Arlington Meditation Group

Feel stressed in the middle of the week? This Thursday's one hour meditation can help you relax your body/mind and help boost your energy. Venerable Changhwa Fashi will guide the meditation.

Karma is a Sanskrit term which translates literally as "action." When we have carried out an action, that action is over. It is something of the past. What remains can be called karmic force. It is this karmic force which leads to a particular consequence in the future, either in the present life or in a future life. In all cases, what exists is a cause and consequence relationship. Therefore, what people generally refer to as karma is more correctly described as karmic force. We will experience the consequences of our actions later on, but those consequences are not fixed. Karmic force relates to us as a shadow relates to a person. Although the shadow always follows, it changes shape and intensity with changes in light and position. In the same way, karmic force will always follow an individual, but karmic effect of a particular action is not permanently fixed. How does karma relate to the actions of an individual, both in reference to past and future? How does karmic force govern rebirth? Please join us as we welcome Venerable Chanhwa Fashi to our Arlington Meditation Group for a Dharma Talk. Venerable Changhwa is the Director of Chan Meditation Center in New York. . In addition to her current position as Director, she gives public lectures and leads meditation programs. Venerable Changhwa holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The twelve links of conditioned arising (nidanas), a Buddhist explanation of the cycle of birth and death. It also provides a basis for contemplating causes and conditions, one of the five methods of stilling the mind. Each step of the twelve links is the consequence of the preceding step. The twelve links can be viewed as a sequence of causes and consequences, but causes and consequences are themselves based on causes and conditions. The twelve links are: (1) fundamental ignorance, (2) action, (3) consciousness, (4) name-and-form, (5) the six sense faculties, (6) contact, (7) sensation, (8) desire, (9) grasping, (10) coming into existence, (11) birth, and (12) old age and death. This sequence, or process, connects one cycle of birth and death to the next. Moreover, the twelve links can be divided into three karmic periods. The first three links refer to one’ s past life; the next seven refer to one’ s present life; and the final two refer to one’s future life. Please join us as we welcome Venerable Chanhwa Fashi to our Arlington Meditation Group for a Dharma Talk. Venerable Changhwa is the Director of Chan Meditation Center in New York. . In addition to her current position as Director, she gives public lectures and leads meditation programs. Venerable Changhwa holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Begin the next chapter of your journey into Buddhism by taking Refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha to start your commitment of spiritual practice and awakening.