BUDDING FLOWER SANGHA
A Mid-Hudson Valley NY Sangha, located in the Newburgh/New Paltz area and inspired by
the teachings of Zen Buddhist
Master
Thich Nhat Hanh.
Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace.
It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace.
Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.
May 2008
| Contacts | Sittings | Sangha Talk | |
|
Patricia can be reached at.... PHPJOY(at)aol.com or Patricia(at)buddingflower.org |
Telephone Contacts
|
Patricia 561-0995 |
Dori 440-6969 |
| Sam & Ariella 691-5295 | Ed 914-805-3284 |
| Carolyn 561-4123 |
Russ (Treasurer), Jamie 462- 0916 |
| Jennifer 549-2235 | Linda Anderson 706-7944 |
- Sitting and walking meditations,
- Dharma readings by Thay and discussion
Mondays in May
May 5, (7:15-8:45pm) ~ at Union
Theodora leadingMay 12, (7:15-8:45pm) ~ at Union
Sheila leadingMay 19, (7:15-8:45pm) ~ at Union
Dori & Carolyn
leading (Recitation of 14 Mindfulness Trainings)
May 26, (7:15-8:45pm) ~ at Union
David leadingNight of Silence
Fridays in
Sittings every Friday morning from 10:00 to
11:30AM
at
the New Paltz Reformed Church Ed Building on Huguenot St .
May 2
May 9
May 16
May 23
May 30
All will occur. Come and be delighted.
Day of
Mindfulness
Saturday -
May 17, 200810:00 a.m. ~ 2:30 p.m. @
Sunday at Blue Cliff -- May 4
Recitation of the 5 Mindfulness Trainings & Sangha Forum
Please plan to arrive before 9am and bring a dish to share.
Sangha Talk & Dates to Reserve

The following is a link to the first part of a Fall 2006 (audio) Dharma Talk by Thay, dated September 17
You can hear it by clicking
HERE
You can support our Sangha poetry (song) page and share more of yourself with your Sangha family.
So please start writing and sharing !! The Sangha poetry starts HERE.
The latest poems added are from Diane, and they can be seen
HERE.
Please send along your poems, songs, Sangha notices, humor and anything else of relevance
that you want "published" (no 'commercials' please). That's to: bodhicitta6(at)yahoo.com
Marilyn is working on our sangha PHONE LIST. It will be available at the sittings.
If you are not on the list and wish to be, please let her know and she will revise the list.
her email is: marrylyn(at)aol.com
UNION CHURCH /
New Paltz Reformed Church Ed Building
We meet most Monday nights at Union Church on Balmville Road with its lovely garden for walking meditation.
We meet most Friday mornings at New Paltz Reformed Church Ed Building.
We put out a basket and request that a three dollar donation be offered to cover our expenses/contribution to the churches.
For directions click here
For the latest available details on all of Thay's schedules,
Dharma talk transcripts .....and a lot more, please check the Web site at
MINDFULNESS BELL, the journal of the art of mindful living is a wonderful source for practice
and always has a Dharma talk by Thay as well as articles by lay and monastic practitioners.
It is 18 dollars a year : CML Deer Park, 2496 Melru Lane, Escondido CA 92026
Guest Corner
The
Meaning of Surrender
Eckhart Tolle
Is nonresistance also to be practiced in the external conduct of our lives, such as nonresistance to violence, or is it something that just concerns our inner life?
You only need to be concerned with the inner aspect. That is primary. Of course,
that will also transform the conduct of your outer life, your relationships, and
so on.
Your relationships will be changed profoundly by surrender. If you can never
accept what is, by implication you
will not be able to accept anybody the way they are. You will judge, criticize,
label, reject, or attempt to change people. Furthermore, if you continuously
make the Now into a means to an end in the future, you will also make every
person you encounter or relate with into a means to an end. The relationship –
the human being – is then of secondary importance to you, or of no importance
at all. What you can get out of the relationship is primary – be it material
gain, a sense of power, physical pleasure, or some form of ego gratification.
Let me illustrate how surrender can work in relationships. When you become
involved in an argument or some conflict situation, perhaps with a partner or
someone close to you, start by observing how defensive you become as your own
position is attacked, or feel the force of your own aggression as you attack the
other person’s position. Observe the attachment to your views and opinions.
