Waves and Water Sangha Vancouver

Dear friends –

Even though it is cold outside, inside the meditation hall we have been warm and loving in our practice! Please join us tomorrow for a Day of Mindfulness – the schedule is below. It is possible to arrive and leave according to your own circumstances.

9:45 Arrival and settling in the meditation hall
10:00 Sitting and walking meditation (two periods
11:00 Sutra Service: Measuring and Reflecting
11:30 Sitting and walking meditation (one period)
12:00 Lunch (bring brown bag lunch and tea is provided)
1:00 Deep relaxation
1:30 The Five Touchings of the Earth
2:00 Dharma Sharing
2:45 Dedication of Practice
2:50 Closing – Restoring the Meditation Hall

Dear Friends

We concluded our 2016 practice year with candle light and practice songs as we celebrated Solstice. One of the songs touching our hearts was adapted from a poem by Rumi :

Come, come, whoever you are,
Wanderer, worshipper, lover of leaving,
And come, come, whoever you are
This isn’t a caravan of despair.
‘Cause it doesn’t matter if you’ve broken your vows
a thousand times before and yet again
Come again come and yet again, come.
(Lyrics and mp3 here)

We will carry this song into the  New Year by practicing Beginning Anew with the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Tomorrow, the first Thursday of 2017, we will recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings. A panel of Sangha members will then share their experiences of practicing with the Five Mindfulness Trainings not only as individuals but also as a collective: A Caravan of practitioners, helping each other sustain and deepen our commitment. Please bring your stories to share – the panel will open into a Dharma Sharing.

January 12 our Sutra Service will centre on the Discourse on the Dharma Seal – the basic teachings of all Buddhas. January 19 our Dharma Discussion will focus on what we do, individually and collectively, as “practice.” January 26 our Reading from Touching the Earth will explore #13 Recognizing Feelings and Emotions.

DAY OF MINDFULNESS: On January 14 we will hold a Day of Mindfulness practicing and exploring The Five Touchings of the Earth. (More information on Days of Mindfulness here.)

PEOPLE OF COLOUR RETREAT IN OREGON:
April 20-23, 2017, Dharma Teacher Larry Ward will offer a People of Color Retreat in the Plum Village Tradition. This retreat is presented by and for people of color—Black, Asian, Latino, Native American, Pacific Islander—to share and practice in a supportive environment. It will take place at Great Vow Monaster, Clatsaknie, OR.
Register: https://www.zendust.org/event/colors-compassion
Questions: (503) 728-0654 or info@zendust.org

Good morning dear Friends –

As we enter into Solstice week, we can enjoy every moment of darkness – especially dusk and dawn. With impermanence, the longest night now moves slowly and with confidence toward the longest day. And then back again to the longest night.

This evening in Sangha we will sit after dark with a multitude of candles, breathing in and breathing out – offering ourselves, each other and all beings the great gift of silence, stillness and spiritual friendship. We will call the Bodhisattvas to support our intentions as we move with the darkness and the light.

Last week, we practiced with five Plum Village practice songs – all them offering support for our socially engaged Buddhist practice. It was most wonderful – voices rising! The links to lyrics and mp3 files have been posted on the Waves and Water website in the pull-down menu from RESOURCES > 2016 December songs . Please enjoy! We will be revisiting them in the New Year.   http://wavesandwater.org/site/resources/2016-december-songs/

A reminder that there will be no Sangha gathering at the meditation hall on December 29. We look forward to seeing some of you as we sit to welcome the New Year from 7:00 to 12:00 December 31st….

With loving kindness –

Good afternoon dear friends –

Given impermanence of weather forecasts (perhaps snowyish, perhaps flurryish), the hills required to get to and from the Meditation Hall, the uncertainty of transit,  and our intention to practice throughout this season with as few  obstacles as possible….

We are cancelling our regular Thursday practice tomorrow (December 8).

NEXT WEEK (December 15th) we will explore PLUM VILLAGE PRACTICE SONGS that support our engaged Buddhist practice.

TWO WEEKS FROM NOW (December 22th) we will have a SOLSTICE SITTING with many many candles, much silence and Invoking the Bodhissatva’s names to support our Engaged Buddhist Practice.

NEW YEAR’S EVE (December 31st) we join Mountain Rain Zen and others at any time, for any period from 7:00 p.m. to midnight to CHANT FOR WORLD PEACE. There are periods of 40 minutes sitting, 10 minutes walking, 10 minutes chanting throughout the evening. We may come and go as we wish. We sound 108 bells at the end to dispel our many delusions. No registration necessary. By donation.

