Good morning! I hope everyone had a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday. The meditation group will meet from 7:30 to 9:30 tomorrow evening in the Chapel at First Parish. Ajahn David is scheduled to be with us; thanks yet again to Kevin for providing transportation.

Given Ajahn David’s involvement teaching meditaiton to inmates at FMC Devens and MCI-Norfolk, it was with some interest that I noted Shambhala Sun’s recent online archive of “prison dharma” articles. There is some interesting reading by and about “people who know the practice from both sides of the bars.”

http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3467&Itemid=0

This also seems as good a time as any to put in another plug for “The Dhamma Brothers”:

http://www.dhammabrothers.com/film.html

The DVD is finally available, so perhaps we can arrange a screening at some point. It’s an incredibly powerful film.

Finally, there are a couple of short bits from the Tricycle archives:

First is an offering from five teachers — including Gil Fronsdal and Bhante G — on “how to change your mind,” in conjunction with Tricycle’s Change Your Mind Day:

http://www.tricycle.com/-practice/how-change-your-mind?offer=dharma

Next is an even shorter “meditator’s toolbox” of tips to invigorate your practice:

http://www.tricycle.com/feature/meditators-toolbox

That’s all for now; I hope to see everyone tomorrow!

Metta,
Tim

Greetings everyone! The meditation group will meet tomorrow evening from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Chapel at First Parish. Christine is scheduled to lead the practice this week.

Krista Tippett hosted another interesting installment of Speaking of Faith this past week. Her guest was Adele Diamond, “a cognitive developmental neuroscientist who currently teaches at the University of British Columbia.”

While the entire conversation — “Learning, Doing, Being: A New Science of Education” — is fascinating, Professor Diamond’s connections with the Mind and Life Institute will be particularly interesting from a meditator’s perspective:

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/learning-doing-being/

In the latest IMS newsletter, Director Bob Agoglia and Christina Feldman discus the mainstreaming of meditation and the application of mindfulness practice in a therapeutic setting:

http://www.dharma.org/ims/mp3/Christina_Feldman_Interview_Sep2009.mp3

Bob Agoglia is also featured in the current issue of Buddhadharma in a panel dicussion on how practice centers are dealing with the current ecomonic climate:

http://www.dharma.org/ims/pdf/BD_W_09_Forum.pdf

Finally, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought this short article on “the spirit of gratitude” was rather timely:

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=6,8710,0,0,1,0

That’s all for this week; I hope to see everyone tomorrow evening and I wish everyone a happy, safe holiday.

Metta,
Tim

Greetings! The meditation group will meet from 7:30 to 9:30 tomorrow evening in the Chapel at First Parish. Mike is scheduled to lead the practice this week.

In case anyone missed it, I highly recommend listening to this past week’s Speaking of Faith, on which host Krista Tippett spoke with “the happiest man in the world”, monk/scientist/photographer Matthieu Ricard:

http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/ricard/

A few months ago Shambhala Sun Senior Editor Barry Boyce launched a new column The Mindful Society. As he writes on the Sun Space blog, The Mindful Society is “a chance to talk about interesting people who are doing groundbreaking work in bringing mindfulness and other contemplative disciplines into all areas of society.”

The Mindful Society is “not about how if we pay closer attention and increase our focus, we’ll get better and better at what we do and become better and better with each passing day until we become truly, awesomely, mindful. Perhaps from a certain perspective that is true. But what is much more true — and what the pioneers in the field of bringing mindfulness into all walks of life emphasize — is that paying attention is transformative. The attention-payer finds him or herself being born into a new world that is also the same old world.”

Anyhow, Boyce has amassed an interesting collection of odds and ends — articles, blog posts, audio — that is well worth exploring, including the following:

Barry Boyce’s Mindful Society Pages — “Improvi-satori”
http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=9378

Shambhala Sun Audio: What IS The Mindful Society? Barry Boyce explains
http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=9454

Barry Boyce’s “The Mindful Society Pages”: Being Together
http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=9535

Shambhala Sun Audio: Inside The Mindful Society with Barry Boyce
http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=12028

The Mindful Society: Practicing With Cancer
http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3357&Itemi

Shambhala Sun Audio: On “Practicing With Cancer”
http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=12392

and The Mindful Society: Walking the Talk
http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3461&Itemi

Finally, I believe that Brenda’s “field trip” for meditation at Wat Buddhabhavana is still on track for this Wednesday evening. For confirmation and furhter details, please contact Brenda directly.

