Meeting!!:D

Meeting this Sunday at 10:00 AM in Cookhill village hall. 

Hope to see you there! 

Meeting reminder...

Meeting this Sunday at 10:00 AM in Cookhill village hall. 

Hope to see you there! 

Keep Opening the Door

Photo: annemini.com

When you sit down to meditate, you never know what’s going to come up. Some days  you’re hammered by relentless trivia; other days you’re caught in storms of anger or grief or  fear. What’s important is just to keep coming back to the cushion, to keep opening the door  to the possibility of peace and insight.

- Anne Cushman, "Fifteen Weeks of Dharma Dating"

Day of Mindfulness in Birmingham! =D

Photo: Barbara Chai

There will be a day of Mindfulness on Saturday, November 9th from 10.30- 4.30.

Bring vegetarian food to share, cushions, blanket and outdoor clothes for a walk. 

Here's the address:

Friends Meeting House

17 Colmore Road

Kings Heath

BIRMINGHAM

B14 7PE

Hope to see you there!

(Disclaimer: Sadly, Thay isn't scheduled to be there. =P)

Get Yourself Out of the Way

Photo: wisdompubs.org The more we can get the self out of the way, the more clearly we can see the effect of our  thoughts, words, and action upon ourselves and others.

- Andrew Olendzki, “Moral Health”

Community of Interbeing Sangha Announcement

Dear Sangha

Supporting spreading Thay’s teachings

Please pass this message to your Sangha

“Recently, you may have received an email or two from the USA inviting you to donate to a USA based charity – The Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation. The Foundation spends 70% of its income spreading the practice in the USA and the remainder is sent to Plum Village and Vietnam.   None comes to the UK.

It was never the intention that UK residents would be asked to support the USA charity, as this has a number of financial disbenefits which substantially reduce the value of your gift..  This is because Gift Aid (worth 25% of your donation) is not recoverable, and because banking and foreign exchange fees are high.  For this reason, and after discussion with Sister Chan Khong and the US fundraisers, we set up funds in the UK 18 months ago.  These funds allow you to support spreading the practice in the UK and to donate to Plum Village in a way that allows Gift Aid to be recovered and with much lower transaction costs. The funds were called the “Thich Nhat Hanh Continuation Funds” and we have a number of generous people in the UK who donate to them.

We have previously requested the TNH Foundation in the USA not to send fundraising literature to the UK sangha as this risks creating confusion.  They did agree to this and, following these latest emails, we are contacting them again to repeat our request.

If you wish to donate to either the UK Sangha or Plum Village, please email mindfulcoi@gmail.com and we will send you all the particulars.   You can donate either as a one-off payment or by monthly donations and we are now able to accept contributions by Paypal and by direct debit.   In the run up to Christmas you will receive many requests for donations to charities.   Please do consider donating to us.  All gifts are welcome and your generosity can help us make a real difference to making the world a more mindful place.  Wouldn’t that be a good thing!

With a bow and a smile,

Allison, Andrew, Anna, Edith, Maureen, Paul, Vari

The Trustees

The Community of Interbeing UK

Charity Number:  1096680”

John Daido Loori on practice.

Photo: New York Times

In order to reach our full human potential, we must live completely and die completely. In order for this practice to function, it needs to be engaged. It does not happen automatically because we wrap a rakusu around our neck, put on a robe, attend a retreat, or read a book on Zen—“Okay, I’m here. Now do me, dharma.” It does not happen that way. We have to work for it. We have to put ourselves on the line. We have to practice the edge of our life in order to receive the dharma. Undeniably, it is here. We are surrounded, interpenetrated, enveloped, and swallowed by it. But most of us are blind and deaf to it. We do not see it. We do not hear it. We do not feel it. When will we wake up?

From The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism, by John Daido Loori, Roshi. Copyright © 1996 by Dharma Communications.

Meeting Schedule

Photo: Salvatore Ferragamo

(This is not Cookhill. :P)

Here are the meeting dates for the rest of the year. 

Oct 13th

Nov 17th

Dec 15th

All will be on the usual date place and time. 

Many thanks! 

Technical difficulties...

For some months now we have been having trouble with our email account. This issue now appears to be resolved. 

We are every sorry for late responses to information requests and inquiries.

We thank you very, very much for your patience. 

- The technical team _/|\_

A few more words from Thay...

This fits perfectly with the topic of last Sunday's meeting. Have a lovely Monday.

Photo: Plum Village

All that we are is the result of mind; mind is everything.

When I act with a pure mind, happiness follows like a shadow that never leaves me.

All that we are is the result of mind; mind is everything.

When I act with an impure mind, sorrow follows like the wheels of a cart follow the ox.

I have no knowledge of any heavens or hells other than the ones which we concoct within our own minds, and then inflict upon ourselves and each other.

"I’ve been a monk for 65 years, and what I have found is that there is no religion, no philosophy, no ideology higher than brotherhood and sisterhood. Not even Buddhism."

Thich Nhat Hanh

Meeting this Sunday!!!

We will be meeting this Sunday (15/09) at  10:00 AM. Our topic will be a continuation of last months focus (please see our last post). 

Hope to see everyone there!!

Meeting this Sunday!!

We have a meeting this Sunday (18/08) at 10AM.  This weeks topic will be focused on 

meeting the needs of the Sangha as well a look at working meditation. Please feel free to 

bring anything that you have to share on the given topics. We hope that you can 

all make it!!!

Photo: eiab.eu

Also next meeting we will endeavour to create a new meeting schedule inclusive of the next 

few months. Thanks all for your patience! _/|\_

Meeting and Lunch this Sunday, June 16th, 10:00 AM.

Hello everyone!

We are meeting this Sunday at 10:00 AM at Cookhill. This months topic is "Exploring Practice" and everyone is encouraged to bring along something that inspires them in their daily practice. Be it a poem, song, passage, video, picture, you name it! :D Think of it as a Dharma show and tell!! 

This month's meeting will be shorter to allow for a vegetarian lunch to start at 12:00. Everyone is encouraged to bring a vegetarian dish to to share. :) Also if you have any picnic chairs or tables that you can bring they would be a big help.

New comers are always very welcome! 

Update - The MET Office is predicting heavy rain for us on Sunday. Lunch won't be cancelled we will just head indoors. =) Thanks for the tip off Graeme!

Photo: http://www.clearlydeliciousfoodblog.com

Miracles of Understanding

An interview with Thay in the Bangkok Post.
Peace and reconciliation are possible if Thai citizens and politicians renew and apply engaged Buddhism in their lives and political activities.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/lifestyle/family/348748/miracles-of-understanding