News & Events

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Diamond Sutra Class with Jim Scott-Behrends Jan. 30 – March 27

FROM
The Heart Sangha of Santa Cruz
and Mindful Peacebuilding

AWAKENING OF THE HEART
COURSES IN THE ESSENTIAL BUDDHIST SUTRAS

WITH
Dharma Teacher Jim Scott-Behrends
and co host, OI member rev. zachiah murray

COURSE FIVE | PART TWO
THE DIAMOND SUTRA
EIGHT SUNDAYS
January 30 – March 20, 2021
6:30 – 8:00 PM PST (new time)
ON ZOOM

We begin with a short sit followed by an exploration of the Sutra and Dharma discussion. Text and commentary are in Awakening of the Heart, by Thich Nhat Hanh.

ZOOM MEETING RECURRING LINK
https://cccconfer.zoom.us/j/98162192839
Phone: 1 669 900-6833
Meeting ID: 981 6219 2839

Schedule update:

There will be no Sutra Class next Sunday, March 6. Classes will resume on March 13 and our final class will be on March 27. Please see the revised schedule, below.

COURSE SCHEDULE

  • WEEK NINE: JANUARY 30 Dwelling in Peace
  • WEEK TEN: FEBRUARY 6 The Diamond that Cuts Through Illusion
  • WEEK ELEVEN: FEBRUARY 13 Great Determination
  • WEEK TWELVE: FEBRUARY 20 The Answer is the Question
  • WEEK THIRTEEN: FEBRUARY 27 Reality is a Steadily Flowing Stream
  • WEEK FOURTEEN: MARCH 13 The Indescribable Nature of All Things
  • WEEK FIFTEEN: MARCH 20 Teaching the Dharma
  • WEEK SIXTEEN: MARCH 27 Becoming a Modern Bodhisattva

Donations are appreciated. Donations can be made through PayPal.com using Jim’s email address. For other options to offer dana contact Jim at jsbehrends@aol.com.

To be on a weekly email reminder list, or for recordings of classes, contact Logan at loganpayne@earthlink.net.

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Friday Meditations for Thay

Dear Sangha,

You are invited to a time of quiet contemplation this Friday, January 28 from 7:30 to 8:00 pm.

Let us sit in meditation together and offer our energy of peace, love, and gratitude to our beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh during this time of transformation.

We will continue this practice in observance of a traditional Forty-Nine Day period of transition.

The Heart Sangha
Santa Cruz, California

Every week on Friday, until March 11, 2022

  • Jan 28, 2022 07:30 PM Pacific time (US and Canada)
  • Feb 4, 2022 07:30 PM
  • Feb 11, 2022 07:30 PM
  • Feb 18, 2022 07:30 PM
  • Feb 25, 2022 07:30 PM
  • Mar 4, 2022 07:30 PM
  • Mar 11, 2022 07:30 PM    

NEW ZOOM MEETING INFORMATION
YOU WILL NEED THE PASSCODE TO ENTER THE MEETING!

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82179466850?pwd=UWprMlQ5clRuS1ZFblg5MXlPNXpBdz09
Meeting ID: 821 7946 6850
Passcode: 041866

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Peaceful Heart Sangha session on January 30, 2022 in honor of Thầy Nhat Hanh

Dear PHS (Peaceful Heart Sangha) friends, 

To continue showing our gratitude and honoring Thầy Nhất Hạnh’s Transition, we will have another special session this upcoming Sunday, January 30, 2022.We hope you stay peaceful with your compassionate heart in loving memories of Thầy. 

Please see the Zoom link at the end of this email and join us Sunday, January 30 from 3:00 pm – 4:30 pm (California time). To connect with the energy of our dear beloved Thầy. We will together listen to various videos of Plum Village Community with the ‘Coming and Going in Freedom’ theme:

  • Sr Tue Nghiem Guided Sitting Meditation
  • Thay’s letter 
  • The Great Bell Chanting of Thầy & brother Phap Niem. 