That’s all for now; I hope to see everyone tomorrow evening.

Metta,
Tim

Hello! The Tuesday night meditation group will resume its regular practice tomorrow evening from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Chapel at First Parish. Brenda will lead the sitting and discussion this week.

I just want to share a couple of short articles this week.

First is an article by vipassana teacher Gavin Harrison on “working with pain”:

http://www.tricycle.com/-practice/working-pain

The second is an even shorter article by Ajahn Brahmavamso (aka, Ajahn Brahm, or “the funny monk”), “How to Transcend Dental Medication”

http://www.tricycle.com/insights/how-transcend-dental-medication

As some of you may have already heard, Ajahm Brahm has found himself in the midst of controversy this past week resulting from his the unauthorized ordination of novice nuns at his monastery in Perth, Australia.

Suffice to say the issue is complex, involving far more than just female ordination, but the resulting “excommunication” of Ajahn Brahm and his monastery from the Wat Pah Pong Sangha in Thailand is notable for a couple of reasons:

First, the Wat Pah Pong Sangha is the forest monastic order established by Ajahn Chah, so this news might be of more than passing interest to our meditation group. Luang Por Chah was one of the “grandfathers” of the forest monastic tradition in Thailand, and trained many Western teachers, including Ajahns Sumedho, Sucitto, and Amaro. Ajahn Chah was also one of the primary teachers of Jack Kornfield, who in turn was one of the founders the Insight Meditation tradition here in the West, and one of Abhaya’s teachers at Spirit Rock.

Second, this is a poignant illustration of the tensions that exist between tradition and modernity, particularly within the Theravada tradition and particularly in Thailand.

Third, this is also an illustration that even the most well-established communities and the most well-respected dharma teachers are still very human, and subject to very strong differences of opinion.

I wish to stay focused here on the “higher level” points made in the illustrations above, and not stoop to the level of gossip. However, there have been some skillful (and some not-so-skillful) things written in response to Ajahn Brahm’s situation, and I’ll be happy to forward links to anyone who is interested in learning more. Again, the issues of women’s ordination and the future of the Buddhist monastic tradition in Thailand make for interesting subject matter.

Finally, Brenda’s “Buddhism 101″ class will wrap up on Wednesday evening, however she is planning a field trip to the Wendesday night meditation with Ajahn David at Wat Buddhabhavana the following week (November 18). If anyone from the Tuesday night group is interested in going, they are more than welcome. The Wednesday night meditation at Wat Buddhabhavana is from 7 to 9; Brenda, Sue, and I will be happy to provide driving directions for anyone who would like to go.

That’s all for this week; I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night!

Metta,
Tim

Hello everyone! The meditation group will meet tomorrow evening from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Chapel at First Parish. Ajahn David will join us once again this week (thanks to Kevin for providing transportation), however the format will be slightly different than usual.

A few weeks ago Ajahn participated in a panel discussion on Buddhism for Professor Diana Eck’s Harvard class on Comparative Religions and Indian Studies.

Professor Eck also directs The Pluralism Project at Harvard University (http://pluralism.org). The mission of the Pluralism Project is “to help Americans engage with the realities of religious diversity through research, outreach, and the active dissemination of resources.” One of the Pluralism Project’s recent endeavors has been the production of the documentary film “Fremont, USA: A City’s Encouter with Religious Diversity” (http://pluralism.org/fremontusa/).

Professor Eck gifted Ajahn with a DVD copy of the award-winning film and we are delighted to be able to offer a screening for the Frist Parish community tomorrow evening; please feel free to invite interested friends and family.

