1. No category

MARIN SANGHA
April - June, 2015
NEWSLETTER
Volume 5, Issue 2
PLEASE NOTE:
There will be a change of location for May17th Sangha.
On May 17, owing to a scheduling problem with St Luke
Church, our Sangha will meet at the Unitarian Church,
240 Channing Way in San Rafael. It’s a little north of
central San Rafael and sits up on a hill not too far from
the freeway. Heather Sundberg will be our teacher for
that evening. Below are the directions to the Unitarian
Church:
Take US Highway 101 to San Rafael, CA
Exit at Terra Linda/Freitas Parkway
Go to the east side of the freeway
Turn left on Redwood Hwy (frontage road)
Go north to the first traffic light at Professional
Center Parkway
Turn right on Professional Center Parkway
Turn right on Channing Way; go to the end of the
road
Make a slight left through the UUCM gate at the top
of the hill
Park in our parking lot, being mindful of reserved
spaces
Teaching Schedule 4/5/2015
Donald Rothberg
4/12/2015
4/19/2015
4/26/2015
5/3/2015
5/10/2015
5/17/2015
5/24/2015
5/31/2015
6/7/2015
6/14/2015
6/21/2015
6/28/2015
7/5/2015
Matthew Brensilver
Lisa Dale Miller
Lisa Dale Miller
Kevin Griffin
Phillip Moffitt
Heather Sundberg
Pam Weiss
Lisa Dale Miller
Art Jolly
Art Jolly
TBA
Jacques Verduin
Sally Armstrong
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information about our guest teachers go to
www.marinsangha.org.
Phillip’s Schedule
April 4 - 14
April 25
April 26
May 9
May 10
May 15 - 17
June 6 - 11
Satipatthana Retreat
with Bhikkhu Analayo
Sprit Rock MC
Poetry Daylong: Trusting What
Is InsightLA, Santa Monica, CA
Letting Go of Your Story
Against the Stream Buddhist
Meditation Society Daylong
Santa Monica, CA
Seven Factors of Awakening
Experienced Students Daylong
Spirit Rock MC
Marin Sangha
Changes & Transitions in Your
30s and 40s
Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA
Teacher Training
Spirit Rock MC
You can find more detailed information about Phillip’s
complete schedule at www.dharmawisdom.org, and click
on Classes & Retreats. Marin Sangha has a wonderful
tradition of volunteering at SRMC for Phillip’s Spirit
Rock daylong retreats. Please call Spirit Rock at (415)
488-0164, Ext. 224 to volunteer.
Art’s Update from the Board
Strengthening the Sangha
In our 15 months of existence as a separate
non-profit organization, we’ve made huge strides in
learning how to run the sangha and maintain it over the
short term. Now it’s time to continue our development.
Several years ago, I was down visiting Insight
Meditation Center (IMC) in Redwood City on a Sunday
morning. They own their own facility and do tons of
programming: daylongs, classes for all levels of students,
groups for people who want to hike together, potlucks –
the list goes on. It was very exciting and inspiring to see
all they have going on.
After the sit and Dharma talk, I went out to brunch
with a friend, who was on the IMC Board, and some of
her friends. Sometimes simple things – like going to
Page 1
Vol 5, Issue 2
MARIN SANGHA NEWSLETTER
brunch– can have a profound impact on us. At some point
during the meal that morning, I learned that one of the
others in our dining party had made a $2 million donation
to help IMC purchase and develop a residential retreat
center.
I was shocked. The hair stood up on the back of my
neck. Wow, what good fortune to be able to do that! She
was not your typical Silicon Valley startup millionaire.
She simply had the means and saw that she could use that
to have a substantial impact to serve the Dharma and
IMC.
Though I don’t know for certain whether IMC gets
gifts like this with any regularity (my guess is they don’t),
I do know that it is a 100 percent volunteer-run sangha.
The people who register people for classes and daylongs:
volunteers. Those who run the Insight Retreat Center:
volunteers. Those who put out the newsletter and update
their extraordinary website (audiodharma.org) with a
treasure trove of talks and guided meditations: volunteers.
At Marin Sangha, one thing we want to focus on this
year is dana, service and stewardship. You may say, “But
that’s three things!” but it’s really not. They are all part
of the same thing. How might we build a greater sense of
connection and ownership of Marin Sangha?
