Rachel Switala
Staying Settled Even During Conflicts

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, Nov. 18, from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, Nov. 20, from 7-8AM EST online; and Friday, Nov. 22, from 12-1PM EST in person.

On Monday night, Annie will facilitate.

Whatever your political views are, if you are in the U.S., these past weeks and months may have felt like a rocky road of division fueled by the media and often based on anger, hatred, and delusion. It can be difficult to keep our stability and continue to find understanding and love during times like these. Sangha can really be helpful. 

In our Plum Village tradition of practice, we have many courageous and nonviolent ancestors we can look to as examples of groundedness during difficult times.

I met a nun at New Hamlet during my recent stay who was part of the Bat Nha temple in Vietnam that was raided by the government and violently attacked in 2009. She told me how she was able to sit calmly in meditation during the violence. (See letter to the Bat Nhat monastics by Thay below.)

Another nun told me about a time before ordaining when she was part of protests of government crackdowns in Asia (specifics withheld for her safety). She was part of a group nonviolently protecting the lives of other students. 

Staying Settled Even During Conflicts
Rachel Switala
Paradise is Still Here! We can help each other ...

Dear Thay, dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, November 11th, from 7-8:30PM EST online; Wednesday morning, Nov 13th, from 7-8AM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); and Friday, Nov 15th, 12-1PM EST online.

On Monday night, Marie will facilitate, and we will continue with the theme of our last virtual gathering, remembering that paradise is (still) here. Marie shares: 

I am writing this on election day; the winds are ablowing, the sea feels turbulent and sometimes, my boat rocks. Other times, it doesn’t. What makes the difference? 

Paradise is Still Here! We can help each other remember
Rachel Switala
My Experiences with Interbeing at Thich Nhat ...

Dear friends,

This week, we will meet Monday evening, Nov. 4, from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, Nov. 6, from 7-8AM EST online; and Friday, Nov. 8, from 12-1PM EST in person.

In the first part of this write-up, I reflected on my visit to Tú Hiéu Monastery in Vietnam, where I participated in ceremonies honoring Thich Nhat Hanh as an ancestral teacher. The event began with a long chanting ritual, during which offerings were made, highlighting Thay's humility as one among many beings. I connected this experience to the Buddhist idea of dedicating merit to all beings, recalling my earlier skepticism about this inclusive perspective. Drawing from Taoist, Confucian, and Jain teachings, I explored the idea of universal interconnectedness through the concepts of Qi, the Tao, and Ahimsa, all of which emphasize empathy and the unity of life.

I also contemplated the Buddhist teaching of Anatta, the doctrine that the self is an illusion, envisioning my spiritual path as concentric circles moving away from the ego and toward oneness with all beings. This insight deepened during my visit, where the natural environment of Thay’s sanctuary became a spiritual guide. The Qi connecting all things brought me a profound sense of peace and belonging, culminating in my deep connection with the land and the elements around me, symbolized by my taking of a pinecone as a memento of the sanctuary's timeless energy.

My Experiences with Interbeing at Thich Nhat Hanh’s Root Temple
Rachel Switala
Paradise is Here! Who and/or what helps you to ...

Dear Friends,

This week: we will meet Monday evening, October 28th, from 7-8:30PM EDT online, Wednesday morning, Oct 30th, from 7-8AM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday, Nov 1st 12-1PM EDT online.

On Monday night, Marie will facilitate, and we will share our experiences with recognizing and feeling that paradise is here.

She shares: I recently returned from a visit to my elderly mother, who was surprisingly well and oh-so present with everything. Being with her nourished my practice in ways I hadn’t noticed before. Whether she was delighting in the dappled sunlight filtering through tangerine-colored trees, extolling the crispness of fish’n’chips, or reflecting on her aging and “uncooperative” body, she was fully in the moment.

Paradise is Here! Who and/or what helps you to remember?
Rachel Switala
Healing from within

Dear Friends,

This week we will meet Monday evening, Oct. 14, from 7-8:30PM EDT online, Wednesday morning, Oct. 16, from 7-8AM EDT in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW), and Friday, Oct. 18, 12-1PM EDT online.

Our Monday night sangha will be facilitated by Susie.

Susie shares: 

“Love is the capacity to take care, to protect, to nourish. If you are not capable of generating that kind of energy toward yourself—if you are not capable of taking care of yourself, of nourishing yourself, of protecting yourself—it is very difficult to take care of another person. In the Buddhist teaching, it’s clear that to love oneself is the foundation of the love of other people. Love is a practice. Love is truly a practice.” – Thich Nhat Hanh from the Plum Village website. Full interview is here.

I can be my own coach, my own healer, my own friend. 

If I sit quietly, I can listen to my needs and emotions, calm my breath, and tap into the resources within. Writing helps my mind unwind, my body unfurl, my heart open.

There are times I seek help and expertise from coaches, doctors, and friends. But I realized I can be my own best coach, potentially my own best healer, and the one who speaks kindly to myself, as a good friend or caring person would.

I hired a business coach earlier this year. It was great. I received insights and suggestions for how to work smarter. I learned from the experience, but I found that I was working too hard on the assignments, and it was pulling me off track. I use the skills she gave me to be better at what I do. Now I am my own best coach – listening to the voice inside to get the next assignment. 

Healing from within

sangha

Watering the Seed of Vulnerable Self-Expression To Water the Seed of Collective Care

Watering the Seed of Vulnerable Self-Expression To Water the Seed of Collective Care

Special Guest Sandra Kim will lead our sangha this Monday.

A sangha that aspires to support its members in becoming free from suffering and realizing our interbeing-ness needs to have a culture of collective care - where all are cared for because all are caring. While at any given moment, who and how we are giving and receiving may be different, we can trust in the sangha to hold us.

Like all aspirations, nurturing a culture of collective care in our sanghas is not easy, particularly in a society that promotes hyper-individualism, consumerism as the cure to all, and work being the only valid activity to focus on. And in our society that expects people to be perfect in order to be acceptable, it can be very difficult for many to acknowledge their own difficult feelings and express their need for support.

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