This peace vigil on Saturday, July 27, is offered as wars continue to rage and many countries and communities feel unstable. As our feelings of helplessness and heartbreak increase. As incivility and hostility increase. Oppose these forces in a nonviolent way by joining fellow sangha members in an hour of peace and compassion. There will be readings about peace, a compassion ritual and time for silent meditation. No registration necessary!
This Dharma Thought is by Steve Allison-Bunnell, the leader of the Joining Rivers Sangha which meets on Mondays at 7PM.
Sitting at the edge of Mystic Lake up the West Rosebud this weekend, watching drinkable water slowly dribble from our filter, I had two options: One was to feel impatient that I was having to work so hard for so little, and to berate myself for not cleaning the filter before leaving home. The other was to make this repetitive motion into a working mediation, something Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh) recommends over and over again. I chose the latter, matching my breath with each stroke of the pump, pausing for the chamber to fill before pushing it back out, feeling the steady rhythm of my arms moving. The view of the Absaroka-Beartooths surrounding me filled me with pure amazement. Seeing more deeply, I was aware of the uncountable snowflakes and raindrops from the peaks above that had filled this lake, allowing me to be refreshed. I noticed the morning light shift on the trees in front of me. And yes, my water bag did fill bit by bit. I was just there. When did you last give yourself to a task you could have otherwise been frustrated by? What did you experience instead of boredom?
Enjoy this summer SoundGate on Friday, July 26 from 7-8 PM. There will be mantras led by Kathleen Karlsen accompanied by Brian Sparks on Tibetan bowls followed by a relaxing therapeutic bowl session for everyone. Kathleen uses the science of mantras to help others create a healthy brain, a happy heart, and a rejuvenated body. Brian is trained in the Nyingma bowl tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. He has received spiritual teachings and instruction from several masters and the granting of Buddhist empowerments. No registration necessary! Any funds collected will be split evenly between the BDC and the guest artists.
The Bozeman Zen Group invites you to a half-day retreat on Saturday, July 13 from 9AM – 1PM. Stabilize and deepen your meditation practice, hear the teaching and engage with Zen forms. Karen DeCotis will offer teachings from Sojun Mel Weitsman’s book, Seeing One Thing Through.
Join our Newcomer Orientation event on the first Tuesday of each month to get your questions answered and receive basic meditation instruction. This evening is a great way to check out the BDC, learn about our six different groups and what events we have coming up. No commitment needed. You do not need to pre-register and the evening is offered freely. Bring a friend!
The Bozeman Dharma Center is the culmination of an idea that has been simmering in this community for many years. Finally, in 2013, the right combination of support, leadership and volunteers made it possible to establish a shared home for Bozeman’s Buddhist groups – a place of refuge and silence where we can offer a full schedule of sitting practices, instruction and study of Buddhist teachings.
In the newcomer orientation event, learn about our programs which are meant to inspire practice and honor the inner life – solitude and silence, creativity and growth, compassion and wisdom. In these fast-paced and extroverted times, there is a need for serene and quiet places to nurture our spiritual lives and to foster inner growth.
Whether you are just beginning to explore meditation and Buddhism, or have been practicing for years, you are welcome to join us in quiet sitting times, sangha meetings, study groups, weekend retreats and other programs.
Meditation is compatible with other religious traditions and it is not necessary to forgo any religious affiliation to explore these practices. All are welcome regardless of religious affiliation, race, sexual orientation, political or socio-economic circumstances.
The VISION of the BDC is to realize our awakened minds and compassionate hearts for the benefit of all beings
The MISSION of the BDC is to provide a welcoming community to practice and study Buddhism in our contemporary world.
The OFFERINGS of the BDC are opportunities to explore the Buddha’s teachings through the practices of multiple traditions. We offer classes, retreats, sitting groups, and drop-in meditations in person and online.
The Bozeman Dharma Center is committed to cultivating an awareness and appreciation of the value of diversity and to acknowledging the need to recognize and dissolve barriers that separate us from each other.