“This film offers a glimpse of religious diversity on the local level: Fremont, California is a city transformed by new immigration. A rajagopuram rises in a tidy suburban neighborhood, announcing the vital presence of the Hindu community. The diversity of the global Buddhist community is also in evidence, as Thai, Chinese, and Burmese temples – and a women’s monastic retreat center – dot the landscape. Fremont is home to Peace Terrace, where Muslims and Christians have built side by side, and Gurdwara Road, where a large Sikh community engages in creative forms of outreach.

“Through civic engagement and interfaith action, strangers have become neighbors in this American city. Yet Fremont has also faced real challenges, especially after 9/11. When Alia Ansari, a Muslim woman, is murdered, some wonder if it was a hate crime: Was she killed because of her headscarf? How will the wider community respond?”

The running time of the film is 57 minutes, so there should be plenty of time for reflection and discussion afterward.

Many thanks in advance to Ajahn and to Brenda for coordinating the screening!

Moving right along, IMC Newburyport will host a day-long retreat on compassion this Sunday, November 8, with Kate Wheeler:

“We are pleased to welcome Kate Wheeler back to the Insight Meditation Center for an all day Retreat on Compassion on Sunday, November 8th. Kate Wheeler has been practicing yoga and meditation since her early teens. She began formal Buddhist practice in 1977. In the late 1980s she was briefly ordained as a nun in Rangoon , Myanmar and has been teaching retreats since the early 1990s. Recently she has assisted Sharon Salzberg in Loving-Kindness retreats at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre , MA . She lives in Somerville and is an accomplished writer of fiction, travel journalism, and personal essays.

“Kate encourages us to practice learning to use Compassion as a way to befriend ourselves and others with all of our imperfections. Can we train ourselves not to turn automatically away from suffering and not to try to ‘fix’ things? Simple traditional compassion meditation phrases will be mixed with awareness practices in helping us approach ourselves, and others in an authentically caring way without hardening our hearts.

“Beginning meditators and experienced practitioners are invited to attend this Retreat for a full day from 9am to 5pm or for a half day from 9am to 12:30pm. Those coming for the full day should bring a bag lunch.

“The day will include sitting and walking meditation and time to discuss our practice in the group or individually with the teacher. Kate shares her insights and the teachings of the Buddha with compassion and generosity. We are fortunate to have her as a guest teacher.

“Please register and mail in your fee or let us know by email or by calling the Center to tell us of your intent to attend. Full day fees are $45 for members and $55 for non-members. The fees for a half day are $25 for members and $30 for non-members.”

For more information, visit http://www.imcnewburyport.org

Finally, I want to share a 2003 collection of short interviews between Shambhala Sun’s Donna Rockwell and four well-known Buddhist meditation teachers: Charlotte Joko Beck, Joseph Goldstein, Sylvia Boorstein, and Sharon Salzberg.

http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1613&Itemi

That’s all for this week.

Tomorrow is Election Day, so please don’t forget to vote. I hope to see you all afterwards for an evening of mindful film viewing.

Metta,
Tim

Hello everyone! The meditation group will meet tomorrow evening from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Chapel at First Parish. Hopefully we’ll have a few newcomers thanks to Brenda’s Wednesday evening class.

For those who have a free Wednesday evening, the final seminar in the Newton Community Education “mindfulness” series will take place at Newton South High School from 7pm to 9pm. The speaker will be Mirabai Bush, Senior Fellow at the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, who will speak to the topic of “How We Live Now: The Power of Mindfulness in Shaping American Public Life”:

“We often think of meditative practice as only personal, separate from our lives at work and in community. But the transformations that often happen with regular contemplative practice—more patience, compassion, insight, wise discernment, and action, for example—can play a part in positive changes in our organizations, businesses, professions, and community life. Mirabai will share her insights and experiences in bringing mindfulness into American life, from Google to Yale Law School, from higher education to the US Army. She will also share practices that cultivate mindfulness in daily life.”

Tickets are $20. For more information vist https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-05

For more information on the Center, visit http://www.contemplativemind.org/

This week I’d like to share a couple of interviews from the Tricycle archives.

