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Dear Sangha,

Mitchell is still away in Vietnam with Thich Nhat Hahn. We send him heartfelt wishes that his time be full of joyful awakening. Meanwhile, we will gather this Thursday night, as always, to support one another in our efforts to be present, compassionate, and happy.

This Thursday, following our regular Thursday evening sit, we will focus on ways that we can practice when we are not sitting in meditation. We sit on the cushion only a few hours of the week—at best 5 or 6 percent of our time, if we assume the nearly unattainable hour a day, seven days a week. What can we do to support mindful awareness of the present moment during the other 95 percent of our waking hours?

In the book, Peace Is Every Step, Thich Naht Hanh describes many practices; for example, treating a stop light as a bell of mindfulness, washing the dishes as if we were washing the baby Buddha and adapting walking meditation to the pace of the city. Each of these practices is designed to help us to stop, rest, calm and concentrate. We can think of these as “on-the- spot” meditations, to borrow a phrase from the wonderful teacher, Pema Chodron.

During our dharma discussion, we will look at the power of “on-the-spot” practices, and how we can apply them in our daily lives. We will take some time to look at our lives to see if we can identify particular, habitual places or times where such a practice might be most helpful. There will be a collection of possible practices from Thich Nhat Hanh and other teachers; in addition, we can make up new ones together.

In the meantime, here is a reading from Thich Nhat Hanh:

“If you want to know where God, the Buddhas and all the great beings live, I can tell you. Here is their address: in the here and now. It has everything you need, including the zip code.

“If you can breathe in and out and walk in the spirit of ‘I have arrived, I am home, in the here, in the now,’ then you will notice that you are becoming more solid and more free immediately. You have established yourself in the present moment, at your true address. Nothing can push you to run anymore, or make you so afraid. You are free from worrying about the past. You are not stuck, thinking about what has not happened yet and what you cannot control. You are free from guilt concerning the past and you are free from your worries about the future.” no death, no fear, p. 105

May you be safe from harm and free from suffering,

May you know happiness and the roots of happiness,

My you be peaceful and may your heart be filled with joy,

Lynda