A brief pause

[Kari]

Hi everyone,

Apologies for last month's spam and also for not having the September
2nd Sunday meeting. I was on vacation at the end of August/early
Sept, and got a little bit overwhelmed with work and school when I got
back. For now, I'm going to *pause* the monthly meetings (unless
someone steps forward as coordinator, which would be awesome), and
focus on having larger events with more publicity semi-annually, as
well as maintaining the online group as a way to communicate with each
other about what is going on in the Philadelphia Sangha or the larger
Philadelphia Buddhist community. People could write emails like,

"Hey, is anyone taking this upcoming class?" -0r- stuff like
that ... : )

If any of you are interested in coordinating the monthly meetings for
this year (this will be crazy for me from now to May), or doing
anything else with the group, I'm completely open to ideas/suggestions
and would be happy to chat via email, the phone, over coffee, etc to
figure out the best directions for us to go in ...

In the vision of the Great Eastern Sun,

Kari

[margaret ferrigno]

do you want to have lunch next week>? i may be able to step up...its just that i'm not 100%shambhala...but i do care about the group!!! love-meg

[margaret ferrigno]

opps i didn't mean to send this to the whole group...sorry guys!

[Dwayne Panzeter]

Sounds fine, I've been working Sundays for some time, so it hasn't been practical.  It is understandable that you can't reasonably keep the monthlies going, & you've always done more than your part, it seems to me... do you think you & the others would be interested in meeting informally, say, at a cafe, on a similar or semimonthly basis, just to keep up the Young Shambhala sangha, & do so with minimal prep & organizational headaches?  That waLet me know what you think, & I'll contact others if you think it'd work...  Have a good week,
Dwayne
 
> Date: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:16:53 -0700
> Subject: [Philadelphia Young Shambhala] A brief pause
> From: khe...@gmail.com
> To: philly_youn...@googlegroups.com

[Liesbet Manders]

I think it would be helpful to have young shambhala gatherings continue, even on an informal basis. It is important to feel part of a community. I think a regular time would be better, but I am certainly too busy to take on the task of organizing it. If no one wants to organize it, maybe we could meet more informally. I suggest after open sitting at Shambhala, either stay there or go somewhere in the neighborhood. And have discussions on meditation that don't require prepwork unless someone wants to bring something in. Anyone could then announce a certain day and invite others to join. There is likely to be variable attendance, but it would be something.

Liesbet

--- On Wed, 9/23/09, Dwayne Panzeter <dpan...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Dwayne Panzeter]

I thoroughly agree with you.  Heading to a Cosi or local cafe after meditation & just informally discussing our practice as it has come up in various life situations at work, home, relationships, etc. with no planned agenda would be of great benefit, I think.  Personally I have a bias towards Tuesdays & Wednesdays, since I work a highly unusual work schedule. In any case, that's my vote ;-)  Best,
Dwayne
 
> Date: Wed, 23 Sep 2009 15:45:14 -0700
> From: liesbe...@yahoo.com

[margaret ferrigno]

I agree that its nice to foster community within the sangha by going to a cafe and talking. 

What I'm looking for is more of a Buddhist study group.  I would be interested in having some sort of teaching to discuss, whether its a chapter or just a verse, I think if the group is more than 3 people, that having a topic of discussion is useful! I would be happy to brainstorm with people on a text that we could work off of. Working through a text month by month front to back with a group could be very rewarding. I like the idea of sitting with the normal evening shambhala 7-8 and doing a discussion 8-9 once a month.

peace-meg

[joeip...@comcast.net]

I have been meaning to attend these groups, and/or activities at the center for months now, but my schedule has not made that task easy. I am, however, planning to attend some of the upcoming fall/winter activities. Might I suggest, in addition to reading, that you incorporate some simucasts into the study group. Are you familiar with the Interdependence Project out of NYC? I attended a few re-treats there in the past, and the founder puts out group simucasts about many Buddhist ideas/concepts. They generally follow the Shambhala lineage. I really like most of Thich Nhat Hanh's writings. I would very much like to attend these discussion groups. I am available on Tuesday and Thursday evenings now, after 6pm and on Sunday.

 

Joe 

[Dwayne Panzeter]

Tuesday evenings, everyone?  I also think that Thich Nhat Hanh is incredible, I've read a few of his works already & would be happy to read another, which could be the answer to Meg's thoughts, i.e., one of his books could be the work we get our topics from... I am a bit technologically ignorant, so am not 100% sure of what a simucast is, nor of how it would work into the meetings, but I'm all for hearing more!  Best,
Dwayne
 

---

Date: Thu, 1 Oct 2009 14:13:10 +0000
From: joeip...@comcast.net
To: philly_youn...@googlegroups.com

[margaret ferrigno]

Mondays and Tuesdays are not so good for me. But I wanted to throw some ideas out there about texts and courses.

 I used to study Buddhist Philosphy at Rangjung Yeshe Institute in Kathamndu and now they are offering a long distance course... if people would want to study together  take a look:

 To help you decide whether the course is for you, we have provided a week’s trial of materials on the website atwww.shedra.org/moodle (follow the links for Trial Course).

Or here are my 5 choices for books to read together:

1. Essential WritingsThich Nhat HanhA best-of collection from more than twenty books

2.Luminous Essence: A Guide to the Guhyagarbha Tantraby Jamgon Mipham, translated by the Dharmachakra Translation CommitteeLuminous Essence is a complete introduction to the world of tantric thought and practice. Renowned Tibetan master Jamgon Mipham provides an overview of the theory and explanations of the Tantra of the Secret Essence (Guhyagarbha Tantra). A central scripture in Tibetan Buddhism for over a thousand years, meant for initiated tantric practitioners.  3. The Diamond That Cuts Through Illusion: Commentaries on the Prajnaparamita Diamond SutraThich Nhat HanhThe dialogue between the Buddha and his disciple Subhuti illuminates how our mind contructs thought.

4THE JEWEL ORNAMENT OF LIBERATION: The Wish-fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachingsby Gampopa, translated by Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche, fore. by H.H. the Dalai Lama, ed. by Ani K. Trinlay ChodronA masterwork of Tibetan Buddhism--providing the complete foundation for study and practice--from beginning to Buddhahood. Includes teachings on Buddha-nature, finding the spiritual master, impermanence, karma, cultivation of bodhicitta, development of the six perfections, the ten bodhisattva bhumis, Buddhahood, and the activities of the Buddha. 5. CUTTING THROUGH SPIRITUAL MATERIALISM by Chogyam Trungpa-Walking the spiritual path properly is a subtle process. We can deceive ourselves into thinking we are developing spiritually when instead we are strengthing our egocentricity through spiritual techniques.Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism is an enlightening tour of common spiritual self-deceptions. let me know what you think!

[Adam Yukelson]

I would put in my vote for "Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism."  Fascinating and subtle topic, and could be really interesting to approach as a group.

Adam