Jun
22
10:00 AM10:00

Sangha picnic

Dear Friends,


Please join us for a Sangha picnic at the National Arboretum Saturday June 22nd from 10AM - 2PM.

We will meet at the M St. parking area. This is the only part of the Arboretum where picnicking is allowed. There are a few picnic tables there, and lots of open space in the grass to put down cloths. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share, along with a plate, utensils and a drink for yourself.

There is a very nice area next to it called Fern Valley with shaded woods, trails and a stream where we can take a mindful walk. Across the road from Fern Valley is a small children's area, next to the Youth Garden, with some wooden and metal xylophones built in. The Azalea Gardens are on the other side of the parking area; the blooms have peaked now, but there is an eagles nest and you may be lucky to see them come and go. A long walk (or drive to its own small parking area) leads to the Asian Valley area, with a pagoda overlooking the Anacostia River.

You're welcome to invite any friends. It covers 446 acres, so it's never too crowded.

A map is included below, but be sure to leave yourself plenty of time, as it can be tricky to navigate around the park. Any questions, contact Bill Jenkins billjenkinsmusic@gmail.com 

More info about the National Arboretum:

https://www.usna.usda.gov/

Maps:

https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3852n.ct005200/?r=0.041,0.483,0.246,0.118,0

https://www.google.com/maps/place/United+States+National+Arboretum/@38.91213,-76.9657782,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x0:0x97f8e732d5dd08b!8m2!3d38.91213!4d-76.9657782

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June Dharma Talk: Embracing and Loving all our Seeds; the Wholesome and the Unwholesome.
Jun
30
6:30 PM18:30

June Dharma Talk: Embracing and Loving all our Seeds; the Wholesome and the Unwholesome.

We are so happy that our friend Annie Mahon will be joining us on June 30, to guest lead our evening. Annie is a yoga and mindfulness teacher, and founder of the Circle Yoga Cooperative in Washington, D.C and DC Yoga Week. She is also an ordained lay Buddhist minister, licensed massage therapist, and mother of four young adults. Annie lives in Washington, D.C. She blogs beautifully at www.rawmindfulness.com where she also lists events of interest to us all, including this upcoming evening with us: https://www.rawmindfulness.com/event-list/embracing-and-loving

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Jun
16
11:00 AM11:00

Emancipation: Honoring Juneteenth and its meaning for us today

Sunday, June 16th, from 8am-10am Pacific/11am-1pm Eastern

Join Kaira Jewel Lingo and Sr. Hai An in this two-hour, online Zoom event to mindfully celebrate Juneteenth—the historical moment when Union soldiers announced the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865. We will learn about the history of Juneteenth and the facilitators--a woman of color and a white woman--will offer their reflections on the meaning of this day for our mindfulness practice. Through guided meditation and discussion in identity groups, we will explore how we can apply mindfulness in the service of healing our ancestors and ourselves and in support of emancipation for all of us. We welcome people of all racial identities to explore together how this historical legacy of slavery and it's transformation impacts all of us and how we can practice together to create greater justice and racial healing.

Please register in advance using this link so that we can prepare the breakout groups according to your self-identified racial identity. This information will be kept private and used only for the purposes of this call.

The Zoom call information will be sent to you after you register.

There is no fee for this event. You are invited to offer a donation to support the teachers/facilitators via PayPal or Venmo (@Kaira-Lingo).

We hope to see you there!

About the facilitators:

Kaira Jewel Lingo began practicing mindfulness in 1997. An ordained nun of 15 years in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing, she is now based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, leading retreats internationally, offering mindfulness programs for educators and youth in schools, as well as individual spiritual mentoring. She offers regular people of color mindfulness retreats and retreats and workshops on healing racism. She is in the current Spirit Rock Teacher Training Program. Visit kairajewel.com to learn more.

Sr. Hai An is a Bhikshuni, a Buddhist nun, based in Toronto. She received monastic ordination from Thich Nhat Hanh 2012 and trained at Plum Village Monastery in France and Blue Cliff Monastery in New York State. She is a founding member of the ARISE Sangha bringing racial justice to the forefront of the Plum Village community. She left the monastery in 2018, holding the teachings of Plum Village as her core practice while blending them with early Buddhist practices, social justice teachings, mystical Christianity, neuroscience, music, and poetry. Visit listenlovetrust.wordpress.com for more.

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May Dharma Talk
May
26
6:30 PM18:30

May Dharma Talk

We are delighted to announce that Brother Phap Vu of Blue Cliff Monastery will return to give a dharma talk on the evening of Sunday May 26 at the Vihara, part of our usual Sunday evening sangha meeting. Brother Chan Phap Vu - True Dharma Rain - is an American monk who began practicing the Dharma through the Chinese Chan tradition in the mid-90s, and was ordained at Plum Village in 2003.

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Watering Seeds of Joy: the Art of Tea Meditation
Feb
10
6:30 PM18:30

Watering Seeds of Joy: the Art of Tea Meditation

Sunday, February 10 at 6:30pm , Kaira Jewel will offer a guided meditation followed by embodied, interactive practices for watering the seeds of joy that we each have available to us in the soil of our minds. Please wear comfortable clothing that you can move around in easily. The embodied practices will be gentle and accessible for all bodies. 


In the second part of the evening, we will enjoy the practice of Tea Meditation, an occassion to mindfully nourish joy in community. Kaira Jewel will lead us in some singing and you are also invited to bring poems, songs, stories, reflections, activities or games that nourish you that you wish to share.

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