The first is a 1999 interview with Joseph Goldstein, discussing about his background in both the Burmese Vipassana and Tibetan Dzogchen traditions, how that experience has influenced his own teaching:

http://www.tricycle.com/feature/how-amazing

Meanwhile, in a 2002 interview, Gil Fronsdal speaks about teaching and practising in two traditions, specifically Vipassana and Soto Zen:

http://www.tricycle.com/interview/living-two-traditions

I find both of these articles interesting in the way they show how different forms of Buddhist practice can support and add depth to one another.

Finally, there’s a great post on the SunSpace blog by New Yorker/Shambhala Sun cartoonist David Sipress on what makes Buddhism so funny:

http://www.shambhalasun.com/sunspace/?p=12739

Oh, and one last last thing: If you’re in the market for a meditation cushion, Dharmacrafts’ sale ends Monday, November 2:

http://www.dharmacrafts.com/9GE1009C/100xCU/Meditation-Cushions.html

That’s all for now; I hope to see everyone tomorrow evening!

Metta,
Tim

Greetings! The meditation group will meet tomorrow evening from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Chapel at First Parish. Carrie will lead the practice this week. While temperatures this week are expected to climb upwards from the unseasonable cold of the weekend, a bringing an extra layer or two might not be a bad idea.

Once again there seems to be a number of events this week:

Brenda’s “Exploration of Buddhism” class for the adult religious education program at First Parish will kick off on Wednesday evening from 7-9pm. (I’m not sure which room they will use, but probably one of the classrooms upstairs?) The class is open to anyone with interest.

From Brenda:

————————————————————————–
These 2 are links to books available on-line. Reading a whole book is a lot, but maybe you’ll see a chapter title that intrigues you, or you can take a look at the introduction.

http://www.vipassana.com/meditation/mindfulness_in_plain_english.php
http://www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/the-issue-at-hand/

Below is a link to the a whole list of talks by Gil Fronsdal, a teacher from California. If you want to listen to one, I would just recommend looking at the list and downloading one that has an intriguing title.

http://www.audiodharma.org/talks-gil.html

…or, you can just show up, and see what happens!
————————————————————————–

This week’s “mindfulness” talk by Lama Surya Das at Newton Community Education is sold out, but limited seating is still available for next Wednesday evening’s talk “How We Live Now: The Power of Mindfulness in Shaping American Public Life” by Mirabai Bush. For registration and more information visit:

https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-05

Coming up this Saturday, October 24, Chas DiCapua will lead a day-long retreat at IMC Newburyport on “Cultivating Concentration”:

————————————————————————–

The meditation offered during this special retreat will be Samatha (Or Samadhi) Meditation. The aim of this particular meditation is to foster calm and concentration in the heart/mind. There will be ample instruction, with relaxation and non-striving being central themes. Various meditation objects will be offered so that each person can find the one that works best for them with this particular practice. The main intention for this retreat is to demystify this mind state, so that participants can see for themselves that Samadhi, to some degree, is readily available.

As many of you know, Chas is a wonderful teacher who shares his wisdom and the teachings of the Buddha in fascinating stories with care and practicality. He began practicing in 1989 in the Zen tradition. In 1995 he started Insight Meditation practice and has worked extensively with Joseph Goldstein and other leading teachers. He is presently studying with Jack Kornfield. Since 2003 Chas has been the resident teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre , MA . He also teaches at other centers in New England.

Please register as soon as you can so that we can tell Chas DiCapua that we have a core group committed to being there for the day. The retreat is open to beginner and experienced students alike. He will schedule individual interviews for those who would like to talk with him privately. You may attend for the full day from 9am to 5pm or for a half day from 9am to 12:15pm. Full day fee is $45 for members and $55 for non-members. Or $25 for members and $30 for non-members.

————————————————————————–

For more registration, please visit http://www.imcnewburyport.org

Dharmacrafts, the Lawrence-based purveyor of mediation supplies, is having a 30th anniversary sale in which meditation cushions are offered at 20%-30% discount, now through November 2:

http://www.dharmacrafts.com/9GE1009C/100xCU/Meditation-Cushions.html

Finally — and somewhat apropos, perhaps — I’ll leave you with some words from Sylvia Boorstein on “the wisdom of discomfort”:

http://www.tricycle.com/columns/on-the-cushion

That’s all for this week; I hope to see you all tomorrow evening.

