Waves and Water Sangha Vancouver

Dear spiritual friends

We have received word that Thich Nhat Hanh, our beloved teacher, passed away peacefully at Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam, at 00:00hrs on 22nd January, 2022, at the age of 95. We are invited to take a few moments to be still, to come back to our mindful breathing, as we together hold Thay in our hearts in peace and loving gratitude for all he has offered the world.

In Sangha this Sunday we will sit and walk and read aloud from Thay’s writings on no death. We will also chant to support ourselves and the international Plum Village Sangha. There will be an opportunity for small group discussion.

We will dedicate our practice to all those suffering the loss of loved ones – please recite with an open heart Thay’s Contemplation on No Coming, No Going (below)

With a tender heart, Bethan

The Contemplation on No Coming No Going

This body is not me.
I am not limited by this body.
I am life without boundaries.
I have never been born,
and I have never died.

Look at the ocean and the sky filled with stars,
manifestations from my wondrous true mind.

Since before time, I have been free.
Birth and death are only doors through which we pass,
sacred thresholds on our journey.

Birth and death are a game of hide-and-seek.

So laugh with me,
hold my hand,
let us say good-bye,
say good-bye, to meet again soon.

We meet today.
We will meet again tomorrow.
We will meet at the source every moment.
We meet each other in all forms of life.

Here we are – 2022. There is still snow on the ground where I am – and I am so fortunate to have had the pure joy of a puppy and her first snow! A bit of a mess indoors as the snowballs on her coat begin to melt. But what is the mess compared to the joy? Messes can be cleaned up (certainly this one). Joy can be  hard to come by in this third year of the pandemic.

For me, this year is going to be about focusing less on the mess and more on the joy…. What can I do to touch the deepest desires of my heart – the place where I am still and quiet and clear – where I allow the fewest perceptions and feelings and concepts to distract me from my Buddha nature. As we have been practicing over the last months, nourishing our selves and others requires that we pay attention to our edible food, our sense contacts (and cravings), our acknowledged volition/ intentions/ deepest desires, and mind consciousness.

When my mind moves to mess, my intention is to let my heart bring me back to joy!

We will begin the new year of Waves and Water Sangha practice this evening with the Ceremony to Recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings. Throughout the rest of the month Caretaking Council members will offer teachings in the second hour that will support our capacity to nourish happiness through our everyday actions.

We have an announcement below followed by links to resources used in December.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2022   THREE SANGHA ZOOM

A CELEBRATION co-hosted by the Mindfulness Practice Community of Vancouver, North Shore Mindfulness and Waves and Water Sangha: Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, based on Thay’s Earth teachings and including wonderful commentary throughout by Sister True Dedication as well as an afterword by Sister Chan Khong.

On this Sunday we will meet as usual at 6:30 for sitting meditation. Members of the other Sanghas will be there as well. At 7:00 there will either be a presentation by a Plum Village Monastic or a panel of senior practitioners. This will be followed by a question and answer period and small group discussions.

If possible, please read the book in advance! And if you intend to attend it would be great to let us know so we can have some numbers to help us with the details. You can e-mail wwsangha@gmail.com to indicate your interest. Closer to the date, we may ask for pre-registration and provide the Zoom link.

BEGINNING ANEW

Susu gathered these resources to build on her presentation in December:

Beginning Anew with Oneself Dharma Talk (Sr. Dang Nghiem ) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b6I5aAU3as

Mindfulness Bell Article (Sr Annabel) https://www.mindfulnessbell.org/archive/2016/03/beginning-anew-3

How to begin anew article with a short instructional video (Plum Village) https://plumvillage.org/articles/begin-anew/

Beginning Anew: Four Steps to Restoring Communication Book (Sr Chan Khong) https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/545838/beginning-anew-by-sister-chan-khong-introduction-by-thich-nhat-hanh/

May we be well, Bethan

Dear friends –

Two weeks ago we sent a blogpost concerning a survey developed by the Caretaking Council members of Waves and Water Sangha. Thank you to those who have responded. Even though this is a busy time of year for so many, please breathe in and breathe out – then offer us the 10 minutes it will take to complete this survey.

