JOIN US for Online sangha
MONDAY february 17, 7:00pm - 8:30pm EST
Mary and Annie will facilitate
Meditation Schedule
Adopt a family for the holidays
deadline is Tuesday, December 10
Through the Adopt-A-Family project, children and their mothers share their holiday gift wish lists, and donors have the opportunity to purchase gifts directly from these lists or donate gift cards. This is Opening Heart’s fourth year supporting this heartfelt initiative.
HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE:
This year, we aim to adopt five families with a total of 13 children—six girls, six boys, and one soon-to-be-born child.
Here are some ways you can contribute:
- Adopt an entire family or provide gifts to multiple families.
- Collaborate with others if you'd like to share in adopting a family, as some members have done in previous years.
-Share the cost of any pricier gifts with fellow donors.
- Donate gift cards, which are always welcomed.
Organizations we support
VOLAR’s mission is to co-create a cooperative community in East Baltimore owned by Black and Brown people … built through the reclamation of land, healing, reconnecting and building a base of community power.
Learn how VOLAR has evolved and where it is going — and how you can be a part of this incredible initiative.
LEARN MORE
Engaged Buddhism / Deep Listening to our Differences
by Annie Mahon
In this article we explore the transformative art of deep listening while door knocking in the lead up to the US election from Annie Mahon, an engaged practitioner and Dharma teacher in The Plum Village Tradition.
New book release from friend of our sangha, Magda Cabrero:
WALKING ON EARTH WITH THICH NHAT HANH: My Experiences with Silence & The Sanctuaries & Kindred Spirits I Found in Many Places
by Dr. Magda De La Paz Cabrero
First Mindfulness Bell article in Spanish:
Inhabiting Interbeing / Habitando el Interser
We're so excited The Mindfulness Bell has published their first article in Spanish!
All are invited to join our community
Mindfulness is being here now, with kindness and open hearted curiosity.
The Opening Heart Mindfulness Community is open to everyone and meets to practice sitting and walking meditation and discuss mindfulness-related topics every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Circle Yoga. We practice together in the tradition of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
No previous mindfulness or meditation experience necessary.
No registration is required, and there is no fee to attend. Donations are joyfully accepted to support this and other similar programs Sitting meditation can be done on the floor or in a chair.
In consideration of those who have chemical sensitivities, we ask that you do not wear any fragrances (including essential oils) while attending Opening Heart meditation events.
Making-Visible
The Opening Heart Mindfulness Community created this special sangha to build awareness on the issues of social injustice facing our country and the world today.
Dear friends,
This week, we will meet Monday evening, Feb 17th, from 7-8:30PM EST online; Wednesday morning, Feb 19th, from 7-8AM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, Feb 21st, 12-1PM EST in person/online (hybrid).
On Monday, Mary Smith and Annie will facilitate and we will explore the Second Mindfulness Training: True Happiness.
In the Second Mindfulness Training (full text at the bottom) we are reminded:
I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting.
And in the ARISE (Awakening through Race, Intersectionality, and Social Equity) sangha’s contemplation on this training (full text at the bottom), we read:
In our journey towards true happiness, we recognize that societal constructs have often been used to divide and oppress. Acknowledging that there is no genetic or biological difference between different racial and ethnic groups, and that these identities were constructed by one group to establish dominance over others, we commit to turning toward racial and other forms of othering with an open heart and compassionate action.
Related to these both is the sutra The Discourse on Love, in which the Buddha suggests practicing generosity as Boundless Love:
Just as a mother loves and protects her only child at the risk of her own life, cultivate boundless love to offer to all living beings in the entire cosmos. Let our boundless love pervade the whole universe, above, below, and across. Our love will know no obstacles. Our heart will be absolutely free from hatred and enmity. Whether standing or walking, sitting or lying, as long as we are awake, we should maintain this mindfulness of love in our own heart.