Monday, July 29, we will meet in person.
Address for 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 Monday from 7-8:30PM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), Wednesday morning from 7-8AM EDT online, and Friday 12-1PM EDT in person.
This week we continue our summer book club reading of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Fragrant Palm Leaves. We will be reading through August 19.
Please note there is no need to own the book or read the section in advance to enjoy the practice with us. Nor is there a need to attend every practice to benefit from the readings, as each Monday practice will continue to be a stand alone and complete practice. For an introduction to the book, read this.
This Monday, we will gather together in person and Annie will facilitate. We will be discussing pages 115-132. (Each week's reading pages are below.)
I excerpted the below quote from our section of reading. In this section, Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay) talks about what it means to be a true hero in our world. Specifically, he shares how using mindfulness can help us tame our monkey mind and our habits of chasing after money, fame and power. With a tame mind and relaxed body, we are able to see what is really happening inside of us and all around us.
The practice of using gathas (short verses that we can memorize or post around our house) can help us keep coming back to the present moment throughout the day and help us remember our deepest intention to serve the world. Thay was given a book of gathas to memorize when he became a novice monk in Vietnam.
I have been using gathas since I first began practicing mindfulness. My first thought when I wake up is the gatha on waking up (Waking up this morning, I smile, 24 brand new hours are before me, I vow to live fully in each moment, and to look at all beings with the eyes of compassion. I try to remember to recite (in my mind) gathas throughout the day, and some days I am more successful than on other days.
When we are able to be present, we can act against the destructive forces of our culture (and our own mind), slow down, and stay focused on what is most important. By practicing like this we can become someone who can be a true refuge for ourselves and others during even the most difficult days.
Life waits patiently for true heroes. It is dangerous when those aspiring to be heroes cannot wait until they find themselves. When aspiring heroes have not found themselves, they are tempted to borrow the world’s weapons — money, fame, and power — to fight their battles. These weapons cannot protect the inner life of the hero. To cope with his fears and insecurities, the premature hero has to stay busy all the time. The destructive capacity of nonstop busyness rivals nuclear weapons and is as addictive as opium. It empties the life of the spirit.
False heroes find it easier to make war than deal with the emptiness in their own souls. They may complain about never having time to rest, but the truth is, if they were given time to rest, they would not know what to do. People today do not know how to rest. They fill their free time with countless diversions. People cannot tolerate even a few minutes of unoccupied time. They have to turn on the TV or pick up a newspaper, reading anything at all, even the advertisements. They constantly need something to look at, listen to, or talk about, all to keep the emptiness inside from rearing its terrifying head.
When I was a child, I read a funny story about a man who always boasted to his friends about his brave exploits. But at home he was so afraid of his wife, he did not dare look at her crosswise. Present-day heroes are like that. They think they are real heroes because they are so busy, but if we could see their inner lives, we would see desolation. Present-day heroes descend the mountain intending to transform life, but are instead overcome by life. Without fierce resolve and a mature spiritual life, private demons cannot be controlled.
Gathas for Daily Life was a warrior’s manual on strategy. As novices, we were handed it when we entered the monastery and instructed to keep it close at hand at all times, even to use it as a pillow at night. The verses in it taught us how to stay present with our own minds in order to observe ourselves throughout the ordinary actions of daily life: eating, drinking, walking, standing, lying down, and working. It was as difficult as trying to find a stray water buffalo by following its zigzagging tracks. It is not easy to follow the path of return to your own mind. The mind is like a monkey swinging from branch to branch. It is not easy to catch a monkey. You have to be quick and smart, able to guess which branch the monkey will swing to next. It would be easy to shoot it, but the object here is not to kill, threaten, or coerce the monkey. The object is to know where it will go next in order to be with it. That thin book of daily verses provided us with strategies.
The verses were simple, yet remarkably effective. They taught us how to observe and master all the actions of body, speech, and mind. For instance, when we washed our hands, we said to ourselves: Washing my hands in clear water, I pray that all people have pure hands to receive and care for the truth.
I look forward to being with you on Monday to practice together and share our experiences with each other.
with love,
annie.
Upcoming reading of Fragrant Palm Leaves:
7/29 pages 113-132
8/5 pages 133-152
8/12 pages 153-178
8/19 pages 179-end
8/26 Mindfulness Training