What we're about
“Ecstasy, however, will be his for him to plunge himself therein. What will keep him in a state of attentive immobility day after day, month after month, and year after year, will be the contemplation of the working of his thought in self-analysis, effacing its own functionings according as they are discovered to be untrue, until the time comes when reasoning ceases because it has been replaced by direct perception.
“Then, the storms raised by thought-creating theories and speculations having calmed down, the ocean of the mind becomes tranquil and smooth… In this faultlessly smooth mirror things are reflected without their image becoming distorted - and this is the starting-point of a series of states which originate neither in ordinary consciousness nor in unconsciousness. This is the entrance into a sphere different from that in which we habitually move…”
Initiations and Initiates in Tibet, Alexandra David-Neel, 1931
We are coming out of a pandemic that killed millions all over the world and face a tragic war in Europe where millions again are daily suffering indescribable hardship. Our worlds have been torn up and changed.
Buddhism has seen similar changes since people started practicing it some 2600 years ago. Maybe it can offer us today skills and experiences to deal with change and turn them into opportunities for the growth of awareness and kindness and for being able to live with each other peacefully.
The group purpose is simple: provide people with regular practice and study with a group. The core focus will be time to meditate, and if there is interest, Dharma talks and discussions based on the rich traditions we now have access to, Theravada, Zen, Tibetan, etc.
The organizer, Orlando, began practicing Zen in 1985 before sitting with Ruth Denison in April 1986. Since then he has taught formally and informally and led residential retreats. He has also studied other consciousness-changing traditions like Kabbalah and Christian mysticism.
Everyone is welcome, beginners with no experience in meditation to advanced practitioners.