Our collective energy to practice mindfulness with these videos will be very powerful. 
We also would like to invite you to share how you first met Thầy and /or the Plum Village Community and the benefits of your mindfulness practices. 

Also as a reminder, please attend the Ceremony for Thầy at the Compassion Meditation Center, Pho Tu Pagoda in Hayward (17327 Meekland AveHayward CA 94541) on Saturday January 29 at 10:00 am. 

At this event, you can receive this precious “Heart Mourning – Tâm Tang” pin if you want to receive it to wear and remember our beloved Thầy. 

(“Coming and Going in Freedom” in Vietnamese from Plum Village Community) 

Again here is the PHS Zoom link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81102802509?pwd=ZmZ0NlhkZEdNRVlRbWJaRU5yNVlOQT09
Meeting ID: 811 0280 2509 Password: connection 

One tap mobile +16699009128,,81102802509#,,1#,706962# US (San Jose)+13462487799,,81102802509#,,1#,706962# US (Houston) 

May you be Healthy, Happy, Peaceful, Prosperous, Safe and Free of obstructions (HHPPSF). 

“Peace in oneself, Peace in the world” and “A Cloud never dies”- Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. Tashi Delek (Tibetan greeting)

Chau Yoder

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Memorial Ceremony for Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

Dear community, please see below for an invitation from Thich Tu Luc at the Compassion Meditation Center in Hayward.

Namo Shakyamuni Buddha
Dear Respected Hi-Venerables
Dear dharma friends and all sanghas
Dear Buddhist Youth leaders and members

In order to show our deep gratitude to Su Ong Nhat Hanh who had great love and grand merit in many years to teach meditation and translate the grand sutras, the Compassion Meditation Center, working with the Vietnamese and American Sanghas in our area, would like to offer ceremonies to remember Su Ong at the Compassion Meditation Center, 17327 Meekland Avenue, Hayward, CA 94541:

Saturday, January 29, 2022 at 10:00 am for English-speaking community.

Sunday, January 30, 2022 at 11:00 am, (right after the weekly online Google Meet program at 9:30 am of “Xa Mặt Nhưng Chẳng Cách Lòng” – “Our hearts are together even though we are apart”)

Respectfully following the teaching in the Will of Su Ong, we would like to ask sanghas to follow the three vows below:

  • Diligently practice mindful living in daily life to manifest peaceful and awakening life.
  • Earnestly nourish brotherhood and sisterhood in monasteries and sanghas to show your gratitude in following the Plum Village practice and tradition.
  • Last but not least, sincerely contribute financially to TNH foundation (with memo: Monasteries to support the three monasteries that Su Ong established in the United States; or memo: Memorial Donation to support the activities of Su Ong’s memorial services)

In addition, we will have a bilingual (Vietnamese and English) ceremony on Thursday night, January 27, 2022 at 7:00 pm “Lighting the Candle Prayer Night”

All ceremonies will be livestreamed via FaceBook of the Compassion Meditation Center (Pho Tu).

When you come to the Compassion Meditation Center, please happily be mindful to protect each other‘s health by following the guidelines of the Health Department on vaccination, wearing masks and keeping distancing.

Please see the attached PDF for the full invitation from Thay Tu Luc. 

ANNOUNCEMENT-memorial-ceremony-for-Thay-Nhat-Hanh-1Download
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Thay’s Transition – Opportunities to Practice Together

From Plum Village:

With a deep mindful breath, we announce the passing of our beloved teacher, Thay Nhat Hanh, at 00:00hrs on January 22, 2022 at Từ Hiếu Temple in Huế, Vietnam, at the age of 95.

Now is a moment to come back to our mindful breathing and walking, to generate the energy of peace, compassion, and gratitude to offer our beloved Teacher. It is a moment to take refuge in our spiritual friends, our local sanghas and community, and each other.

We invite you to join our global community online, as we commemorate Thay’s life and legacy with five days of practice and ceremonies broadcast LIVE from Hue, Vietnam and Plum Village, France, starting on Saturday January 22nd.

