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Good morning dear friends

Climate Strike Friday, September 27, 1:00-5:00 Vancouver City Hall There will be Sangha practitioners meeting at the NW Corner of Yukon and 10th Ave. at 12:45. Mountain Rain Zen Community has a banner: We Vow to Protect All Life

Five Mindfulness Training Transmission: We have an opportunity to offer a Five Mindfulness Training Transmission when Dharma Teacher Joann Rosen visits Waves and Water Sangha on Thursday, October 10. If there are practitioners in Vancouver interested in receiving or renewing the Five Mindfulness Trainings in a formal ceremony please let us know by October 2. Waves and Water Sangha Please complete the form below to send with your e-mail.

In the fresh fall sunlight….

Name_________________________________________________ Phone____________________________

Address________________________________________________ City___________________________

Sangha you attend or experience with Plum Village Tradition ________________________________________________

Do you want to receive the Three Refuges?

Which of the mindfulness trainings would you like to receive?

____All five _____First _____Second _____Third _____Fourth _____Fifth

Would you like to receive a Dharma Name to encourage you in practice?

_____Yes _____No

If you would like a Dharma name, please write a statement of your aspirations in practice on the back of this page.

Good morning dear friends

This summer I felt at times like I was living inside Thay’s story about the toothache…. When we have a toothache all we want is for the pain to be addressed and soothed. When we don’t have a toothache we forget to dwell in the joy of non-toothache-ness. It is as if we believe non-pain is normal and to be expected. Yet how many of us are free from pain – mental, physical, emotional, spiritual – on a daily basis? How many of us forget to enjoy moments of deep peace, beauty and connection even in the midst of pain??

This summer we did not have the constant presence of wildfire smoke and extreme (for us) heat. Most days, I did not celebrate deep within myself either this absence of discomfort or this presence of wonderful conditions for being out-of-doors. I mindlessly enjoyed them and yet how much more joyful I felt in true mindful awareness of this great gift! I needed the practice of the Six Paramitas to support me….

It is September and we begin anew our practice together as a Sangha after a month when Sangha gatherings were not scheduled. Please consider this an open door to practice! And join us whenever you are able.

During the next months we will continue our pattern of dedicated Thursdays. On the first Thursday we will either practice the full Ceremony to Recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings or (in alternate months) recite the Trainings and share our experiences with them.

On the second Thursday we will engage in the practice and study of the Six Paramitas using both Thich Nhat Hanh – The Heart of the Buddha’s Teachings plus other materials – and Norman Fischer – The World Could be Otherwise: Imagination and the Bodhisattva Path. These teachings support our capacity to deal with the very real pain that we – and others – experience so we do not become caught in suffering.

On the third Thursday we will practice a Sutra Service and look for the ways in which our recitations and sutras support our practices of (1) dana: giving (2) shila: mindfulness trainings (3) kshanti: inclusiveness (4) virya: diligence (5) dhyana: meditation (6) prajna: understanding.

On the fourth Thursday we will explore how practicing the paramitas informs our actions around the importance of sustainability in the context climate change.

When we have a fifth Thursday (October 31 and January 30) we will have a more social evening, including a pot luck supper, that ends with a period of sitting.

Good morning dear friends

We will gather at 7:00 this evening for a vegetarian potluck social – everyone is welcome to attend and enjoy!

Plus a reminder that we will not be gathering on Thursday in the meditation hall for the month of August.

Smiling in the sunshine….

Good evening dear friends

Tomorrow – July 18 – we will have a Sutra Service to end this season’s practice period.

The next Thursday – July 25 – we will have a vegetarian potluck Sangha social. Please RSVP to help us plan. If you know what you will bring to contribute that would be helpful information! We welcome all who can come – even if you have not been able to attend many Thursdays…

There will be no Sangha gatherings in August.

We can all look forward to practicing together SEPTEMBER 5…. May we all have a nourishing summer.

Good evening dear friends,

Please excuse us if you are receiving this post for the second time. We are having some technical difficulties with the blog.