Metta,
Tim

Hello everyone! Sorry once again for the late notice, but the meditation group will indeed meet tomorrow evening from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Chapel at First Parish. Sue will lead the practice this week.

I just wanted to share a couple of quick items:

First, this Wednesday is the second of Newton Community Education’s four-week course on mindfulness. This week’s speaker is Jon Kabat-Zinn on “Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life”:

https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-03

When Abhaya was with us a couple of weeks ago, she led a short reflection based on Dipa Ma’s “Ten Lessons to Live By”, from the Amy Schmidt biography of the seminal meditation teacher (she taught Joseph Goldstein, Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and others):

http://www.bluebridgebooks.com/books/dipa.htm

Anyhow, I thought the ten lessons were worth offering again for contemplation — in the spirit of a Zen koan, if nothing else — especially for anyone who missed the Tuesday with Abhaya:

1. Choose one meditation practice and stick with it.
If you want to progress in meditation stay with one technique.

2. Meditate every day.
Practice now. Don’t think you will do more later.

3. Any situation is workable.
Each of us has enormous power. It can be used to help ourselves and help others.

4. Practice patience.
Patience is one of the most important virtues for developing mindfulness and concentration.

5. Free your mind.
Your mind is all stories.

6. Cool the fire of emotions.
Anger is a fire.

7. Have fun along the way.
I am quite happy. If you come to meditate you will also be happy.

8.Simplify.
Live simply. A very simple life is good for every thing. Too much luxury is a hindrance to practice.

9. Cultivate the spirit of blessing.
If you bless those around you this will inspire you to be attentive in every moment.

10. It’s a circular journey.
Meditation integrates the whole person.

Let me be free of enemies
Let me be free of dangers
Let me be free of mental anxieties
Let me pass my time with good body and happy mind

(Thanks to: http://kkrocketthelibrarian.blogspot.com/2006/12/dipa-mas-ten-lessons.html)

I also wanted to convey a follow-up message from Abhaya encouraging us not only in our daily practice, but also to enter a 7- or 9-day meditation retreat.

I’ve just been looking over the 2009-10 retreat schedule at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, and it looks like there are still spaces available for a number of retreats:

http://www.dharma.org/ims/retreats.php

For anyone looking to venture further afield, there are some good things happening out a Spirit Rock, too:

http://www.spiritrock.org/calendar/default.asp?type=retreats&pageID=273

That’s all for now; Carrie and I will be away this week — this was originally supposed to be a vacation week for us, but Carrie will just be getting home from a weekend in the hospital instead.

Have a good sit (and/or walk?), and we’ll see you next week!

Metta,
Tim

Hello! Just a short and somewhat belated reminder that the meditation group will meet tomorrow evening from 7:30 to 9:30 in the Chapel at First Parish. Ajahn David is scheduled to join us for the mediation and to give a dhamma talk.

I just want to remind folks of a couple of upcoming events:

First, multimedia publisher SoundsTrue launches its new series of online courses with favorite authors on October 6 via the Internet, with Mindfulness and the Brain, featuring Jack Kornfield and Daniel Siegel.

“From thorough explanations of scientific findings and down-to-earth Buddhist perspectives to moments of stillness and laughter, Mindfulness and the Brain invites students to discover a more integrated and connected way of knowing and developing a wise and loving heart.

“Mindful awareness creates scientifically recognized enhancements in psychology, mental functions, and in our interpersonal relationships. But how can we integrate this information into our personal or professional lives? In the Mindfulness and the Brain online course, Jack Kornfield, PhD, and Dan Siegel, MD, offer theoretical and experiential teachings on the power of inner transformation and the cultivation of a wise and loving heart. With thoughtful dialogue and practical tools, this interactive professional development training offers therapists, healers, educators, parents, meditation practitioners—and anyone else interested in developing a healthy mind—an intriguing exploration of what it means for us and our world to be able to shift our awareness. The six-week course includes three live interactive sessions, which will be available for download. Continuing education credits are available for professionals.”

