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Today, Waves and Waters Sangha moved to our new meditation hall at 2016 Wall Street. If you haven’t already, please find the directions and a map on our website: http://wavesandwater.org/site/location/

It was so lovely to work together with Mountain Rain Zen Community – transporting altars and bells and cushions and mats and benches and kettles and cups and books and chairs and tables and . . . .

We will gather there as a Sangha this Thursday evening for our first recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings in this location. As the renovations continue we can see how the Zendo, perfect just as it is, will nourish us in the months ahead – breath by breath.

Before the move, five of us gathered at 6:30 a.m. to sit in peace for two hours with Thich Nhat Hanh and the international Sangha. The following link will take you Trafalgar Square with many photos of the occasion – unfortunately I don’t know if you need a Facebook account in order to see them.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.391323737553788.96991.264304326922397&type=1

Bethan – smiling

DEAR FRIENDS –

THE MAY RETREAT AT RIVENDELL ANNOUNCED BY JEANIE SEWARD-MAGEE WILL NOT BE GOING AHEAD BECAUSE TOO FEW PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO ATTEND.

CARETAKING COUNCIL AT WAVES AND WATER WILL BE DISCUSSING A NON-RESIDENTIAL RETREAT IN VANCOUVER IN JUNE. . . . BETHAN

Dear Friends,

On Saturday, March 31, Waves and Water Sangha and friends will be sitting/walking with the global TNH community to coincide with the Trafalgar Square event where Thay will be sitting with the sangha there. http://www.mindfulnessretreats.org.uk/sitinpeace/sit-in-peace-around-the-world/

The sit will be at 6:30 am our time and will take place at  6183 Fraser Street. This will be our last sit at this location (please see under Location for details re. our move).  We will end with a breakfast at 8:30 am.  This is also the moving day for the Mountain Rain Zen Community so those who are  helping will begin work at 9am.

If you are unable to begin at 6:30 am, you are welcome to join us quietly and mindfully whenever you arrive.  Please join us!

Dear Friends, 

The day of mindfulness on April 22 is now full.  Thank you for your interest.  Waves and Water sangha will have another one soon and will post it on this blog.  If you would like to receive a notification of our new blog posts, please subscribe via email on the home page.

Here is a message from our Sangha Sister Kim –

Hello Wonderful Sangha!

I would like to host a Day of Mindfulness at my home on Sunday April 22nd from 10am to 3pm. Gratefully, Bethan will help facilitate. My place can host a max of 15 people comfortably. Please let me know as soon as you can if you would like to come.

My address: 306 – 1484 Charles St (at Woodland)

Please arrive at 9:45am so we can all be settled in to start by 10am. Thank you.
If need be, I will answer the door up until 10:30am. After that, I will not be answering the door.

Please bring:
* your precious self
* a vegetarian dish for our mindful lunch.
Please write up a small label with ingredients listed to place with your dish.
* a cushion or bench (I have some but if it’s easy for you to bring your own, please do).
* a blanket or a shawl (if desired).

We will do outdoor walking meditation outdoors – rain or shine.

Dear Friends,

As you know by now, we are getting ready to move with Mountain Rain Zen Community to 2016 Wall Street! Our last evening of practice in the Fraser Street meditation hall will be March 29. On April 5, we will gather at our new space to sit, walk, drink tea and, as in every moment, Begin Anew. There will be treats!

On Saturday, March 31, we are hoping that some of us can express our gratitude to Mountain Rain Zen Community by assisting them with the final stages of moving. Please send an e-mail or post here if you can offer an hour or two or three so we can work out how to be most useful!

On Saturday, April 28, Mountain Rain is offering an open day of sitting and we are invited to attend all or part of the day. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to meet our extended practice family! Please talk with Bethan if you have any questions and let us know, again by posting or e-mail, if you are planning to attend.

There will be a Sunday Day of Mindfulness in April at Kim’s. Please watch the front page of the website for more information.

Of course, what I have said above is all about plans and at the same time of course there is impermanence – especially when renovations and moving are involved. Any changes to the plans will be posted here and if you are subscribed you will get all updates!

Dear Friends

As some of you already know, Mountain Rain Zen Community is moving to 2016 Wall Street, near Powell and Semlin  – 10 minutes walk north and east from Commercial Drive and Hastings Street. They have been looking for an appropriate new space for more than two years! After 10 years in the Fraser Street location, the Sangha felt they needed a larger space and a space that was both newer and receiving consistent maintenance. They have received their building permits to renovate and they plan to hold their first retreat the last weekend in March.

