Dear Friends
This coming Sunday, October 12, we will have a special online evening, beginning a series of teaching and focused reflections on the Five Mindfulness Trainings. This is in preparation for the beautiful transmission ceremony of the Trainings, which will take place on January 6.
We will begin the evening as usual with a sitting meditation. Jeanine and Shelagh will then lead us in this first session of reflection, focused on the first and second Mindfulness Trainings, Reverence for Life and True Happiness. You may want to have a copy of the Trainings with you.
The second session of reflection will be on November 9, focused on the third and fourth Mindfulness Trainings, True Love and Loving Speech and Deep Listening. The third session will be on December 14, reflecting on the fifth Mindfulness Training, Nourishment and Healing.
These three preparatory evenings are an opportunity for all of us. They are particularly relevant for anyone who is planning to receive the Mindfulness Trainings at the January 6 transmission ceremony; those who are interested should contact us here, and we will offer guidance on the registration process.
The Five Mindfulness Trainings remind us of our deep aspiration to live each day with a calm mind and an open heart. They provide invaluable guidelines for mindful living, acting as guardrails on the path of mindfulness that preserve and encourage our practice. Our commitment to the trainings deepens when we receive them formally in a Five Mindfulness Trainings transmission ceremony. This transmission publicly joins us with the tradition of mindfulness practice passed from teacher to student in an unbroken line from the Buddha, through many generations of Indian, Chinese and Vietnamese teachers, through Thich Nhat Hanh, to us.
As in past years, the Washington Mindfulness Community will join with the Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center, the Opening Heart Mindfulness Community and the Mindfulness Practice Center of Fairfax for the joyous transmission ceremony. This will take place online and in-person (at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Oakton, Virginia) on Saturday, January 6th, 2026, beginning at 9:00 am (Eastern time).
Warm wishes
WMC Practice Council (currently Jeanine, Joann, Jude, Nigel, Pat)