Winding Path Tendai Buddhist Sangha
Winding Path Tendai Buddhist Sangha is a meditation group that has been supporting each other in mindfulness and Buddhist practices in the heart of Springfield, MA since 2011. We always welcome new members or visitors. Whether you are an experienced meditator or someone who is just curious about Buddhism, please feel free to stop by and join us one evening.
News & Events
Starting September 10, we will meet every Monday at 6:00 PM at 33 Palomba Drive in Enfield, CT
This Week: Monday, September 3
No Meditation Service
Because most sangha members already had plans for Labor Day weekend, we won't be meeting this evening. Enjoy this time with family and friends, and we hope to see you next week in Enfield.
Upcoming September Weekly Discussion Topics
Our weekly service starts with a 30 minute talk or discussion led by Reverend Shingaku. After the discussion we perform the Tendai daily service and then engage in 2 periods of meditation. If this is your first time for attending, please arrive 15 minutes early for an orientation.
Monday, September 3
Labor Day--No Service
No service this evening. Please enjoy Labor Day with your family and friends.
Monday, September 10
Article: Creating a Confident Mind. 6:00-7:45pm Enfield
We often give the instruction to beginning meditators to watch or count the breaths. This is a way to train your mind to focus early on. However, we eventually want to let go of this technique and use meditation to get to deeper states of awareness. The article “Creating a Confident Mind by Phakchok Rinpoche and Erric Solomon from the Fall 2018 issue of Tricycle provides a framework for this. Although this article is written by a Tibetan teacher, there are some similarities between this description of the experience of meditation and the Tendai framework for meditation. Please read the article in advance if possible.
Monday, September 17
Survey of Buddhism Part 1: The Life of the Historic Buddha, 6:00-7:45pm, Enfield
This evening’s class will provide an overview of the life of Siddhartha Gautama, the historic Buddha. We will trace his journey, considering his childhood, renunciation, enlightenment, and work at a teacher. This class is part of a monthly series of classes designed to provide an overview of some of the basics of Buddhism. You are welcome to attend any one of these classes or attend them all as a series.
Monday, September 24
To Eat or Not to Eat--That is the Question, 6:00-7:45pm, Enfield
There are a number of conflicting ideas about whether Buddhists should be vegetarian or not. This evening we will explore several perspectives related to this question of whether Buddhist teachings permit or prevent us from eating meat. We will consider opposing sides to this debate, and sangha members will have an opportunity to share their own thinking about the issue.
September Events
O-Higan Kokoro Retreat: Sept 21-Sept 23
The retreat runs from 7:30 PM Friday the 21st through 1 PM Sunday the 23rd at the Tendai Buddhist Institute.
In Japanese, there are three words for “heart”: shinzou, which refers to the anatomical organ, ha-to, which is the Anglicized word for a love heart, and Kokoro (心), for which there is no equivalent term in English. The closest I have come up with is (heart=mind=spirit – the three qualities in one entity). In Sanskrit this is hṛdaya, as in heart from the Heart Sutra. We will investigate this Buddhist concept (often translated as heart/mind) as an underpinning of much of Buddhist philosophy and practice. Please make reservations with Monshin and Shumon no later than Sept 14th.