orchard sangha newsletter - may 2010
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Orchard Sangha Newsletter - May 2010TRANSCRIPT
Newsletter 8 1 May 2010
The Orchard Sangha Newsletter
Welcome to Issue 8 of The Orchard Sangha
Newsletter
The newsletter seems to have settled into its
own rhythm – rising and coming together, it
seems, around every four months. As the time
for another issue approaches there is usually a
tinge of anxiety – will there be enough of
interest to produce another newsletter? Then,
gradually, articles and items start to trickle in
and I gratefully fill in the gaps.
So once again my heartfelt thanks to those
who have provided contributions, and an
invitation to all those who receive the
newsletter.
Consider sending something in for the next
issue. It doesn’t have to be your own writing.
It could be as simple as an easy, wholesome
recipe that could be used by the cooks on
workshops. Perhaps some tips on gardening,
an amusing anecdote or even how you
manage to weave practice into your daily life.
Equally, it could be a poem or saying that has
always inspired you. For if it inspires you,
then it is quite possible that it will inspire
others (see Pearl’s Story). I look forward to
hearing from you.
In metta Sandra
Contents Page
Pearl’s Story 1
Sangha News 2
Dharma – The Next Generation 3/4
Information Websites 4
Dialogue Workshop 5
Leaving Fear Behind retreat 6
Contact Details 7
Pearl’s Story
One day I shared with Pearl, a friend
approaching her 50th birthday, a Mark Twain
quotation I had read:
“Twenty years from now you will be more
disappointed by the things that you didn't do
than by the ones you did do. So throw off the
bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
What neither of us realised at the time is just
how the words would play in Pearl’s mind in
the weeks to come. She made some life-
changing decisions.
Facing her fear, she took her first trip abroad
through the Channel Tunnel. Within a year
she had also taken part in an Earthwatch
expedition and secured a position looking
after the welfare of servicemen’s families. She
travelled to Germany and danced at the
Officers’ Ball.
I caught up with her on one of her infrequent
visits home. Pearl was in the process of
selling her house and taking up a new post in
a residential school for disabled children. The
quotation had touched her deeply, so much so
that it seemed she could not ignore the
restlessness it awoke inside her. Her ventures
were not without some risk, but a risk she
was willing to take for the joy of being alive.
She sailed away from the safe harbour, and
now lives happily in the West Country. For a
while at least!
Explore. Dream. Discover.
Newsletter 8 2 May 2010
Gardening Group
To all members of the Orchard Sangha:
We currently have a group of members of the
sangha who help with maintenance weekends
at the Orchard, usually in the spring and
autumn. Maintenance of the buildings and
grounds of The Orchard and Maitreya House
is vitally important for the continued smooth
running of the activities at the Orchard.
I am looking for additional members of the
Orchard sangha to join our list of volunteers.
This will not be a huge commitment; just a
couple of weekends a year staying at The
Orchard and contributing about four or five
hours a day to whatever tasks need to be
done. You will have the opportunity for
personal practice time and the facilities at the
Orchard and locally. If you would be
interested in joining the maintenance group
please contact me on 020 7274 6033 or
Tony Austin
A reminder of additional events taking
place at The Orchard:
Tim Jones – Healing Voice
For those wishing to deepen their voice
practice Tim will be holding individual
sessions on Tuesday 1st June and Tuesday
3rd August.
He will also facilitate the Sangha Choir on
Monday 31st May and Monday 2nd August (7
– 9.30 pm). These dates allow for those
interested to participate in both the Choir
and an individual session if they so wish.
If you are interested in attending any of the
above, or would like further information on
them, contact Tim direct on
Tim is also holding a Healing Voice
Workshop from 2nd – 4th July. For further
information and bookings contact Ad.
Sarah Hill - Dialogue sessions
There are two more Sangha dialogue
sessions on 31st May and 2nd August. The
sessions run from 11am – 3pm and are free
– just bring food to share and Dana for The
Orchard.
To book a place or for more information
contact Sarah on [email protected]
or by phone on 01452 741603.
The cards on sale after workshops can also be
purchased by post. They measure 148mm x
210mm, can be ordered from Sarah on
[email protected] and cost £2.50 each plus
p&p. Contact Sarah for further details.
