Tuesday 5 December 2017

This week @ Beaches - Poetry Night


Hi all.

This week is our last 'normal' session for the year at Beaches Sangha. We're going to have one of our favourite things - Poetry Night. This is where we share some of our favourite poems, and reflect on their relevance to the dharma. Poetry can be a 'door to the dharma' by opening the heart to compassion and seeing clearly, this experience of being human.

Because the dharma is about the human experience, almost anything can be relevant. That might be because it illustrates how we get caught up in reactivity, and helps us have compassion for that common trap. Or it might be poetry that helps us see wisely - that experience is the constant coming together of conditions - or maybe it helps us be with experience in a mindful, real way. Hope to see you there.

Party and final session next week
A reminder also that next week is our last session for the year. We'll have a shorter meditation and our little sangha party. If you haven't already rsvp'd, can you please let me know either Thursday night, or using the Contact Form to the right, whether you'll bring a savoury or sweet dish to share.

Monday 20 November 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha: Jampa discussing emotions



Hi all.

This week at Beaches, Jampa will facilitate a discussion on emotions: what are they, how are we to judge between those that are positive and those that are negative, and should we even make such judgements? 

Also, please let us know, either on Thursday night, or by using the Contact Form on the right, if you can come to our Sangha Party at our last meeting for the year on the 14th of December. If so, please tell us if you'll bring sweets or savouries to share.

Hope to see you on Thursday night.
Lenore

Wednesday 15 November 2017

This week @ Beaches - special guest Victor von der Heyde



Hi all.

This week we have the pleasure of Victor von der Heyde's company at Beaches. Victor is a regular, although not frequent, speaker at Beaches, (he lives between Brisbane and Sydney). Victor will be giving a talk about going on long retreats. For me, a week is the longest I've ever done, so I'm intrigued to hear about what it's like on longer ones.

I hope you can join us.
LL

Monday 6 November 2017

Sangha update & end of year party



Hi all. With the end of the year fast approaching, we've got a couple of things to update you on...

Sangha plans
Us SOGgies (Sangha Organising Group) met last week and came up with a format for next year's meetings. We're going to have a regular monthly schedule with a different focus each week of the month:

WEEK 1: sutta study
With a secular approach to the dharma it's important to understand the core teachings of the Buddha, from the most original source available - the Pali Canon. Next year we're going to have one session a month focused on this. We'll use the book by Glenn Wallis called 'The Basic Teachings of the Buddha' which walks through 12 suttas that the author sees as central to the dharma. If you'd like to take part, it'd be a good idea to get yourself a copy soon. (P.S. The first sutta in the book can seem rather a strange one....don't let that turn you off, we'll explain it, and the others are less weird.)

WEEK 2: speaker night
Talks by people from outside of our sangha.

WEEK3: open discussion
We've had lots of this during the colder months this year and the discussions have been thought provoking, connecting and in some cases very helpful for people. The idea is that we discuss issues that are alive in people's lives, and what the dharma can contribute to the way we see and deal with them.

WEEK4: wild card night
We've got a bunch of topics and activities that we'd like to do that have no particular theme. We'd also love to hear any ideas you have. Feel free to use the contact form on the right here - or better still, come and tell us on Thursday night!). Our ideas include podcasts, poetry night, trying different types of meditation, book reports, beginner's nights, a noble silence 'taster', and more.

We've also got some good ideas for a few activities outside of our regular meetings. More on that soon.


End of year party


Thursday 14th December will be our last meeting for the year. As is our long standing tradition, at our last meeting we have a shorter meditation (15 mins) and a celebration. We all bring some food and drink to share and we get to enjoy each other's company before we head off for the end of year break. Can you please let us know, either in person, or using the contact form to the right, whether you'll bring sweet or savoury food to share.

Sangha will resume on Thursday 11th January. 

This week @ Sangha
This week we'll be listening to a podcast by Stephen Batchelor and discussing it. I hope you can join us.

Wednesday 18 October 2017

Sangha update

Hi all.

After having a pretty loose schedule at Sangha over the cooler months, we had a really good meeting last week to do some thinking and planning. We've got some great ideas for structuring our program for next year and are meeting again in a couple of weeks to flesh it out. More to come soon.

In the meantime, our meetings are continuing as usual on Thursday nights. Hope to see you there.