The course cost is $99 for six weekly sessions:

http://shop.soundstrue.com/shop.soundstrue.com/SelectProd.do;jsessionid=588D963AEC0B5388B8F9E993B9107FF3?prodId=1984&manufacturer=Sounds%20True&category=Mindfulness%20and%20Presence&name=Mindfulness%20and%20the%20Brain

Then on Wednesday, October 7, Joseph Goldstein will open the first of four weekly talks on mindfulness at Newton Community Education/Newton High School:

https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-02

For more registration and more information on the entire series, please vist the NCE website:

https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-01

Coming up this Saturday, October 10, Larry Rosenberg will lead a morning retreat at IMC Newburyport, followed by a potluck lunch and an afternoon talk on “Self-Knowing in Difficult Times”. For registration and more information, please visit the IMCN web site:

http://www.imcnewburyport.org/special.htm

Finally, I just want to share a short “A Quiver of the Heart” excerpted from Sharon Salzberg’s “The Kindness Handbook: A Practical Companion” via Tricycle:

http://www.tricycle.com/2october2009

That’s all for this week; I hope to see everyone tomorrow evening.

Metta,
Tim

Greetings! The Tuesday evening meditation group will meet tomorrow from 7:30pm to 9:30pm in the Chapel at First Parish. Brenda is scheduled to lead the practice this week… although she may have a special guest teacher for us.

I want to thank Sue (and Matt) for sharing a wonderful dhamma talk last week, Bhante Kassapa’s “Origin of Dhamma”:

http://kassapa.org/2009/02/15/dhammacast-origin-of-dhamma-from-unity-church-of-beaumont/

The heart of the talk is about 15 minutes long, with an extended Q&A period afterward.

More of Bhanta Kassapa’s “Dhammacasts” can be found on his website:

http://kassapa.org/dhammacast/

I’ll try to get the link added to the audio section of our website….

In other community news, a wonderful write up of the 5th anniversary celebration at Wat Buddhabhavana appeared on the Buddhist Channel website via the Westford Eagle:

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=60,8565,0,0,1,0

There are also a number of events coming up in the the next couple of weeks:

After the morning service at First Parish this Sunday, October 4, Brenda will hold a half-hour meeting to go over resources for her four-week Buddhism class. The class itself will start the week of October 19. Please contact Brenda for additional information.

Also on Sunday, Matthew Daniell will lead an all-day retreat on impermanence at IMC Newburyport:

————————————————————————–
This Insight Meditation Retreat led by Matthew Daniell will explore Anicca and the challenges of coming to understand the world we live in. Impermanence or change isn’t something that happens to experience. It is experience itself. As such, impermanence is an important gateway to understanding the teachings of the Buddha. In this day long retreat, we will use mindfulness of our moment to moment experience as a vehicle for becoming intimate with change. Both sitting and walking instructions will be geared towards helping the retreat participants recognize that when we look at our experience, we are looking at change.

Although both beginning and experienced students are welcome, it will be helpful for participants in this retreat to have some experience with formal sitting meditation practice.

The Retreat starts at 9am and ends at 5pm, but it may be taken as half day from 9am to 12:15pm. The fee for members for the full day is $45 and $55 for non-members. Half day fees are $25 for members and $30 for non-members.

Please register now by sending in your registration and check or call the center at 978-499-0325 to let us know of your intention to attend.
————————————————————————–

Next Saturday, October 10, IMCN will host a special event with founding teacher Larry Rosenberg, featuring an afternoon dhamma talk on “Self Knowing in Difficult Times”:

————————————————————————–
Can Insight Meditation help us face challenges in our lives skillfully in these tough times? Can getting to know ourselves more intimately through sustained present moment awareness help us to live in ways that are kinder, wiser, and more beneficial to ourselves and others.

Come and join Larry Rosenberg with his earthy humor, clarity of wisdom, and compassion as he talks and guides us in exploring these themes for ourselves.

Larry in the author of the modern spiritual classic ‘Breath by Breath’, is the founder of the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, and is a founder of IMCN (see the Teachers leaf for more Bio details).

