News from Melbourne Buddhist Centre | |
Issue #1 Volume #2 | January 2007 |
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Welcome to this New Year edition of our newsletter. It is designed to keep you in touch with Melbourne Buddhist Centre events and the activities of our Sangha. | |
NewsCity CentreOur centre in the city has now closed down. We stopped holding classes there in December. All efforts will now be focused on the Brunswick Centre. Brunswick CentreWe have a slightly revised format for Wednesday evenings, starting in February. Come along and find out more. In addition, the Centre will be open on Mondays, 11am till 3pm, with a drop-in lunchtime meditation class. Please consider calling in to browse the bookshop and talk to Order Members and friends. We will continue with our current series of talks on Wednesday evenings exploring Meditation. Devamitra's visitIn mid March the Melbourne Buddhist Centre's President Devamitra will be coming out from England to visit. While here he will be meeting with Order members and giving seminars at the centre. He is also looking forward to catching up with people individually. This is a great opportunity to spend some time with an experienced Order member from the UK and learn more about the wider FWBO movement as well as discussing individual questions of practice. We are also looking for donations toward the cost of his airfare so please dig deep and help support our centre by donating what you can. Money can be given to any Order member or sent to the Brunswick centre.If you are not able to give money, you can give time - help organise some fund-raising activites! Ordination
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Coming EventsDay Retreatfor Order Members and Mitras on 4th February. See the website for more details. Parinirvana Pujaon Wednesday 7th February - open to all Women's long weekend retreatMarch 9th - 12th, at St John's, Wesburn, led by Maitripala |
Send any news items you have to news@melbournebuddhistcentre.org by 13th March for inclusion in the next newsletter. Programme of Events for 2007 - Visit our website | |
What's On for the next two months
Upcoming EventsRegular Programme | |
ReportsNew Year ResolutionsLinda Williams It is the time of the year where we think about the year past and what we want to achieve in the year ahead. Whilst we traditionally make resolutions about losing weight, or getting fit, upgrading our consumer goods, it might also be time to have a look at our spiritual New Year Resolutions. With our busy lives, often our Dharma journey becomes limited to what will fit into a schedule dictated by the demands of family and job. Planning ahead and setting goals for our spiritual life could be a useful tool. The following is a list (by no means an exhaustive one) of things that you might like to consider for your spiritual New Year resolutions in 2007:
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New Year RetreatThomas McCrossan The prospect of spending ten days in the beautiful setting of Bradmar Park was just the tonic I felt I needed after another busy year in Melbourne. Quieten down the mind; get some clarity, who knows, maybe dhyanas might pay a visit? (Yes I'm still a spiritual teenager. . . me! me! me! ). Trying as much as I could to leave all the "tender webs we weave", to one side, it was with a mixture of relief and enthusiasm that I arrived at the property. The retreat program led by Saddhavijaya, Zen/Chan being the theme, was pretty intense. We were in silence for nine days. The meditation sessions were 6.30am - 9.30am (three sits broken up by two periods of walking meditation), breakfast 10.30am, dharma talks12.00 -1pm, no lunch, free time 1pm -3.30pm, outdoor meditation 3.30pm-4.30pm, dinner 5.30pm ending with final meditation session plus Puja 7.30pm till approx 9.00pm. I always sleep pretty poorly on the first night of retreat so if I can survive the first full day things only get better after that. We listened to a wonderful series of talks given by Padmavajra during a two week retreat at Padmaloka in 2004. The talks illuminated the particular Zen/Chan flowering of the Dharma in a very inspiring way. What really resonated with me was these traditions' emphasis on taking responsibility for your mind, and what it does. Coming to that point were there are simply no excuses anymore, no blame, no 'if only this, or that were different'. Mind is ALL, and at the end of the day, it really is our responsibility. As the days went by and everyone quite clearly became more calm and positive it was truly a joy to be alive in such a beautiful setting. A lot of poetry was read at Puja, and a bit written too by some of us. It never ceases to amaze me how clear and refined the senses become after a few days of retreat, for me especially, smell. Sitting in the forest during afternoon meditation the wind picking up, and sending the fragrance of gum-leaf, soaking every molecule of your being, wonderful stuff!. Many thanks to Saddhavijaya for resurrecting the New Year's retreat and of course Brad and his sister Marie for the wonderful dana of the property. Forest sitGum-scented incense carried on the breeze suffuses every atom, a billion scented leaves. |
Sangha Interview
