Dear Friends,

Tuesday evening, January 9^th, all are invited to attend the annual Precepts and Refuges Ceremony.  It is the time each year when IMFW gathers to participate in reaffirming our commitment to wise and ethical living. 

The New Year often brings fresh intention and resolution.  However, the goals we set for the year are often difficult to reach and we end up feeling needless guilt and shame.  The Buddhist teachings offer another way to look at intention and aspiration, to see it more as a practice rather than some goal to attain.

The Precepts Ceremony held each year at IMFW, and daily or weekly in monasteries, reminds us of the foundation of our moral and ethical conduct practice.  The five precepts provide us with an orientation that can help spark virtuous activity in our everyday life. 

Virtue can have a heavily moralistic or religious overtone, but Buddhist practice views ethical conduct as our determination to develop the wisdom to clearly see how the world works and the compassion to always hold the welfare of others in mind.

The precepts are guidelines, not rules to make us feel guilt or shame.  They are ways to help raise our level of awareness to what is going on at this moment in our life. Holding the precepts leads to happiness when practiced.  They are a basic structure that can form our life path to Do No Harm.

The Precepts ceremony on January 9^th, invites those present to undertake the five basic precepts to not harm others through our speech and actions. The precepts are:

1. I undertake to refrain from killing and harming living beings.
2. I undertake to refrain from stealing and taking that which is not mine.
3. I undertake to refrain from causing harm through sexual misconduct.
4. I undertake to refrain from false speech, harmful speech, gossip, and slander.
5. I undertake to refrain from the misuse of intoxicants or substances such as alcohol or drugs that cause carelessness or loss of awareness.

1. I go to the Buddha for refuge.  When we take refuge in the Buddha, it is not taking refuge in the man who was called Buddha as a god or energy source but refuge in the “awakened,” knowing faculty of all hearts and minds. Following his enlightenment, the Buddha was asked by those he met along the road, “Who are you?”  He answered, “I am awake.”  We make a commitment to mindfulness, to awaken.  We make a commitment to our knowing what is true in the present moment.  When we take refuge in the Buddha, we are acknowledging confidence in the practice of wakefulness.

2. I go to the Dhamma for refuge.  When we take refuge in the Dhamma, it is more than the words that were spoken by Buddha.  We take refuge in truth, the way it is here and now.  When we take refuge in the Dhamma, we are surrendering to the impermanent, selfless, nature and unsatisfactoriness of life, not our belief of how life should be if we could control it. We have confidence that “letting go” of beliefs and opinions can lead to happiness. We have awareness that trying to “hold on” to things causes suffering.  We have faith in the natural law of experience—that all causes have effects.  We open to the truth, to the way life actually is; the orderliness of the truth of nature itself and how it functions.  There is no refuge in the conditioned reality of greed, hatred and delusion.  The world our mind creates and that we cling to is illusory and causes suffering.  Therefore, we take refuge in the here and now.

3. I go to the Sangha for refuge.  We have faith and commitment to those who are practicing to awaken to the truth.  It is you and I, those of us who recognize this as a path to Truth.  It is individuals and groups committed to recognizing the truth in the now.  We place confidence in this group that is practicing together and supporting each other in our practice.  In the Sangha we have faith that letting go of self-centered views and self-concern is necessary and that this leads to a noble, unselfish response to life.

When the awakened heart knows the way things truly are, what springs forth is harmonious and virtuous action.

With lovingkindness,

Tammy
 

We wish you a peaceful and joyful New Year.  May you meet with spiritual success.

If you are interested in a way to begin 2024 with meaningful intention, Drew is leading a Precepts Ceremony, Tuesday, January 9^th.  Join us at our normally scheduled Tuesday night time of 6 pm.  It is a wonderful way to remind us of our intention as we practice and lead our lives.

A potluck immediately follows the ceremony.  Please bring a dish to share and enjoy an evening with friends.

