[ULUBUDA] Tangerine Party Social Dharma-5th Nov

[R.Wu at lse.ac.uk]

Dear all,

 

It has been great seeing you all over the past couple of weeks:) I hope you've found the temple visits, the talks the meditation sessions insightful. This is just a reminder that:-

 

 Next Monday(5th Nov) we will be having a:-

 

 

                  

 

                  ***TANGERINE PARTY SOCIAL DHARMA***

 

WHAT and WHY?

 

The TANGERINE PARTY SOCIAL DHARMA will be a great opportunity for us to COME TOGETHER, RELAX, MEET FRIENDS, and SHARE with each other our experiences. Also, it'll be a great chance for you to report back to us on suggestions about our events so far and how we can amend it to your tastes:P 

 

The idea of a 'tangerine' party comes from a group activity that the revered monk Thich Nhat Hanh holds during retreats. 

 

It is said that if one can see the compassion that lies in the 'journey' of a simple tangerine-from the growth of seed to the beings who have picked the fruit from the fields, then perhaps, we can use this simple analogy to generate compassion in our own lives and for others....

 

 

'To smile is not to smile only for yourself, the world will change because of your smile. When you practise sitting meditation, if you enjoy even one moment of your sitting, if you establish serenity and happiness inside yourself, you provide the world with a solid base of peace. If you do not give yourself peace, how can you share it with others? If you do not begin your peace work with yourself, where will you go to begin it? To sit, to smile, to look at things and really see them, these are the basis of peace work.
Yesterday, we had a tangerine party. Everyone was offered one tangerine. We put the tangerine on the palm of our hand and looked at it, breathing in a way that the tangerine became real. Most of the time when we eat a tangerine, we do not look at it. We think about many other things. To look at a tangerine is to see the blossom forming into the fruit, to see the sunshine and the rain. The tangerine in our palm is the wonderful presence of life. We are able to really see that tangerine and smell its blossom and the warm, moist earth. As the tangerine becomes real, we become real. Life in that moment becomes real.
Mindfully we began to peel our tangerine and smell its fragrance. We carefully took each section of the tangerine and put in on our tongue, and we could feel that it was a real tangerine. We ate each section of the tangerine in perfect mindfulness until we finished the entire fruit. Eating a tangerine in this way is very important, because both the tangerine and the eater of the tangerine become real. This, too, is the basic work for peace.
In Buddhist meditation we do not struggle for the kind of enlightenment that will happen five or ten years from now. We practise so that each moment of our life becomes real life. And, therefore, when we meditate, we sit for sitting; we don't sit for something else. If we sit for twenty minutes, these twenty minutes should bring us joy, life. If we practise walking meditation, we walk just for walking, not to arrive. We have to be alive with each step, and if we are, each step brings real life back to us.'


 From Thich Nhat Hanh's commentary on the Heart Sutra.

 


So expect lots of   *tantalising tangerines:P,  scrumptious snacks and delightful Dharma discussions* (im running out of adjectives lol)

 

 

 

WHEN?

  

Date: MONDAY 5TH NOVEMBER

Time: 6.30PM+ (Whenever your classes finishes)

Place:  Room 2B

 

ULU, Malet Street, WC1E 7HY (directions here: http://www.ulu.co.uk/content/index.php?page=1302). 

 

MORE INFO...

 

http://www.plumvillage.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Sutra

http://www.dmcclanahan.com/heart_sutra.htm

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/loving-kindness.htm

 

 

 

I look forward in seeing you all there:P

 

Lots of metta (loving-kindness)

 

Ruo

 

 

 

 


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