Your response is completely anonymous. Already, we can see how it will help us move forward with our practice in the next year. In gratitude, here is the link:  https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/btGHsn

We look forward to practicing together again on January 2nd.

Dear friends –

The Caretaking Council members of Waves and Water Sangha have developed a survey to help support our practice over the next year. Please consider practicing the generosity of completing this survey.

Because we are using the free version of SoGoSurvey, the space to respond to individual questions is very limited (100 characters). PLEASE consider sending an e-mail to wwsangha@gmail.com to expand on your comments. In gratitude, here is the link:

https://survey.sogosurvey.com/r/btGHsn

Good evening dear friends –

Already we are only three weeks from the time of increasing light! We have an opportunity to use these three weeks wisely. We can continue our exploration of “volition” – the nutriment of intention that leads us to manifest our deepest desire.

We can ask ourselves: How have we experienced both the possibilities and the challenges that arise when we realize how we want to move forward along our path?

For many of us, this is a busy time of year. What better time to breathe in and breathe out, discover some stillness, and offer ourselves the gift of a more authentic, more nourishing direction forward. What is most important for ourselves, our families, our communities and our society? We can walk the path of unnecessary consumption or we can experience the joy of true – rather than material – generosity.

For December, we will begin this Sunday evening with a recitation of the 14 Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing. On December 12 we will continue with our study of volition/intention/deepest desire and on December 19 we explore the practice of Beginning Anew – with ourselves, our loved ones, the world.

There will be no Sangha gathering on December 26. On January 2nd we will enjoy the full Ceremony for the Recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

May all beings be well.

Good afternoon dear friends –

Every day we have a little more darkness, a little less light. What a wonderful opportunity to let go of our stories about light and dark! I have a tendency, still, to consider increasing darkness a (potential) difficulty. Yet, my experience tells me that, although I most enjoy dawn and dusk, I would choose more darkness rather than more sunlight. Wherever we find ourselves on this dualistic spectrum, perhaps we can let all the stories go and simply take things as they come.

And we can begin with a sense of the “best” place to practice! Beginning October 24 we returned to our Zoom Sangha for the foreseeable future. Causes and conditions within the Caretaking Council and the Sangha body have led us to this decision. Please watch for blogposts that might offer opportunities for in-person practice with, for example, Days of Mindfulness.

And, did you know that Thich Nhat Hanh was 95 on October 11^th? You can find a lovely message from the Plum Village Sangha concerning our beloved teacher at https://plumvillage.org/articles/message-for-thays-birthday/

To finish off October we have a presentation on The Eight Realizations of Great Beings this Sunday – October 24 – followed by a TEA CEREMONY on our fifth Sunday, October 31. This is going to be a real treat when we share the stories, poems, songs, photos, etc., that bring us joy! In particular, Susu will read a most wonderful children’s story.

In November, we will begin with a recitation of the Diversity Mindfulness Trainings with affinity discussion groups. We will continue through November with a closer look at what we mean by “volition” or intention, including the study and practice of the Discourse on the Four Nutriments

We have so many opportunities for practice in the next months – some of what are outlined below.

Our Sister Sangha in Calgary – Wild Rose Sangha – is hosting an online retreat November 12-14 with the theme Spacious as the Clear Blue Sky: Resting in Boundless Freedom. Dharma Teacher Alexa Singer-Telles from Redding, California will be leading the retreat. Please go to their website for more information: wildrosesangha.ca

Zen and the Art of Saving the Planet, a new book based on Thay’s Earth teachings, is out now. “Follow the deep meditations of the Diamond Sutra, encounter the inspiring energy of bodhisattvas, and explore Thay’s vision for applied, compassionate action and regenerative communities that can transform our world.” An afterword from Sister Chan Khong and commentary by Sister True Dedication.

