30th Anniversary of Cambridge Sangha
The Cambridge Sangha just celebrated its 30th anniversary with a special Day of Mindfulness together. Long-standing Sangha Members Joy, Roshni and Rachel have offered below poems in appreciation and celebration for the Sangha’s journey:
30 years of Thay’s Sangha
Blossoming, here in Cambridge
Me in for a 26
Supporting my practice
Practising together
In Phung‘s living room/temple
Collective energy resonating
Building awareness
Vietnamese desserts
Leading to cookbook
Cooking, sharing food
So tasty eating mindfully
Mindfulness sustenance
In toughest times of life
Held by the Sangha
As tears flowed, being safe
Safe enough to see
Such difficult feelings
Embracing, loving them
As we sit, walk together
Together, like Plum Village
Here in each other’s homes
Sharing lunch, laughing
In endless Days of Mindfulness
Mindfulness flowing
Thirty years of awakening
Slowly, up-and-down
Sharing, hearing experiences
Experiencing one another
Rough edges, sometimes hurt
Rubbing up against each other
Smooths them off a bit
What remains the most
Is this feeling of love
How we want to live, be
In a world with such turmoil
Turmoil of climate crisis
Injustices all round
Yet Sangha breeds compassion
Hearts open in community
Community winter retreats
Time to soften, ease into
Deeper listening, caring, being
With our group focus
Focus of walking
As stream across grass
Feeling Earth beneath us
Breathing in fresh being
Being as one
With Thay and each other
Such gratitude to you, dear friends
For our sacred sangha
by Joy (True Wonderful Commitment)
1 September 2023
My family is not a tree
It is a spider’s web
That pulls itself taught
On stems and leaf
Left to us by our teacher.
We weave and wander
Into each others lives
On the week’s third evening
Hearing, breathing
With one another.
We enwrap ourselves in
Silent steps off screen
On grass and concrete
Until our feet fall as one.
We bow in gratitude
And in our joined palms
We know we belong
Together.
by Roshni Parmar-Hill
Surrounded by the booming voices of strong opinions
And amidst the persistent noise of inner chatter,
Can I hear the call of silence?
Perhaps it comes in the form of a gentle whisper, a hint towards the sweet stillness that lies within,
Or perhaps it announces itself with a firmer, louder tone; even manifesting in a word, such as ‘stop!’,
Whatever the sound, can I attune my ears to this intuitive guide?
The one that hears each crashing wave in the drama of life,
And yet retains its serene melody, born from a wellspring of compassion,
So too, as the colourful impressions of the day flash through my mind;
Thoughts and memories vying for my attention,
Can I see a world of fragile beauty?
Perhaps the moment a blackbird appeared as if from nowhere on my neighbour’s fence;
Its focused eyes meeting my own in a humbling encounter,
A reminder of the vastness and uniqueness of life all around,
Whatever the sight, can I attune my eyes to acknowledge this world as teacher?
To allow the fragility and the beauty to co-exist,
To shape and sharpen a vision of quietly urgent gratitude,
And in the darkness of night,
When loneliness threatens to propel my mind towards a frenzied search for comfort,
Can I feel the gift of an unconditional presence?
Perhaps it holds and comforts me, providing the security I seek,
Or perhaps it shakes me still further, dismantling what needs to be dismantled so that I may enter the world anew,
Whatever the sense, can I place my trust in that which I cannot see or hear?
In that which, nonetheless, allows the unseen to be seen, the unheard to be heard,
To break me apart so that I may know what it is to let go;
And yet to hold me so close so that I may know the indestructible benevolence of life itself.
~ by Rachel Sackin-Poll
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