loving truly is like a gentle breeze
across a cool lake
on a hot summer day
like deep samadhi in the middle
of the afternoon sitting time
like bright sunlight glistening on water droplets
dappling waxy green leaves
not getting anything
not holding anything
not making any point
or underscoring any meaning (more…)
As you may know, Peter Carlson, the founding teacher of the Orlando Insight Meditation Group, is on a 3-month meditation retreat at the Insight Meditation Society‘s Forest Refuge in Barre, Massachusetts. Recently, Peter shared these photos and the message, “I’m off to a peaceful start.”
A true and complete person
Of no status or accomplishment
Practices moment to moment
Making bright light
And casting many shadows.
Gods, demons, and Buddhas arise.
Where is the human path?
If you push away desire and get free,
What is left?
Who am I?
WHAT IS THIS?
(more…)
Dear Sangha,
OIMG’s recent June retreat at the Franciscan Center came and went in the most beautiful of manners. There were folks in attendance from areas ranging from Jacksonville, Miami, and everywhere in between. A mother and her teenage daughter blessed us with their presence and there were some folks that chose OIMG to share in their first retreat experience. Thirty people in total were able to participate—the largest group to date in our history of overnight retreats. It was a joyful event filled in the cultivation of mindfulness, kindness, and well-being at a beautiful facility.
OIMG’s mission is simple—share the Buddha’s teachings on the alleviation of suffering through the cultivation of wisdom and kindness. Retreats of this nature are core to this mission— they are an important part of the Eight Fold Path. In the tradition of the Buddha, these retreats are offered regardless of one’s financial means through scholarship offerings. During this last retreat, $995 was funded by OIMG, representing about 20% of the total cost of the retreat. As a 501(c)(3) entity, tax deductible opportunities are available for those that may find joy in supporting this cause. Any contributions are welcomed. Should you be interested in supporting this cause, please contact Tommy Harrison or Peter Carlson or make your tax-deductible contribution online.
Stephen Batchelor’s Buddhism Without Beliefs: A Contemporary Guide to Awakening
Below, OIMG Book Club members offer reflections on the insights they are experiencing from our weekly reviews of each chapter, finishing with the “Fruition” section
We hope these summaries of each chapter from Batchelor’s very thoughtful and insightful book, written, as he says in the Preface, “in ordinary English,” has been an inspiration for some to check out this very liberating practice offered to the world by Siddhartha Gautama some 2500 years ago.
The Book Club members encourage, and are ready to support, additional book review groups. (more…)