During this meeting, Rose talked of what taking refuge in “The Three Jewels”, Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, has meant to her in managing the stresses of life. This led to a lively discussion of the value of spiritual community and many people added their names to a phone list to begin what Tara Brach has called “Kalyana Mitta” (spiritual friends) groups to support integrating Buddhist principles into life experience.
Following on last week’s dialogue, the Teacher’s Mentoring Group, which has been meeting weekly for several months, introduced themselves and provided comments about their current studies of Buddhist principles and practices. These individuals’ commitments to their spiritual path warrants the opportunity to share what they’ve gained from the practice. Peter commented on the reality that each generation must revisit and make real in their own lived experience the wisdom that the Buddha’s teachings offered, and that his teaching over the last 20 years or so played a significant role in deepening his practice. These teachers, with Peter’s support, will be offering dhamma dialogues off and on during the summer, and will be delivering the dhamma talks while he’s away on his three month retreat this Fall. Next week, Kitty will lead a dialogue about how essential regular sitting practice has been for her spiritual development, and the week after that Rose will facilitate exploring the value of taking refuge, especially as related to Sangha.
This the first of a series of nightly talks given by Peter at Deerhaven, during the yearly one week retreat. This talk describes the Three Refuges of Buddhism: the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. Basic instruction for mindfulness of breathing is provided with a guided meditation.