Join us for this half-day retreat on the topic of “Not Always So.” Bozeman Zen Group offers half-day sittings appropriate for beginners who wish to try a retreat practice opportunity as well as for experienced practitioners to deepen their practice. Regular retreat practice is a cornerstone of Zen practice. Join us for periods of sitting and walking meditation as well as a dharma talk with Zen priest, Karen DeCotis.
There will be 5 periods of meditation and breaks for stretching and tea.
Bozeman Insight Community is excited to welcome Shelly Graf as a guest speaker on Thursday, August 10 at 7PM. Shelly’s talk is entitled “A Balanced and Tender Heart: Relying on Wisdom to Cultivate Beneficial and Sustaining Heart Qualities, for Ourselves and Others.” Shelly has been practicing at Common Ground since 2003. They are currently being trained by Insight Meditation Society as part of the four-year teacher training program. Shelly has been a clinician and administrator in the Social Work and mental health fields since 2005. They have a special interest in waking up to whiteness as part of this total path of awakening.
Everyone is welcome to drop in and join us online!
All are invited and welcome to join for our first annual Mahasangha Picnic: a Sangha building event on Sunday August 13 at 3:30 PM. Bring a dish to share and spend time connecting with Dharma friends old and new.
Wondering what to bring? Here are some suggestions based on your last name:
A-C: Appetizer/Snack
D-G: Salad (e.g. green, pasta, bean, etc.)
H-L: Main (e.g. chili, pasta, etc.)
M-O: Side Dish
P-S: Dessert
T-Z: Beverages
This Dharma Thought brought to you by Steve Allison-Bunnell of the Joining Rivers Sangha which meets Mondays at 7 PM.
A hike can be a great opportunity to visit with a companion or daydream. It can also be a wonderful walking meditation, easily experiencing presence and increasing our awareness of what is around us. Earlier this month hiking up New World Gulch, I enjoyed friendly silence with my spouse, spreading my attention throughout the forest. Without being able to identify them all, I noticed being surrounded by many birds, all calling back and forth. I began to see green huckleberries plumping on the bushes. This soft immersion, rather than hyper-vigilance (“Is there a bear there?!”) was rewarded when, almost back to the car, a motion in a tree turned out to be a pine marten. This was a first after over 25 years in Montana, and we all stood still, watching each other with curiosity. How do you nourish your immersion in the world around you? Where is your favorite place in nature to experience Interbeing?
Not sure how to begin your practice or what the BDC is about? Join us at 5 PM on the first Tuesday of each month for a newcomer orientation to the Center and basic meditation instruction! That’s coming up next week on August 1. Stay for the 5:30 drop-in sit if you like!
We know summers in Montana are short and you are busy trying to get in as much as you can! Remember to take the opportunity to pause, breathe, and get present to get the most enjoyment out of whatever you are doing. If you’re looking for summer dharma opportunities, we have six sitting groups and three drop-in sits! Check out our calendar for what’s coming up this week!
This Dharma Thought is brought to you by the Tergar Bozeman: Joy of Living Practice Group which meets Wednesdays at 5:30 PM. This group is currently working with meditations using our senses.
Smells and tastes often go unnoticed in daily life. By bringing awareness to smells and tastes, however, you can transform boring daily routine- like cooking, eating or simply walking down the street or through your office building or home – into practices that calm and strengthen your mind.
Daily activities:
When you wake, form the intention to be mindful of your body, of sights, sounds, or whatever sense object you’ve chose for the day.
Remind yourself of this intention as often as you can?
Pick moments to remind yourself, place reminders like sticky notes around your home or office.
From time to time during the day, pause and rest your awareness on the sights, sounds, smells and feelings moving through your awareness.
Sitting:
Start by finding your meditation posture. Renew your motivation. Rest in open awareness. Leave all your sense doors open, don’t block any aspect of experience.
After a few minutes, rest your attention on an object in your visual field, or whatever sense you have chosen to use as support for your meditation.
You don’t need to change or alter your experience in any way, nor do you need to focus intensely or concentrate the mind. Simply know that you are (seeing/hearing/smelling/feeling).
End by resting again in open awareness, not distracted and not meditating. Eyes open for the last 1-2 min.
Emotions can inform us, but sometimes it feels more like they imprison us. As the great Sufi poet Rumi said they are messengers from beyond. Sometimes, however, the message is garbled or mixed. Here are books that can help us have emotions rather than emotions having us.
Working with the Emotions. Authored by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Jigme Rinpoche and edited by Sylvia Wong, this book shows us Buddhist methods for taking back control from our emotions.
Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames. Buddha recognized that three mind states caused unhappiness: wrong knowing, obsessive desire, and anger. Zen Buddhist monk and Vietnam refugee Thich Nhat Hanh gives tools and advice for transforming relationships, focusing energy, and recovering from the corrosive impact of anger.
Emotional Awareness: Overcoming the Obstacles to Psychological Balance and Compassion
The Dalai Lama, one of the world’s revered spiritual leaders, and the psychologist Paul Ekman, whose work has advanced the science of emotions, examine the nature of emotions in a series of conversations. Their exploration is accompanied by commentaries on emotion research and Buddhist teachings that further contribute to our understanding of emotions.
Did you know that the July issue of Bozeman Magazine has an article on our director, Karen DeCotis and the BDC? Thanks to Marilia Librandi, one of our library volunteers and a Zen student, for writing such a wonderful piece.
On July 20, Dave Smith joins the Bozeman Insight Community via Zoom to teach and offer guidance for a meditation based on the concept of infusing mindfulness with kindness. This Metta+Vipassana approach is gaining momentum in western Insight (vipassana). It integrates the wisdom and compassion of the dharma in to one, comprehensive practice.
This evening is designed to guide relative beginners in establishing a good foundation for practice, to enrich the meditations of those with some experience, and to preview what Dave will offer at the BIC five-night residential retreat in October.
Everyone is welcome to drop in and join us online!
