Monday, December 16, we will meet in person.
Go to calendar for our schedule
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 evening, Dec. 16, from 7-8:30PM EST in person at our meditation space (3812 Northampton Street NW); Wednesday morning, Dec. 18, from 7-8AM EST online; and Friday, Dec. 20, from 12-1PM EST in person & online (hybrid).
This Monday evening, Camille will facilitate. Camille shares:
At a recent Plum Village retreat in a sangha group sharing, we was “What waters your bodhicitta?” and the other “What keeps you going?” Bodhicitta refers to the “mind of enlightenment” in Buddhism. The essence of bodhicitta is to have a good and kind heart and to help and serve all beings with compassion. In essence it is like the mind of loving kindness. For me, the two questions were interrelated, and in my mind, I want to be kind and feel joy and happiness.I want others to feel joy and happiness and to do whatever it takes to relieve our suffering. The actual “doing,” which can be challenging, is what I try to water and what keeps me going.
One of my daughters has been suffering deeply with anxiety, depression, a deep lack of self-worth and many other challenges. When I experience the suffering of others, I can easily go to the habit energy of worry and fear. For a long time, I found that my daughter’s suffering was weighing deeply on me and causing me to lose my grounding and create more suffering. As I worked at deepening my practice and making more space in my heart for myself, I discovered that her suffering had actually watered my bodhicitta. I was inspired to have a stronger practice with more awareness and space to understand, find compassion, and really hear her struggles. As she is on the path to heal, she knows she is being heard with compassion and love. While we still struggle to be able to listen and speak compassionately, we work together and we both feel more confident to open up to one another and to others.
In a recent video I watched of our teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, I am reminded of the bodhicitta mind. He shares that as we deepen our energy of mindfulness and awareness in ourselves, we are more free to serve other beings. He reminds us to be strong in our practice to nourish our “beginner’s mind” so that we can overcome difficulties, and that we need to feed the “bodhicitta or the mind of love and enlightenment” to have enough energy to continue our practice and serve other people. With bodhicitta, we do not need to be discouraged with all the pain and suffering. My daughter has helped me access that aliveness and energy to keep me going.
I look forward to seeing you on Monday night in person and wondering if you might ponder, “What waters your bodhicitta” or “What keeps you going”?
With much love,
Camille