We have learned that there will be a Lights for Liberty Vigil not only in Burnaby as outlined in our last post but also in Vancouver.

As with all the Lights for Liberty events, it will take place also on Friday, July 12. It will begin at 7:00 at the Vancouver Art Gallery. According to a media release, they have organized speakers for the first hour or so, then there will be the lighting of candles from 8:00 to 9:00 after which there will be a walk to the Trump Tower. The vigil will be focused on the very difficult conditions in the USA camps. It will also acknowledge the importance of the immediate release of 110 children currently held at Canadian Detention Centres across our nation.

Those of us intending to participate in the Burnaby vigil have decided to attend the vigil in Vancouver. Perhaps we will practice in this way together with other Sangha members.

Good evening dear friends,

We have learned that there will be a Lights for Liberty Vigil not only in Burnaby as outlined in our last post but also in Vancouver.

As with all the Lights for Liberty events, it will take place also on Friday, July 12. It will begin at 7:00 at the Vancouver Art Gallery. According to a media release, they have organized speakers for the first hour or so, then there will be the lighting of candles from 8:00 to 9:00 after which there will be a walk to the Trump Tower. The vigil will be focused on the very difficult conditions in the USA camps. It will also acknowledge the importance of the immediate release of 110 children currently held at Canadian Detention Centres across our nation.

Those of us intending to participate in the Burnaby vigil have decided to attend the vigil in Vancouver. Perhaps we will practice in this way together with other Sangha members.

A Vigil to End Human Detention Camps
Friday, July 12, 2019 at 8:30 PM – 9:30 PM
Richard Bolton Park Burnaby
5-10 minutes walk from SFU Transit Exchange

Dear friends

On Thursday at our regular Sangha gathering we will have an opportunity to practice with our understanding of what is happening in the United States’ detention/concentration camps for children and for adults. There are many sources of information concerning this. A few are included below. Information about the sponsoring group is also below.

On Friday, July 12 there will be a vigil in Burnaby. As far as we know, there is nothing planned (yet) for Vancouver. Please attend if you can. If you have a vehicle that could provide carpooling to this event, please let us know.

Here are some links (although most news outlets are carrying some coverage).

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-concentration-camps-expert_n_5d0a3ec5e4b0e560b70c8e5ehttps://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-unimaginable-reality-of-american-concentration-camps
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a27813648/concentration-camps-southern-border-migrant-detention-facilities-trump/

The organizing group is LIGHTS FOR LIBERTY and you can find information about them below:

Our Mission
We are a coalition of people, many of whom are mothers, dedicated to human rights, and the fundamental principle behind democracy that all human beings have a right to life, liberty and dignity.

We are partnering with national, regional and local communities and organizations who believe that these fundamental rights are not negotiable and are willing to protect them.

On Friday July 12th, 2019, Lights for Liberty: A Vigil to End Human Detention Camps, will bring thousands of Americans to detention camps across the country, into the streets and into their own front yards, to protest the inhumane conditions faced by refugees.

We will be gathering on March 7 as the sun is out (at least right here) and the roads appear clear.

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Good morning dear friends –

We begin our March practice with a full Ceremony for the Recitation of the Five Mindfulness Trainings. We hope that the weather will settle down before then! IF THE ROADS BECOME ICY we will cancel our gathering and connect with our breath at home….

IF WE DECIDE TO CANCEL we will send a blogpost bulletin and put a message on the website front page.

To recognize and celebrate women around the world, we will study and practice with a relevant reading on our second Thursday. On our third Thursday we will have a ceremony to honour our women ancestors. On the fourth, we will honour mother earth….

All are welcome. We hope you will join us. And may we safe….

Dear friends –

What a beautiful day we had today – yellow sun, blue sky, bright white snow, crisp air. Tomorrow, we are expecting wet snow mixed with rain beginning in the afternoon. As most of us may anticipate, this can soon turn into icy roads. In the interests of safety, we are cancelling Sangha for the evening.

Please take care of yourselves as we offer someone – loved one, stranger, someone who causes us pain – some True Love on Valentine’s Day.