More information and livestream links: https://plumvillage.org/memorial/

We invite you to share your messages of gratitude or personal transformation and healing on our website: plumvillage.org/gratitude-for-thich-nhat-hanh

You may want to sign up for email updates here: https://bit.ly/3fJx7pd (this is “The Raft” newsletter from the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation)

Read the full post.

Ceremonies for Thay

Ceremony for Laying Thay’s Body in the Casket

Please follow your breathing as high monks and Thay’s senior disciples accompany Thay’s body to the Full Moon Meditation Hall at Từ Hiếu Temple, in Huế. This short ceremony will be in Vietnamese.

This ceremony will begin at 8AM on January 23 in Vietnam (2AM CEST; 5PM on January 22 PST).

More information and livestream link: https://plumvillage.org/memorial/

Deer Park Monastery offered a ceremony on Friday evening. Here is a recording of it. There is currently a livestream of an altar honoring Thay at Deer Park. They may also be offering additional livestreamed events, in Pacific time zone. Check their website for more information.

Here are some local practice opportunities for the Norcal community:

Saturday

The Heart Sangha in Santa Cruz will gather Saturday morning at 9:30 for outdoor walking meditation and a sharing circle to honor Thay’s life and continuation. All are welcome.

Saturday, January 22nd
9:30 – 11:30 a.m.
Mission Plaza Park, 103 Emmett St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060

You may like to bring flowers or mementos to place on the altar.

Please bring a chair, blanket, or cushion and warm layers of clothing. OI members are respectfully asked to wear their brown jackets.

Nathaniel, Liz, Bodhi, and Amias will be hosting a short gathering of walking meditation and ceremony of 108 bells to honor the passing our beloved teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, today, Saturday 1/22, in the Ragle Park Peace Garden, Sebastopol (500 Ragle rd, Sebastopol) from 3-4pm.  

Please wear shoes that are conducive to walking on dirt paths and grass.  Please also bring a mask to wear, as I am not sure how many will join on short notice.  Children are welcome, of course.  Please feel free to share with friends that may like to join.

Sunday

San Mateo Sangha will be meeting in person outdoors for sitting and walking meditation, and dharma sharing, at Central Park in San Mateo (near the flagpole), 8:30am Sunday.

Potluck Sangha is meeting via Zoom, 9:30-11:30am Sunday. For Zoom information, contact Caleb, Jcalebcushing@gmail.com.

Flowing Waters Sangha is meeting via Zoom, 9:30-noon Sunday.

Wake Up SF is meeting in person outdoors at Precita Park, San Francisco, 11am-1pm Sunday. We’d like to invite you with open arms and hearts to our beloved Wake Up SF community in-person this Sunday (1/23) at 11am – 1pm to honor and celebrate the life of our dear root teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh. We will meet at Precita Park in San Francisco for stationary meditation, walking meditation, and sharing about Thay’s impact on our lives.

There will be an altar with flowers and offerings for our teacher. Please feel welcome to bring something to add if you’d like.

After our formal practice, we will have an opportunity for lunch together. Please bring lunch or you can purchase one at a nearby cafe.

SF Sangha will host Outdoor Walking Meditation in Thay’s honor on Sunday @ 3pm.  Would love to practice together with all for whom it would be beneficial.  Meet at the Coleridge Mini Park in Mission/Bernal. Walking starts at 3:15 pm, up the stairs to the summit of Bernal Hill. Maybe walk the Labyrinth together at the top.

At 5pm, or so, we will be graced by the setting sun. What an apt way to honor Thay.

We’ll close with a standing circle of sharing our hearts and reflections on Thay and his transition, his life, and his continuation in us.

Peaceful Heart Sangha will have a Ceremony to honor Thầy’s transition, on Zoom, Sunday 3pm-4:30pm. We hope you stay peaceful with your compassionate heart in loving memories of Thầy. Please invite friends as you wish. 

