Jacques Verduin will be visiting us on Tuesday, June 28th to talk about his work with the Insight Prison Project. Please let anyone who might be interested in hearing about this project know. Here’s a link to The Dhamma Brothers website to learn more about the project in Alabama prisons which is based on a program by S.N. Goenka – which is different than what Jacques has been doing, but Jacques is interested in doing something similar (but not necessarily in Goenka’s format) in California.
Worth watching
This is a beautiful and wise piece on forgiveness:
We raised $250 for the IRC
Dear all,
Thank you for your generosity for the Insight Retreat Center – we raised $250 for the IRC. Also, there was a lot of generosity in helping with setting the room up and cleaning up and putting it back to order at the end of the day. Much gratitude to all of you for your practice and generosity!
Right Speech
Here is a compilation of the Buddha’s teachings around Right Speech: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sacca/sacca4/samma-vaca/
Nice talk by Gil: Personal Reflection on Retreats
Personal Reflection on Retreats – Gil Fronsdal
Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation Course starts June 26th
When: June 26 through July 31, six Sundays from Noon to 2pm
Where: Children’s Classroom Building (west of the main church sanctuary – the street number on the building is 2206) at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County on 2172 Kiernan Ave. between Carver and Dale Rds., Modesto, CA.
This is a 6-week Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation course taught by Lori Wong. The course will include progressive instructions, exercises and practice which build from each previous week. The course is designed for those new to meditation but can also be used to deepen or support practice for those who are already familiar with mindfulness meditation.
All are welcome to drop-in, although the greatest benefit will be for those who attend all of the 6-week series. If you wish to sit on a cushion or mat, please bring your own. The floor is carpeted. Chairs will be provided.
The teachings and meetings are offered freely, without charge, as a gift to all who wish to come. Donations are gratefully accepted, but the wish is for those donations to come joyfully from whatever generosity may arise naturally from your heart. There is no expectation or obligation to make a donation. One of the UUFSC members has volunteered to offer child care for three of the Sundays – if some of you are willing to help volunteer to watch the children for parents who want to participate, that would be a wonderful and generous offering. We need coverage for 3 more Sundays.
If you have questions or wish to sign up for this course, please contact Lori Wong by email (insightmeditationmodesto@gmail.com) or phone (209.343.2748).
Benefit Daylong on June 18th
Insight Meditation Modesto will be offering a benefit daylong with Lori Wong on Saturday, June 18, 2011, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm at Doctors Medical Center, 1441 Florida Ave., Conference Center, room 1, Modesto, CA (the Conference Center is the building between the parking structure and the emergency department) on:
Exploring Mindfulness of the Body
We will explore and develop mindfulness of the body and investigate how mindfulness of the body can bring greater ease with difficult sensations, emotions and mind states into our daily lives. The day will include experiential sessions and guided meditations with alternating sitting and movement periods including walking, qigong and other movement explorations. If you come for a partial day and arrive during a sitting period, please enter quietly and sit in the rear until the sitting period is over. Most of the day will be held in silence in order to cultivate a still and quiet mind; opportunities for questions and discussion will be provided.
Lori Wong has been practicing mindfulness meditation since 2003 and is a Community Dharma Leader in training through Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA. Her mentor teachers in the program are Gil Fronsdal of Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City and Eugene Cash of SF Insight in San Francisco. She has been a student of tai chi and qigong for two years – her teacher is Sifu Neil Thomas of the Kung Fu Institute in Modesto. She has been on the board of the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City and is currently on the board of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and is a founding director of the Buddhist Insight Network. She leads an Insight Meditation sitting group on Tuesday evenings in Modesto and will be teaching a 6-week Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation course beginning June 26th at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Stanislaus County.
This day is freely offered and is a benefit to help support the development of the Insight Retreat Center in Scotts Valley. All donations from the day will be given to the Insight Retreat Center (a non-profit 501(3)c organization). If you wish to write a check, please write it to the Insight Retreat Center. Please bring a vegetarian potluck dish to share for lunch, if you would like. Feel free to bring a meat dish for yourself if you require additional protein in your diet. Dress in loose and comfortable clothing. For the sake of those who may have sensitivities or allergies, please do not wear scented or perfumed products. If you have a meditation cushion, please bring it. Chairs will be available. Suitable for beginning and all-levels of practitioners.
Wonderful quotes and readings
From John O’Donohue’s book “To Bless the Space Between Us,”
For Courage
When the light around you lessens
And your thoughts darken until
Your body feels fear turn
Cold as a stone inside,
When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen,
When one voice commands
Your whole heart
And it is raven dark,
Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world,
Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light,
Know that you are not alone
And that this darkness has purpose;
Gradually it will school your eyes
To find the one gift your life requires
Hidden within this night corner.
Invoke the learning
Of every suffering
You have suffered.
Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark.
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.
A new confidence will come alive
To urge you toward higher ground
Where your imagination
Will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!
“Whenever we feel that we are definitely right, so much so that we refuse to open up to anything or anybody else, right there we are wrong. It becomes wrong view. When suffering arises, where does it arise from? The cause is wrong view, the fruit of that being suffering. If it was right view it wouldn’t cause suffering.” — Ajahn Chah
Here is a wonderful article worth reading from Tricycle Magazine by Ajahn Chah: Meeting the Dharma Alone
Dharma music
Check out Eve Decker’s website for some wonderful dharma songs.
Compassionate response to household pests
This is the time of year when pests may become a problem in or around our homes and I’ve often looked for a way to remove them without harm. Here’s a great Tricycle article about doing so:
http://www.tricycle.com/blog/kill-impulse-compassionate-solutions-your-favorite-pest
Hope you find it of help!
