Sangha (Community) Nights are open to anyone wishing to practice together and connect around Buddhist practices and Dharma teachings. Our theme for 2024 is "Waking up to Imagination". (More information about Sangha Nights.)
Drop in to the SFBC or to our zoom room any Wednesday evening - please arrive a little before 7pm.
Zoom link. In person safety requirements.
October: Imagination and the Written (and Spoken) Word
In October, the month of Lit Crawl San Francisco, several members of our community will share reflections and practices around Buddhism, writing, story telling, meaning and myth. You are enthusiastically invited to participate!
October 2: The Conspiracy of Words, with Acarasiddhi
We will breathe together, meditate together, and experience a talk by Acarasiddhi (yes, using his words) on the interplay between practice and prose, practice and poetry, and practice and life itself.
Acarasiddhi will share how his Dharma practice, which began over 30 years ago, led to (among other major changes in his life), his path as a writer. He will offer thoughts on the connections/interplay between "the Buddhist" and "the writer." And more, we will each have the opportunity to do a bit of writing this very night.
Note: The word "conspire" comes from the Latin com spirare --- "to breathe together."
October 9: Deepening Awareness of Joy, with Prajnakavi
A key turning point in the Buddha’s life happened when he remembered an experience of deep joy simply sitting in nature. Prajnakavi will share this and other stories, prompting us to recall moments of joy and contentment in our own lives, the impression they have left on us and their meaning. We’ll take some time to reflect on these experiences, either through writing or drawing, and then we’ll have an opportunity to share them with one another.
October 16 and 23: Word-4-Word Dharma - 2 Week Series, with Danamaya
Most Dharma study consists of talks, readings and discussions to learn the concepts. Completely valuable, but not the only way to understand the Dharma. The Buddha’s teachings were first given and, for several centuries after the Buddha’s passing, as an oral tradition. There was great wisdom in this approach. Everyone loves a good story! In these two weeks Danamaya, with our help, will share the Dharma in story form:
Week One: Angulimala’s name means Garland of Fingers and he was one bad dude who robbed and killed travelers. He also cut off a finger of his victim to add to his grisly necklace. Yet meeting the Buddha changed his life and he eventually gained Insight. Come find out what happened to the Karma he generated in his life.
Week Two: Conversations with the Gods or There’s No Place Like Home: a story within a story—The Buddha tells Kevala about a monk who has burning questions: Where do the 4 Elements (earth, water, fire and wind cease without a remainder? In other words, where is the cycle of rebirth broken? When do things stop being transformed from one for to another? So the monk goes traveling…
October 30: Day of the Dead celebration, with Mokshasi
Each year, on Sangha Night, close to the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), we come together to honor our ancestral kinship.
This year, Mokshasi will share her reflections on the significance of Día de Muertos in her home country of Mexico. She will explore the myths surrounding this celebration and how we can cultivate a relationship with La Dama de la Muerte, Coatlicue, or Lady Death—not as something to fear, but as an essential part of our Life/Death/Life journey.
November: Sangha and the Collective Imagination
In November we celebrate Sangha in various ways, mostly by coming together and practicing, listening to and sharing talks and stories.
November 6 - Sangha and Imagination
"In frightening times, we wish the world could be otherwise. With a touch of imagination, it can be. Imagination helps us see what’s hidden, and it shape-shifts reality’s roiling, twisting waves." (Norman Fisher, Zen teacher)
November 13 - The Unreliable Narrator, with Prajnakavi
We all tell stories about ourselves and to ourselves. It’s interesting to ask:
How reliable are these stories? How would others see them? Can we look a little more objectively at these tales? Is it possible for us to rewrite them to expand our compassion for ourselves and others? How can we become more reliable narrators?
November 20 - with Viradhamma
Celebrating 30 years in the Triratna Buddhist Order
November 27 - Holiday - no class
December: Turning Inwards
December 4 - with Viradhamma
Love, Compassion, Joy and Equanimity
December 11 and 18 - Meditation and Imagination, with Prasadachitta
Closed for Winter Retreat 21 to 28 Class resumes January 8 2025