I’m not sharing this example to push for a major
donor at Marin Sangha (though I would in no way want to
discourage that either), but to point to the generosity and
the desire to support the Dharma and Sangha. We all have
the capacity to offer some level of service to the Sangha,
regardless of our means. You could decide to assist with
set up or take down for a month, lead or participate in a
service project, greet new members, join the Circle of
Caring, or lead the scholarship or other fundraising drive.
These are only a few examples; you may have some other
skill or way of contributing that you would like to offer.
When you volunteer to assist with set up or take
down, you make it possible for people to come together
and experience the Dharma. What a precious gift that is,
just by moving some chairs, setting out some leaflets, and
unloading / reloading some plastic bins!
No matter what your offering, please connect with the
service in your action, and celebrate the generosity,
service and stewardship of others. Over time, you can
greatly strengthen generosity and service in your life, like
muscles you would strengthen by working out over time.
I look forward to this next phase of our development
together.
With Metta, on behalf of the Marin Sangha Board
Art Jolly, President
Mission and Vision Statements ~ Ready for
Community Feedback
Last winter, the Board created drafts for our Mission
and Vision statement. Sangha members will be able to
comment on them at our next Board meeting on April 19,
from 4:15 to 4: 45. On the back table you will also find a
document on what Mission and Vision Statements are and
how to create them. This was part of the Board’s prework that guided us in arriving at the draft statements.
Here are the statements:
Mission Statement
In the service of awakening through practice in daily
life, Marin Sangha
• Explores ways to create community through the
investigation of Dhamma;
• Offers a variety of teachers, primarily but not
exclusively Theravada-based;
• Promotes an open, welcoming and diverse
community;
• Encourages the deepening of practice through
residential retreats;
• Provides opportunities for service both to the
Sangha and the greater community;
• Fosters connection within the greater Dhamma
community;
• Promotes spiritual friendship through both
Dhamma and social activities.
The Sangha exists because people come together to
practice and participate. We welcome and rely on
participation at all levels.
Vision Statement
A diverse, mutually supportive lay community
dedicated to practicing the Buddha’s teachings in daily
life, with the aspiration of full awakening.
The Board looks forward to receiving your input.
Marin Sangha 1st Quarter Financial Statement ~ 2015
In the spirit of transparency and openness, the Board
of Directors of the Marin Sangha freely shares the
quarterly financial statements with the sangha at large.
For the first quarter of 2015, our income from rent
dana was:
Jan
$1,061.50
Feb
774.00
Mar
1,025.00
Total
$2,860.50
NOTE: The dates for this Quarter’s Board meetings are
April 26, May 17 and June 7.
Page 2
Vol 5, Issue 2
MARIN SANGHA NEWSLETTER
We also received the following donations and other
income during this quarter:
Jan
$40.00
PayPal donation
Feb
44.79
PayPal donation,
dividend on savings acct.
Mar
236.00
PayPal donation, teacher
Sub-total
$320.79
dana donation
Total income
$3181.29
From Rent and Dana
Our first quarter expenses were:
$ 689.01
Rent, insurance, website,
office supplies, PayPal
fee
Feb
1,356.37
Rent, insurance, website,
office supplies, PayPal
fee, retreat scholarship
Mar
857.00
Rent, insurance, website,
PayPal fee
Total expenses $2,902.38
Jan
This left Marin Sangha with the following balances
going into the second quarter of 2015:
Checking
$2,317.80
Savings
$7,169.61
(Note: $1000 of the savings has been pledged for the two
remaining retreat scholarships)
Board President Art Jolly recently met with the elders
of St Luke Presbyterian Church, as well as their office
administrator. The discussion was around our continued
rental of the hall and conference room, and our need for
stability in our rental situation. One result of this meeting
is that we have agreed to pay a minimal rent increase of
$25/Sunday evening, the new rent being $160/night
beginning in April. The conference room rental, which we
pay for the monthly Board meetings, was reduced from
$50 to $25/hour, which translates into $50 per Board
meeting. Monthly impact on the sangha of these rent
changes will be an increase of $50 to $75 to our total rent,
depending upon the number of Sundays in the month.
We hope that keeping the sangha membership
informed of our finances will encourage all to continue to
support Marin Sangha with the generosity that has been
shown by so many.
With blessings for us all in our practice,
Linda Howerton-Pritchett, Treasurer
Congratulations to Cory!