LL

Wednesday 11 October 2017

No sangha this week

Hi guys.

Just a quick note to let you know there'll be no sangha session this week. A small group of the regular sangha members are using this week's session to do some reflection and planning for the future. Normal sangha sessions will resume next week.

Hope to see you then.
LL

Saturday 16 September 2017

Hi,
Next week, Sept 21, Sabina will be doing a talk called 'Awakening Joy':

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day” Henri J.M. Nouwen
 An overview of the qualities of heart and mind that enhance the experience of joy in life and work. How do we cultivate a glad heart? How do we make the mind a fertile ground for the nourishing offerings of life? Let's come together for an evening of conversation about awakening joy in our lives.
See you then. 
love,
betsy

Sunday 3 September 2017

This Thursday, September 7th, Merran Dawson will be giving a talk with an intriguing title:
"Unwrapping Ungratefulness: The Invisible Act of Grace that Nurtures Us. Thoughts from a Student of Zen."
I hope to see you there.
Betsy

Friday 18 August 2017

Next week (Aug 24) at Beaches my good friend Diana Levy will be talking about 'Walking the Talk with Haiku'. She is a well known haiku poet, long term zen practitioner, keen environmentalist and bushwalker. She lives in the Blue Mts and will be taking public transport here to do the talk, so please come!
Betsy

Thursday 10 August 2017

Spring Recollective Awareness Retreat at Beautiful Gorricks Run
14 - 17 September

This silent retreat provides an opportunity for a few days reflective insight meditation in a beautiful and remote bush setting. This gentle method can yield profound insights as we become increasingly aware of our thinking patterns, with journaling if we so choose. We can learn to tolerate difficult emotional states and experience a sense of wellbeing and tranquillity.

The teachers: Winton Higgins and Sylvie Vanasse.

Bookings via the SIM website, https://www.trybooking.com/REAB


Friday 14 July 2017

Reminder - Family Retreat Sept 23-25

Family Retreat with Betsy Faen, Gorrick's Run [23-25 September 2017]

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This is a camping retreat, with everyone sharing the cooking and the responsibility for activities for the children.
This retreat will provide time for shared activities with the children, like bushwalks, but also time for parents who want to, to be able to meditate while their children are having fun doing other activities.
Betsy Faen will provide some meditation instruction for those that would like it, plus the possibility of individual interviews and groups.
There is one shared room available for sleeping in, plus wide verandahs for those who don't want to sleep in tents. Gorrick's Run has bush toilets and showers, a beautiful meditation hall, and a cottage with a kitchen and dining room. It is in a beautiful bush setting near St. Alban's.
Please contact Betsy: 9913 2979, 0403 871 605, or betsyfaen@gmail.com if you are interested.

Wednesday 31 May 2017

Next 3 weeks at Sangha - meditation and discussion

Hi all.

The next few weeks at Beaches Sangha we'll be meditating together, then discussing whatever arises in the group. I won't send out posts for these weeks, since they'll all be the same.

Here's a picture to make you feel warm.



I hope to see you there.
LL

Monday 22 May 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha - Gawaine



Hi guys.

This week @ Beaches Sangha we will have Gawaine Powell-Davies coming to give a talk called 'Being Responsible'. I'll be interstate this week, but I hope you'll be able to come along and enjoy the talk.

Monday 8 May 2017

A thought about sangha


Hi all.

In addition to my weekly update, I'd like to also say a word about sangha in the colder (non-daylight savings) months. 

Often what we find during this part of the year is that people can find it a bit hard to leave the comfort of their warm homes to come out for the evening, and we find that the group shrinks a bit. 

Small groups are in fact nice in some ways, as we tend to have quite lovely discussions. However the down side is that I feel a bit bad for the teachers who come to join us, sometimes traveling quite a distance to get here. 

Since daylight savings ended, we've had the usual shrinkage. To roll with this, we are going to have a bit more of an unstructured program through the darker months (May-Oct) where we may not always have an organised talk.

Our group is not, and will never be one that obliges people to come. Our practice is one driven by personal commitment and value, with no levers pulled or guilt trips administered if people don't turn up. We're not about to change that, and so having a looser program during this period seems the best way to adapt to changing patterns of attendance. 