Feel the mental-emotional energy behind your need to be right and make the other
person wrong. That’s the energy of the egoic mind. You make it conscious by
acknowledging it, by feeling it as fully as possible. Then one day, in the
middle of an argument, you will suddenly realize that you have a choice, and you
may decide to drop your own reaction – just to see what happens. You
surrender. I don’t mean dropping the reaction just verbally by saying “Okay,
you are right,” with a look on your face that says, “I am above all this
childish unconsciousness.” That’s just displacing the resistance to another
level, with the egoic mind still in charge, claiming superiority. I am speaking
of letting go of the entire mental-emotional energy field inside you that was
fighting for power.
Living Mindfully Together
Excerpts from Teachings on Love
Each
moment of our lives, each moment that is given to us to live, we have to live
very deeply. If you are capable of living deeply one moment of your life, you
can learn to live the same way all the other moments of your life. The French
poet Rene Char said, “If you can dwell in one moment, you will discover
eternity.” Make each moment an occasion to live deeply, happily, in peace.
Each moment is a chance for us to make peace with the world, to make peace
possible for the world, to make happiness possible for the world. The world
needs our happiness. The practice of mindful living can be described as the
practice of happiness, the practice of love. The capacity of being happy, the
capacity of being loving, is what we have to cultivate in our lives.
Understanding is the very foundation of love. And looking deeply is the basic
practice.
Everyone
knows that blaming and arguing never help, but we forget. That is why we
practice the fifth awareness. Conscious breathing helps us develop the ability
to stop at that crucial moment, to keep ourselves from blaming and arguing.
All
of us need to change for the better. When we marry, we make a promise to change
ourselves and to help the other person change himself or herself so we can grow
together, sharing the fruit and progress of practice. It is our responsibility
to take care of each other. We are the gardener, the one who helps the flowers
grow. If we understand, the flowers will grow beautifully.
Every
time the other person does something well, something in the direction of change
and growth, we should congratulate her or him to show our approval. This is
important. We don’t take things for granted. If the other person manifests
some of her talent and capacity to love and create happiness, we must be aware
of it and express our appreciation. This is the way to water the seeds of
happiness. We should avoid saying destructive things like, “I don’t know
whether you can do this” or “I doubt that you can do this.” Instead, we
say, “This is difficult, darling, but I have faith that you can do it.” This
kind of talk makes the other person stronger. This is true with children, also.
We have to strengthen the self-esteem of our children. We have to appreciate and
congratulate every good thing they say and do in order to help our children
grow. When we are married, we can love each other in the way that encourages
change and growth for the better, all the time.
Please send any updates to bodhicitta6(at)yahoo.com
Quiet Mountain Sangha.
is a women's Sangha in lower Westchester
County. they would like to invite new members to join them at
their monthly gatherings, and practice in the tradition of Thich
Nhat Hahn. For more information, please visit their page
HERE.
Judy Myerson
We
hear from Dan Sedia in Albany of the
Community of Mindful Living
of the Capital District.
Their initial Homepage can be seen by clicking HERE
Sangha Name: Gentle Mountian Sangha
Address: At the home of Judy Myerson
City: Nanuet (Rockland County)
Zip: 10954
Contact names: Debbie, Susan, Judy
Email: prplwolf2@aol.com
Phone: 845.356.3613, 845.627.1575
Meeting:
Every Sunday, 9:30 - 11:30 AM
The
Community of Mindfulness/NY Metro
has a beautiful Homepage, you can access it at http://www.communityofmindfulnessnewyorkmetro.blogspot.com/ I have also included below links to some of their other wonderful Dharma pages. A deep bow to you all for a lovely job.
Tuesday evenings :
Riverside Church sittings. Contact Marjorie Markus 212-787-1473 or David Flint
917-543-6485
Peace Walk every third Sunday of the month in Central Park. Contact Marjorie Markus.
Catskill Mountain Sangha
meets every Thursday. For info please contact Roberta Wall:
Robertaindia(at)yahoo.com or 845-246-5935/845-853-4788 (C)
"Being Peace" Meditation with Thay
Driving Directions For All Sittings
Fourteen Mindfulness Trainings