Meditation

This summer our conversations will focus on meditation practice: on the basic forms of meditation, the purpose of meditation, and on how to recognize and overcome obstacles that arise during meditation. Each week we will start our conversation from one chapter in Tricycle Magazine’s Meditation: Volume 2, a collection of articles by various meditation teachers. We will use the reading as a way to generate insights and questions for further exploration, and we will connect our discussions to Tendai Buddhist meditation practice.

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Sticking With It

This summer our conversations will focus on meditation practice: on the basic forms of meditation, the purpose of meditation, and on how to recognize and overcome obstacles that arise during meditation. Each week we will start our conversation from one chapter in Tricycle Magazine’s Meditation: Volume 2, a collection of articles by various meditation teachers. Will will use the reading as a way to generate insights and questions for further exploration, and we will connect our discussions to Tendai Buddhist meditation practice.

This week we will be discussing “Sticking With It” by Sharon Salzburg. Please come ready to share an idea from the article that resonated with you or that confused you.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Jizo Day

The wooden image on the altar at Winding Path Tendai Sangha is Jizo Bodhisattva. Jizo is a manifestation of compassion who shows up to support those who are experiencing the most difficult kinds of suffering. In Japan the 24th of each month is Jizo’s related day, and on August 24 there are often festivals dedicated to Jizo. Since this evening’s gathering falls on this date, we will investigate the symbolism and traditions connected to Jizo Bodhisattva.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Meditation, Mental Habits, and Creative Imagination

This summer our conversations will focus on meditation practice: on the basic forms of meditation, the purpose of meditation, and on how to recognize and overcome obstacles that arise during meditation. Each week we will start our conversation from one chapter in Tricycle Magazine’s Meditation: Volume 2, a collection of articles by various meditation teachers. Will will use the reading as a way to generate insights and questions for further exploration, and we will connect our discussions to Tendai Buddhist meditation practice.

This week we will be discussing “Meditation, Mental Habits and Creative Imagination” by Martine Batchelor. Please come ready to share an idea from the article that resonated with you or that confused you.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Fruitless Labor

This summer our conversations will focus on meditation practice: on the basic forms of meditation, the purpose of meditation, and on how to recognize and overcome obstacles that arise during meditation. Each week we will start our conversation from one chapter in Tricycle Magazine’s Meditation: Volume 2, a collection of articles by various meditation teachers. Will will use the reading as a way to generate insights and questions for further exploration, and we will connect our discussions to Tendai Buddhist meditation practice.

This week we will be discussing “Fruitless Labor” by Gaylon Ferguson. Please come ready to share an idea from the article that resonated with you or that confused you.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Observing Hiroshima Remembrance Day

It is important for us to remember tragic historical events and to reflect on the conditions that gave rise to those events. If we can better understand those conditions, to recognize where suffering exists for everyone involved in a conflict, we can shape our own actions to help foster conditions that will lead to ease the suffering of all sentient beings. This evening we will remember the August 6, 1945 dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Our conversation will focus on conditioned arising on a socio-political level. We will consider the question: How does personal transformation relate to social transformation? Then, instead of our standard shikan meditation practice, we will engage in a practice of folding paper cranes as a way of developing understanding within ourselves and generating peace toward our fellow humans.