Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha

We will be starting the Sutta study group again at 4:00 pm on the 2nd & 4th Sundays of the month beginning June 9th. On June 9th we will discuss Sutta MN 37 (The Shorter Discourse on the Destruction of Craving) and start Sutta MN 38 (The Longer Discourse on the Destruction of Craving). Check the calendar on our website for dates.

Our teachers will begin using the book Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness, by Bhante Gunaratana, as the subject matter for their dhamma talks this summer. The book can be purchased on Amazon.com for $11.49 plus shipping and handling, or at Barnes and Noble for $11.49 and store pick-up.

On 5/23 and 5/26 we will discuss the Introduction, pages 1-16. On 5/30 and 6/2 we will discuss the Introduction, pages 17-24. On 6/6 and 6/9, the dhamma talk and discussion will be about Step 1, pages 25-29.

Dear Sangha and Board,

The celebration was perfect!!! I feel a peaceful closure. How happy to look back at the years of the sangha “growing itself”. I feel confident that the sangha is mature and committed to growing and sharing the dhamma.

I truly look forward to being a sangha participant. My emails will diminish significantly and I hate sitting in front of a computer!

I used the blessing water this morning which was given to me by the Palchen sangha and sent blessings out to all of you. My heart is full of love from you and to you. mary

This past Sunday Mary formally initiated a Teachers Council which will continue her mission of teaching the Dhamma. During our Buddha’s birthday celebration we also had a ceremony where members of the new Teachers Council took the precepts from Mary. Council members are Jan Carter, Amy Miller, John Paulson, Ricky Amba, and Mary Lee MacManus. Event Coordinator and Board Member Chris Bauer spoke about the gratitude that the entire Sangha has for all of our teachers, past, present, and future. Mary MacGregor will continue on in an advisory role on the Council. Although she will be enjoying her home on Martha’s Vineyard during the summer, she will continue to sit with the Sangha the rest of the year. Five members also took the precepts for the first time. Jeffery Mathura, K Warner, Christopher Williams, Ricky Amba, and Jo Kilmer received a certificate listing the precepts and the date that they officially undertook the study and pursuit of these goals.

After the initiation of the Teachers Council and the precepts ceremonies, Mary spoke about how she came to love the Dhamma and to form the Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha. The Sangha originally met in the home of Mary and her husband Phil Lieberman, and took its name in 1998. Although Thich Nhat Hanh was the Buddhist teacher she was first drawn to, Mary eventually found a personal teacher in Matthew Flickstein, who teaches a Theravadan Buddhism and Vipassana insight meditation. Mary said her approach to Buddhism is simple and can be boiled down to 3 N’s: Not-self, Not-knowing, and Now. The Sangha presented Mary with a keepsake box made from an abalone shell with a pewter bottom and engraved with: Love, Gratitude, 1998-2013, MHBS. Christopher Williams, who is a member of both MHBS and the Palchen Group, presented Mary with a gift of Blessing Water from Alan McCoy and the Tibetan group. And of course there was lots of good food and conversation to finish the evening. Here are a few pictures from the celebration.

Dear Sangha community:

Amy Miller has graciously donated her time in dana by cleaning our meditation hall, bathroom and kitchen. Because Amy is now one of our regular teachers she is no longer able to continue this. If you feel called to practice dana through the physical activity of cleaning, the Sangha would be most grateful.

Duties are light. Once a week vacuum, take out the trash, clean the bathroom and kitchen, use a lint brush on the zafus and zabutons, and generally straighten up. If you are willing, please contact one of the teachers or board members.

Thank you!

With much Metta (Loving-friendliness),
The Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha Board

Vesak (Buddha’s birthday) celebration at Thich Hang Dat’s Ten Thousand Buddhas Summit Monastery.
May 26th, 2:00 – 4:00 Eastern Time, 3600 Mathis Road, Corydon, IN 47112
We will leave the parking lot of Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha at 10:30 AM, Central Time (Evansville time) and likely be back around 5:00 or so.

