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.