This Monday September 25, we will meet in person.
Go to calendar for our schedule
Address for the OHMC meditation space:
3812 Northampton St. NW
Washington DC 20015
Please arrive a few minutes early so we can invite the bell on time. You may also arrive 15 minutes early to practice working meditation by helping us set up cushions.
Dear Friends,
This week we will meet in person on 7-8:30PM at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM online, and Friday 12-1PM online.
Annie will facilitate on Monday evening and we will read the Five Mindfulness Trainings together and focus on the Second training: True Happiness.
In this training (full text below), we are reminded that suffering is created when we steal, exploit or oppress others, which we do when we forget that we “already have more than enough conditions for happiness.” We don’t need to grasp or push away anything when we recognize that this moment is already enough.
If you know me, you know, I am a do-er. When I get caught up in thinking that what I’m doing is urgent or crucial, or that it *must* get done by this time and in this way, my life gets quite small. My attention is so focused on a future outcome, that I contract my world leaving no room for noticing anything new or nourishing.
Because I feel disconnected from others when I am chasing a project, I might also be willing to accept some unacceptable means to reach my end. I might think I need to control or take advantage of people or situations because “my project is so invaluable.” I manifest the delusion that I know what is most important. The truth is that nothing is more important than the present moment; and ends and means cannot be separated. There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way.
When we practice True Happiness, we become willing to reconsider the importance of our projects and our priorities. It’s not easy to release the grip on what we want and instead consider each breath and each step as enough in itself. By doing this, though, we may find that we don’t need to run after something else or control others in order to feel happy. And, in fact, we may find that our new spaciousness allows us to be more generous with our time, energy and material resources.
As Thay writes in his book Peace is Every Step (excerpt below):
“The idea is that you do not put something in front of you and run after it, because everything is already here, in yourself.”
On Monday evening, we will enjoy deep relaxation, walking meditation and sitting meditation and then we will have time to share our practice and life joys and challenges with the sangha.
With love,
annie.
True Happiness
Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and stop contributing to climate change.
In Peace Is Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh writes:
In the West, we are very goal oriented. We know where we want to go, and we are very directed in getting there. This may be useful, but often we forget to enjoy ourselves along the route.
There is a word in Buddhism that means "wishlessness" or "aimlessness." The idea is that you do not put something in front of you and run after it, because everything is already here, in yourself. While we practice walking meditation, we do not try to arrive anywhere. We only make peaceful, happy steps. If we keep thinking of the future, of what we want to realize, we will lose our steps. The same is true with sitting meditation. We sit just to enjoy our sitting; we do not sit in order to attain any goal. This is quite important. Each moment of sitting meditation brings us back to life, and we should sit in a way that we enjoy our sitting for the entire time we do it. Whether we are eating a tangerine, drinking a cup of tea, or walking in meditation, we should do this in a way that is "aimless."
Often we tell ourselves, "Don't just sit there, do something!" But when we practice awareness, we discover something unusual. We discover that the opposite may be more helpful: "Don't just do something, sit there!" We must learn to stop from time to time in order to see clearly. At first, "stopping" may look like a kind of resistance to modern life, but it is not. It is not just a reaction; it is a way of life. Humankind's survival depends on our ability to stop rushing.
"Stopping" is not only to stop the negative, but to allow positive healing to take place. That is the purpose of our practice--not to avoid life, but to experience and demonstrate that happiness in life is possible now and also in the future.
The foundation of happiness in mindfulness. The basic condition for being happy is our consciousness of being happy. If we are not aware that we are happy, we are not really happy. When we have a toothache, we know that not having a toothache is a wonderful thing. But when we do not have a toothache, we are still not happy. A non-toothache is very pleasant. There are so many things that are enjoyable, but when we don't practice mindfulness, we don't appreciate them. When we practice mindfulness, we come to cherish these things and we learn how to protect them. By taking good care of the present moment, we take good care of the future. Working for peace in the future is to work for peace in the present moment.