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Interbeing Sangha of Kingston - Weekly Electronic Bulletin Vol. 2, Issue #1 - June 17th, 2018

Interbeing Sangha
of Kingston

Weekly Meeting

Please join us for our next weekly gathering, taking place this evening, Sunday, June 17th, for meditation and dharma sharing, 6:30pm at Unitarian Place (Kingston Unitarian Fellowship), 206 Concession Street. Marguerite Giles will be bell minding.

Father's Day

"Breathing in, I invite the Buddha to breathe with my lungs.
Breathing out, I invited the Buddha to sit with my back.

Buddha is breathing, Buddha is sitting.
I enjoy breathing, I enjoy sitting.

I know that the quality of the breathing,
in the Buddha breath, is excellent.
I know the quality of his sitting is excellent.
I enjoy breathing. I enjoy sitting.

I am aware that my father is fully present in every cell of my body.
I invite my father to breathe in with me. Breathe out with me.
I would like to invite my father in me to sit with my back –
this is my back, but it is also his back.
Father and son. Father and daughter.
Breathing together."

--Thich Nhat Hanh, from Sitting with Our Father and Mother, a 10-minute guided meditation offered by Thay in June, 2009, before the sixth dharma talk of the 21-Day Retreat, The Path of the Buddha at Plum Village.

Sangha Library

Featured Book

In Peaceful Action, Open Heart, Thich Nhat Hanh explores the insight of the Lotus Sutra (one of the crowning scriptures of the Buddhist path) that everyone has the capacity to become a Buddha, and that Buddha-nature is inherent in everything. Thay uniquely emphasizes the sutra’s insight that Buddha-nature is the basis for peaceful action, and encourages using mindfulness practices right now to understand and find solutions to current world challenges.

In his interpretation of the sutra, he suggests that if the practices, views, and insights of the Lotus Sutra would find application not only by individuals but also by nations, it would offer concrete solutions to transform individual suffering and the global challenges facing the world today. Speak with sangha librarian, Anne Graham, to borrow this book.

End of Suffering

The Great Bell Chant

Sangha member (and our newest bell minder) Marguerite Giles has shared a beautiful video featuring thew words and chanting of Thich Naht Hanh and Brother Phap Niem. The Great Bell Chant is a practice onto itself, offering a prayer to end all suffering, which has the power to transport listeners and viewers to a place of serenity and hope. Watch video in full screen to enjoy the incredibly imagery paired with the beautiful words.

Do you feel as light as I do?

"Breathing in, I feel so light. Breathing out, I feel so free.
Daddy, do you feel as light as I do? Do you feel as free as I do?

I know that my mother is fully present in every cell of my body.
I invite my mother to breathe with my lungs, to sit with my back.
This is my back, but it is also hers.
Mother and son breathing in together. Mother and daughter breathing in together.
Mother and son breathing out together. Mother and daughter breathing out together.

Breathing in, I feel so light."
Mother, do you feel as light as I do?

Breathing out, I feel so free.
Mother, do you feel as free as I do?"

--Thich Nhat Hanh, from Sitting with Our Father and Mother

Continuation & Celebrations

Anniversaries & Pride

Yesterday, we celebrated Pride 2018 in Kingston, with many friends and members of our community including Kingston Unitarian Fellowship, Interbeing Sangha of Kingston, and Kingston Mindfulness Sangha in Skeleton Park (and dancing in the parade downtown with KUF). We also celebrate the milestone of 2 years since the idea to establish our sangha was first conceived, during a joyful conversation while walking in the 2016 Pride Parade, between KUF interim minister, Rev. Carol Strecker, Linda McNinch and Keith & Darcy Gawronski-McNinch. Also, we mark the one year anniversary of our (usually!) weekly newsletter, Seeds of Insight, which went into circulation on Fathers Day, one year ago in June, 2017. Thank you to everyone who makes our community inclusive and offers support for the beautiful and transformative practices of Thay.

Interbeing

"To be" is to inter-be. You cannot just be by yourself alone. You have to inter-be with every other thing. This sheet of paper is, because everything else is. Suppose we try to return one of the elements to its source. Suppose we return the sunshine to the sun. Do you think that this sheet of paper will be possible? No, without sunshine nothing can be. And if we return the logger to his mother, then we have no sheet of paper either. The fact is that this sheet of paper is made up only of “non-paper elements.” And if we return these non-paper elements to their sources, then there can be no paper at all. Without “non-paper elements,” like mind, logger, sunshine and so on, there will be no paper. As thin as this sheet of paper is, it contains everything in the universe in it."

-- Thich Nhat Hanh

Our sangha has two teams helping to share leadership and facilitation of our meetings. Our Bell Minders Team are mindful facilitators for our weekly gatherings, as well as retreats, taking beautiful care of our friends in the practice including the bell. Our Sangha Care Team facilitates sangha care meetings, plans retreats, minds our library and resources, and coordinates outreach. If you are interested in helping with either or both, contact interbeingkingston@gmail.com for more information.

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