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Why should I
bother to meditate?
Meditation is a wonderful way to help the stress
that builds up in our busy lives slowly melt away. People who meditate regularly (at least
once a day for 20 - 30 minutes), find subtle changes happening in their lives. They feel
more relaxed, they are more confident, they can concentrate better, sleep better, things
that normally "get under their skin" don't bother them so much anymore, they
feel more compassionate towards other beings.
The long term effects of meditation are
different for everyone, but I have not met anyone who has not started to feel better in
themselves, both mentally and physically after practicing meditation for a reasonable
length of time (3 - 6 months).
Also, by practicing meditation, you bring peace
not only to yourself but also to those who come in contact with you every day... think of
the potential!
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| Therese Fitzgerald
and Arnie Kotler, senior students and dharma holders of Thich Nhat Hanh's
Mindfulness Vietnamese Zen tradition are our teachers.
Therese
Fitzgerald has studied and practiced Buddhism for many years at the San Francisco and
Tassajara Zen Centers in California. She is a longtime student of Vietnamese Zen Master
Thich Nhat Hanh (Thay), and was ordained as a Dharma teacher by him in 1994. Therese is
the founding director of the Community of Mindful Living which supports mindfulness
practice through retreats, classes, books, and social work. Therese and her husband Arnie
Kotler teach mindfulness practice throughout the United States.
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Our Mindfulness Teachers
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Do I have to be Buddhist in
order to meditate with this group?
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| Absolutely not! It is always important that you
stay with your own faith, whether it be Christian, Moslem, Hindu, Buddhist, or whatever.
Nobody is going to try and convert you to anything. That is not why we are here. We are
here to practice meditation in order to bring peace into our lives and the world. However, there are Buddhist images in the meditation room. If you feel
at conflict with this because of your faith, you must realize this and look deeply within
yourself to find out if you can resolve your discomfort. |
How does this type of
meditation differ from other types?
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| There are as many different approaches to
meditation just as there are types of car on the road. We practice "mindfulness
meditation", which is basically concentrating on the breath, on our steps and on our
drinking of tea so that we will bring mindfulness more and more into our daily lives. If
we do not live in the moment, then we are not really living. Thich Nhat Hanh says that if we are, for instance, washing dishes,
then we should wash them as if we were washing the baby Buddha (or baby Jesus...). That
way we will be very mindful of what we are doing. Everything that we do in our lives
should be done in mindfulness, whether it be driving, eating, talking, washing... don't
worry about where we have been or where we are headed... be here now! |
| Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tick Nut Hawn) is a
Zen Master, poet, social activist, and the author of over 70 books. He
was born in central Vietnam in the mid-1920's and became a monk at the age of 16. When war
came to his country, he and his fellow monks faced the difficult choice of remaining in
monastic isolation or entering Center in order to help war victims. They chose both - to
meditate while helping victims of the war. Nhat Hanh founded the School of Youth for
Social Service, which engaged 30,000 young people working with war victims and helping
rebuild the countryside. In 1966 he toured the United States to speak out about the war
and was nominated by Dr. Martin Luther King for the Nobel Peace Prize. In the 1970's, he
served as Chairman of the Vietnamese Buddhist Peace Delegation in Paris. Today,
Thich Nhat Hanh lives in Plum Village, close to Bordeaux, France, where he heads a small
community of meditators and activists. |
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When does the EBS Mindfulness
Group Meet? |
Sundays: from 5:30 to 7:00 P.M. for sitting and walking
meditation at EBS
What are the EBS Mindfulness
Group Practices? |
| On the second Sunday of each month, the group
recites the Five Mindfulness Trainings together after sitting and walking meditation. The
Five Mindfulness Trainings is a ceremony designed by Thich Nhat Hanh that is based on
fundamental Buddhist teachings. The five trainings are vows that people take, if they
wish, regarding, among other things: |
- not killing living things
- speaking and listening mindfully
- not abusing sex
- consuming only healthy things
- not consuming alcohol
- being generous with our time and possessions
- living simply
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The ceremony also includes
chanting the Heart Sutra and taking the Three Refuges.
The other three Sundays, Sangha members reading and discuss a
section from one of Thich Nhat Hanh's books. No previous experience with meditation is
required. For more information on the above, call EBS at (501) 376-7056 or e-mail Steve Evans.
Anyone is welcome to attend any or all of the above events. |
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