Evening Practice at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension

[The photo, taken by Paul Davis, is of the Buddhist contingent at the 2007 March against the war in Iraq.]

Dear Friends,

On Friday Evening, January 20th, the Washington DC Area Mindfulness Communities practicing in the tradition of Plum Village will host Together We Are One -- An Evening of Mindfulness and Sharing. 

During our time together we will sit in meditation, sing, and share with each other about how to offer our peaceful presence as participants in the Women’s March on Washington.

In Man is Not the Enemy, an essay Thay (the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh) wrote in 2000, he reflects on his efforts to end the War in Vietnam and the engaged practice insights he has since acquired:  

Having learned and practiced the teachings of Interbeing I no longer see anyone as my enemy and in my heart is a feeling of lightness and immense space. I do not even feel hatred towards people who have made me or my people suffer because I know how to look at them with the eyes of understanding and love. You may ask: "Then are you going to give that band of mad, cruel, fanatical thieves and murderers freedom to continue to destroy and make misery without doing anything to stop them?" No! We have to do everything we can to stop them, we cannot allow them to continue to kill, plunder, oppress and destroy, but our actions will never be motivated by hatred. We have to stop them, not allowing them to cause misery. If necessary we can bind them, put them in prison, but this action has to be directed by our bodhisattva's heart and while we act like this we continue to maintain our loving-kindness, wanting them to be able to have a chance to wake up, and change.

Our gathering will be from 7 - 9 pm at The Seekers Church, 276 Carroll Street NW, Washington DC. The Seekers Church is two hundred feet from the Takoma Metro Station. Parking is available in the Metro Station parking lot (enter off Eastern Avenue) and also on Carrol and Cedar Streets, adjacent to the church.

You are invited to join us. 

Many mindfulness practitioners will be participating in the Women's March on Washington on January 21. Those wishing to walk with other practitioners will meet in front of the Starbucks at 443 7th Street NW, Washington, DC, (7th and E Streets) between 8:30 and 9:30 am. From there we will walk together to join the Women's March along Independence Avenue. It has been suggested that to identify ourselves we wear brown and / or wear a paper or cloth sunflower. 

We have established a housing board for mindfulness practitioners coming to Washington this weekend ( http://mchb.createaforum.com/index.php ). If you can offer a place to stay for one or more nights, or if you are in need of a place to stay, please go to the housing board.

Late breaking information about the evening, the mindfulness community’s participation in the Women’s March, and other related events will be posted on the housing board ( http://mchb.createaforum.com/index.php ) and on the Go As A River Facebook page ( https://m.facebook.com/Womens-March-on-Washington-2017-1243209489105350/ )

With appreciation,

The Washington DC Area Mindfulness Communities

Boat of Compassion Sangha
Mindfulness Practice Center of Fairfax 
Opening Heart Mindfulness Community
Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center
Washington Mindfulness Community