At the same time, I'd also like to say a few words about the nature of sangha. Like everything, it is a dependent arising...that is, it only exists due to the arising of certain conditions. The most important condition is that people are moved to participate. There is a yin and a yang of participation in community (sangha). It contributes to our lives, but it can only do that if we also contribute to its life.

And remember....we have nice heaters :)
Warmly
Lenore

This week @ Beaches - One Page Dharma



This week at Beaches Sangha I'll be giving my yearly talk called 'One Page Dharma'. This is where I attempt to give an overview of the core teachings of the Buddha in one session. I have a one page hand out that I will bring for you - hence the name of the talk. 

This is a good session to come to both for newies who'd like a sense of the big picture, and for those of us who've been doing the dharma for a bit, because repetition is an important part of learning.

I hope to see you there.
Lenore

Monday 1 May 2017

This week @ Beaches - poetry night



This week @ Beaches Sangha we are having poetry night. Bring along a poem that you find inspiring or moving or thought provoking and that is dharmic in some way. It can be one you've written yourself or from another poet. Given that the dharma is about the human experience, it shouldn't be hard to find the dharma in most poetry.

Hope to see you there.
LL

Thursday 27 April 2017

Tonight @ Beaches Sangha

Hi all. 

Sorry, with all these public holidays I keep forgetting what day it is and I forgot to send out my reminder earlier this week.

Tonight we have the re-scheduled session with Gawaine on 'Dharma in difficult times'. I hope to see you there.

LL

Tuesday 18 April 2017

This week @ Beaches - Jonathan Page

Hi all.

This week @ Beaches Sangha we have Jonathan Page visiting us to give a talk called 'The Perfect Gift'. I'm intrigued!

Hope to see you there.
LL

Monday 10 April 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha - Alan Bassal

Hi all. 

This week at Beaches Sangha we have Alan Bassal coming to give a talk called 'Fake News and Alternative Facts'. Now last time he came, his talk was called 'Would the Buddha Have an iPhone?' and it was nothing to do with technology or social media, so I have no idea what this one will be about, but come along and we'll find out!

And don't be a wuss with the weather chilling down, we have hot tea and heaters :)

Hope to see you there.
LL

Monday 3 April 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha - Winton Higgins

Hi all.

This week we have one of our old faves coming to give us a talk. Winton Higgins is joining us to discuss 'Experience and the Dharma'. Winton used to lead our sutta study sessions for the first few years of Beaches Sangha's life. We look forward to welcoming him back. I hope you can join us.

LL

Tuesday 21 March 2017

 Ramsey Margolis from One Mindful Breath, Wellington’s secular dharma practitioners community in New Zealand, will be talking on: ‘From sangha to community, bringing together secular dharma practitioners’ on Thursday 30th March. Ramsey’s interactive talk will be coming live via Zoom on Sylvie's iPad.

You can check out Ramsey’s community website at onemindfulbreath.org.nz, and the secular Buddhist website at secularbuddhism.org.nz.

Monday 6 March 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha - Gawaine



Hi all.

This week at Beaches we have one of our regular visitors, Gawaine Powell-Davies, giving us a talk called Dharma for Hard Times'. Personally, I've found the dharma incredibly helpful during life's difficulties - grief, hurt, disappointment, rejection...all the painful stuff. It's what I sit with and what I turn to, when I feel like I'm at Ground Zero. 

Gawaine's talks are always stimulating and poetic. I hope you can make it.

LL

Wednesday 1 March 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha - Victor von der Heyde



Hi all.

This week at Beaches Sangha we have one of our favourite regular (if not frequent) dharma teachers, Victor von der Heyde coming to give us a talk called: Soulfulness and Stress. I don't know anything about it, but I do know that Victor's talks are always thought provoking and enjoyable. 

Hope to see you there.
LL

Monday 27 February 2017

Family Retreat with Betsy Faen, Gorrick's Run [23-25 September 2017]

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This is a camping retreat, with everyone sharing the cooking and the responsibility for activities for the children.
This retreat will provide time for shared activities with the children, like bushwalks, but also time for parents who want to, to be able to meditate while their children are having fun doing other activities.
Betsy Faen will provide some meditation instruction for those that would like it, plus the possibility of individual interviews and groups.
There is one shared room available for sleeping in, plus wide verandahs for those who don't want to sleep in tents. Gorrick's Run has bush toilets and showers, a beautiful meditation hall, and a cottage with a kitchen and dining room. It is in a beautiful bush setting near St. Alban's.
Please contact Betsy: 9913 2979, 0403 871 605, or betsyfaen@gmail.com if you are interested.

