What dependent origination actually describes is a vision of life or an understanding in which we see the way everything is interconnected—that there is nothing separate, nothing standing alone. Everything effects everything else. We are part of this system. We are part of this process of dependent origination—causal relationships effected by everything that happens around… Continue reading Quote for the Week
Author: Jon Swanson
Meditation Support Group Meets at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center 2/15
We’ll continue our monthly mindfulness meditation support group meeting at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center, 7350 West Deschutes Avenue, Kennewick. The meeting will be on Thursday, 2/15/2024. The sessions, which are held on the third Thursday of each month, are meant for cancer patients, cancer survivors, and their caregivers. If you have a serious illness other than cancer, or are a caregiver for someone who is… Continue reading Meditation Support Group Meets at the Tri-Cities Cancer Center 2/15
Sangha News 2/6/24
Thursday evening Info: After the 7:00 pm online meditation on Thursday, 2/8/24, Chris will give a talk that will discuss the roles that we play in life, as parent, child, spouse, employee, and others, as well as the views that we hold about the way life should be. We tend to identify strongly with our… Continue reading Sangha News 2/6/24
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Phillip Moffitt wrote a piece that includes a discussion of roles and learning to hold them lightly rather than cling to them. You can find that post here: Understanding Your Sense of Identity Tara Brach gave a talk and offered a guided meditation on the persona, the mask we develop based on our roles in… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Quote for the Week
The development of a mask or persona based on our activities and roles is a natural way the ego tries to protect and enhance itself. Yet unless we wake up from our identification with the mask, we are unable to discover the truth and wholeness of what we are. Behind the Mask ~ Tara Brach
Sangha News 1/23/24
Thursday evening Info: This week, during the Thursday night online meeting (1/25), Chris will give a talk on aspects of our body and mind that we tend to identify as “I, me, or mine”, and how that identification doesn’t serve us. The following week (2/1) we’ll have a discussion after meditation on those areas of… Continue reading Sangha News 1/23/24
Webinar on Artificial Intelligence and Buddhist Wisdom ~ January 26, 2024
The Buddhist Insight Network, with support from Spirit Rock Meditation Center, will present a free online webinar with Randima (Randy) Fernando entitled “Navigating Artificial Intelligence with Buddhist Wisdom”, from 10:00-11:30 am PST on January 26, 2024. Randy was born in Sri Lanka, is a lifelong Buddhist student and practitioner and is on the Board of… Continue reading Webinar on Artificial Intelligence and Buddhist Wisdom ~ January 26, 2024
Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Gil Fronsdal wrote an article introducing the concepts of self and not-self and laying out the connection of those concepts to the Buddha’s basic teachings on suffering and the end of suffering. It includes a brief description of the role that the aggregates and the senses play in this process. You can find his article… Continue reading Updated Resources for Meditation and Support
Quote for the Week
From our own innate tendencies and the repeated use of language, we have adopted the belief that the body, thoughts, and feelings are “me,” and that everything outside the body is “not me.” This fundamental sense of duality creates a split in our experience that leads us to feel disconnected from the rest of creation,… Continue reading Quote for the Week
Sangha News: 1/9/23
Thursday evening Info: After the 7:00 pm online meditation on Thursday, 1/11/24, Chris will give a talk that will introduce the Buddha’s ideas on the nature of the self and talk about why the Buddha thought that a wise understanding of who and what we are is critical for easing the suffering and discomfort we… Continue reading Sangha News: 1/9/23