Here is the PHS Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81102802509?pwd=ZmZ0NlhkZEdNRVlRbWJaRU5yNVlOQT09
Meeting ID: 811 0280 2509 Password: connection 

Family Sangha (Sally and Beem Wilder): You are  welcome to join us at our Sunday Night “Family Sangha”, starting at 7:00 pm PT on Zoom. Maybe you would like to share your own experience from reading his books, watching one of his videos, listening to his talks, or seeing him in person. This will be a time to meditate, experience the true meaning of Sangha, community, which holds us together in our grief and gratitude.
If you would like to include others to join in this memorial, please feel free to share this email and zoom link. 
Here is the link to the Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85443847704?pwd=bitNdldCR1pIUzRHNDJkUFpYVVJtQT09

Meeting ID: 854 4384 7704
Passcode: 594043

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Plum Village teachers Kaira Jewel Lingo and Sister Peace with Peggy Rowe Ward at SF Zen Center this February

Here is an announcement from SFZC that’s of interest to our community. Please share with your sanghas!

At San Francisco Zen Center, we have two online events coming up next month with teachers whose background or current teaching resides in the Plum Village tradition.

On February 12th, Kaira Jewel Lingo, a former PV monastic who received lamp transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh in 2007, will be offering a session of compassionate reflection titled Sankofa, Go Back and Get It: https://www.sfzc.org/calendar/events/online/sankofa-go-back-and-get-it-online-212

Kaira Jewel Lingo

On February 19th, Sister Peace from PV and Peggy Ward will be offering us stories and practices from the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition in an online workshop called Inside the Now: Body and Mind Drop Away: https://www.sfzc.org/calendar/events/online/inside-now-body-and-mind-fall-away-online-219

Sister Peace

You may find registration information at the links above. Feel free to let me know if you have any questions. As a lay ordained practitioner in this tradition, I’m excited to share the dharma with other sangha members online. I am grateful to have the opportunity to bring practitioners from Plum Village and Soto Zen together as the Program Manager for the San Francisco Zen Center.

Please direct any questions to Brendan at onlineprograms@sfzc.org.

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🍂 A Lazy Day of Mindfulness October 31 🍂

Linh Le, Chloe Wood and Dylan Tweney would like to invite you to a Lazy Day of Mindfulness outdoors, in San Mateo’s Central Park, on Sunday, October 31, starting at 9am.

This is a co-created event, and we are holding the agenda very loosely. What happens will be shaped by whoever shows up. 

Feel free to attend for whatever part of the day is supportive for you.

For details, the tentative agenda, and to sign up, please see this Google doc:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1R1uOixQ74w5mCj63uJHZSzDhHRLGk9YQGoDK22q5lCI/edit

We hope to see you there!

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INVITATION TO PEACEMAKERS’ TEA CEREMONY

photo of bare feet walking on the ground and flowing robes, with the words "Walk as if you were kissing the earth with your feet" - Thich Nhat Hanh

Gathas and Teachings for Peace in Troubled Times

When we walk with a lot of tenderness

and happiness on this beautiful planet,

we are living peace.” 

—Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Dear Friends,

Please join us for a Peacemakers’ Tea Ceremony.

This ceremony is an opportunity for us to come together as a sangha, to hear gathas whose aim is to support our practice of peace—both inner and outer, and to be nourished by our shared practice.

Date: October 10, 2021

Time: 7:00-8:30 PM

Place: On zoom. Please see zoom link below:

Zoom Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87878154041?pwd=bmUzNXdlRlpkRDZqMUxIbVcwNWZoUT09

Meeting ID: 878 7815 4041

Passcode: 121348

 

Please RSVP: zachiah@bodyofone.life

 

Coordinating Committee: Jim Scott-Behrends, Lennis Lyon, dana lee mcfadden & zachiah murray

 

With the darkness of night sky holding the presence of the full moon and a bow of gratitude,

zachiah

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Diamond Sutra Course: Wednesdays Through Nov. 17