Cory Bytof, volunteer and sustainability program
coordinator for San Rafael, has received the third annual
student-selected Vision Into Action award by the Marin
School of Environmental Leadership at Terra Linda High
School. Cory, a long-time Sangha member, is being
honored for his collaborative work advancing climate
mitigation strategies. He recently worked with the Marin
Climate and Energy Partnership to develop and
implement the Marin Sustainability Tracker Tool at
marinclimate.org, which allows users to see the efforts
and actions their town has taken toward sustainability. He
also spearheaded San Rafael’s green business certification
program. We here at the Newsletter are proud to have him
in our Sangha!
Congratulations to Art and Heather !
Art Jolly and Heather Fox are joining hands and lives
in April. Sangha wishes them both much Happiness and
Joy in their new future together.
Other Sangha News
Sangha Members Shovel Mud
On Saturday, January 10th, ten Sangha members
showed up at a construction site in Petaluma to volunteer
for Habitat for Humanity. Thanks to veta, organizer of
the event, we were outfitted with hard hats and work
gloves for a day of tying rebar, painting fences, and
shoveling gravel and mud. Volunteers - all but one over
50! - included Linda, Heather, Geri, Art, Barbara, Bill,
Elisabeth, veta and Daniel (from left to right in photo
below) and Judy (not photographed).
Other News from the Board
Wayne Cooper
As of last winter, Wayne Cooper left the Board but
remains our legal adviser.
The Sangha Crew
Founded in 1976, Habitat describes itself as “a
nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry that builds with
people in need regardless of race or religion” and
welcomes volunteers and supporters from all
Page 3
Vol 5, Issue 2
MARIN SANGHA NEWSLETTER
backgrounds. The organization is nationwide and
worldwide, constructing or renovating simple, decent
houses in partnership with those who will live in them.
They also provide shelter and support for sufferers of
natural disasters. Learn more about Habitat at
http://www.habitat.org.
We worked mainly on two of ten foundations, which
will eventually be affordable housing for ten families.
Our experience is excellently summed up below by one of
our Sangha member volunteers:
What a surprise to be handed a shovel! I did not
anticipate hard work, but am glad we got fully immersed
in construction work “in the trenches.” Not only did it
make me feel like I really made a contribution, with sweat
and blisters to show for it, but it also deepened my
appreciation for all those who have to do hard work like
this daily, sometimes working two jobs like this to make a
living. Eye opener on many levels.
Elizabeth Scharbaum
Member Profile My name is Isabelle Forter and I have been attending
Marin Sangha for about 5 years now.
I was born in the 1960’s in Hong Kong. Ironically,
we were only to be in Hong Kong for a few months until I
was delivered 6 weeks early. I always believed that I
chose this occasion to be born; that I wanted to be born in
Asia. Thus began my lifelong fascination with the Asian
culture.
Isabelle with friend
My father was a business executive who traveled in
Asia. He worked for Helena Rubenstein, one of the first
female cosmetic moguls. My mother was beautiful,
intelligent and adventurous. She and my father had seven
children together and traveled the world (I am the second
youngest). It was a beautiful relationship that ultimately
ended tragically when my mother was diagnosed with a
brain tumor in the early 1970s. At the time we were
living in England and my mother made my father promise
to bring us back to the US after her death, which he did.
Thus, in the first few years of my life I experienced quite
poignantly the effect of the 8 winds, which were to revisit
me time and again during my life (yes I know, big shock).
My first experience with Buddhism occurred in the
early 1990’s. I was young and a bit angst ridden when a
dear friend invited me to Spirit Rock Meditation Center.
Jack Kornfield was speaking and I can to this day still
recall his warmth, the low lights, the friendliness of the
crowd. What stands out most from that night is Jack’s
soft voice and his message of compassion and
inclusiveness. This was the beginning of my path.
As fate would have it, the friend who took me to
Spirit Rock that Monday evening was in to a whole
different type of Buddhism (not insight meditation). A
few beliefs overlapped but some of the core teachings
were quite different. To be completely honest, I have to
say that the path I traveled on did not resonate completely
with what I knew deep inside me. I admit that the big
draw for me was that the community helped me find
some strength and courage to deal with life’s difficulties.
I continued to study with the group for the next 15 years
and chanted to realize enlightenment (which did not
actually occur).
About 5 years ago on a whim I ventured out to Spirit
Rock for a Monday night. I was again entranced by
Jack’s message, and when he mentioned the Basics of
Buddhism intro class with Mark Coleman and Sharda
Rogell, I determined to take the class. Taking the class
was life changing. This was honestly my first exposure to
the Four Noble Truths and the three characteristics. It
was like lightening hit me! The teaching made perfect
sense to me, resonated so deeply that I was brought to
tears at times. And the good news was that all those years
of chanting had deepened my capacity for concentration
practice in meditation.