This year four more cards have been added to the selection:
Garden Buddha Shrine Cloth Vajrasattva 1 Vajrasattva 2
Newsletter 8 3 May 2010
DHARMA THE NEXT GENERATION
Sonia was asked to write about the following
topic for the newsletter of a Dharma Group in
Canada:
Rinpoche died in 2003, and there seemed to be
quite a lot of readjustments in the sangha
worldwide following his death. How is the spirit
of Rinpoche's teachings manifesting in your
group in the 2000s? How is the teaching
manifesting in order to reach beings during this
time period? How is the teaching speaking to
young people these days? How are you speaking
to the younger generation? Have you noticed
more women in the teaching lately or more men?
What seems to be the hindrances for beings
from finding the teaching in these times? The
article can cover anything along these lines that
you like, but this is the general theme and the
kind of questions we are thinking of.
Here follows Sonia’s response:
Dharma the Next Generation
The Orchard is a dharma centre in Wales,
established in 1985 and run by myself, Sonia
Moriceau, and my partner, Ad Brugman. The
changes that have shaped the Orchard over
the past 25 years are intertwined with our
own depth of practice and understanding. An
important shift happened in 2001 when I
spent a one-year retreat at the Dharma Centre
of Canada under the guidance of Venerable
Namgyal Rinpoche. Since then, students at
The Orchard have made greater commitment
to the teaching and practice. For instance,
those who previously attended a five day
course began to come on personal retreat for
one to six months. I attribute this shift to the
fact that students felt inspired by my
commitment and found the courage to
emulate what their teacher did. As for me, I
felt more confident and had much more depth
and clarity to guide students on long retreats.
This trend is now well established. It creates a
settled atmosphere where any student, no
matter what their length of stay, finds it easy
to settle, and is plunged without delay into
the rhythm of the practice of the Four
Foundations of Mindfulness. Nowadays there
are always a few students on retreat at the
same time.
This provides an environment that
supports their determination to cultivate
non-clinging awareness and compassion.
The other shift has been in presentation of
the teaching. Due to the more pressurized
life that people now live, I find that I need
to introduce ‘short’ practices that they can
do back home; short practices many times
a day! Students are grateful for this. They
appreciate these condensed forms that
can be applied to their everyday life and
which go directly to the heart of the
teaching.
In the past four years, I have been placing
a different emphasis on the practice. I
invite students to manifest the teaching
out of a state of being rather than a state
of you ‘have’ to do. I see it as exploring the
art of practice in non-practice. This is more
challenging for both teacher and the
students as we move away from a set form
to a more fluid, spontaneous expression
arising from a direct experience.
This art of practice in non-practice arose
out of the need to bridge the gap between
retreat times and everyday life. Given the
interconnectedness of all life forms and
how as human beings our existence
depends on the many acts of kindness of
countless beings, it is vital to apply the
teaching in our everyday interaction with
all life forms. Indeed what is the relevance
of a practice that does not extend to
others? It is in living life with all its
challenges that we come to the perfection
of the paramis leading to realization.
This is what we are moving into now at
the Orchard: living as a community with
new and experienced practitioners; seeing
how our intentions and actions have an
immediate impact on others; looking
deeply at our choosing and avoiding so
that we can put an end to suffering for all
beings. With such a faithful mirror, living
in community is challenging and
rewarding. I feel strongly this is where the
actualization of the teaching can take
place.
Newsletter 8 4 May 2010
When our choosing and avoiding have calmed
down, we are at ease, the breathing is relaxed.
Only then the mind can rest in its natural state,
luminous, awake and free from clingings.
In 2002, Venerable Namgyal Rinpoche placed a
lot of emphasis on the teaching of the Four
Foundations of Mindfulness, and in 2003 on
the transmission of Dzogchen.
This to me is a strong indication of the route to
follow: first establishing mindfulness as a
preparation to reveal the True Nature of Mind.
This style of teaching rooted in everyday living
seems very relevant to the here and now in the
U.K. It attracts a wide spectrum of people from
all ages and background – the majority being
women. In the past year I have also witnessed
the return of students who first came to the
Orchard ten or fifteen years ago!
I offer my deep gratitude to my teachers Roshi
John Garrie and Namgyal Rinpoche for
introducing the True Nature of Mind and for
their many blessings.
Sonia Moriceau
Interesting and Informative Websites
For when a little inspiration or
information is needed the following
websites may be worth a look. If you don’t
have internet access at home most
libraries now offer this facility.
