JOIN US for in person sangha
MONDAY July 27, 7:00pm - 8:30pm ET
Ellen will facilitate
Meditation schedule
Upcoming events
We’d love to hear from you.
Have a suggestion, question, or reflection to share with the sangha? Use the form below to let us know.
All submissions are anonymous unless you choose to include your name.
2026 Annual Book and Back-to-School Drive
Join us in supporting the children served by Community Family Life Services (CFLS) through our annual Book & Back-to-School Drive. This year, we'll be providing school supplies and books for 15 children from families participating in Trinity Arms, a program that supports mothers and children as they transition from domestic violence to stable housing.
Love is the Strongest Force
We’re honored to share that Dharma Teacher Annie Mahon’s article, Love is the Strongest Force, has been published on the Plum Village website.
Written at the start of the current administration, the piece explores how fierce compassion—rooted in mindfulness, community, and the Four Noble Truths—can help us respond to injustice and suffering without turning away from love. Annie reflects on how practicing boundless care allows us to transform both personal and collective pain, and to build sustainable communities that truly care for all.
We are all one
We recognize the struggles of immigrants because many, though not all, of us have experienced immigration, arriving in this country ourselves or our ancestors arriving before us. We also stand in solidarity with members of the LGBTQ+ community who experience discrimination and hardship.
To offer support, we warmly invite you to review the information and links we provided.
Organizations we support
Love in Action - Supporting those harmed in the war in Ukraine
In response to the humanitarian crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, OHMC, Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center, and Washington Mindfulness Community have come together with a project that is a concrete manifestation of our engaged practice.
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.
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.
Hello Sangha Friends,
This week, we will meet Monday evening, July 27, from 7-8:30PM ET in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, July 29, from 7-8AM ET online; and Friday, July 31, 12-1PM ET online.
This week, Ellen will guide our meditation. Ellen shares:
This Monday we’ll gather in person to read and discuss the Second Mindfulness Training, “True Happiness” (full text below). It’s a very inspirational teaching – one that seems so simple, and yet is so deep and complex.
I thought it would be interesting to connect this training to Thay’s book we are reading this summer At Home in the World. It was wonderful to find so many little gems included in a number of the short pieces that reference happiness. Here are a few (which you can read to get the full context for these excerpts):
“Sleeping in sleeping bags on planks of wood did not prevent us from being happy.” (Enjoy Your Sleeping Bag)
“Usually, it only takes a few minutes to drink a cup of tea, but in taking time to be truly present for one another like this, we nourish mutual understanding and happiness.” (Lotus Tea)
“But raking these leaves is not simply to have a clear path to jog or walk along; raking leaves is just to enjoy raking leaves. So I hold the rake in such a way that makes me feel happy, peaceful, and solid during the whole time of raking.” (Raking Leaves)
“Don’t miss the opportunities you have to sit down, without having to worry or think about doing anything. Lay down your burdens, your worries and projects. Just sit and feel that you are alive. Sit with your son, your daughter, your partner, your friend. That’s enough to be happy.” (A Palm tree in My Garden)