Monday, 28 March 2022

[Downtown Dharma Listserve] Next reading group meeting: Saturday 2 April 6pm

Hello all,

With apologies for not sending this out sooner - the next gathering of our reading group will take place this Saturday 2 April 18:00-19:30.

I will be hosting - my address is PH813, 2020 12th St NW (on 12th St between U and V).

Our 'reading' for discussion is this podcast (thanks Kavya for the suggestion!): https://www.tenpercent.com/podcast-episode/sister-dang-nghiem-403 

It's hard to be a human. No matter how good things are for you, being alive is still hard; whatever your life circumstances are, we're all subject to impermanence and entropy. This episode dives into a five-part Buddhist list for being stronger in the face of whatever life throws at you. And the person who will be walking us through this list has an enormous amount of standing to talk about strength. 

Sister Dang Nghiem, who goes by Sister D, is a nun in the Plum Village tradition and a disciple of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. She was born in Vietnam during the war, the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and an American soldier. Sister D experienced an unfathomable amount of loss before relocating to the US, where she became a doctor and later, after experiencing more loss, became a nun. She's written several books. Her most recent is Flowers in the Dark.

In this conversation, Sister D shares her story, and then walks us through The Five Strengths of Applied Zen Buddhism which include trust, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, and insight.

Content Warning: This episode covers difficult topics including death, mental illness, and sexual abuse. 



For those keen to come in-person, grateful you only attend if you are fully vaccinated + boosted. Mask will be personal choice and unless there is an Arctic wind chill like today I will have the windows open for air circulation. We also welcome people to join online via Zoom (details below, thanks Brandel!).

Zoom Login Info:

Grateful if you could let me know if you intend to attend in person via return email or text 2025310048 - I will send further instructions for finding my apartment for those who haven't been before.

And for those interested, we can grab dinner afterwards in the neighbourhood (or, given it is Saturday night on 14th/U Street, perhaps order some takeout!)

Looking forward to the discussion :)

Cheers
Philippa

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