Monday 20 February 2017

This week @ Beaches - Jampa and the Eight Worldly Winds



Hi everyone.

This week @ Beaches Sangha, Jampa is giving a talk on the Eight Worldly Winds. From memory they are:

Pleasure and pain
Loss and gain
Obscurity and fame
...............................

You'll have to come along to hear what the last two are, because I can't remember and I want to remember rather than Google it!

These are things that come and go, that buffet us around in our lives like the wind. I've been wanting to hear a talk on them for a long time, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Hope to see you there.
LL

Monday 13 February 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha: The Circle of Compassion


We talk a lot about compassion - the willingness to feel with another and to care or feel good will. In this session we're going to explore our own personal boundaries of compassion. What are the conditions for compassion? Who is in, and who is outside our circles? And what does that tell us about the landscape of our own inner world?

Here's another, quite relevant, quote for the week from Rainer Maria Rilke:

"So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloudshadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know what work these conditions are doing inside you."

Monday 6 February 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha



Hi all.

This week @ Beaches, Sylvie is leading us again. This time our topic is generosity. This is one of my favourite topics. It's a really powerful part of practice; indeed Gotama said that if we knew what he knew about generosity, we wouldn't let a day go by without practising it. It's also a part of practice that can be easily hijacked by 'shoulds', the desire to please or gain approval from others, or to look benevolent. Intention is important.

Come and explore it with us on Thursday.

Here's another Rilke quote for the week:

"I beg you, to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

LL

Monday 30 January 2017

This week @ Beaches Sangha - Sympathetic Joy

Ok, so here's a photo of the group at 7.10pm last Thursday night. I discussed with myself the idea that perhaps going ahead with Sangha on a public holiday wasn't such a good idea. 


I was just about to meditate on my own, which would have been nice anyway, but then Kate showed up. We had a lovely evening together and everyone lived happily ever after.

This week @ Beaches
This week at Beaches Sangha we are kicking off our program for the year with Sylvie leading a session on 'sympathetic joy' (I like to call it empathic joy). This is one of the 'divine abodes' - one of the telltale signs of awakening, where we feel genuine joy at the good fortune of another. Here's Sylvie's taster:

There are many types of enjoyment. There is even one that the German call "Schadenfreude", which means relishing in another's misfortune. But the Buddha believed that such joy, based on envy or jealousy, was short lived and sooner or later would bring suffering to his or her beholder. 

The opposite of "Schadenfreude" is sympathetic joy. It is often undervalued and not spoken about as much as other qualities to be cultivated such as compassion and loving-kindnesses. But there are numerous benefits to experiencing joy for ourselves and others.

Come and explore this with us this week.

Something nice from Kate
A couple of weeks ago, in our discussion, Kate quoted Rainer Maria Rilke with a phrase 'living in the question'. That resounded with many of us in relation to being curious about our own processes. She brought along some material from Rilke, but because no-one was there to share it with, we thought we could do so in these little updates for the next few weeks. Here's our first one:

“Things aren't all so tangible and sayable as people would usually have us believe; most experiences are unsayable, they happen in a space that no word has ever entered”

Tuesday 24 January 2017

Beaches Sangha - our meeting is on this week

Hi all. 

We had a lovely meditation and discussion last week. We will be having a similar format this week, which is going ahead regardless of it being a public holiday. Our organised program will start next week....but don't miss out on our un-structured 'whatever' sessions. They're kinda nice!

Hope to see you there.
LL

Tuesday 17 January 2017

Beaches Sangha - meditation and whatever

Hey guys.

Just a quick note to say we'll have another 'whatever we feel like' session again this week. I'm not actually sure what ended up happening last week - after our meditation I had to dash off to find food like a hungry bear. It was lovely meditating on the deck together though. We'll kick off our organised program in Feb.

Hope to see you Thursday.

Lenore

Monday 9 January 2017

Beaches Sangha resuming this week

Hi all. 

I hope you've had a fabulous festive season.

Beaches Sangha is resuming meeting this Thursday night at 7pm. We won't have any organised talks for the first couple of weeks as there are still a number of people away. However we'll meditate together and see if any discussion emerges.

Hope to see you there.
LL