Breathing together….

Good Evening Dear Friends

SOLIDARITY:
Today, Sunday, December 4, 2016, has been an interfaith day of solidarity with the water protectors in North Dakota. From the Plum Village Sangha in North America, this recitation has been offered:

VERSES OF CONSECRATION
The water’s shape is round or square according to the container that holds it.
In the spring warmth, it is liquid; in the winter cold, it is solid.
When its path is open it flows. When its path is obstructed, it stands still.
How vast it is, yet its source is so small it is difficult to find.
How wonderful it is in its streams, which flow endlessly.
In the jade rivulets, the footprints of dragons remain.
In the deep pond, water holds the bright halo of the autumn moon.
On the tip of the king’s pen, water becomes the compassion of clemency.
On the willow branch, it becomes the clear fresh balm of compassion.
Only one drop of the water of compassion is needed and the Ten Directions are all purified.

It is beautiful to practice this verse and to feel held not only by the interfaith community but also by the news that there may now be an obstacle to the pipeline’s completion using the current route.

We are also reminded of the First Nations communities in Canada that continue to have no safe water source despite years of activism – may we support their efforts.

90 DAY LAY WINTER RETREAT

Each year, monastic communities in our tradition hold the  winter/rains retreat wherever they are located. Lay practitioners are invited to attend whenever they can – for a weekend, for a week, for the entire period. Many of us cannot travel to these centres, however.

Dharmacarya Kenley Neufeld from California is once again providing the framework for a lay practitioner’s retreat that we can participate in where we are. It began last Sunday and will continue through the 90 days. Those who formally commit to the retreat – for whatever time is possible for them – commit to THE SCHEDULE BELOW. We may also make additional commitments.

If you are interested and would like to meet from time to time with others from WAVES AND WATER SANGHA please let us know ( wwsangha@gmail.com).

SCHEDULE COMMITMENTS
6 days a week 45 minutes silent sitting
6 times a week silent meal 10 minutes
3 days a week read out loud and/ or practicing touching the earth with a chapter from “Touching the Earth, Intimate conversations with the Buddha” or “Love Letters to the Earth”
3 times a month practice with a local Sangha
1 day each week with no work (Lazy Day)
1 recitation per month of either the 5 Mindfulness Training or the 14 Mindfulness trainings
3 times a month participate in a Day of Mindfulness at a practice centre that you can access
1 Dharma Talk per week by Thay audio recorded in 2001.

A Buddhist Statement of Support for the
Standing Rock action and Water is Life Protectors

This collaborative statement and references – inspired by statements of support from various faith traditions – was written and compiled by representatives Rev. Jayna Gieber of the Earth Holder Sangha in the Plum Village Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh Kristin Barker, director of One Earth Sangha with input from consultants, Buddhist teacher Thanissara, Katie Loncke, and Dawn Haney, co-directors of Buddhist Peace Fellowship, indigenous leader Steve Llanes and Dharma teacher and director of the University of Washington’s Center for Indigenous Health Research, Bonnie Duran.

The statement can be found at: https://oneearthsangha.org/statements/stand-with-standing-rock

The Buddhist day of solidarity is today, November 15, 2016. And our solidarity will continue…. day-of-solidarity

We are inspired by the model of healing, collaboration and solidarity with which the native tribes are joining together at this time in defense of indigenous rights and the well-being of Mother Earth. It is with this spirit that a Buddhist community can join with people of all faiths and no faith in protecting the rights and dignity of indigenous peoples, in reverence for basic goodness, in honoring the sacred and in defending all life, near and far, seen and unseen, born and yet to be born. These principles lay at the center of true wisdom. Svaha!

May unskillful actions harming Earth and all life cease now.

May transformation occur in the hearts and minds of corporate and government leaders in order to prevent further suffering, alienation, and destruction of life.

May all those who honor the sacred Earth come together to support the Sacred Rock Sioux Reservation and all those who stand for her protection.

May the violence and theft that harms all indigenous people forever cease.

Good evening dear friends,

THIS THURSDAY evening we will be practicing the 10 Mindful Movements and Deep Relaxation as well as our usual sitting, walking, and tea meditations. We will also be singing together the Wisdom Song . Because Mountain Rain are still on sesshin, with most of the mats and cushions, you may want to bring a cushion or bench. You may also want to bring a blanket for deep relaxation. Chairs will also be available.