Larrys talk will be one of three special events held on this day:

1. Larry will lead an Insight Meditation Retreat from 9:00-12:15pm
2. There will be a Community Pot Luck Lunch from 12:30-1:45pm
3. Larry will give a talk and answer questions from 2:00-3:00pm

You may attend any or all of the events:

The fee for the retreat is $30 for nonmembers and $25 for members
The lunch is free, please bring some food!
The suggested donations for the talk is $10.
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For more information on either the October 4 or October 10 IMCN events, please visit their website: http://www.imcnewburyport.org

And — at long last — Evan Brenner’s fantastic one-man play “The Buddha: In His Own Words” will be performed at the Cambridge YMCA at 7pm on Sunday, October 4:

————————————————————————–
This dramatic portrayal of the Buddha’s life and journey as gleaned from the earliest sutras, performed by the author as a special benefit for the CIMC Endowment Fund.

Location: Cambridge YMCA theatre, 820 Massachusetts Avenue

Tickets: $40

Advance tickets are available online at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/73386 or by calling 1-800-838-3006,
or by stopping by the office.
————————————————————————–

More information on the production itself, visit: http://www.thebuddhaplay.com/HOME.html

Finally (thanks to Brenda for the tip!), Newton Community Education will host a four-week course on mindfulness through the month of October, beginning Wednesday, October 7:

https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-01

The cost is $20 per talk, or $60 for all four.

————————————————————————–
NCE is proud to be able to offer to the Newton and the Greater Boston community a series of talks by four leading practitioners and teachers of Mindfulness: Joseph Goldstein, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Surya Das, and Mirabai Bush.

Each speaker will talk about their personal journey and the insights they have gained through the practice of mindfulness meditation. They’ll explore how, by the simple act of paying attention in the present moment, compassion and wisdom can arise—and how this practice can lead to the elimination of suffering and the possibility of genuine happiness.

10/7/09 — Joseph Goldstein:
“Mindfulness: A Path to Freedom and an End to Suffering”
https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-02

In the “busyness” of our lives, we often find ourselves longing for a sense of space and calm. In this talk Joseph will explore how to access the freedom that is available right here and now. Discover the natural peace and ease that results when our attention connects intimately with our immediate experience. By practicing mindfulness meditation and investigating the flow of experience moment by moment, we can relinquish the causes of suffering and reclaim our natural happiness.

10/14/09 — Jon Kabat-Zinn:
“Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life”
https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-03

Jon will explore what he has learned, through his scientific studies and from his own meditation practice, about mindfulness as a way of life and its potential benefits for health. He will explore how mindfulness has immediate relevance to both the ordinary and extraordinary stresses of our time—from economic hardship, to parenting and life in an age of digital overload. Jon will map out a simple path for cultivating mindfulness in one’s own life. This talk is for anyone who cares about reclaiming the richness of life and the possibility of ending suffering for oneself, others, and the planet.

10/21/09 — Lama Surya Das:
“The Big Questions: How to Find Your Own Answers to Life’s Essential Mysteries Through The Practice of Mindful Self Inquiry”
https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-04

As humans we are all faced with deep life questions. We wonder what our purpose is in life and feel perplexed about the mysteries of love, happiness, vocation, and death. In this talk Lama Surya Das will offer his wisdom and personal experience through incisive instruction in the art of mindfulness and intelligent questioning. This talk is for anyone looking to break through their own personal identity and self-imposed limitations, find the sacred life, and further develop ethical values, personal clarity, integrity, and authenticity.

10/28/09 — Mirabai Bush:
“How We Live Now: The Power of Mindfulness in Shaping American Public Life”
https://newtoncommunityed.org/viewDesc.php?CourseNumber=X5002-05

We often think of meditative practice as only personal, separate from our lives at work and in community. But the transformations that often happen with regular contemplative practice—more patience, compassion, insight, wise discernment, and action, for example—can play a part in positive changes in our organizations, businesses, professions, and community life. Mirabai will share her insights and experiences in bringing mindfulness into American life, from Google to Yale Law School, from higher education to the US Army. She will also share practices that cultivate mindfulness in daily life.

Mirabai Bush is currently Senior Fellow at the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society: http://www.contemplativemind.org/about/staff.html#mirabai
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Well, that’s definitely more than enough for this week; I hope to see everyone tomorrow evening!

Metta,
Tim