Mountain Rain have been very generous to Waves and Water Sangha since we began to practice together in August. Now they have invited us to move with them. It is not easy to find suitable and affordable space in Vancouver and it has been so lovely to share an already established meditation hall that carries such beautiful energy. We have the opportunity now to practice deeply as a Sangha while we contemplate impermanence! I know it’s been a bit hard for me to contain my energy of fear around change – I think perhaps we will study the Five Remembrances in March to prepare ourselves for the resistance our minds might construct!

We will continue to meet on Thursdays at 7 p.m.

The new location is in the space developed by the Aboriginal Mother Centre Society. It looks a bit like a mini-mall that is part of a safe, primarily residential area with much less street noise. Mountain Rain is leasing and renovating space on the ground floor. There is parking in the vicinity and the #4 and #7 and #135 buses stop very close to the meditation hall. In the next while, our Caretaking Council will begin to look at ways to accommodate everyone’s transportation needs.

Sometimes, when we change the direction of our practice it takes a while to re-orient ourselves not only in space but in our hearts and mind. Fortunately, our Sangha has grown deep roots that do not depend on location but rather depend on our love and our diligence. We have the chance to Begin Anew! And, I hope we will have the chance to help with the move, as a Sangha, and to join Mountain Rain for a designated period during their first retreat. We will discuss the move at Sangha on Thursday and be truly curious about our practice as we respond! If you have anything you would like to talk about, please come or e-mail the Sangha at wwsangha [at] gmail.com

View Larger Map

Dear Friends

Waves and Water Sangha invites you to our Sangha Dinner on Feb 11, 2012, following our Day of Mindfulness. (See Jan 6 post for details of the DOM). The dinner will be at All India Sweets Restaurant, 6507 Main St. (corner of 49^th) where they serve a wonderful Indian vegetarian buffet. http://www.allindiasweetsrestaurant.com/

All are welcome! If you cannot attend the Day of Mindfulness, please meet us at the restaurant at 4pm. And if you find that 4pm is too early for your dinner, join us anyway for some hot chai and snacks.  We look forward to seeing you!

Please rsvp to Su Su : dharmahand11[at]gmail[dot]com

Dear friends –

So many of us met Brother Christopher this summer during the Vancouver retreat. His smile, his kindness, his loving compassion touched many people! And we know where there is a blooming flower there is also compost nourishing it. Just as he experienced joy, so he experienced suffering.

Last Monday, in the woods of Upper Hamlet in Plum Village, Brother Christopher took his own life. This is not the way I would like to talk with you about this! Yet, now, so many in our deep and lovely community have heard – and they too are suffering.

Just as Brother Christopher was never alone, we are never alone. There may be within us so strong a sense of disconnection that we cannot continue. At the same time we are held. We are all holding the Plum Village Sangha in our hearts and we are holding each other.

On Thursday, we will offer our practice to Brother Christopher with a special ceremony as well as remembrances and loving speech. We will feel within and around us the strength of the Sangha, of the teachings and our own compassion.

To water those seeds, you may want to listen to the Metta Chant from Upaya Zen posted on the wavesandwater.org website under RESOURCES

http://wavesandwater.org/site/resources/metta-chant-from-upaya/

The brief note from Sr Chan Khong to the community is here: http://deerparkmonastery.org/events/message-from-sr-chan-khong-regarding-our-brothers-death

Peace to Brother Phap Kinh, may he continue beautifully in all of us.

On Saturday, January 21, from 1:30-3:30, a few folk will be gathering at the meditation hall to learn and practice the small bell and big bell used for sitting and walking meditation as well as for the Five Mindfulness Training Recitation Ceremony. EVERYONE interested in bells and chanting is welcome! No one attending this gathering will be asked to sound bells or lead chants during Sangha unless they are comfortable!

Those who attend the first gathering will be able to attend follow-up gatherings as well as we gradually become more confident in our practice and move toward sharing our practice with the Sangha.

If you cannot attend the first gathering but are really interested, let Bethan know at wwsangha [at] gmail [dot] com and we will see what we can work out!

Waves and Water Sangha will hold a Day of Mindfulness on Saturday, February 11, in our Thursday Night meditation hall.

We will begin at 10:00 – please arrive by 9:50 so we can begin with the bell! And we will finish close to 3:45. PLEASE BRING A BAG LUNCH. There will be tea!

We will practice sitting and walking and eating meditation. We will practice deep relaxation. And our Dharma study will focus on TAKING REFUGE. What does it mean to us, personally, when we chant “I take refuge in the Buddha. . . . the Dharma. . . . the Sangha” at the end of the Five Mindfulness Trainings Recitation Ceremony? We will look closely at the words of the chant, practice chanting it together and then share in Dharma discussion.

Please let us know if you are planning to attend – everyone is welcome!

Check www.wavesandwater.org for directions and more information about the Sangha. If you would like to get these kinds of e-mails from Waves and Water Sangha please SUBSCRIBE VIA EMAIL on the home page.