Revision
The poet W. H. Auden said “The funniest and kindest of mortals Are those who are most aware of the baffle of being” (A friend named Rex used this quotation In an inscription to me…
Category: Saint Louis Mindfulness Sangha
Share the Wealth with Susan Clark and Chris Wallach: A Workshop Among the Stars Of Mindfulness and Compassion
In October, Susan Clark and Chris Wallach attended the Mind and Life International Symposium for Contemplative Studies. The Mission Statement of the Institute states: The Mind & Life Institute is a non-profit organization committed to…
Present Moment Wonderful Moment
Spent the morning with Thuy Khuu at Café Ventana: Breathing in, I know that life is precious in this moment. Breathing out, I cherish this moment of life. gatha by Thich Nhat Hanh
Communities of Resistance
Dear Sangha, I’ve been rereading book I first encountered back in the 1980s, The Raft Is Not the Shore. (This title will remind some of us of our recent sutra readings.) It’s a dialogue between Thich…
Reckoning with War
Dear Friends of Saint Louis Mindfulness Sangha, The first of the five wonderful mindfulness trainings emphasizes cultivating reverence for life. The original version of the 12th precept of the Order of Interbeing reads: “Do not…
A Deep Listening Break
During this morning’s sangha gathering, Chris invited us to do deep listening in pairs. In later sharing, something Cristina said sparked the following idea: Instead of meeting a friend for coffee, meet her for a…
Good Citizens/1
Dear Friends in the Sangha, I first encountered The Miracle of Being Awake (later published as The Miracle of Mindfulness) in 1982, when a monk from the Abbey of Gethsemani gave me a mimeograph of…
The Miracle of a Sheet of Paper
This morning at our sangha gathering at Sophia House, we listened to part of a dharma talk that Thầy gave at Green Gulch Zen Center in spring 1987. The following is the gist of what…
Tea Meditation
Our Meditation and Mindfulness Sangha meets on the second and fourth Saturdays. This morning, Cristina led us in tea meditation. She read us the following from Thích Nhất Hạnh. You must be completely awake in…
Dipa Ma
We are so fortunate to be alive at this time, so many teachers to learn with and from. Here’s one: Dipa Ma who was born in East Bengal, lived for years in Burma, and spent…