What does it mean to become a Great Being? Brother Phap Hai shares the core messages of the Eight Realizations of Great Beings in this new book from Parallax Press. “If all other Buddhist sutras and commentaries were suddenly lost, with only this one Sutra remaining as a guide, it would still be possible for each one of us to fully comprehend the core insights of the Buddha on an experiential level. This is because it is a complete expression of the path as well as a practical manual for meditation.”

REMINDER: The Raft is a special bi-weekly series, assembled by the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation, Plum Village Monastery, Parallax Press, and the Plum Village App team to help keep you grounded and connected

Good afternoon dear friends –

Those of us who enjoy the sound of the rain are watering many seeds of happiness these days! Shorter days, longer nights, everything impermanent. It can be difficult to adjust – or perhaps the possibility of change brings us joy. As we adjust to our personal, familial, and social circumstances, we offer congratulations to Waves and Water Caretaking Council member Vincci Shiu who received the Five Mindfulness Trainings in a Transmission Ceremony October 3, 2021.

We can also offer heartfelt gratitude this Sunday in the variety of ways we may observe Thanksgiving. For some of us – and particularly this year – the suggestion that we celebrate the “founding” of Canada in a context of Indigenous genocide is not bearable. Nevertheless we can give thanks for those ancestral and current conditions that allow us to recognize an ongoing process of awareness and understanding. NOTE: We will not be gathering as a Sangha this Sunday – October 10.

In October, we will continuing our study and practice of the Five Powers with the fifth and final Power: INSIGHT. On October 17th we will look at this Power through The Sutra on the Insight that Brings Us to the Other Shore. Thay’s new translation of the Heart Sutra provides the foundation for our deep understanding that we are not separate self-entities – rather we inter-are.

October 24th we will look at the insights arising from the Eight Realizations of Great Beings and, on All Hallows’ Eve we will share the sources of our own insights in a Tea Ceremony of music, poetry, readings, movement – whatever allows us to touch the Greatest Wisdom – even if just for a  moment!

Good morning dear friends

This morning’s autumn chill reminds us of the joy of living on that line between summer and fall. I am so grateful to live in a geographic zone that has four seasons! We can see the most wonderful manifestations of impermanence and feel deeply our interbeing with the rhythms of nature. The shifting of darkness and light by minutes each day remind us that dawn, day, dusk, night arise everyday in our hearts and minds as well as through our senses.

As the seasons change, we are returning to in-person gatherings at the Mountain Rain Zendo as well as continuing with our Zoom Sangha. As always, our deepest gratitude to Mountain Rain Zen Community for not only their space, but their open-hearted guidance during these unusual times. May we continue to support each other as we experience impermanence in moving forward. Our policies and guidelines will no doubt be changing over time as the interbeing nature of the pandemic continues to affect our everyday lives.

The blogpost contains much information! Our practice for September; Covid protocols for those of us meeting in person; a September 26 Day of Mindfulness; and a Transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings October 3 during our regular Sangha gathering. Also, we have included information from Plum Village concerning a new podcast, Earth Holder retreat, Race as a Dharma door and a resource for White practitioners committed to group reflection and action on healing racism.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 at 6:30 we return to our Sangha practice.  NOTE: Both the day and time of our gatherings have changed to Sundays and to 6:30-8:30. You may enter the Zendo or Zoom at 7:00 if that better supports your practice.  The first half hour is a period of sitting and walking. Then there is a second period of sitting and walking followed by an hour of study and practice.

Our pngoing study and practice of the Five Powers will continue with the Fourth Power – CONCENTRATION – explored from the perspective of Loving Kindness. We will begin the month with a recitation of the Five Mndfulness Trainings and Dharma discussion concerning our return to Sangha practice. The second week will include a Dharma talk focused on Concentration with a comparison to Mindfulness in the context of loving kindness. The third will explore the Love Meditation as a tool for Concentration practice and the fourth will be based on a reading that helps us better understand the benefits of nourishing Concentration.

