Green Island Sangha: October 2010

Sunday, October 31, 2010

November Schedule

We Are Now Meeting in Two Locations:

St. Ignatius Retreat House in Manhasset, NY
UU Fellowship of Huntington in Huntington, NY

Addresses and Directions are below and to the right

SUNDAY November 7th

St Ignatius Retreat House
10:00AM - 10:30 AM
Beginners Mind Gathering
Our Once a Month Pre Sit Intro Meeting for Those New to Mindfulness or New to the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh

10:30AM - 12:30 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice
5 Mindfulness Training Recitation (New Version)
Please Bring your Chanting Books with you if you have them.

WEDNESDAY November 10th

UU Fellowship of Huntington
7:30 PM - 9 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice

We Will Be Reading From Happiness.
Please Bring your Books with you if you have them.

SUNDAY November 14th

St Ignatius Retreat House
10:30AM - 12:30 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice

SUNDAY November 21st

St Ignatius Retreat House
10:30AM - 12:30 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice

We Will Be Reading From Peace Is Every Step.
Please Bring your Books with you if you have them.

WEDNESDAY November 24th

UU Fellowship of Huntington
7:30 PM - 9 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice

We Will Be Reading From Happiness.
Please Bring your Books with you if you have them.

Local Food Pantry Collection

SUNDAY November 28th

St Ignatius Retreat House
10:30AM - 12:30 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice

Local Food Pantry Collection

Your Free Will Donation Helps to Support
Our Community & Our Hosts

Monday, October 25, 2010

New Addition! Wed. Evenings

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Public Tak from Penahg 2010

Thich Nhat Hanh - Public Talk from Penang from Brother Stream on Vimeo.

Living Happily in the Present Moment!
Enjoy!

Next Gathering

SUNDAY October 24th

St Ignatius Retreat House
10:30AM - 12:30 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice

Monday, October 11, 2010

Happy Continuation Day

Continuation Day of Thich Nhat Hanh (b. 1926)

"I have arrived.
I am home.
In the here,
In the now.
I am solid.
I am free.
In the Ultimate I dwell."

One of the best known and most respected Zen masters in the world today, poet, and peace and human rights activist, Thich Nhat Hanh (called Thây by his students) has led an extraordinary life. Born in central Vietnam in 1926 he joined the monkshood at the age of sixteen. The Vietnam War confronted the monasteries with the question of whether to adhere to the contemplative life and remain meditating in the monasteries, or to help the villagers suffering under bombings and other devastation of the war. Nhat Hanh was one of those who chose to do both, helping to found the "engaged Buddhism" movement. His life has since been dedicated to the work of inner transformation for the benefit of individuals and society.

In Saigon in the early 60s, Thich Nhat Hanh founded the School of Youth Social Service, a grass-roots relief organization that rebuilt bombed villages, set up schools and medical centers, resettled homeless families, and organized agricultural cooperatives. Rallying some 10,000 student volunteers, the SYSS based its work on the Buddhist principles of non-violence and compassionate action. Despite government denunciation of his activity, Nhat Hanh also founded a Buddhist University, a publishing house, and an influential peace activist magazine in Vietnam.

After visiting the U.S. and Europe in 1966 on a peace mission, he was banned from returning to Vietnam in 1966. On subsequent travels to the U.S., he made the case for peace to federal and Pentagon officials including Robert McNamara. He may have changed the course of U.S. history when he persuaded Martin Luther King, Jr. to oppose the Vietnam War publicly, and so helped to galvanize the peace movement. The following year, King nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Subsequently, Nhat Hanh led the Buddhist delegation to the Paris Peace Talks.

In 1982 he founded Plum Village, a

Buddhist community in exile in France, where he continues his work to alleviate suffering of refugees, boat people, political prisoners, and hungry families in Vietnam and throughout the Third World. He has also received recognition for his work with Vietnam veterans, meditation retreats, and his prolific writings on meditation, mindfulness, and peace. He has published some 85 titles of accessible poems, prose, and prayers, with more than 40 in English, including the best selling Call Me by My True Names, Peace Is Every Step, Being Peace, Touching Peace, Living Buddha Living Christ, Teachings on Love, The Path of Emancipation, and Anger. In September 2001, just a few days after the suicide terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, he addressed the issues of non-violence and forgiveness in a memorable speech at Riverside Church in New York City. In September of 2003 he addressed members of the US Congress, leading them through a two-day retreat.
Thich Nhat Hanh continues to live in Plum Village in the meditation community he founded, where he teaches, writes, and gardens; and he leads retreats worldwide on "the art of mindful living."

