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This week:
- Buddhist "Quote of the Week"
- Sunday series on "The Teachings of Enlightenment on Happiness and Suffering"
- Monthly Community Potluck Dinner after Meditation — Sunday, March 9
- "Day of Mindfulness" Retreat — Saturday, March 29
- "Mini-Sanghas" forming for Young Adults, People of Color, 12-Step Recovery, etc.
- Gay Men's "Mini-Sangha" Dinner @ Michael Gott's — March 22 or another evening (please vote)
- Lunafest Film Festival — March 28
- Request for 10 persons to make a $108 Monthly Pledge
- Would you like to purchase meditation mats and cushions?
- Beginners' Meditation Manual —
available online at: weblife.org/beginning
- "A Season for Nonviolence" —
daily messages at: www.64-days.org
- We need more volunteers on Sundays at "Breath of Life"
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QUOTE OF THE WEEK — "Your body is not yours alone. It
also belongs to your ancestors, your parents, future generations, and
all other living beings. Everything, even the trees and the clouds,
has come together to bring about the presence of your body. Keeping
your body healthy is the best way to express your gratitude to the
whole cosmos, to all ancestors, and also not to betray future
generations. You practice this precept for everyone. If you are
healthy, everyone can benefit from it. When you are able to get out
of the shell of your small self, you will see that you are
interrelated to everyone and everything, that your every act is linked
with the whole of humankind and the whole cosmos. To keep yourself
healthy in body and mind is to be kind to all beings. …
Wholesome, spiritual nourishment can be found by looking at the blue
sky, the spring blossoms, or the eyes of a child. The most basic
meditation practice of becoming aware of our bodies, our minds, and
our world can lead us into a far more rich and fulfilling state than
drugs ever could. We can celebrate the joys that are available in
these simple pleasures. … To take good care of yourself and to
take good care of living beings and of the environment is the best way
to love God. This love is possible when there is the understanding
that you are not separate from other beings or the environment. This
understanding cannot be merely intellectual. It must be experiential,
the insight gained by deep touching and deep looking in a daily life
of prayer, contemplation, and meditation."
— by Thich Nhat Hanh (from Living Buddha, Living Christ)
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At "Breath of Life" on Sundays at 5:30-7:30 pm at Unity Church of Dallas, we
are continuing a two month series (from Lunar New Year to Earth Day) on the
Buddha's Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path: "The Teachings of
Enlightenment on Happiness and Suffering":
| Mar. 9: |
Right Mindfulness & Concentration (part 1) — Br. ChiSing
(plus Community Potluck Dinner afterwards)
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| Mar. 16: |
Right Mindfulness & Concentration (part 2) — Monica Lecrone
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| Mar. 23: |
Right Effort (Easter) — Br. ChiSing |
| Mar. 30: |
Right Speech — The Shambhala Community |
| April 6: |
Right Action & Livelihood (part 1) — Br. ChiSing |
| April 13: |
Right Action & Livelihood (part 2) — Michael Gott, RScP |
| April 20: |
The Four Noble Truths Re-Visited (Earth Day) — Br. ChiSing
(plus Community Potluck Dinner afterwards)
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Our next Community Potluck Dinner after meditation will be on
Sunday, March 9 (meditation is at 5:30 pm, dinner is at 7:30
pm). Please bring a vegetarian dish and/or non-alcoholic drinks to
share. Expecting about 50 persons or so. (We will also have a discussion on "mini-sangha" groups). Click
here for more info on "Breath of Life".
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Please register soon for the next "Day of Mindfulness" retreat
facilitated by Br. ChiSing at the Unity Church of Dallas on
Saturday, March 29, 9 am - 5 pm. Space is limited to the first
30 registrants. The last retreat became full very quickly, so please
register soon to ensure your space for this next retreat. Click here for more info.
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Br. ChiSing would like to encourage members of the "Breath of
Life" community to form "mini-sangha" affinity groups that
could meet once-a-month outside of the larger weekly Sunday
sangha. During the next several months this year, Br. ChiSing will
work closely with those who are strong enough in their own mindful
practice to start and facilitate a "mini-sangha." Some possibilities
include a "Young Adults" mini-sangha, a "People of
Color" mini-sangha, a "GLBT Friends & Allies" mini-sangha,
a "12-Step Recovery" mini-sangha, a "Musicians"
mini-sangha, etc. Please share your ideas with Br. ChiSing or the
"Seva" Volunteer Support Team.
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The newly formed "Gay Men's Mini-Sangha" will meet at
Michael Gott's beautiful house in Dallas for meditation,
sharing, dinner, music and games on either Friday evening, March 21
or another evening. Please vote on which evening works best
for you. Send e-mail to: GMminisangha //at// AOL //dot// com
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Lunafest Dallas Film Festival (Friday, March 28, 2008 -
6:00 pm) — Short films by, for, about women. Hosted by
Dr. Ronit Mor.
Guest artists: Michael Gott and Charity Lankford.
Information at: www.LunafestDallas.com
Center for Spiritual Living: International Place, 4801 Spring Valley
Road, Dallas TX 75244
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We are looking for 10 persons to make a pledge of
$108/month for this year in support of the spiritual work that
Br. ChiSing and the Interfaith Mindfulness Ministries are doing, not
only here in Dallas, but also in other states and countries.
Br. ChiSing wants to be able to continue offering free or
low-cost retreats and workshops to youth and college
students in Texas and around the country. He has already offered
or will be offering free retreats and workshops this year in Austin,
San Francisco, Minneapolis, Denton and St. Louis, etc. Please help us
to bring the message of mindfulness to more people who cannot afford
high-cost retreats and workshops.
You can give online by credit card at: http://intermindful.com/contact/support.htm. Or, you can send a check to:
Interfaith Mindfulness Ministries
P.O. Box 863961
Plano, TX 75086
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We are also looking to raise $600+ this month so that we can
purchase 10+ more sets of meditation mats & cushions to
accommodate our growing numbers of meditators (each set costs about
$60 each). Also, if you would like to purchase your own set
for personal use at home, this will help us get the discount rate
for bulk orders. If we can put in just one order by next month, then
we will only have to pay one fee for shipping and handling. Please
let us know soon if you would like to purchase a set, or if you would
like to make a generous donation toward helping us to buy more sets
for sangha use. Thanks.
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One of the best beginners' meditation manuals is available
online in its entirety. It is called "Beginning to See" by
Sujata, based on Vipassana ("Insight Meditation"). Here
is the link: http://weblife.org/beginning.
Here is a link for meditation instructions from a Zen perspective:
http://www.mro.org/zmm/teachings/meditation.php
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Go to the "Season for Nonviolence" website every day to get
your daily message of peace now through April 4 at: www.64-days.org
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Would you like to volunteer on Sundays at "Breath of
Life"? If so, please contact
John Lochner at: JohnLochner //at// AOL //dot// com
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