Monday 29 October 2018

The next two weeks @ Beaches + an important question for you


Hi all.

This week at Beaches... This week we will be having just a meditation and, if you feel like it, a cuppa and a chat. I'll be interstate seeing family, but Kate will be opening the hall for all who'd like to come and have a sit together.

Next week at Beaches.... On Thursday week (8th Nov), we have a talk by Jampa, which I requested and am very much looking forward to. One of the great things about a secular approach to dharma practice is that we can draw from all other approaches and collect whatever practices are helpful to us. Jampa spent many years of his life as a Tibetan monk, and so I asked if he'd do a talk sharing some specific Tibetan practices that he thinks might be useful for us. The talk is called "Three Tibetan Practices for the Secular Buddhist".

An important question for you... on Dec 13, as we near the end of our 10th year, our session will be a meeting to determine the future of Beaches Sangha. Over this time, the generosity of many lovely people have helped keep our Sangha going, whether that's opening up the hall and setting up for meetings, looking after the supply cupboard, managing the program, or other tasks. As helpers have come and gone, I've always been the central organiser. After 10 years, I'm ready to hand that role over to someone else.

So at our meeting on Dec 13, we need to make a decision. The future of Beaches Sangha will go in one of three directions:

1) We continue as we have done - someone puts their hand up to be the central organiser, another 2-3 people volunteer to help out next year, and we continue to have regular meetings, a program of speakers and topics etc. as we always have (with the option of reviewing the mix and format of sessions).

2) We become a study group - we have meetings only once a month to study the dharma. We start off by working through the second half of The Basic Teachings of the Buddha, then move on to the workbook for "After Buddhism" by Stephen Batchelor. We would need a minimum of five people committed to coming regularly for this to be viable.

3) Beaches Sangha closes its doors.

The important question is: will you be involved in either option 1 or option 2? If so, we need you to come along on Dec 13 to indicate your interest. If you'd like to be involved but there's no way you can arrange to attend on Dec 13, please either let us know in person at a meeting before then, or send me a message through the Contact Form on the web site (right hand side of home page here). If you have ideas for any other options, they're very welcome.

Like all things, Beaches Sangha is a 'dependent arising'. The primary condition that gives rise to it, is our generosity with time. In a busy city like ours, it seems that time is the resource that people are most sensitive to giving away. It's delighted me that year after year, for 10 years, people have put their hand up and offered this precious resource....the only reason our Sangha is still here. So please, if you'd like option 1 or option 2 above, put Dec 13 in your diary, and help create the conditions for our Sangha to continue in some form.

A reminder too, that Thursday Dec 20 is our last meeting for the year. As always, this will include a short (15 min) meditation, and then a celebration. It'd be great if you could put this in your diary too, before it starts filling up. 

Enjoy your week, and I hope to see you soon.
LL

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