Monday 28 May 2018

This week @ Beaches - a special guest


Hi all.

This week @ Beaches Sangha we have a special guest, Jill Shepherd. Jill lives something of the mendicant's life - she has no fixed home, no car etc.....to some extent she's a 'wanderer' like the Buddha was. She's currently staying in the Blue Mountains and will be making her way down here (on public transport) to be with us. If there's any way you can join us this week to help welcome and support her visit to us, that would be wonderful (there are a few regulars who will be away, so I'm really hoping as many of you can come as possible). 

Jill's talk will be centred on helping us maintain momentum with our practice:


Practice in Daily Life: the Ten Parami as means to maintaining momentum
Many people struggle to maintain a regular meditation practice in the midst of daily life, and can get discouraged when their formal sitting doesn't measure up to the calm and clarity experienced on retreat.  The ten parami are a list of qualities that require the rough and tumble of daily life to develop though, so assessing our practice in terms of these qualities can be a more encouraging way of measuring progress.


Jill's background

Jill began practicing insight meditation in Thailand in 1999, and since that time has lived and worked at several meditation centres and monasteries in the US, Australia, England, and Thailand. She recently spent seven years on staff at the Insight Meditation Society (IMS) in Barre, Massachusetts, where she participated in several long retreats and Buddhist study programmes, as well as offering weekly meditation classes at a nearby men's prison. She is a graduate of the IMS / Spirit Rock teacher training program in the US, under the guidance of Joseph Goldstein and Gil Fronsdal. Currently, she divides her time between the USA, Australia and New Zealand, teaching vipassana and brahma vihara retreats and offering ongoing study and practice groups focused on bringing the dharma into daily life.

Monday 21 May 2018

This week @ Beaches - Batchelor podcast


Hi all.

This week @ Beaches Sangha, we're going to do another podcast by Stephen Batchelor. This month it's one of my faves. You will have heard us talk about 'Mara' - the mythical figure who tried to knock the Buddha off the path for the whole of his life. Batchelor talks about this in reality as anything that causes us to feel stuck, or that binds up our ability to respond to life with creativity and kindness.

It's a cracker. I hope you'll join us.
LL

Wednesday 16 May 2018

This week @ Beaches - use it or lose it



Hi all. Sorry for the late post this week.

This week @ Beaches we have our monthly Open Discussion. This is where we can discuss things we've covered in past sessions, ask questions, or explore how the dharma might help us approach the situations we face in our daily lives. Gotama's teachings were very practical - the four great tasks - and so it's important to spend some time focusing on using them.

The heaters will be on. The bikkie supply will be replenished. I hope to see you there.

LL

Monday 7 May 2018

This week @ Beaches - a special guest


Hi all.

This week @ Beaches Sangha we have a special guest coming to give a talk, Michael Barnes. Michael is a bit of an out-of-the-box Minister in the Uniting Church who has a deep interest in the Buddha's teachings. His sessions are always thought provoking, eloquent and enjoyable. And he loves the questions and discussion that come from our group, so come along and join in.

And it's the week of Michaels....there are also some local Sunday evening 'Mindfulness drop-ins' in Mona Vale run by Michael Courtney (who's joined us for Sutta Study a few times recently) for anyone who's interested.

I hope you'll join us in making Michael Barnes welcome this Thursday night.

LL