Our monthly newsletter for November 2012...on gratitefulness! Email not displaying correctly?View it in your browser.

Admirable FriendsDharma Flower Sangha Newsletter

NOVEMBER 2012

Dis-Ease?Tam Gioi (Chris O'Brien)

Recognizing the availability

of ease in the here & now,

I wonder, why so much dis-

ease?

While dwelling in the

present moment, enjoying

a beautiful day, a knot or

bout of anxiety. Where did

you come from? How do we

say hello & let you go?

Grateful for this human

birth & the births of all

sentient beings, discord

arises. Mindfulness,

skillfulness & dwelling in

the present moment will

quiet the storm, won't it?

Appreciative of the causes

& conditions that allow for

a sustaining livelihood,

challenges appear. Hard

work is supposed to equal

stability isn't it? Aren't my

co-workers supposed to do

things the way I think they

should?

A roller coaster ride.

Climbing hills towards the

wonder that is available in

each moment. Let go off

the crossbar, throw your

hands up and plunge in to

this moment...and this

moment...and...

Moments spent outside of

this one; I think that is why

there is so much dis-ease.

Sangha news

We will hold a refuge

ceremony on Thursday,

December 6. Anyone

wishing to take refuge and

receive the precepts may

do so on this date. Please

contact Sister Phap Chan

for more information.

The Dharma Flower

Sangha Service and

Practice Book is now

available on the Web, to

read online or to

download. Look for it on

the "Our Publications" page

of our web site.

GRATEFULNESS

These two people are hard to find in the world. Which

two? The one who is first to do a kindness, and the one

who is grateful and thankful for a kindness done.

Anguttara Nikaya 2.118

We all know what gratefulness is. Or do we? Here is Br.

David Steindl-Rast's definition: “…it is our full

appreciation of something altogether unearned, utterly

gratuitous--life, existence, ultimate belonging--and this is

the literal meaning of grate-full-ness. In a moment of

gratefulness, you do not discriminate. You fully accept

the whole of this given universe, as you are fully one with

the whole.” This is not about writing thank-you notes.

This is high-level spiritual practice!

"Full appreciation" requires our mindfulness, our

presence. And what about "unearned, utterly gratuitous"?

Can we open ourselves to the possibility of gratefulness

for something that we did nothing to earn? Have we

noticed these gifts--"life, existence, ultimate belonging"?

They are not material objects, not services rendered, not

appreciation earned. Life, existence, and ultimate

belonging are our birthright as humans.

Now consider how gratefulness requires that we "do not

discriminate." Life, existence, and ultimate belonging

aren't always beautiful and happy. Br. David is asking us

to embrace, to "fully accept," the entirety of our

existence...the good, the bad, the indifferent. And in

doing this, we become "fully one with the whole." If

gratefulness is present, we are not separated from our

experience nor are we separated from others. We might

even suggest that gratefulness is the fifth Immeasurable

Mind!

Practicing mindfulness of gratitude consistently leads to a

direct experience of being connected to life and the

realization that there is a larger context in which your

personal story is unfolding. Being relieved of the endless

wants and worries of your life's drama, even temporarily,

is liberating.

Phillip Moffit

Each week, the sangha

engages in a different

practice. Here's our

monthly schedule by

week:

1. Deep Listening

2. Dharma

Contemplation

3. Precepts Recitation

and Repentance

4. Dharma Talk and

Dharma Discussion

(No practice on

Thanksgiving.)

5. Dharma Cake

(yes...you read that

correctly...CAKE!

And, yes, November

does have 5

Thursdays!)

Dharma Flower Blog

A few sample posts from

our blog:

• The purpose of

renunciation

• Living in the Body:

A Poem

• Making a fresh start

in life: repentance

• Verses to purify the

mind

Also find us on Facebook

and Meetup!

Learn more

• The best resource on the Web for gratefulness

• A touching video narrated by Br. David Steindl-Rast,

"A Good Day"

• A beautiful, short video by Louis Schwartzberg,

"Take Time Out For Gratitude"

• An ecumenical blessing to offer on Thanksgiving, by

Thich Nhat Hanh

• "Thanksgiving and Aimless Love," an audio Dharma

talk by Joan Halifax Roshi

• Learn about the Japanese practice of Naikan

(gratitude)

• Several enjoyable Web resources on gratefulness to

explore

• "Thanks A Lot for Gratitude," a video Dharma talk

by Ajahn Brahm

• Movies with a focus on gratefulness..."Smell of

Camphor, Fragrance of Jasmine"; "Babette's

Feast"; "Wings of Desire"

• "Gratitude in the Buddha's Teachings," a small

booklet by Ven. Nyanadassana Bhikkhu

• A lovely Buddhist song on gratitude (in Chinese with

English translation)

• Subscribe to an email service to receive quotes on

gratefulness every day

For children...

• A song about gratitude from Plum Village that is

great for children and adults

• A video about gratitude, based on a traditional

Native American prayer

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Our mailing address is:

Phap Hoa Buddhist Temple

85 Prospect St

Vernon, CT06066

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