Sunday, June 30, 2013

Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels

The below chant is a beautiful teaching about the three jewels and how we can take refuge in them. If you were in class this past Saturday, you heard me chant it.

We will all have an opportunity to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha in Pine Bush, NY or NYC at the end of the summer.  See links below the chant and details about the retreat, day of mindfulness, public talk, and calligraphy art display coming soon.



The Three Refuges

from Plum Village Chanting Book

I take refuge in the Buddha,
the one who shows me the way in this life.
I take refuge in the Dharma,
the way of understanding and of love.
I take refuge in the Sangha,
the community that lives in harmony and awareness.
[BELL]


Dwelling in the refuge of Buddha,
I clearly see the path of light and beauty in the world.
Dwelling in the refuge of Dharma,
I learn to open many doors on the path of transformation.
Dwelling in the refuge of Sangha,
shining light that supports me, keeping my practice free of obstruction.
[BELL]

Taking refuge in the Buddha in myself,
I aspire to help all people recognize their own awakened nature,
realizing the Mind of Love.
Taking refuge in the Dharma in myself,
I aspire to help all people fully master the ways of practice
and walk together on the path of liberation.
Taking refuge in the Sangha in myself,
I aspire to help all people build Fourfold Communities,
to embrace all beings and support their transformation.
[BELL, BELL]


Thich Nhat Hanh's schedule for his Summer Tour through North America:
http://www.plumvillage.org/events/view/55/4.html
This includes a link with more specifics for his public talk in NYC.


Specifics about the Day of Mindfulness in Pine Bush, NY:


September 1 | Day of Mindfulness


A Day of Mindfulness, led by Thich Nhat Hanh, will take place at the Blue Cliff Monastery in Pine Bush, New York. The day will begin at 9:30 with dharma talk, followed by walking meditation, eating meditation and an afternoon activity. As this is a Fundraising Day of Mindfulness, there is a suggested minimum donation for the day of $35 for adults and $25 for students and seniors.
To register for this Day of Mindfulness, please click here.  Please note: You must first login to register.
Overnight accommodations for the Day of Mindfulness will not be available at the monastery.  If you are traveling some distance to join us for this day, you may wish to contact any of the following hotels, located 15-30 minutes from the monastery:
As with all our events, we encourage participants to share rides wherever possible in order to reduce the environmental aspect of traveling. Please use the commenting system below to make connections with other participants to offer rides and insights on reducing the impact.
(Perhaps if folks from Highland Yoga want to go, a car pool can be set up to depart from the studio.  Same for Ananta Yoga. Perhaps setting up a car pool from a mutually agreed upon location.  It is fun to share the ride and talk in anticipation of the day and enjoy each other's company as well as integrate the experience together during the ride home.)

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

The Three Jewels and The Four Noble Truths

For our next series of dharma talks in class, we have been contemplating the teachings of the Buddha.  We have begun by studying and applying the teachings of the Three Jewels and the Four Noble Truths.

We have been reading from Thich Nhat Hanh's books:  The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation and Peace is Every Step


The Three Jewels:

Buddha  (teacher)
Dharma  (teachings, path of practice)
Sangha  (community of support)



The Four Noble Truths:

We will experience suffering in this life.
There are root causes to our suffering.
It is possible to end our suffering.
There is a way to end our suffering: The Noble Eightfold Path.

Frank Boccio, in his book Mindfulness Yoga, draws a parallel of The Four Noble Truths to the Ayurvedic approach to wellness: (1) diagnosis, (2) etiology, (3) prognosis, and (4) prescription. This may help us to remember them if this way of thinking or terminology comes more naturally.


The Noble Eightfold Path:

Right View
Right Thinking
Right Speech
Right Action
Right Livelihood
Right Diligence
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration


We have been singing a mindfulness song in the Plum Village tradition:

Breathing In, Breathing Out
Breathing In, Breathing Out
I am blooming as a flower
I am fresh as the dew
I am solid as a mountain
I am firm as the earth
I am free

Breathing In, Breathing Out
Breathing In, Breathing Out
I am water reflecting
What is real, What is true
And I feel there is space
Deep inside of me
I am free, I am free, I am free


More commentary to follow on these teachings.  This is the basic outline of our current curriculum.