About our Practice
Our own life has to be our message.
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Our Sangha is a community of people practicing mindfulness together in order to bring about and maintain awareness. Our gatherings are an opportunity for practicing together joyfully. Aware that our speech and actions can help each other practice more deeply, we hold ourselves to a high standard of mindfulness. Our practice is inspired by the teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and other traditions of meditation and mindful living.
Getting Ready:
We are invited to arrive 10-15 minutes early so that we can approach the hall with mindfulness and without hurry. This way, we all participate in the creation of our peaceful Practice Space. We will joyfully support the facilitator in setting up the hall or bringing down the cushions.
We are invited to turn off our cell phones or their ringers. If we need to leave them on in case of an emergency, we will put them on vibrate mode. If necessary, we will mindfully walk outside before taking the call so that the practitioners inside can continue to concentrate.
Comfort:
Our meeting place welcomes you to sit on the floor or on chairs. For floor seating, meditation mats and cushions are provided but you are welcome to bring your own if you prefer. We are asked to leave our street footwear outside the main hall in the lobby.
If someone has environmental sensitivities, they will let the facilitator know and we will refrain from burning incense or scented candles. A sangha gathering is not a time to suffer, so comfort is important. We also ask that participants not wear perfumes or other heavy scents. We are all encouraged to take responsibility for our own well-being and to communicate our needs to the facilitator of the meeting with consideration for others.
Thich Nhat Hanh
THICH NHAT HANH
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is letting our attention remain in the present moment, in the present space. Here, now, we become fully present for ourselves; others present, and whatever we are doing.
Mindfulness is not limited to one religion; it is an ecumenical spiritual practice and a non-sectarian way of life that can benefit anyone and everyone, whether Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, or those of other faiths, as well as non-religious.
The Art of Mindful Living
Sitting Meditation
When we enter the Meditation Hall we will all have taken our seats, so that everyone is ready and comfortable when the bell is invited. If we are late for sitting meditation, we will try to join the group without disruption or will sit just outside the group until the next transition (bell).
Sitting meditation is very healing. We realize we can just be with whatever is within us- our pain, anger, and irritation, or our joy, love, and peace. We are with whatever is there without being carried away by it. Let it come, let it stay, then let it go.
No need to push, to oppress, or pretend our thoughts are not there. Observe the thoughts and images of our mind with an accepting and loving eye.
Stopping is the first important step when we sit down. When our body has stopped moving, it gives our mind a chance to calm down too. Then we can be free to be still and calm despite the storms that might arise in us.
If our legs or feet fall asleep or begin to hurt while sitting, we are free to adjust our position quietly by following our breathing. We can also quietly move to a chair if we find sitting on the floor uncomfortable. Aware of how our movements affect our fellow practitioners, we remain as still as we can comfortably be.
Walking Meditation
“I have arrived, I am home” means: I don’t want to run anymore. I’ve been running all my life, and I’ve arrived nowhere. Now I want to stop. My destination is the here and now, the only time and place where true life is possible.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
In walking meditation, the sangha body moves together – silently and mindfully – like a flowing stream. Step in harmony with the rhythms of your natural breath and steps (e.g., taking one or two steps for the inhale and one or four steps for the exhale), adjusting your pace as necessary to stay with the group. Everybody is moving together slowly and mindfully.
As we continue walking, synchronizing our breathing and our steps, we become aware of our whole body walking. We can relax any tension in our shoulders or arms, and feel what a miracle it is to be walking on Earth. We can open our ears to the sounds around us, and lift up our eyes to enjoy the trees, or the horizon, or the people around us. Aware of our five senses, we know we have arrived in the present moment. Every step can be nourishing and every step can be healing.
Dharma Sharing – Deep Listening, Loving Speech
During Dharma sharing, we practice loving speech and deep listening. It is a special time for us to share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties and our questions relating to the practice of mindfulness. By learning to speak out about our happiness and our difficulties, we contribute to the collective insight and understanding of the sangha.
Dharma sharing is not a time to engage in theoretical or abstract conversations about theories or texts rather, we will only speak directly from our own experiences. We will refrain from characterizing the experiences of others, giving unsolicited advice, or inserting ourselves into their stories. By avoiding such “cross-talk,” we honor and safeguard each individual‟s sharing. We will remember not to spread news that we do not know to be certain and not to criticize or condemn things of which we are not sure. We will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord.
By practicing deep listening while others are speaking, we help create a calm and receptive environment. Mindful of our own inner dialog, if we refrain from agreeing, disagreeing or wanting to respond, we can choose to come back to being present with the person speaking. By being witnesses to sangha members, we support healing, joy, and spiritual growth of the individual and ourselves.
Whatever is shared during Dharma sharing is confidential. If a friend shares about a difficulty he or she is facing, we will respect that he or she may or may not wish to talk about this individually outside of the Dharma discussion time.
If someone is not speaking loudly enough, we will refrain from interrupting them to ask for them to speak louder knowing that the sharing is for them to speak more than it is for us to hear.
Mindful Eating
Here are Five Contemplations that Thích Nhất Hanh suggests be spoken before a meal. The practice, outlined in his book Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life, is a means to transform our relationship with food with thoughtful presence.
- This food is the gift of the whole universe, the earth, the sun, the sky, the stars and the hard and loving work of numerous beings.
- May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to enjoy every bite.
- May we transform our unwholesome mental formations, especially those that cause us harm, as they indirectly harm all we touch.
- May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that we reduce the suffering of living beings, preserve our precious planet, and reverse the process of global warming.
- We accept this food so that we may realize the path of understanding and love.
Chanting and Singing
The Awakening Heart Community of Mindful Living regularly recites an opening affirmation and a closing chant. Interbeing Meditation Group regularly recites the Five Mindfulness Trainings of the Plum Village Tradition. You are welcome to read along or remain silent during the recitations as you choose.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings
According to the Plum Village website, The Five Mindfulness Trainings have their root in the Five Precepts offered by the Buddha. They have been expanded and updated so that they represent a way to bring mindfulness into every area of life. Rather than hard and fast rules, they offer us a framework to reflect on our actions, speech and thinking so we can create more happiness for ourselves and for the world around us.
The first training is to protect life, and to decrease violence in oneself, in the family and in society. The second training is to practice social justice, generosity, not stealing and not exploiting other living beings. The third is the practice of responsible sexual behavior in order to protect individuals, couples, families and children. The fourth is the practice of deep listening and loving speech to restore communication and reconciliation. The fifth is about mindful consumption, to help us not bring toxins and poisons into our body or mind.
Thich Nhat Hanh, Happiness: Essential Mindfulness Practices (2009)
The-Five-Mindfulness-Trainings-2022DownloadSisters and brothers in the community, this is the moment when we enjoy transmitting, receiving, and reciting the Five Mindfulness Trainings together. The Five Mindfulness Trainings represent the Buddhist vision for a global spirituality and ethic. They are a concrete expression of the Buddha’s teachings on the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, the path of right understanding and true love, leading to healing, transformation, and happiness for ourselves and for the world. To practice the Five Mindfulness Trainings is to cultivate the insight of interbeing, or Right View, which can remove all discrimination, intolerance, anger, fear, and despair. If we live according to the Five Mindfulness Trainings, we are already on the path of a bodhisattva. Knowing we are on that path, we are not lost in confusion about our life in the present or in fears about the future.
Brother ChiSing