – a non-profit learning centre on Cortes Island – is bringing two Sisters from Deer Park Monastery to British Columbia for an evening program (April 22) in Vancouver and a four-day program at their centre (April 24-29). You may find our more information through their website: https://hollyhock.ca/programinfo/the-only-way-out-is-in-vancouver/ AND https://hollyhock.ca/programinfo/be-beautiful-be-yourself/

Deer Park Monastery near San Diego offers retreats throughout the year with a major gathering of monastics and lay practitioners October 27-November, 2015You may find our more information through their website: http://deerparkmonastery.org/join-a-retreat/

Mountain Lamp Community in Washington State is also offering retreats through the spring and summer. You may find our more information through their website: http://mountainlamp.org/

SMILING

A joyful – and surprising – moment with Thay: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSkR4TjvJnY

A MESSAGE FROM PLUM VILLAGE

April 6, 2015
To our Dear Beloved Friends,

We are happy to report that Thay’s health has continued to improve at the specialist stroke rehabilitation clinic in Bordeaux, where he has been steadily recovering his strength.

In the warm spring weather in the last few weeks, Thay has been able to enjoy going outside, sitting under a tree and listening to birdsong, drinking a cup of tea and enjoying the sound of the bell.

This week the medical team have given their approval for Thay to leave the rehabilitation clinic and return to his Hermitage at Plum Village. We are deeply grateful to the entire medical team at the University Hospital in Bordeaux for their professionalism and wholehearted care to support Thay’s healing over the past four and half months.

Thay expressed his clear wish to return home, and arrived on Friday April 3, in time to enjoy the beautiful magnolia blossoms and the first spring leaves as they unfurl. We are all very glad that Thay can come back to his spiritual home, where his devoted team of monastic attendants are continuing to support him and care for him 24 hours a day, under the guidance of visiting doctors and nurses.

We hope that in the nourishing and peaceful environment of Plum Village, and with the support of on-site physical therapy and speech therapy, Thay will have favourable conditions to treat his hemiparesis and make progress in swallowing and recovering his speech.

We would like to thank our global spiritual family for your loving energy and support. Thay’s journey of recovery will be long, and we thank you for continuing to send him your prayers and energy of compassion and healing.

It has been a pleasure to welcome so many of you at our monastic practice centers in America, Europe and Asia in the past few months as we walk, hand in hand, the beautiful path of awakening that Thay has opened up for us all.

With love and trust,

The Monks and Nuns of Plum Village

Plum Village, France
February 19, 2015

To all Plum Village Practice Centers,
To all Practice Centers and Sanghas World Wide,
To our Dear Beloved Friends,

As we enter the Lunar New Year, and our practice centers conclude our annual 90-day Winter Retreat, we are very happy to report that our dear Teacher continues to steadily make extraordinary progress.

Thay has now moved to a specialist stroke rehabilitation clinic, where he is receiving the best possible professional care. The team of monastic attendants work closely with doctors, nurses and professional therapists, and accompany Thay twenty-four hours a day, offering massage, acupuncture and comfort care, and helping Thay with his physical training.

Thay is steadily recovering his strength and rebuilding his muscles day by day. We have been struck by Thay’s great determination, motivation, courage and concentration as he sets his own program to train himself to learn anew how to sit upright, stand, and move his limbs.

The medical team is also helping Thay learn to swallow again, and last week Thay was able to drink his first cup of tea since November. The attendants prepared Thay’s favorite tea in his cup, and Thay even signalled to invite everyone to drink a cup of tea with him. Contemplating the tea, Thay smiled, put his hand on his heart, and looked up. All could clearly see that Thay was reminding everyone to bring our mind back to our body and to look deeply into the tea, really enjoying the tea and the presence of those around us.

During the last full moon of the lunar year, Thay enjoyed watching the moon rise from his bed, and invited the attendants to enjoy it silently with him. In the peace and joy with which he enjoyed the moon, we can see Thay’s love for the wonders of life and his generosity in teaching us to cherish these wonders at every moment.

With each week that passes Thay is becoming increasingly alert and engaged. Although Thay is not yet able to speak, he has begun to vocalize, and is developing a means of communicating silently with his attendants and physicians. Thay’s path of healing is still long, yet we know that every moment can be a moment to deeply touch the wonders and miracles of life.

We are very grateful for the great compassion and support that Thay has received from his global Sangha Body, creating wonderful conditions for his recovery and healing. We are thankful for your practice of mindfulness and prayers sending positive energy to Thay, and for your letters, donations, and the many beautiful children’s drawings.

Here in France the cold winter is beginning to give way to beautiful blossoms, in time to decorate the hamlets for the Lunar New Year, Thay’s favorite festival. Last week the community prepared hundreds of traditional “Earth Cakes”, and stayed up all night with music and song to cook them over open fires. Each New Year Thay offers us a compact “parallel verse,” to guide our practice in the year to come. For this New Year of the Goat the Plum Village elders have chosen an excerpt of a poem written by Thay, which hangs at the altar of the Still Water Meditation Hall in Upper Hamlet:

Look deeply to understand clearly
Listen deeply to truly love

These phrases have been written in calligraphy and prepared in “diamonds” that can be printed and posted around your home or workplace, as gentle reminders to practice. (You may download the print-friendly pdf here >>>)

Wishing you health, happiness and many fruits of the practice,

The Monks and Nuns of Plum Village

Future reports on Thay’s recovery will be posted officially at plumvillage.org, langmai.org, villagedespruniers.org, and www.facebook.com/thichnhathanh.

Good rainy afternoon dear friends –

This evening after sitting walking and tea meditation we will practice with a single line of the Five Mindfulness Trainings: “I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy.” As practitioners we may have very different responses to this line – and this evening is our opportunity to share both the underlying meaning of TRUE HAPPINESS and also how we understand this statement in our own lives and in the lives of other. We will continue with this study and practice for the next several weeks….

AND this Saturday we have a Day of Mindfulness. Thich Nhat Hanh has offered us a new translation of the Heart Sutra and we will read and discuss it this together. We will listen to the music and we will also learn together the final  mantra: Gate, Gate, Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha!

Please arrive at 9:45 and don’t forget a bag lunch! More information concerning Days of Mindfulness with Waves and Water may be found at: http://wavesandwater.org/site/practice/days-of-mindfulness/

Enjoying rain drops on windows….

Good morning dear friends –

This evening, after sitting and walking and tea meditation, we will be practicing deep relaxation with bells and guided meditation. Please bring a blanket if you like! All are welcome.

For the rest of the month we will complete our study and practice of the Four Establishments of Mindfulness. We have had a wonderful opportunity over the last months to open our hearts and minds, to transform our actions. All are welcome – there is no need to have begun at the beginning!

On Thursday, February 5, we will have a Ceremony to Recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

And on Saturday, FEBRUARY 14, we will have a DAY OF MINDFULNESS from 9:45 to 3:15. Our practice will include an exploration of Thich Nhat Hanh’s new translation of the Heart Sutra – The Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore. We will read it together and explore its meaning. We will also learn to chant it!

Soon – under RESOURCES on the website – we will have posted the words, the music for the melody line and Thay’s Commentary. By February 1st we will have posted also an mp3 of the melody line played on piano.

No one will force you to chant! You may simply enjoy the Sangha rain as we fearlessly learn the chant together….