Soltice Celebration

Many thanks to Pat and Peter Ladley for an exquisite Solstice celebration practice last Wednesday. With their guidance and lovely readings/meditation, we created a circle of light and then offered that to the Buddha in the world and in all of us.

This photo, taken by Mara Alper, captured that beauty. May all who see this be held in the Light and know that each of us is a Light for each other. Shine!

                                                                         

Winter Solstice 2018*

At our meditation tonight, we anticipate the longest hours of darkness in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring on Friday, December 21st.  The sun seems to have paused, deciding whether to move away from Earth, lessening its light. Do we fear, as did our ancient forebears, that the sun will plunge into total darkness? What do we fear most? And what gives us hope?

Now we know that there is a 23 1/2 tilt to the axis of our planet from a line perpendicular to the path of its year-long pilgrimage around our glorious daystar, the Sun. This accounts for the season of darkness, a new yet ageless season, Winter.
As we light candles this evening –

• We stand and sit and walk together on common ground;

• We dare to be light bearers in the darkness of our times;

• Indifference and injustice can be replaced by our care and compassion and solidarity for the sufferings of others;

• We are mindful that a passion for justice manifests itself not in privatism, privilege, or political correctness, but rather in concrete concern for the flourishing of all beings … for we are all Kin!

• As we light candles this evening and spread their light around this space, let us stand with hearts on fire

• Waiting, walking, watching, in the words of poet William Blake, “to bear the beams of love” that will illuminate and one day transform even our darkest night.

*Cedar Cabin Sangha Mindfulness Practice, Ithaca NY, December 19, 2018: an introduction to evening, followed by guided meditation, mindful walking with candles, tea and Dharma sharing.

(With gratitude to Edward Hayes, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, 1988)

Peter Ladley 12/29/18

What Does It Mean to Be Kind?

I recently realized that I’ve lived most of my life without knowing the definition of kindness. For a long time, when I thought about what kindness looked like, I pictured the classic example of helping someone carry groceries to their car. I figured kindness had something to do with being friendly, perhaps with a pinch of generosity thrown in.

But what would be left if I peeled kindness away from action? ..........Read Haleigh Atwood's complete editorial at Lion's Roar.

A Note from Wake Up Ithaca

Dear Cedar Cabin Sangha,

This December, Wake Up Ithaca celebrated it's one year anniversary with a nourishing Day of Mindfulness at St. Paul's Church--complete with sitting and walking meditation, listening to a dharma talk by Thay, a delicious potluck lunch, deep relaxation, a tea ceremony, and a poem exchange. We are so grateful for the support that we've received from Cedar Cabin Sangha this past year to make this all possible.

With great gratitude,
Wake Up Ithaca

The December 2018 Newsletter is Now Available

Our December 2018 newsletter is now available here. If you would like to receive our newsletter and other information by email subscribe here.

Letter From Plum Village

 Friday 2nd November, 2018   
 Plum Village International Practice Center Le Pey, Thénac 24240, France 

The monks and nuns of the Plum Village International Community of Engaged Buddhists stand by our beloved teacher, the Zen master, global spiritual leader, peace activist and poet Thich Nhat Hanh, as he returns again to his homeland. Since celebrating his 92nd birthday last month, he has expressed a deep wish to go back to reside at his “root temple,” Tu Hieu Temple in Hue, Vietnam, to live his remaining days.

Thich Nhat Hanh has turned formidable physical challenges arising from the major stroke he suffered four years ago into a powerful teaching by continuing to live each moment peacefully and joyfully, with great presence and meaning.  Tu Hieu Temple is where Thich Nhat Hanh first became a monk in 1942, aged sixteen. After nearly sixty years spreading the teachings abroad, Thich Nhat Hanh’s final homecoming is a source of peace and happiness for his students, Tu Hieu Temple and lineage. It is very precious for Thich Nhat Hanh’s large international following to maintain this deep and enduring connection to our spiritual roots in Vietnam.

Thich Nhat Hanh, who coined the term “Engaged Buddhism” and who has dedicated his life to renewing Buddhism so it can help individuals and societies address the challenges of our times, has always seen the roots of his teachings in the engaged spiritual life of the distinguished Buddhist patriarchs during Vietnam’s ancient Ly and Tran dynasties.

 Although since his stroke Thich Nhat Hanh has no longer been able to speak, he remains powerfully alert and present. After summoning his senior disciples to a meeting on 24th October in Plum Village Thailand, where he has been residing since December 2016, Thich Nhat Hanh clearly communicated his wish to return to Vietnam using gestures, nodding and shaking his head in response to questions. The necessary arrangements were made for his return and he landed at Da Nang Airport, Vietnam on the afternoon of 26th October. His arrival was celebrated by a receiving party of senior Buddhist venerables, monks, nuns and lay followers.

 After resting for two days by the ocean to recover from the journey, Thich Nhat Hanh arrived at Tu Hieu on the afternoon of October 28th, where he was welcomed with a traditional formal procession and the sound of drums and bells. As he entered, he took a moment to reach out and touch the cool stone of the ancient gateway: a seal of arrival and return. Everyone present remained silent as he contemplated the half-moon pond, where he had spent many memorable moments as a young monk, and then made his way to the Buddha hall to pay his respects and offer incense at the ancestral altar.  
 
Since his arrival, Thich Nhat Hanh’s health has remained fragile but stable. He has joined his community in walking meditation at dawn, visiting every corner of this temple that was his home and where he was nurtured as he embarked on his spiritual path. On the evening of October 26th in Da Nang, as the current Abbot and Head of Tu Hieu lineage, Thich Nhat Hanh directed his disciples to draft a letter inviting all the monks and nuns of the Tu Hieu lineage (disciples and descendants of Zen Master Thanh Quy, his teacher), to a joyful family gathering and homecoming celebration at Tu Hieu Temple on Saturday November 3rd. As Thich Nhat Hanh said when he first returned to Vietnam in 2005, after four decades of exile, “There is no religion, no doctrine higher than brotherhood and sisterhood.”
 
Even at this moment, Thich Nhat Hanh remains steadfast and energetic in using every breath and every action to build and strengthen the “beloved community of compassion,” and to cultivate healing, reconciliation and transformation in his community, society and the world.