A few years ago, Garchen Rinpoche handed out a small pamphlet and told us to read it aloud every day.  So, I do.
I do this because he asked and I am profoundly impressed by his compassion, wisdom, and dedication.  I continue to study it because he said it contained all the Buddha’s teachings.  I am committed and intrigued because it is radically challenging.  I gradually and incompletely comprehend it and I don’t come close to actualizing it in my daily life.  It is the practice of a Bodhisattva, one who is committed to saving all sentient beings, sooner or later.  It is based on the understanding of the suffering of samsara and the truth of non-self and thus is a practice of wisdom and compassion.  All together, following his advice seems like a good idea.
 
This practice is from the Mahayana Buddhist tradition and lineage.  Based on the Buddha’s teachings, they could not have come about without the Dharma.  They were elucidated by a realized master, Tongmay Zangpo,  based on the “Way of a Bodhisattva” by Shantideva.  Tongmay Zangpo lived in the 14^th Century and was regarded as a Bodhisattva.
 
Written as stanzas, they are pith advice to realize the inherent qualities of the true nature of compassion that we all have as our potential.  These guidelines go beyond our independent cowboy ideal of independence, self-improvement, and worldly success to interdependence and beyond to interbeing.  They do not place self first or even separate from all beings.  These 37 are hard to take for a western mind.
 
The booklet begins with homage to compassion as follows:
“Having seen that all phenomena neither come nor go, you strive solely for the sake of all beings.” That all phenomena neither come nor go seems at odds with the teachings of impermanence, one of the three marks of existence.  We are taught that everything is changing, nothing is lasting and here it says everything neither comes nor goes.  But impermanence is exactly that; in the realm of constant change, appearances arise and change like waves on the ocean.  There is no inherent self (another of the marks of existence) that you might say change attaches to.  The table and you are made of non-table, non-you elements.  There is arising and passing constantly without an independent phenomenon that moves along in this realm of change.  Ultimately, there is no self and yet these guidelines are a path for the relative reality we dwell in.  The only lasting phenomenon is Buddhahood.  Drew gave several talks on the wheel of samsara, the unending cycle of realms we are subject to.  In one corner is a Buddha standing outside the wheel.  There stands ultimate perfect Buddhahood beyond the realms of suffering and Nirvana.  The rest is all change.  This wisdom is inseparable from compassion.
 
The more I read and study these stanzas, the more Dharma I see within them.  Yet I don’t profess to live my days or hours or moments with this awareness.  I’m pretty shaky on all of this and the 37 practices sometimes seem absurdly unattainable or even imaginable to me.  These are the practices of one on a path to attain the wisdom and compassion to save all beings. I think it requires humility, diligence, and confidence that it may take many rebirths of conscious awareness to bring the intention of Bodhicitta to fruition through habituation in the heart-mind/citta.

As the 37 Practices of a Bodhisattva are a big part of my practice, I feel an obligation to teach it as imperfectly as I teach everything else.  It feels authentic and quite humbling to present it.  So, I shall get around to doing so in an abbreviated manner. I will address some of these teachings over the upcoming months.
 

Visit our Garage Sale on Saturday, June 11 from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the IMFW Sangha House, 2332 Sandpoint Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46809.

Come out to support our fundraiser in support of refugees in the Ukraine. Anyone interested in helping Josh by setting up and/or working the actual sale can contact us at InsightMeditationFW@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone who helped on our May Gardening Day at Sangha House. We trimmed, weeded and put down 15 yards of mulch. The grounds look fantastic thanks to everyone’s help.

Please join us for our Tuesday night 6 p.m. meditation and dharma talk, and/or Sunday morning at 10 a.m. for a silent sit followed by some social time. All events meet live and in person at Sangha House, but you have the option of joining by Zoom on Tuesday nights. (Watch for the Zoom links by email on Tuesday afternoons. You may subscribe to our email list on our website www.imfw.org.)

Second Tuesday Tea is in full swing. On the second Tuesday of each month (next on June 14) we have tea and light snacks following the dharma talk. It is a wonderful time to get to know the folks you are sitting with. Bring a snack to share, if you like. Tea is provided.

Our current book study will be wrapping up soon. Our next book study will begin in September. Check our website for updates and the book title when announced.

Our mission is to provide for the study and practice of Insight (Vipassanā) Meditation according to the Theravāda Buddhist religious tradition and to support and encourage the development of community based upon Buddhist ideals, teachings and practices.

IMFW is entirely supported by voluntary donations that embody the ancient practice of dāna or generosity. The teachings are always offered freely and practitioners are invited to offer support that matches their own financial means, and/or by volunteering time and talents to support the teachers and the upkeep of Sangha House.

Visit our garage sale at 2332 Sandpoint Road, on Saturday, June 11th 8a.m. to 3 p.m. for some good deals, great finds and to support the Ukrainian refugees. All proceeds will be donated to UNICEF who is working to feed the millions of displaced Ukrainian children.

If you would like to help Josh by setting up or working the day of the garage sale you may contact us via email at InsightMeditationFW@gmail.com,

We will continue to accept donations Tuesday evenings at 6pm and Sundays at 10am through Tuesday, June 7.

You can learn more about UNICEF's work in Ukraine by clicking here.

“I encourage any Sangha member to take advantage of Insight Meditation Fort Wayne’s (IMFW) sponsored retreat fund. I was sponsored for a seven day retreat offered by Yellow Springs Dharma in mid-May. I am very grateful for the Sangha's generosity. I might not have attended if I had to pay out of pocket and the experience was great. I feel that it will ground my meditation practice well into the future. I especially want to thank Tammy and Jack [Dyer]. Their generosity both financially and spiritually has been of great benefit to me. May we all be safe and free from suffering.”

J.D. Nye

J.D. recently attended a seven day residential retreat offered by Yellow Springs Dharma Center, based in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The featured teacher was Rebecca Bradshaw.

IMFW offers a financial assistance program for our members. Practitioners who are interested in attending a retreat and feel this assistance would help to defray the costs of the retreat are encouraged to contact IMFW at InsightMeditationFW@gmail.com or any notify a board member of your interest.