Before the days of an iwatch, lay persons and monastics who practiced mindfulness used to look to the night skies and come together according to cycles of the moon. They would sit, do walking meditation, listen to dharma talks, practice eating meditation and nourish themselves, their loved ones and their communities. In the Plum Village tradition practitioners are encouraged to take collective as well as personal days of mindfulness to set time aside for personal reflection and awakening. Thich Nhat Hanh has famously said, "One Buddha is not enough," stressing that the next Buddha will not be one person but the communities that practices the way of understanding, peace and compassion. Days of Mindfulness are opportunities to water our Buddha nature and the Buddha nature in our loved ones and communities.
So, all this being considered, March 11 is a full moon day set aside for online community to come together with two supportive anchor points--the 7:00am uberconference call and the 7:00pm uberconference call. All the juicy hours in between are for your enjoyment and reflection. Suggestions will be offered via the DOM Facebook events page for access during the day. If you are not on Facebook, please email the following contact and you will be added to an email send list with all DOM links.
Lastly, some folks may question, why online? LTMC does four seasonal retreats every year for our community to come together in person to practice. We've also met since July 2014, every Wednesday morning with between 10-15 people in attendance. Even though we're a small mountain community, our retreats have attracted as many as 25+ people--we're a destination sangha along the shores of Lake Tahoe. It's not uncommon for folks to visit for short lengths of time and then go back to wherever home base may be. We've brought our mothers, sisters, brothers, kids who have visited LTMC from all around the US. An online forum is a way for us to reconnect and practice with our long distance beloved members again and with our larger sangha community. Living in an isolated and often weather-beaten area, local LTMC folks can't always drive 4+ hours round trip to join in our closest Days of Mindfulness. Another thing we've considered in offering an online forum is our presently encased snow town wherein some populations cannot physically get out and about. We've met families in our local community with loved ones who are bound to place due to illness or circumstance. Perhaps an online Day of Mindfulness may serve to benefit these populations and encourage practice no matter where one may find themselves.
LTMC looks forward to strengthening our practice together and offering support in whatever ways serve our communities best. Please consider joining us and bringing along a few loved ones too. In the words of Master Yoda:
Luminous beings are we...not this crude matter.Stretch and pull, shine across the ether...see you on Saturday :)
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