If you have not yet discovered the website
- www.ted.com – I can recommend it.
“Riveting talks, from remarkable people”.
Short talks (around 20 minutes) on a
variety of inspiring, beautiful, courageous
subjects. In particular I really enjoyed:
Jill Bolte Taylor – Stroke of Insight.
A brain scientist who had a massive
stroke, and watched as her brain functions
- motion, speech, self-awareness - shut
down one by one.
Elizabeth Gilbert – Nurturing creativity.
Including the idea that creativity comes
from outside of us.
Ken Robinson on Schools kill Creativity.
An entertaining but thought-provoking
take on the education system.
Isabel Allende - Tales of Passion.
Storyteller and women’s activist Isabel
Allende – humourous and moving.
-------------------------
Another website is from the Open
University Learning Space and gives free
access to Open University Course Material.
Type the following link into your address
bar and it should take you direct to the
OpenLearn LearningSpace Units.
www.openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/index.
php
There are literally hundreds of courses to
choose from and you can opt to study
alone or join an on-line forum. Whether
you are interested in Creative Writing,
Science, Art, History, Business, Health –
the list is vast - there is bound to be
something of interest.
From: “A Collection of Teachings” by Sonia
The first issue is now available:
Loving Kindness teachings 2004 – 2009
36 pages on A4, in ringed copy. Cost £ 12 plus
postage
The content includes the practice of loving-
kindness, methods of generating and radiating
loving-kindness, guided meditations, tonglen
and opening the heart.
The intention has been to present Sonia’s
words as she spoke to preserve the flavour and
the spirit of her teaching.
I would like to thank Gill Blair for her
dedication in taking hours of notes over the
past five years and for editing and seeing this
project to completion.
For ordering your copy, contact Sonia and Ad at
The Orchard
email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01873 860207
After deduction of the cost for printing and binding,
50% of the profit will go towards supporting The
Orchard Sangha.
Newsletter 8 5 May 2010
Dialogue Workshop – 16-18 April 2010
I made my first ever visit to the Orchard last
month for a Dialogue and Mindfulness weekend
led by Sarah Hill. Sarah and I have worked
together facilitating large scale dialogues (around
30 people) in NHS Fife and I greatly respect and
value her work so I was curious to experience this
weekend.
Most of us have a lot of experience of group
conversations at work and in our family and
friendship groups. Frequently these can be about
expressing and defending a position, ‘I’m right
and you are wrong’ and often the only listening
that takes place involves waiting for our chance
to speak. Dialogue is different. Bill Isaacs who
wrote a book on Dialogue describes it as ‘the art
of thinking together’. It involves deep listening,
respect for the other, and the ability to suspend
our own judgments – to examine them and see
what archetypes, beliefs and mental paradigms
are influencing the way we see things. It requires
that the participants be fully present with
whatever is happening in the conversation: hence
the bringing together in this workshop of
mindfulness practice and dialogue.
I certainly found much to challenge my own
beliefs about how things ‘should’ be during the
course of the weekend. Things started to be
‘shaken up’ even before the Dialogue began. The
plan was that several members of the Sangha,
who have been exploring Dialogue for some time
would be joined by four of Sarah’s clients and
colleagues, all of whom had some experience of
working dialogically. Then the Universe stepped
in. A volcano erupted and two members of the
party found themselves grounded at Belfast
Airport. Another went down with a chest
infection and was unable to come so that left the
Sangha members and me.
Coming into an already established group with a
different set of norms, a shared language and
different spiritual practices can be challenging.
When I discovered that the weekend involved
sitting on the floor I could feel my resistance
rising. When I discovered that part of my
precious weekend would be spent in rest my
resistance rose even further.
It’s not that I don’t ever do rest – just that I
never do it deliberately. However, I loved
the walking meditation, feeling my bare
feet on the grass in the Orchard garden on a
beautifully warm Spring day and bringing
my awareness into the present moment. I
let go of the resistance and decided to
experience the workshop fully whatever
feelings emerged.
My favourite moment of the weekend was a
group demonstration of the Dialogue
concepts of move, follow, oppose and
bystand where we used the position of our
bodies to act out what happens in
conversation. There were many
extraordinary insights about how some
moves we make in conversation are
extraordinarily difficult to follow and
others are easy to oppose.