Teachings

Thich Nhat Hanh's key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live in the present moment instead of in the past and in the future. Dwelling in the present moment is, according to Nhat Hanh, the only way to truly develop peace, both in one's self and in the world.

Courtesy: Parallax Press

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

New Wednesday Evening Sit

NEW WEDNESDAY EVENING SIT

7:30 - 9 PM
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington
109 Brown's Road, Huntington, NY

October 13th and 27th
Join us for sitting and walking meditation

in the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh

Please bring your cushions/mats. Chairs will be available.

see map

October Schedule

Green Island Sangha
October Schedule

Sangha Generosity Practice non perishables and canned goods for a local food pantry Collection at our October 24th sit

SUNDAY October 3rd

Lazy Monk Festival

Special Lazy Monk Festival off site
Outdoor Meditation at Cedarmere Gardens in Roslyn
Bring something to sit on
10:15 -12:30 PM
(dependent on weather)

St. Ignatius Retreat House will be closed so Green Island Sangha Will Not Be Sitting there.

SUNDAY October 10th

St. Ignatius Retreat House will be closed so Green Island Sangha Will Not Be Sitting there.

SUNDAY October 17th

10:00AM - 10:30 AM
Beginners Mind Gathering
Our Once a Month Pre Sit Intro Meeting for Those New to Mindfulness or New to the Tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh

10:30AM - 12:30 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice
5 Mindfulness Training Recitation (New Version)
Please Bring your Chanting Books with you if you have them.

SUNDAY October 24th

St Ignatius Retreat House
10:30AM - 12:30 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice

SUNDAY October 31st

St Ignatius Retreat House
10:30AM - 12:30 PM
Our Regular Sitting Practice

We Will Be Reading From Peace Is Every Step.
Please Bring your Books with you if you have them.

Local Food Pantry collection

Your Free Will Donation Helps to Support Our Community

& our hosts St Ignatius Retreat House

Green Island Sangha

The Green Island Sangha is inspired by the teachings and practice of Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh; we belong to the international Sangha which he founded: the Order of Interbeing, a "fourfold community" of lay women and men, nuns and monks. We are a grassroots Sangha, beginners and more experienced practitioners learning from and supporting one other on the path of awakening. We are also a part of The Community of Mindfulness New York Metro.

Our aspiration is to bring mindfulness, concentration, and insight to daily living. During our sessions, we apply the practice of conscious breathing to sitting and walking, as well as communicating with compassionate listening and loving speech. Our gatherings also reflect the values of openness. For example, many members continue to participate within other religious or ethical traditions. We are a Sangha of practitioners from the entire length and breath of Long Island and consider ourselves to be part of a world wide Sangha. Beginners are welcome.

Sitting & Walking Meditation

Sitting Meditation

"Sit or lie down in a way that allows your body to rest. Sitting, your head and spine form a straight line. Relax all your muscles. Find a way of sitting that allows you to sit for at least 20 minutes without becoming too stiff or tired. As soon as you sit down, pay attention to your breath. Then notice your posture, a little bit everywhere. Relax the muscles in your face. If you are angry or worried, those muscles will be tense. Smile lightly, and you will relax hundreds of muscles in your face. Then notice your shoulders, and let go of the tension there. Don’t try too hard. Just breathe mindfully, and scan your whole body."

Thich Nhat Hanh, The Mindfulness Bell, Issue 23, pages 1,4.

Walking Meditation

"Walk more slowly than you usually do, but not too slowly, while breathing normally. Do not try to control your breathing. Walk along this way for a few minutes. Then notice how many steps you take as your lungs fill and how many steps you take as they empty. In this way, your attention includes both breath and steps. You are mindful of both.... Your half-smile brings calmness and delight to your steps and your breath.... After a few hours of serious practice, you will find that the four of them — the breath, the counting, the steps, and the half-smile — blend together in a marvelous balance of mindfulness. This is equanimity, created by the practice of walking meditation. The four elements of breathing, counting, stepping, and the half-smile become one."