Day-long retreats will be offered January 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20^th.  Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to practice and experience the benefits of day-long practice.  Pam and John Steinbach will be teaching.  You may join for one day, some days or all!  John and Pam also welcome people who feel they can only sit for half of the day, but they ask that you join in the morning from 9 am until noon.  You can sign up here on our website.

An Introduction to Buddhism Course is being offered every Monday evening during the month of February.  This course encourages discussion and exploration, and helps in understanding some of the different Buddhist traditions – Click here to go to our website to sign up.

Whatever You Intend

Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis on which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on equanimity, for when you develop meditation on equanimity, all aversion is abandoned. (MN 62) 

The characteristic of equanimity is promoting objectivity toward beings. (Vm 9.93) Having seen a form with the eye, one is neither glad-minded nor sad-minded but abides with equanimity, mindful and fully aware. (AN 6.1)
 
Equanimity is the quality of mind in which we are neither drawn toward something that is enticing nor pushed away from what is repellent. Like a plate balanced on a stick, the mind does not tilt forward or backward but remains poised in the middle. We can still act from this state, and in fact our actions tend to be more balanced when we are grounded in the equipoise of equanimity rather than carried off by passion for or against something.
 
Equanimity is cultivated with the practice of mindfulness. Being aware non-judgmentally means being aware of an object of experience without the mind being biased in favor of it or against it, without favoring or opposing what it is or what is happening. Practice bringing an attitude of "this is simply what is happening now" toward whatever occurs, instead of "I like [or don’t like] this," or "I approve [or don't approve] of this."               

by Andrew Olenski 

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.

“What is it you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?”  -Mary Oliver
 
Open Retreat Offered January 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20^th – 2024
 
An Open Retreat will be available at IMFW (in person only) led by John and Pamela Steinbach on January 16 – 20^th, Tuesday, through Saturday.    You are welcome to come for half a day or full days, all or any combination on any of these dates.  Please bring a journal or paper to briefly note insights and questions, and a lunch if staying for the full day.  The retreats are offered on a Dana basis, the practice of generosity: giving what you are able, out of gratitude, for IMFW and the teachers. 
 
Almost all schools of Buddhism include meditation practices to directly experience the workings of the mind. Retreats are an opportunity to devote a period of quiet focus committed to introspective awareness and mindful attention.  If you decide you want to bring serious Buddhist practice into your life, two things seem necessary; a daily practice of meditation and periods of more prolonged practice to gain deeper insights into the workings of the mind. In the midst of our busy lives of gaining insights and performing outer responsibilities, a half day or full day or a short stretch of days is an opportunity to examine what this life is.  IMFW is pleased to be able to offer some intensive opportunities for inquiry.  This doesn’t mean that study of the dharma, listening to talks, and being a member of a sangha without a meditation practice is not valuable; they can all be of benefit to generate generosity, virtue, patience, meditation, and wisdom.  Occasional retreats offer deeper pondering of the teachings, observing the nature of mind, and reflecting on the activities of body, speech and mind.  Interspersed with periods of 30 minute seated meditation, these retreats include walking meditation, teachings, discussion, and yoga. 
 
Click here to sign up for any retreat/day that you are interested in.

An Introduction to Buddhism will be offered this February at IMFW, taught by IMFW teachers Pam and John Steinbach.  Class will meet on the four consecutive Monday evenings in February at IMFW (in person only). The intent is for all who participate to have a better understanding of Buddhism and gain some insight into how these teachings apply to daily life.  John and Pam look forward to seeing where the discussions take us and are planning to allow plenty of time for conversation.

The class will address the Four Noble Truths including the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Marks of Existence, lists of the virtuous qualities, the Hindrances, and the different schools of Buddhism.  Introductory classes will be offered quarterly at IMFW with this class alternating with the Introduction to Insight Meditation taught by Tammy Dyer and Barb Lahman in the spring and Drew Consalvo in the fall.

Classes will be held from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Mondays, February 5, 12, 19 and 26. The classes are freely given. Dana (donation of generosity as you are able) is welcome and encouraged. Click here to sign up.