Dialogue did its work in surfacing the
shared consciousness within our small
group, as well as the differences, giving rise
to much joy and laughter, many new
insights and moments of pure connection.
Margaret
Enter a room, a space or an activity and receive it, as it is, without preconception, assumption or paranoia based on past ideas or events. Communicate with what is present without challenge, apology, suspicion, performance, or withdrawal or denial of one’s presence. The Way is Without Flaw
John Garrie Roshi
Newsletter 8 6 May 2010
Leaving Fear Behind – death and
impermanence retreat
I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I
attended the above retreat. To be challenged,
certainly, but also a little apprehensive.
Exploring death (Pali: Marana) and
impermanence would seem to be a
depressing activity, despite Sonia’s assertion
that it could be a joyous practice. Yet, that is
what it turned out to be. It was a very life-
affirming retreat. With a new appreciation of
life, I offer the following, which I wrote
whilst on the retreat:
We are allotted a certain number of breaths
for our life; none of us know how many we
have. So it is important to be prepared for
death. It will come, this we know, but we
continue on in blindness, not seeing (or
wanting to see) what is in front of us. We walk
on, hoping that we might avoid it, that it
might disappear. No chance.
If we lived each moment as if it were our last
then perhaps we would not argue, or fall out,
as often as we do.
We might forgive people their little foibles, for
we have ours too.
We might enjoy the sunrise and sunset
together more often.
Take time to enjoy company, recalling all the
joyous and good things we shared.
We might also take time to celebrate our good
fortune – we have sufficient means to live
without fear of starvation and cold, we live in
a relatively peaceful place that offers much to
entertain and delight us, and we have the
ability to enjoy and appreciate the beauty that
surrounds us.
Perhaps if we greet each day with joy and
wonder, new and fresh, as if previous days had
not existed, we would find a spontaneous and
deep love for our fellow beings and cherish the
time that we have. For when we pass the
greatest compliment must be for someone, just
one person, to say that they were fortunate to
have known us.
Sandra
On the final day each student also presented
their own interpretation of one of the Nine
Contemplations. Gini has kindly offered to
share her beautiful interpretation of the
6th Contemplation
My body is fragile and vulnerable
The human body is fragile and vulnerable; my
life hangs by a breath. Holding this thought in
mind, I attend as I inhale and exhale.
Our body can survive weeks without food, days
without water, but only minutes without air.
As we attend the rise and fall of our breath, we
are fully conscious of the life-force that
permeates our body. The rhythm of our breath
connects us to the great cycles of the cosmos –
birth and death, the rise and fall of species, the
filling and emptying of tides, the seasons, the
dance of the sun and the moon, and the
expansion and contraction of innumerable
galaxies. All is change, nothing is permanent.
Our bodies are not designed to be immortal –
we too are part of Nature.
We also attend the space between the
outbreath and the inbreath for it is the door to
eternity. When our body has exhaled for the
last time, at that moment may we joyfully leap
into the abyss.
Gini Wade
Marana
“In the absolute sense beings have only a short
moment to live, life lasting only as long as a
single moment of consciousness lasts. Just as a
cartwheel whether rolling or at standstill, at all
times only rests on a single point on its
periphery: even so the life of a living being only
lasts for the duration of a single moment of
consciousness. As soon as the moment ceases
the being also ceases. For it is said ‘The being
of the past moment of consciousness has lived
but does not live now, nor will live in the
future. The being of the future moment has not
lived yet, nor does it live now, but it will live in
the future. The being of the present moment
has not lived, it does live now but it will not
live in the future”.
From: BUDDHIST Dictionary – Manual of
Buddhist terms and doctrines by Nyanatiloka
Newsletter 8 7 May 2010
� Contact Details E-� Offers of assistance - Gill - [email protected] or on 01981 241315 Healing Requests to Blue Healer Minds - Sarah on [email protected] Bursary Fund - Gini at [email protected] Finance - Jo on [email protected] or on 01432 890312 Newsletter - Sandra - for comments and contributions – at [email protected] or on 013873 70787 Orchard Sangha Website – www.orchardsangha.com
Does anyone else Watch the Dancing Trees
At Maitreya House? Arms aloft
In the morning breeze Softly waving
Now lyrical, now chaos. Settling
Into flowing, into stillness. Then, with a flutter of
green mantle, As if to dance
Joyfully, free of care Through the meadow.