We open our doors and hearts to all social identities including all races, classes, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, abilities, cultures, and ethnicities.
Everyone is welcome in the spirit of an open heart and mind.
This Dharma Thought on Sound Meditation is offered by Steve Allison-Bunnell of Joining Rivers Sangha.
Silent meditation is so central to Zen practice that it’s easy to forget that several other traditions use sound, from bells to mantras, as an object of contemplation. So it was a beautiful gift to experience the Summer Solstice Soundgate practice, featuring crystal bowls, bells, an enormous gong, chimes, and a glass triangle. As the sound penetrated my entire body, my intuitive mind began to associate the sounds with different aspects of consciousness. Rattling shells became the skittering thoughts of monkey mind, allowing me to smile at them. Shimmering chimes became a portal to memory, and numerous moments, some long-ago, others recent, some still filled with shame, others with joy, paraded across my mental movie screen. The harmonizing crystal bowls were so quieting that I sat motionless for almost 40 minutes, possibly a new personal record. How does sound help you meditate? What sounds evoke certain feelings and images for you?
Our next SoundGate (Sound Meditation program) will be Friday, July 26 at 7pm and will feature Brian Sparks and Kathleen Karlsen.
Kathleen is a mantra practitioner, kirtan leader, composer, and artist focused on the transformative power of the arts. She has three levels of training from the Kirtan Leadership Institute. Kathleen has led regular kirtans, mantra events, and workshops for the last six years. She joins us for an hour of Buddhist chants to the sacred sounds of the harmonium.
Brian received his spiritual teaching from several masters in the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. His teachers blessed his bowl work by giving him the specific “Prayer of Aspiration” and granted him many Buddhist empowerments. In person only. No registration necessary. Donations gratefully accepted.
Chants will be provided for those who would like to chant in unison — this is an evening where your voice is welcome!
More about Kathleen can be found on her website here.
The Bozeman Zen Group will no longer offer an afternoon sit on Monday and Friday evenings at 5:20 PM. Please feel free to drop-in to our online, 6AM sits every week day or join the noon sit in person at the BDC. We hope to sit with you soon!
This workshop will feature a guided exercise that uses imagery and inquiry to work with difficult parts of ourselves or our experience. Developed by Lama Tsultrim Allione (Tibetan nun, author and teacher), this exploratory practice of self-compassion has been shared with practitioners across Buddhist lineages, to powerful effect. In this morning workshop, Suzanne will offer the practice, along with guidance for how to use it safely and beneficially.
This is a helpful exercise for anything you’re finding frustrating. Beginners may want to do the practice with a low-stakes issue to see how it’s done before bringing it to higher-stakes issues or conflicts. Following the workshop, we’ll share the link to Lama Tsultrim guiding it online so you may do it again, and as often as you wish. She offers it freely.
This workshop is designed for all levels of meditation experience. All persons, identities, sizes, genders, ages, races and abilities are very welcome.
Please bring a journal.
Prior online registration is preferred, attendance will be limited to 30 attending in person. Zoom option available.
The Taoism, Ch’an and The Tang Dynasty Poets class is canceled for now. We hope to offer it again in the fall. Thank you for your patience and understanding. We’re sorry for any inconvenience.
Tajali Tolan will lead a Mindful Watercolors workshop on Sunday, June 23.
In Mindfulness we experience curiosity in awareness of what is unfolding in the present moment. Adding watercolors to the present moment we experience a creative flow of colors with awareness and curiosity.
In this workshop, Tajali will guide us in breath, presence awareness and curiosity with watercolors and mindfulness practice. No experience necessary . All supplies provided.
Tajali Tolan is a Mindfulness/Meditation teacher and artist working in multi mediums especially the creative heart in each of us. She cultivates joy and safe space for your own expression. She works for Montana Mindfulness Project and as a child and family therapist.