What are you passionate about?I am passionate about finding the best in all living beings, and have been inspired beyond measure by witnessing both small and not so small acts of kindness. And I've noticed that the more you keep your eyes and heart open for acts of generosity, the more you see. What are you reading at the moment?I'm currently reading 'Meditation: the Buddhist way of Tranquility and Insight' by Kamalashila. It's a straight forward book on meditation, and I have picked up some new ideas on how to work with hindrances. If you could have five beings at dinner party (dead, alive or conceptual) who or what would they be?Jon Kabat-Zin (a Buddhist Psychologist who is largely responsible for bringing the concept of 'mindfulness' into mainstream Psychology), Moloko my dog (who comes everywhere with me...except Wednesday night meditation!), Ani Difranco (and her guitar!), my dad's dad (who was a real character of a man for whom I would have liked more time to get to know), and The Buddha. What school of Buddhism most influences you and why?I don't yet know enough about the different schools to comment. What interests do you have outside the centre?I'll often have music on when I'm at home and really enjoying catching some live music. I'm passionate about music for it's amazing potential to bring about human emotion. It can make you feel like singing or dancing joyfully or it can bring about feelings that are bittersweet or downright sorrowful. When I respond in any way to music it reminds me that essentially we share the same basic emotions. | |
And another thing...Tales From Samsaraby JivitaFreedom (part 3)'No, I do not know, what did you do?' said the bewildered prisoner. 'I left the dark, frightening forest and ran back to my prison cell,' replied his neighbour. 'The guard was very pleased to see me again and let me in without too much fuss.' The prisoner blinked and then shook his head to make sure he was not dreaming. He felt like throttling the silly old fool but instead, as patiently as he could, he said 'So why, might I ask, did you come back to your prison cell, you silly old fool?' 'To be truly free, of course.' The prisoner looked at the prison bars surrounding his neighbour and was about to put his arms through them to strangle him when something in the old fool's eyes made him pause. He relaxed his outstretched fingers as his neighbour chuckled. 'I realised that wherever I was I could never really be free. We take our own prison bars with us where ever we go, you see. They are prison bars of the mind but they are stronger than bars of steel These bars are made of desire. We are prisoners of our own desire; our own craving. When we cannot get what we want we experience sadness, anger, fear, despair. If we can conquer our craving then the bars will melt away and leave us completely free, like the sunlight in the sky.' The prisoner looked through the bars, at the sunlight in the beautiful garden. He recalled its touch on his face. Dropping his head, he found a wave of sadness overcome him as he longed to be out in the garden once again. The old fool looked at the prisoner's bowed head and reached out to put his hand on the man's shoulder.'You are sad because you want to feel the sunlight and you cannot. If you allow yourself to be the sunlight then the prison bars will melt away. Try it, you will see.' The prisoner closed his eyes and imagined that he felt the warm sunshine on his face. At first he smiled to himself with delight. Then he frowned as he realised that he was just wishing to be in the garden once again. He felt the desire to be on the other side of the prison bars and the sadness that followed. Then he remembered what the old fool had said. He tried to imagine the sunlight in the air but found that he could not see it in his mind's eye. What does sunlight look like if it is not shining on something? Try as he might, the prisoner could not find anything in his imagination to hold on to so he decided to let go. A surge on energy rushed through him as he felt his mind release its grip on desire. Goose bumps erupted all over his skin. He smiled broadly as he felt himself disperse into a million pieces which danced like sunlight in the sky. 'I did it!' the prisoner exclaimed in his mind. Just like falling out of a tree and landing on the ground with a jarring thud, the prisoner realised that he was back a in a prison cell once again. Opening his eyes, he looked at the sun-drenched garden beyond the bars, but this time there was a new quality to his experience. He could not quite put his finger on it. He turned to the old fool. 'Tell me more,' he said. To be continued..... | |
AdvertisementDon't Forget our Bookshop!The Brunswick bookshop is brimming with books, incense, rupas, bells, candlesticks and other items. All stock from the City Centre will be integrated into this bookshop soon. You are vey welcome to browse at your leisure, whenever the centre is open and we will happily give any help or advice you need.
If you would like to order any Buddhist book you can not see on the shelf, just let us know. We can usually help. New at the shop - beautifully (and very locally!) made sturdy wooden meditation stools - $40. | |
Dharma Quote of the month"I never found the girl, I never got rich, Follow me" Leonard Cohen Sept 2003 | |
| Copyright Melbourne Buddhist Centre January 2007
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On 20th January Paul Garner from the Dandenong Ranges sangha will be ordained at Vijayaloka near Sydney, at the end of a two week retreat. We look forward to welcoming him back as a new Order Member.
For this issue we talk with Naomi Overton