Our Zoom protocols and access  will continue as in the past. Please see the website for full details: (http://wavesandwater.org/site/sangha/about/sunday/)

Up to 10 people will be able to attend in-person.  To register for the first week, please send an e-mail as soon as possible to wwsangha@gmail.com. You may want to indicate whether you have the intention to attend each week or if you think you will attend the first Sunday of the month, etc. If you have the aspiration to attend each week, please let us know by Wednesday morning if you cannot attend that week. There may be a wait list!

COVID response: Two air purifiers have been added to the Zendo. There are enhanced cleaning protocols in place. Practitioners who wish to attend in person must be fully vaccinated. Once we have vaccination passports, we will ask to see them the first time you attend in person. We appreciate everyone’s care and compassion as we proceed along the path. For any questions concerning these practices, please e-mail us!

DAY OF MINDFULNESS in three parts: Please consider joining us for a Day of Mindfulness Sunday September 26 from 10:00-2:00.  This will be offered both on Zoom and in person for up to six people. The first four hours will be held in South Vancouver near Champlain Park. From 2:00-6:00  will be “free time” during which you are encouraged to to maintain mindfulness during your everyday activities. From 6:30 to 8:30 we will finish the day with our regular Sangha gathering on Zoom or in person in the Zendo.

TRANSMISSION OF THE FIVE MINDFULNESS TRAININGS: There will be a Transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings during our regular Sangha gathering on Sunday October 3, 2021  from 6:30-8:30. Anyone who would like to receive the Five Mindfulness Trainings or renew their Five Mindfulness Training transmission are welcome to let us know by Saturday, September 25.  The Transmission will be offered by the Waves and Water Sangha and Dharma Teacher Joann Rosen. It will be available both in-person and by Zoom.  There will be an opportunity to discuss your aspiration and the process during the Day of Mindfulness Sunday, September 26. It is not necessary to be a member of the Waves and Water Sangha.

Plum Village Podcast: “THE WAY OUT IS IN” is co-hosted by Brother Phap Huu, Abbot of Upper Hamlet, and Jo Confino, formerly a journalist at The Guardian and now working at the intersection of personal transformation and systems change. “This podcast series is aimed at helping us to transcend our fear and anger so that we can be more engaged in the world in a way that develops love and compassion. Thich Nhat Hanh’s calligraphy ‘The Way Out Is In’ highlights that the way out of any difficulty is to look deeply within, gain insights and then put them into practice. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, all other podcast platforms plus the Plum Village App.

Earth Holder On-Line Retreat: “THIS IS IT: Embodying Racial and Ecological Justice in the Face of the Climate Emergency”: The Earth Holder Community is the branch of the Plum Village tree that applies Thay’s core teachings on engaged Buddhism, mindful living, racial and social justice, and inter-being with Mother Earth at this time of ecological crisis. Registration is now open for THIS IS IT 3. This is a rerun of the successful retreat which has been offered twice before. Find more information at https://ehc-academy.teachable.com/p/this-is-it3

RACE: A Dharma Door: Sponsored by ARISE Sangha, this virtual six-month training to learn skillful ways to understand and practice with race, racism, and intersectionality. We can welcome in our ignorance and pain and transform this mud into lotuses of understanding, compassion, and peace. Every attempt will be made to maintain a balance of BIPOC and non-BIPOC participants at a 60:40 ratio.

LISTENING CIRCLES FOR HEALING RACISM – FOR WHITE PEOPLE: Facilitators Guidebook by John Bell (Chan Dieu Tri/True Wonderful Wisdom): This guide is designed to provide facilitators with a kind of ready-made kit to help them offer an accessible, replicable, and effective experience for participants. The guide includes framing ideas, facilitation suggestions, sample schedules and facilitator notes, and lots of resources. It can be used as is, or adapted for one’s local community, or pieces excerpted for one’s own guide. Please feel free to adapt for your own use as appropriate. For more information: a short guide for Listening Circle facilitators

Good afternoon dear friends

We have three more Thursdays left in July! And it sometimes seems like a busy month because there are some significant changes and lovely opportunities ahead of us.

In August we do not gather together – but we can always visualize breathing in and out together as we practice wherever we are.

