Hello dear Friends,

I’ve been contemplating the four noble truths lately and seeing more clearly and deeply how love and compassion can rise above tragedy and difficulty. Compassion can lift us beyond the sorrow and suffering of everyday life.

When faced with difficulty, we might choose to recoil, lash out, or embrace extreme solutions. But these reactive strategies often create further suffering. If we close down from the pain, we also cut ourselves off from caring. If we act out, externalizing our feelings without awareness, we only add to the suffering. When we act in, shutting our feelings inside, we are causing self-harm, depleting our life force, and becoming less able to help anyone.

There are countless opportunities these days to practice our capacity for compassion. Many people have and continue to die of Covid, so many lives are disrupted by war, gun violence seems rampant, and our own personal difficulties as well as afflictive emotions seem to be abundant. Tragedy is on an epic scale.

If you are like me, sometimes my mind really doesn’t want to feel the pain of so much suffering. But the Buddha’s teachings tell us that if we can learn to open our hearts to all of this pain and suffering, it can be a healing force in our lives. If we can feel compassion rather than sorrow, we are retraining our responses and forming mental habits to be gentler and less fearful.

We cultivate intentions of compassion by encouraging ourselves to be aware of the suffering of others and caring for their well-being. This does not mean feeling sorry for people or merely hoping they will somehow be better off. Buddhist texts describe compassion as “the trembling of the heart” when witnessing suffering, which gives rise to an intention of caring. Allow our heart to tremble—and to care.    

So how can I find that heart that I’m told is there, that can hold all that is arising. That heart that is deep within, that is big enough to hold all that is happening within my own life and what’s happening in the world today?

The Buddha taught that you can search the entire universe for someone more deserving of your love and compassion than yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere. And yet, so often for many of us, it seems much easier to offer our care, compassion, and even forgiveness to others than to ourselves. We tend to beat ourselves up or give ourselves an unnecessarily hard time for our "perfectly human" emotions and imperfections. 

Following my meditation session each morning for the last couple of months, I’ve been reciting the following metta practice offered by Roshi Joan Halifax. I read through it each day changing the word you for I, then read it again using the word you. I’d like to offer it to each of you.

May you (I) experience loving kindness today.
May you (I) be caring towards your (my) own body and mind.
May you (I) have friendliness for others.
May you (I) be able to weather any pain and suffering you are (I am) experiencing at this time.
May you (I) be free from anger, fear, and worry.
May you (I) see your own limits compassionately.
May joy fill and nourish you (me) always.
May joy infuse your (my) whole being.
May you (I) be open to the true nature of life.
May you (I) accept things as they are.
May you (I) accept your anger, fear and sadness knowing that who you are is not limited by them.
- Roshi Joan Halifax

Thank you to everyone who helped with our spring garage sale to raise money for UNICEF, in support of the children affected by the war in the Ukraine. We raised $180 and plan to have another garage sale this fall. We are accepting donations now! You can bring in any gently used item (please limit them to items no larger than a microwave) to Sangha House any Tuesday evening or Sunday morning.

Sunday morning we offer a silent 40 minute meditation beginning at 10am. It is followed by some conversation and tea – please join us for this special time.

Tuesdays at 6pm continue to be the cornerstone of our practice, with a 30 minute meditation followed by a dharma talk. The teachers rotate this responsibility and each one brings something unique and interesting to support your path. The second Tuesday of the month is Tuesday Tea, held after the dharma talk – bring a sweet or savory treat and join us for tea. It is a wonderful evening filled with warmth and laughter. July 12 is our next tea.

Thank you to J.D., Charlie, Josh, and Dan – the Lawn Rangers, for keeping the grounds mowed and trimmed. Thank you to Mandy, Barb, Lisa, and Randy for keeping the flower beds watered, weeded and looking lovely.

We are very grateful for all dana received in support of Sangha House. We are completely self- supporting and these kind donations keep the lights on, internet functioning and building maintained. We literally could not do it without you. Thank you.

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.

Many people come to Insight Meditation Fort Wayne (IMFW) and some come to meditation once or twice and then disappear. No doubt this is natural and something experienced by Buddhist and other spiritual communities around the world.

At IMFW, we want to try something to help people get oriented to the practice and community. There are currently four people who form a Teacher Collective and rotate giving talks on Tuesday nights. All four are available to have one-on-one conversations to answer questions about practice, give guidance on resources, or whatever people find helpful in the realm of Buddhist practice and study. This may be just what you need to help establish a solid base for your spiritual practice.

We are suggesting that the contact be around a total of 30 minutes to an hour per month and could be in person, via phone or Zoom, or whatever works. This offering is open to all Sangha members, not just for people new to IMFW. If you have been coming for years and think this would be helpful, please contact one of the teachers.

There is a short bio of each teacher on the IMFW website. You can visit it to learn more about the teachers. You will see that each teacher has a different background and orientation.

Below are phone numbers for the teachers. Please call or text if you are interested in beginning to meet.

This one-on-one arrangement is an effort to help people feel more a part of the community and develop their practice. If you have other ideas for what would be helpful, please talk to someone on the Board of Directors or Teacher Collective, also listed on the website.