Thich Nhat Hanh, A Guide to Walking Meditation.

Five Mindfulness Trainings

Five Mindfulness Trainings

The Five Mindfulness Trainings were developed during the time of the Buddha to be the foundation of practice for the entire practice community, including monastic and lay members. The basis for the trainings is mindfulness.All Sangha members and guests are requested to observe these trainings to support our practice of mindfulness and living harmoniously together. No smoking, no drinking and no sexual misconduct constitute part of the Five Mindfulness Trainings to be observed at a practice center. The Five Mindfulness Trainings protect our freedom and make life beautiful. As guidelines for our daily lives they are the basis of happiness for individuals, couples, families and society.
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Reverence For Life

Aware of the suffering caused by the destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating the insight of interbeing and compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals. I am determined not to kill, not to let others kill, and not to support any act of killing in the world, in my thinking, or in my way of life. Seeing that harmful actions arise from anger, fear, greed, and intolerance, which in turn come from dualistic and discriminative thinking, I will cultivate openness, non-discrimination, and non-attachment to views in order to transform violence, fanaticism, and dogmatism in myself and in the world.

True Happiness

Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing, and oppression, I am committed to practicing generosity in my thinking, speaking, and acting. I am determined not to steal and not to possess anything that should belong to others; and I will share my time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need. I will practice looking deeply to see that the happiness and suffering of others are not separate from my own happiness and suffering; that true happiness is not possible without understanding and compassion; and that running after wealth, fame, power and sensual pleasures can bring much suffering and despair. I am aware that happiness depends on my mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that I can live happily in the present moment simply by remembering that I already have more than enough conditions to be happy. I am committed to practicing Right Livelihood so that I can help reduce the suffering of living beings on Earth and reverse the process of global warming.

True Love

Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society. Knowing that sexual desire is not love, and that sexual activity motivated by craving always harms myself as well as others, I am determined not to engage in sexual relations without true love and a deep, long-term commitment made known to my family and friends. I will do everything in my power to protect children from sexual abuse and to prevent couples and families from being broken by sexual misconduct. Seeing that body and mind are one, I am committed to learning appropriate ways to take care of my sexual energy and cultivating loving kindness, compassion, joy and inclusiveness – which are the four basic elements of true love – for my greater happiness and the greater happiness of others. Practicing true love, we know that we will continue beautifully into the future.

Loving Speech and Deep Listening

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and compassionate listening in order to relieve suffering and to promote reconciliation and peace in myself and among other people, ethnic and religious groups, and nations. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am committed to speaking truthfully using words that inspire confidence, joy, and hope. When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I will practice mindful breathing and walking in order to recognize and to look deeply into my anger. I know that the roots of anger can be found in my wrong perceptions and lack of understanding of the suffering in myself and in the other person. I will speak and listen in a way that can help myself and the other person to transform suffering and see the way out of difficult situations. I am determined not to spread news that I do not know to be certain and not to utter words that can cause division or discord. I will practice Right Diligence to nourish my capacity for understanding, love, joy, and inclusiveness, and gradually transform anger, violence, and fear that lie deep in my consciousness.

Nourishment and Healing

Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking, and consuming. I will practice looking deeply into how I consume the Four Kinds of Nutriments, namely edible foods, sense impressions, volition, and consciousness. I am determined not to gamble, or to use alcohol, drugs, or any other products which contain toxins, such as certain websites, electronic games, TV programs, films, magazines, books, and conversations. I will practice coming back to the present moment to be in touch with the refreshing, healing and nourishing elements in me and around me, not letting regrets and sorrow drag me back into the past nor letting anxieties, fear, or craving pull me out of the present moment. I am determined not to try to cover up loneliness, anxiety, or other suffering by losing myself in consumption. I will contemplate interbeing and consume in a way that preserves peace, joy, and well-being in my body and consciousness, and in the collective body and consciousness of my family, my society and the Earth.