Right Speech: "Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering."
ADMC members, Marina Munjal and Franklin Montenegro, will facilitate a 10-week session introducing Marshall Rosenberg's Nonviolent (Compassionate) Communication (NVC) www.cnvc.org/about/what-is-nvc.html. The session will begin Tuesday, January 7, 2014, from 6:30-8pm, and meet every Tuesday for 10 weeks, finishing up March 11. There is no cost for the course, but participants will need to have a copy of Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, by Marshall B. Rosenberg, and Nonviolent Communication Companion Workbook, by Lucy Leu. The space is limited to 10 participants. If you are interested participating, please contact Marina at the e-mail address below.
Here's what's happening this week at ADMC
| Wednesday Dec. 4 9:30 -11am |
Western Buddhist Group - (Holston Valley Sangha) - We meet at our satellite location at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 136 Bob Jobe Road, Gray, TN. After a half-hour silent meditation, we will go back to basics. We will read from Thich Nhat Hanh's The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching and listen to podcasts from Austin, Texas, UU minister Meg Barnhouse on the Buddha's Noble Eight-Fold Path. This week we will look at "Right View/Understanding." |
| Wednesday Dec. 4 12 - 1pm |
Cultivating Qualities of the Heart - 1st Wednesday - "Mindfulness" - This session will begin with a brief talk moving into a guided meditation and concluding with silent meditation."Buddhism provides exceptionally clear and specific methods to bring out our human capacity for enduring love, compassion, and the self-transcending wisdom that informs them. These methods can be learned by anyone." (John Makransky) |
| Thursday Dec. 5 5 - 7pm |
Open Meditation - This time may be used for personal meditation in the Meditation Room, or access to library. The two hours will be conducted in Noble Silence. |
| Friday Dec. 6 7 - 9pm |
Western Buddhist Group begins with a half hour silent meditation followed by Tea & Dharma Study. We are currently reading Living in the Light of Death: On the Art of Being Truly Alive, by Larry Rosenberg."We know in our heads we will die," says Rosenberg. "But we have to know it in our hearts. We have to let this fact penetrate our bones. Then we will know how to live." Rosenberg, founder and teacher at the Insight Meditation Society in Cambridge, Mass., believes that part of being human means refusing to embrace or even acknowledge our fates, avoiding the subjects of illness, pain, aging and death. However, it is his contention that if and when we can become so intimate with these facts of life that we can accept them as such and let go of the emotional agendas that accompany them, we will become truly liberated. Rosenberg explains the practice of "death awareness," an ancient tradition that uses the Buddha's five contemplations on death for meditation exercises. The first three state that aging, illness and death are unavoidable, and the last two stress personal growth and responsibility for one's actions. (Amazon) |
| Sunday Dec. 8 5 - 7pm |
Zen Meditation - The Zen Group at the Appalachian Dharma and Meditation Center practices the classic form of zazen as taught by Dogen Zenji through modern Zen Masters like Suzuki Roshi. |
| Monday Dec. 9 6:30 - 8pm |
A Mindful Journey Through Grief with Debra Brewer, M.Div., Session 10, "Remembrance: A Ritual" |
MINDFUL MEDITATION CAN HELP YOU GET THROUGH THE HECTIC HOLIDAYS
This holiday season, why not take a mental time-out and come practice mindful meditation at the Appalachian Dharma & Meditation Center in Johnson City? It's free, it's relaxing, and it can help reduce stress in your busy life.
People of all faiths and beliefs can benefit from mindful meditation. According to the Mayo Clinic website, "Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional well-being and your overall health. And these benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day..."
ADMC has added two mindful meditation sessions that are offered at work-friendly times. Instead of only filling your body with food, take a lunch break that fills your mind with thoughts that open your heart to all fellow beings. Each Wednesday, from noon to 1 p.m., drop in for a guided meditation focusing on mindfulness, compassion, loving kindness, and forgiveness in alternating weeks. When there is a fifth Wednesday, the topic is equanimity. After a brief discussion, there is a silent meditation of 10 minutes. You can even eat your lunch mindfully after the discussion!
Or stop by after work on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. for a moment of silent meditation in our relaxing meditation room. The whole two hours are in complete "noble" silence. Guests are invited to spend as little or as much time as they like during this quiet two-hour session. ADMC's extensive library is open for guests to learn more about meditation and Buddhism.
Special Note
Appalachian Dharma & Meditation Center's Chairperson was on WETS, 89.5 FM, Thursday, July 28 and Sunday, July 1. To hear the podcast, go to: religionforlife.podomatic.com/entry/2012-07-03T07_00_00-07_00 or visit the interviewer's Religion For Life web site at www.shuckandjive.org.
The vision of the Appalachian Dharma & Meditation Center is to facilitate a community of Buddhist practice that fosters the integration of wisdom and compassion. Our aim, as individuals and as a community, is to cultivate insight into the nature of mind and reality and overcome ego-orientated ways of being. We are a nonsectarian Buddhist center that offers weekly programs in Vipassana, Zen, Tibetan, and Western Buddhism.
