Taos Mountain Sangha

May Program Offerings - 2012

admin — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:52:39 +0000

May 2nd - Wednesday at 6:30 pm: Meditation, talk entitled “Practice–What’s in It for Me and for You?” by John Lankford, guest speaker.

John Lankford has been practicing since 2000. He is a student of Marcia Rose, but has studied with a number of other teachers as well. Emeritus Professor of history, University of Missouri at Columbia, Lankford has published three books of fiction since he moved to Taos. The most recent is a collection of short stories, All The World Is Wild And Strange.

May 9th - Wednesday at 6:30 pm: Meditation, talk entitled, “Meditation–The Why and How” by Jean Smith, guest teacher.

Jean Smith has practiced Buddhist meditation since 1986 and has published nine books on Buddhism-including The Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation (with Arinna Weisman), and Now! The Art of Being Truly Present–as well as a novel, Himalayan Passage. Jean is a member of Taos Mountain Sangha, where she teaches beginning meditation classes and is often a guest teacher, and chairs the board for The Mountain Hermitage.

May 16th - Wednesday at 6:30 pm: Self directed meditation and discussion by Meri Lehtinen.

Meri Lehtinen has been practicing Vipassana meditation since the mid-70’s, initially at retreats in California, with Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, Stephen Levine and Christopher Reed, and after a hiatus from the mid-80’s to the mid-90’s while working in Finland, again in the US with Marcia Rose, Eric Kolvig and others in Taos.

May 19th - Saturday at 9:00 am until 4:00 pm: A Day of Practice, suitable for all, led by Jean Smith and Julie Tato. Dharma talk by Jean Smith, “The Heart’s Perfection Using the Paramis for Practice in Our Daily Lives”. Practice instructions will be given. Most of the day will be in silence. Bring your lunch, tea will be provided. Donation suggested.

May 23rd - Wednesday at 6:30pm: Meditation, talk entitled, “Determination and Inspiration” by Julie Tato, guest speaker.

Julie Tato, has practiced meditation since 1988, primarily Vipassana, with Sharon Salzberg, other Western teachers, and Ven. Tsoknyi Rinpoche. An instructor of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, she has a particular interest in the Brahma Vihares and in Dharma in daily life. She has been an instructor for the Insight Meditation Correspondence Course, with youth, and with those recovering from loss. She has often lived, worked, & practiced in spiritual community, including at IMS, where she supported staff in Dharma service. Julie regularly offers teaching at Taos Mountain Sangha and works locally supporting people with disabilities and their families.

May 30th - Wednesday at 6:30 pm: Meditation, talk entitled, “The Dhammpadha” by Chris Wells.

Christine L. Wells (Chris) has been practicing Vipassana meditation since late 2002. She has attended a number of week long retreats. Chris is not a long-time student of the Dharma, but she has extensive teaching experience as a former University professor. Chris is currently the President of the Board of Directors of Taos Mountain Sangha.

Donations for the teachers and TMS are greatly appreciated.

Safety is our number one priority during these winter months and should difficult weather (snow, icy roads, etc.) make for poor driving conditions we will make every effort to send an email out by 5:30pm to notify you that the Center is canceling the evening program.

** We invite you to stay afterward to get to know other members of our Sangha Community. **

Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra

admin — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 15:13:32 +0000

Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra (Shambhala), is a new dharma book about a pivotal figure in the transmission of Dharma to the West and “the teacher of our teachers.” Anagarika Munindra was Joseph Goldstein’s and Kamala Masters’ first teacher and one who also influenced Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Daniel Goleman, James Baraz, Christopher Titmuss, Christina Feldman, Sylvia Boorstein, Larry Rosenberg, Marcia Rose, and many others. He was responsible for teaching Dipa Ma and introducing her to his Western students. Munindra was greatly appreciated not only for his knowledge as a Pali scholar but most especially for his embodiment of Dharma, for being a living example of the qualities that lead to awakening, qualities that are part of everyday life. When asked, “Munindraji, what is Dhamma?” he used to say, “Dhamma is living the life fully.” He did not reserve practice for a special time, in a special place, on a special cushion, but for everywhere and in every moment. His open-minded, accessible, enthusiastic, friendly, and cheerful manner was inviting and encouraging. He inspired others to believe that, yes, it is possible here and now.