THIS SATURDAY we have a Day of Mindfulness from 10:00 to 3:00. We will have two periods of sitting and walking meditation, followed by a Sutra Service and a third period of sitting and walking. Please bring a brown bag lunch for our formal meal. After eating, we will have outdoor walking meditation (if the weather permits) or deep relaxation. This will be followed by Dharma study and an opportunity for Dharma discussion. Please join us for this opportunity to touch silence, stillness, peace.

Some Sangha members may also want to spend SATURDAY afternoon with other Buddhist practitioners – and many resisters – at the gathering concerned with stopping the Kinder Morgan Pipeline. See https://www.facebook.com/events/128002137658093/ for more details on the demonstration. Contact RedSara@gmail.com or Carmen@bicyclebuddha.org if you have questions about the Buddhist contingent. They will be carrying a big banner reading We Vow to Protect All Life.

You are welcome to come to the morning Day of Mindfulness to prepare your body, speech and mind!

Good morning dear friends,

Tomorrow – Thursday – we will continue with our exploration of socially-engaged Buddhism by offering the Ceremony to Support the Sick. This is such a deep and lovely service! Throughout, we see the ways in which our chanting and recitation brings us back to our hearts.

We will dedicate this Ceremony not only to our beloved ones,
but to all those who require support in the face of sickness, of deep dis-ease and ill-being.

Remembering those who are suffering through ill-health, old age, death and loss.
Remembering those who are suffering through the consequences of their actions.

Those who are suffering through violence perpetrated against them.

Their families, their friends, their communities, their race – sick at heart for what they experience day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, decade after decade, century after century.

Those who are suffering because of the pain of witnessing and not knowing how to respond.

Those who are suffering because they cannot see the consequences of the violence they perpetrate against others and thus against themselves.

Those who are suffering because they have turned away to escape the suffering of others.

Smiling, Bethan

Dear friends

This message comes from Kenley Neufield, a Dharma teacher in California:

Dharma Mamas was founded in November 2014 when a group of mindful mamas, who practice in the Plum Village tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh, gathered for a weekend retreat to share, celebrate, nourish and strengthen our self-care.

Dharma Mamas http://dharmamamas.com/ is a blog and community for mindful mothers. We share the stories of women who have passed through the dharma door of motherhood using mindfulness as compass and guide. These mothers nurture themselves, their children, relationships, families and communities with a foundation of mindful awareness. Through interviews, articles, personal essays, creative writing and poetry, we celebrate all the moments¬ of motherhood and womanhood. Every moment is an opportunity to wake up to the present moment.

If you’d like to submit an article, please see our submission guidelines at: http://dharmamamas.com/submissions/

Stay tuned for information on future events and retreats.

Good morning dear friends

A reminder to please let us know at wwsangha@gmail.com if you are planning to attend the 5th Anniversary Day of Mindfulness this Saturday on September 10 – 9:45-4:45 with Pot Luck Vegetarian social to follow – ALL WELCOME – Family and Friends

Update from One Earth Sangha: Blue Planet Practice
How will we act on climate disruption with wisdom, courage and compassion?
EcoSattva Training Registration September 7, 2016
Opening, LIVE online session on October 16
We invite you to experience a powerful collection of teachers, activists and other leaders in our annual EcoSattva Training series. Built on the foundation of last year’s inaugural online course, this year’s training offers another opportunity to come together in community to explore how the practices of wisdom and compassion can meet a challenge even as immense as global climate change.
https://oneearthsangha.org/programs/ecosattva-training/

Family Practice Program at Mountain Rain Zen Centre
Sunday, September 18, 1:00-2:30
Upcoming dates: October 23, November 27
http://mountainrainzen.us8.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=4e88e8e99df284a2b289288d9&id=8b2e0c98c8&e=fcf1fd0e54)

Film: Walk With Me –
A beautiful and meditative film Walk With Me about the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition and monastic community. It’s narrated by Oscar-nominated actor Benedict Cumberbatch. You can see the international trailer in the article in Variety magazine, which also includes a quote by director Alejandro G. Innaritu (Birdman, The Revenant).
http://variety.com/2016/film/global/benedict-cumberbatch-documentary-walk-with-me-westend-first-trailer-thich-nhat-hanh-mindfulness-1201852632/