A Zen retreat with Debra Seido Martin will be held on Saturday, November 4th from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm. The retreat is now open for registration and will be hosted by the Walla Walla Dharma Sangha. See below for contact information to register. The retreat will be a hybrid retreat, with some people attending the… Continue reading Events with Debra Seido Martin ~ November 4 and 5, 2023
Author: Jon Swanson
Sangha News 10/4/23
Seeking Help with the Newsletter The IMMC is looking for someone to help with the newsletter. This would include entering and editing the newsletter using the Constant Contact app, the web-based software we use to compose and send out the newsletter. The newsletter is sent out every two weeks. Anyone interested should be reasonably comfortable… Continue reading Sangha News 10/4/23
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Jack Kornfield has a two-part article that discusses how some have interpreted Buddhism as a pessimistic practice focused on suffering, but he emphasizes the importance of opening to joy. He also provides some guidance on practices that can help open to innate joy. You can find his articles here: Natural Joy and Here: Natural Joy… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Quote for the Week
When love meets pain it becomes compassion. When love meets happiness, it becomes joy. Joy is an expression of the awakened heart, a quality of enlightenment. When we live in the present, joy often arises for no reason. Natural Joy ~ Jack Kornfield
Sangha News 9/18/23
Thursday evening, 9/21, there will be an open discussion after the 7:00 pm online meditation of the practice of tonglen, a meditation practice that encourages the development of compassion. The following Thursday, 9/28, Chris will give a talk after meditation on joy, the third of the immeasurable states, and describe practices to open to joy in… Continue reading Sangha News 9/18/23
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
In Western culture we typically associate joy with external, conditional events. However, there is a form of joy that is unconditional and available in any circumstances. Scott Tusa describes this practice of innate or unconditional joyfulness as a radical act. You can find his article here: Joy is a Radical Act Oren Jay Sofer describes… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Quote for the Week
There is another type of joy, a much subtler and more sustainable joy that we can uncover. This joy—which I will refer to here as innate or unconditional joy—cannot be exhausted because it resides within us at all times, though it is often hidden. No external stimulus can evoke it, but as we expand our… Continue reading Quote for the Week
Sangha News 9/5/23
Thursday evening, 9/7, there will be a discussion after the 7:00 pm online meditation of the practice of self-compassion and RAIN, an acronym for an insight meditation practice that encourages the development of inquiry and self-compassion. The following Thursday, 9/14, Chris will give a talk after meditation on compassion for others and the meditation practice of… Continue reading Sangha News 9/5/23
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Tonglen, which means taking and sending, is a meditation practice for opening to our innate compassion that is most associated with the Tibetan tradition of Buddhism. Pema Chodron provides a brief introduction to the practice that you can find here: How to Practice Tonglen Dekila Chungyalpa was born in the Himalayan land of Sikkim and… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Quote for the Week
Every aspect of you right now, the air that fills your lungs, the clothes that you wear, the food you ate today, all of that comes from outside of you. This ever-present, life-encompassing, compassionate earth sustains you. You are part of this effortless cycle of give and take. You are participating in an exchange with… Continue reading Quote for the Week