Living This Life Fully is organized into sixteen chapters, each one focusing on a quality essential for awakening. It is based on interviews with Munindra before his death in 2003, some of his early dharma talks, interviews with almost 200 people around the world who shared poignant and humorous remembrances, and other materials.

If you would like to learn more about Living This Life Fully, Attached is a PDF of the book cover with some details, which I hope you’ll be willing to download for the Recommended Readings list. You can also read excerpts (including Joseph’s foreword) at google books: http://books.google.com/books?id=LNnzrycgXPkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Living+This+Life+Fully&source=bl&ots=eym2l-pyms&sig=Jp24OY_4uVCqMPuVBCVl85q8CVY&hl=en&ei=b6_yTKCqJIz2swO34IGYCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBQ#vProceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to establish a scholarship fund at Barre Center for Buddhist Studies in memory of Munindra.

Awakening

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:50:38 +0000

The way of the Buddha is to know yourself;
To know yourself is to forget yourself;
To forget yourself is to be awakened by all things. Dogen - Thirteenth Century Zen Monk

Walking Meditation

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:28:34 +0000

Concentrating the Mind

Walking meditation can be a very powerful practice and is a wonderful way to help concentrate the mind. It has been used in monastic traditions for centuries and is especially helpful when the mind is restless. It is often done in conjunction with a rotation of sitting and walking meditations on retreats.

Select a level place, indoors or outdoors, where you can walk in a straight direction for about 100 feet or so. In conjunction with each footstep, you silently note the count.

For example; the first step is one, the second step is one-two, the third step is one-two-three, the fourth step is one-two-three-four, and so on until you reach the count of ten. Then, pause for a moment and reverse your direction and the counting. For example; ten, ten-nine, ten-nine-eight, ten-nine-eight-seven, descending back to one.

The practice can be repeated in a walking session for as long as you want. It is a good technique to free the mind from other thoughts and it can be done at a slow or moderate pace.

Bob Parker - 15 January 2010

The Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:13:33 +0000

Weisman, Arinna, and Jean Smith. The Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation (New York: Bell Tower, 2001). Clear explanations of the Buddha’s teachings with personal stories highlighting some of the challenges and insights of practice.

The Beginner’s Guide to Walking the Buddha’s Eightfold Path

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:12:33 +0000

Smith, Jean. The Beginner’s Guide to Walking the Buddha’s Eightfold Path (New York: Bell Tower, 2002). An exploration of how the concepts central to practicing the Buddha’s teachings can be applied in daily life in such areas as environmental consciousness and interpersonal relations.

Lovingkindness

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:11:07 +0000

Salzberg, Sharon. Lovingkindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness (Boston: Shambhala, 1995). This inspiring book by a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA, introduces the West to the practice of metta, or lovingkindness, practice.

A Heart as Wide as the World

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:10:28 +0000

Salzberg, Sharon. A Heart as Wide as the World: Living with Mindfulness, Wisdom, and Compassion (Boston: Shambhala, 1997). Stories, anecdotes, and brief teachings that show how to live this spiritual practice in the everyday world, by a cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA.

Voices of Insight

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:09:19 +0000

Salzberg, Sharon, ed. Voices of Insight (Boston: Shambhala, 1999). A rich anthology of writings by teachers who lead retreats at the Insight Meditation Society, in Barre, MA.

The Wise Heart

admin — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:07:58 +0000

Kornfield, Jack. The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology (Bantam Books, 2008). A definitive guide to Buddhist spiritual life and psychology through the teachings of the Buddha and insight meditation, by the founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, CA, and cofounder of the Insight Meditation Society in Barre, MA.