FROM
The Heart Sangha of Santa Cruz
and Mindful Peacebuilding
 
AWAKENING OF THE HEART
COURSES IN THE ESSENTIAL BUDDHIST SUTRAS
 
COURSE FIVE
THE DIAMOND SUTRA
 
WITH Dharma Teacher Jim Scott–Behrends
AND Co-host, OI Member dana lee mcfadden
 
EIGHT WEDNESDAYS 
From September 22 to November 10, 2021
7:00 to 8:30 pm
ON ZOOM
 
We begin with a short sit followed by
an exploration of the Sutra and Dharma discussion.
Text and commentary are in Awakening of the Heart, by Thich Nhat Hanh.
 
ZOOM MEETING RECURRING LINK
Phone: 1 669 900-6833
Meeting ID: 981 6219 2839
 
 
COURSE SCHEDULE
 
WEEK ONE: SEPTEMBER 22
The Setting/Subhuti’s Question
WEEK TWO: SEPTEMBER 29
The First Flash of Lightening
WEEK THREE: OCTOBER 6
The Greatest Gift
WEEK FOUR: OCTOBER 13
Signlessness
WEEK FIVE: OCTOBER 20
A Rose is not a Rose
WEEK SIX: OCTOBER 27
Entering the Ocean of Reality
WEEK SEVEN: NOVEMBER 3
Nonattachment
 
November 10 – no class
 
WEEK EIGHT: NOVEMBER  17
Our Deepest Understanding
 
 
Donations are appreciated.
Donations can be made through PayPal.com by using Jim’s email address.
For other options to offer dana contact Jim at jsbehrends@aol.com.

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A Call In to Service

Dearest Sangha,

It is with much sadness that I am leaving the Bay Area after over 10 years and 4 years organizing Wake Up SF. Sometimes, you have to make tough decisions that put your health first. 

As a parting offering though, I am bringing forth a “Call In” (the opposite of the Call Outs we have so many of these days!) to service for the sangha. 

Practitioners new and old are needed to keep the practice fresh for the entire four-fold sangha. Whether lay, OI, Dharmachaya or monastic, we can take the time to recommit to our community, to join hands in the spirit of Thay and realize his vision of the Sangha as a Buddha (or was it the Buddha as a Sangha?). 

The strength of the Bay Area sangha has been a joy to witness – the largest Road Retreat on the tour! – a community in the midst of flowering. 

A few things really stuck with me over the retreat. After experiencing the peace and ease we felt in the urban forest, one person asked, “Is this always available?” Another retreatant expressed how lonely she felt on the path. 

These two sufferings are not unrelated. It is much easier to experience the joy of the practice with kalyana-mitta, spiritual friends. Noble friends allow us to give and take refuge at any time. Together, we can create the space for True Peace, True Love and Social Justice in ourselves and in the world around us. 

It is just like sitting back-to-back with a friend while enjoying the sunshine and listening to a cool breeze between the trees, much easier for both to be in the present when each has someone to lean on. (If you have back pain, you know what I’m talking about.)

If you weren’t at the retreat in Oakland this weekend, I’d ask that you take the time to listen to Dylan’s speech at the Closing Ceremony. If the recording is poor, it is only because my hands were resonating too much with what he had to say while holding the phone. 🙂

When you sit on your cushion next, please look inside for that bodhichitta, that small voice that calls you to service. I know it is there, if only you would listen. Even if you think you have nothing to offer, be assured that your stable presence and kind words can be more than enough to nurture someone else’s bodhichitta. Over time you can grow that warmth and expand it, until the refuge it creates encompasses you and the sangha. And, if your experience is anything like mine, when the storm comes, the sangha will also be there to provide refuge for you.

As Dylan, Elm, Gary, Steve, Sophie and many others continue the work of sangha-building here in the Bay Area, I know that they will need your help. Young flowers are as fragile as they are fragrant. The sangha needs you now. Will you answer the call?

May You Be Free,

Compassionate Refuge of the Heart
/cp