On SUNDAY September 5 at 6:45 we will return both in-person and through Zoom at the Mountain Rain Zen Community Zendo. We will provide more information in an August blog about any pandemic protocols that may still be in place. We will continue to meet on Zoom as we have done for the past many months. It would be helpful to have some indication of who might wish to attend in person and who might wish to begin or continue meeting on Zoom.

Beginning September 4, WE WILL MEET ON SUNDAY

Mountain Rain Zen Community has been our most loving and supportive host since Waves and Water Sangha first met in 2011. We moved with them from Fraser Street to Wall Street and have enjoyed a most harmonious relationship throughout. Because of their expanded program offerings, we will be moving our Sangha day from Thursdays to Sundays. As in the past, we will gather from 6:45 to be settled by our first bell at 7:00.

This is an opportunity for us to practice with impermanence. For some of us, this may be a welcome change – allowing us to come to Sangha with  more spaciousness (and a better commute). For some of us, this may be a disappointment – our individual, family or work schedules may not accommodate Sunday gatherings as well. For others, this is a neutral change – requiring perhaps a revision in our ongoing calendars. Although causes and conditions have required this change, we do sincerely regret any negative impacts for individual practitioners.

IN-PERSON WALKING MEDITATION SUNDAY, JULY 18:

We will come together at 10:00 at Mountain View Cemetery for Walking Meditation and mindful conversation. Depending on the weather (e.g. too hot) and participants’ interests we will end at 12:00 or 1:00. The washrooms are supposed to be open but they won’t guarantee it. (What can we guarantee in this life at this time.)

We enter off Fraser Street at 39^th Avenue and gather at the office. Then walk between the fountain and the pond. Please e-mail wwsangha@gmail.com for more information. It is very helpful if you let us know you are planning to attend.

JULY is our month of exploring the third of the Five Powers: Mindfulness.

The first Thursday we recited and discussed the 1990 version of the Five Precepts (included below). These were the foundation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings and if you follow the link you will have a Dharma Talk by Thay over 20 years ago. The next year, the Precepts became the first version of what are now called the Five Mindfulness Trainings.

Our second Thursday Christiane offered an experiential talk about mindfulness and taught us song: an adapted version of When I Rise recorded during the pandemic by the Plum Village World Wide Chorus. The lyrics and a link to the performance is included below.

WHEN I RISE: WORLD WIDE CHOIR

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTUQrLPPkTA

And when I rise, let me rise like a bird joyfully
And when I fall let me fall like a leave gracefully, without regrets
And when I stand, let me stand, like a tree – rooted deep
And when I walk, let me walk, like a lion, regally, strong and free

Waking up this morning I smile
24 brand new hours right before me
I vow to live fully in each moment
And to look at all beings with compassion

And when I wake, let me wake, like sunrise, radiantly
And when I rest, let me rest, like sunset, contentedly, without worries

And when I cry, let me cry like the rain cleansingly, with all my heart
And when I dream, let me dream like a cloud, vividly in my true home
THE FIVE WONDERFUL PRECEPTS 1990

The Mindfulness Bell #2 – Included in a Dharma Talk by Thay

https://www.mindfulnessbell.org/archive/2016/03/dharma-talk-five-wonderful-precepts-2?rq=1990

The First Precept:

Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature.

The Second Precept:

Do not steal. Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from enriching themselves from human suffering and the suffering of other species on earth.

The Third Precept:

Sexual expression should not take place without love and a longterm commitment. Be fully aware of the suffering you may cause others as a reslt of your misconduct. To preserve the happiness of yourself and others, respect the rights and commitments of others.

The Fourth Precept:

Do not say untruthful things. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things that you are unsure of. Do not utter words that can cause division and hatred, that can create discord and cause the family or community to break. All efforts should be made to reconcile and resolve all conflicts.

The Fifth Precept:

Do not use alcohol and other intoxicants. Be aware that your body has been transmitted to you by several previous generations and your parents. Destroying your body with alcohol and other intoxicants is to betray your ancestors and your parents and also to betray the future generations.