This was a wonderful experience in the past. We were welcomed to join in the festivities, which included Dhamma talk, chanting, seeing a dragon dance, ladling water and flower petals over a baby Buddha figurine, vietnamese style vegetarian meal, a hillside garden of symbolic statues, etc. The events are indoors and should happen rain or shine.
Please visit their website through a link on our website, or directly at http://www.buddhistmind.com

We ask a couple things of participants:
• Let’s car pool, arriving there in as few vehicles as possible. Meet at our Sangha – Bradford Park Office Complex, 600 N. Weinbach, Suite 960, Evansville, IN 47711
• For any Dana you would like to offer, let’s compile it into one envelope from us to ease their accounting for the event. (Checks can be written to Ten Thousand Buddhas Summit). Flowers are also welcome.

5:00 to 6:30 PM Sunday, May 5th, 2013 at the Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha
Please join us at the Sangha for a special celebration. If you haven’t made it here recently, try to join us this day.

Honoring Teacher and Sangha Founder Mary MacGregor

• Mary is continuing in the Sangha, but her time as a teacher is coming to an end. Join us in honoring her service.
• Know more about our teachers who are receiving the torch from Mary.
• [Mary is not asking for gifts; however, if you personally would like to contribute to a gift fund please do it early. There will be a collection box at the Sangha specifically for gift donations, or you may mail to the Sangha: Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha, Bradford Park Office Complex, 600 N. Weinbach, Suite 960, Evansville, IN 47711]

Buddha’s Birthday

• Our Sangha is celebrating Buddha’s Birthday on this day. If anyone would like to consider taking the Precepts please contact Mary as soon as possible so she may plan.
• The actual calendar date of the birthday and the celebrations vary with calendar year, tradition and country. Look up Buddha’s Birthday on Wikipedia to see more information.
• Watch for an upcoming announcement of another special Buddha Birthday event we are organizing for late May.

6:30 PM at the Sangha

Open House and Pot Luck
• Come and chat, share a dish, dessert or drink and enjoy some interesting food.
• This is informal, you may show up during the Open House, even if you didn’t choose to attend the earlier events.
• Please RSVP soon for the Pot Luck just so we know how much space to prepare. RSVP to mindfulheart@gmail.com

Hope you can make it!

5:00 to 6:30 PM Sunday, May 5th, 2013 at the Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha
Please join us at the Sangha for a special celebration. If you haven’t made it here recently, try to join us this day.

Honoring Teacher and Sangha Founder Mary MacGregor

• Mary is continuing in the Sangha, but her time as a teacher is coming to an end. Join us in honoring her service.
• Know more about our teachers who are receiving the torch from Mary.
• [Mary is not asking for gifts; however, if you personally would like to contribute to a gift fund please do it early. There will be a collection box at the Sangha specifically for gift donations, or you may mail to the Sangha: Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha, Bradford Park Office Complex, 600 N. Weinbach, Suite 960, Evansville, IN 47711]

Buddha’s Birthday

• Our Sangha is celebrating Buddha’s Birthday on this day. If anyone would like to consider taking the Precepts please contact Mary as soon as possible so she may plan.
• The actual calendar date of the birthday and the celebrations vary with calendar year, tradition and country. Look up Buddha’s Birthday on Wikipedia to see more information.
• Watch for an upcoming announcement of another special Buddha Birthday event we are organizing for late May.

6:30 PM at the Sangha

Open House and Pot Luck
• Come and chat, share a dish, dessert or drink and enjoy some interesting food.
• This is informal, you may show up during the Open House, even if you didn’t choose to attend the earlier events.
• Please RSVP soon for the Pot Luck just so we know how much space to prepare. RSVP to mindfulheart@gmail.com

Hope you can make it!

Our retreat this week will not interfere with the regular Thursday and Sunday sittings which will be held at their regularly scheduled times. 

Metta

The deadline for registering for the retreat is Monday February 18th.  Please pay when signing up and registering.

Cost is on a sliding scale: $100 Sustaining, $75 Mid, $50 Base, or $25 Scholarship. This depends upon your ability to pay.

To register, please send a check for the appropriate amount along with your name, address, email address, phone number, where you normally practice, and information you care to share about your practice. Mail to: Mindful Heart Buddha Sangha,  Attn.: Non-residential retreat,  Bradford Office Complex,  600 N. Weinbach Avenue, Suite 960, Evansville, IN 47711.  Or put your registration information and payment in an envelope marked retreat and place it in the Dana box.

Metta.