Good evening dear friends

The heirloom rose bushes in our housing co-op back yard smell so beautiful! Both pink and yellow bushes with birds flickering in and out – how can anything be so beautiful to so many senses! This is such a season of delightful changes….

For the month of June we will move on to the second of the Five Powers: ENERGY. As we move through the Five Powers we will acknowledge their interdependence, not leaving the first – FAITH – behind but seeing how they spiral together.

Our first Thursday we will recite the Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings of the Order of Interbeing. Our discussion will center on the energy generated by identifying our aspirations for deep practice. The second Thursday of the month, Thay will offer a talk on how the commitment to water positive seeds can fuel our practice – and what better way than truly seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, tasting all the multi-coloured manifestations of spring.

The third Thursday, we will recite and explore the recitation Nourishing Happiness – and there will be a practice song to learn. The fourth Thursday, we will continue our deeper investigation of one of the Contemplations on the Five Mindfulness Trainings: A New Paradigm for Racial Justice and the Global Pandemic developed by Marisela Gomez and Valerie Brown.

Mark your calendars: on Sunday July 18th, we will gather at Mountain View Cemetery for three hours of mindful practice and joyful togetherness! More information to follow.

In September we hope to offer a Transmission of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. If you are interested in receiving the Trainings, we would like to know as soon as possible.

From our practice in May, we are sharing the following:

The song Christiane presented: “Earth my body”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpdn13HL9vI

The reading related to FAITH that Louise presented from
Thay’s book: Love Letter to the Earth

Intimate Conversations with Mother Earth
Modified from the original in: Nhat Hanh, Thich. 2013. Love Letter to the Earth. Berkeley, California: Parallax Press.
————————————————————————–
With great respect I bow down before you Mother. You are a planet, you are the mother of all species, including our human species. Your children number millions of species, each with its own way of expression. Because you are the mother of all of us, you understand all these ways of expression, including the human language. So we feel perfectly at ease to have a conversation with you and we offer you these words from the depths of our heart.

Mother, you are a green-blue planet, a Bodhisattva that purifies and refreshes all that belongs to the earth. I bow down before you in the clear awareness that you are present in me and that I am a part of you. You have brought me to life, you offer me everything I need for nourishment: the air that I breathe, the clear water that I drink, the food that I eat and the plants and herbs that heal me when I am sick.

You are the great earth, Terra, Gaia, the Green Planet, the Pure and Refreshing Bodhisattva. You are very fragrant, very refreshing, very beautiful. You have the capacity to receive, preserve and transform everything; including filthy and foul-smelling things, poisonous air, radioactive waste. You embrace these things and transform them. Sometimes you have to give yourself a long, long time to
do this, if necessary, millions of years.

Many of us humans out of greed, arrogance and ignorance fail to recognize that you are our mother and have done terrible things to each other and damaged your health and your beauty. We know that you have enough strength to embrace and transform our mistakes, but because we are and have been foolish we continue to compete with each other to exploit you, tiring you out.

Your infinitely great patience and endurance are what have made you a great bodhisattva, an infinitely solid place of refuge for us all. Whenever we are unstable and lose ourselves in forgetfulness, in selfpity, hatred or despair, we should return to ourselves and practice touching the earth.

Then we find a place of refuge in you, so that we recover our peace of mind and revive our confidence and our joy in being alive. We know that we are all your children and although we have made so
many mistakes you forgive us.

Dear Mother, there are times when we suffer greatly because of natural disasters. We know that at those times you are also suffering greatly. Sometimes we turn to you and ask: “Can we trust and count on you?” You do not give a direct answer immediately.

Later, you look at us with the eyes of great compassion and say: “Dear children, of course you can count on me. I shall always be there for you. Though, please ask yourselves the question: “Can your mother trust and count on you?”

Dear mother, we have stayed awake many nights with this koan and now with our faces bathed in tears we come and kneel at your feet and give you this sincere answer: “Dear compassionate, good
and holy mother, you can count on us and trust us.”