Insight mediation and studying the Dharma has
changed my life for the better in so many ways.
Particularly understanding the three characteristics and
being able to study the Dharma. I started attending
Monday night meditation class regularly. I also started
attending Marin Sangha and Rich Hansen’s Wednesday
night class. One night about 3 years ago Rick gave a
lecture on Metta practice. I thought it was the silliest
thing I ever heard. Why do all that when you could just
do concentration practice? But a few weeks later I was
confronted by a huge work issue and discussed it with
Rick. He recommended I begin a Metta practice for
myself and send Metta to the people who were
antagonizing me. I couldn’t believe what he was
suggesting but I decided to try it. Well, I not only tried it
Page 4
Vol 5, Issue 2
MARIN SANGHA NEWSLETTER
but it has been my only practice for the past 3 years. (By
the way, the antagonists at work relented and I got
everything I wanted.)
Metta has changed my life profoundly. The Buddha
says something like “you can travel the whole world over
and not find anyone more deserving of your compassion
then yourself.” Perhaps from losing a parent at a young
age or perhaps because of any of a multitude of other
“winds” I had lost touch with my deepest core. I had
forgotten how to take care of myself, forgotten how to
love and appreciate myself. I have found doing Metta has
changed EVERY relationship I am in for the better. It has
fundamentally changed everything about how I approach
life, what I think success is, and brought me fortune.
Anyone may submit a profile or ask any questions about
this project by calling Mary Paige, at 415-771-8767, or
email her at [email protected]
In Memory of Ruth Denison by Brenda Walsh
I once stopped at a little monastery, in the middle of
the desert, about half an hour from Ruth Denison’s Yucca
Valley meditation center, Dhamma Dena. When I told the
Thai Abbott that I had just come from Ruth’s, he said,
“Ruth never die, Ruth never die!”
And now that she has indeed, died, I know what that
monk meant. Ruth’s life and Dhamma came from a place
of knowing, knowing what she called, “the other shore.”
And in that rarified emptiness, obituaries are inadequate;
death does not apply.
I met Ruth almost ten years ago, when she was
already in her eighties, in Bangkok, where she was
receiving an Outstanding Women in Buddhism award at a
ceremony at the United Nations. I have a group
photograph of that occasion, and am sitting at her feet,
not knowing that she would indeed become a teacher to
me, as the photo predicted.
She was revealed to me slowly, as a strong,
determined, joyful and powerful meditation master and
master Dhamma teacher-- all the while, disguised as an
old woman! She was lightening quick to show her
mastery in any situation in which she might be
patronized, marginalized or (heaven forbid) quieted, on
account of her age or gender, or both. A refined presence
suffused every aspect of her life, and transmuted her
energy into broad compassion and twinkle-eyed metta,
those intrinsic qualities that, she said, are “all over us like
a poem.” *
What was her compassion like? Like the time she
heard from an impossibly far distance, the sound of an
injured animal, and flew to it. Later, she said, “When the
animals come, all life is one, I breathe with them.” Like
the time, in her late eighties, when she was cleaning, past
midnight and by herself, the room of an ill Dhamma Dena
resident. Like the many times she spoke, in person and
over the telephone, with her friends and students, late,
late, into the morning--loving, reminiscing, explaining,
holding, and above all, teaching Dhamma.
Dhamma Dena was her refuge, “where the elements,
the spirit of the Buddha and the animals offer their
presence”. She chose the unforgiving, tough desert,
because “I do not want to teach in a place where my time
and space are constricted. When I am away I can’t wait
to be back here [Dhamma Dena]. My teaching is not
separated from life here. Before you are even out of your
car I am teaching…I look at the ordinary and find the
extraordinary in it…[like] when I am watering the plants
and speak to each seedling and apologize to the ones I
have overlooked...This is a remote location. I do not have
TV. I am my own entertainment. If I didn’t have this
inner flexibility, I couldn’t be here…”
She was steeped in Dhamma, lived and breathed
Dhamma, Dhamma penetrated her very bones. She
shared with me her thoughts on her 2011 leave-taking
speech to be made at IMS. “If you have the Dhamma, the
meaning of retirement is not relevant—it is a concept.
With the Dhamma there is exploring, there is modesty,
there is no identification with anything. Once the
Dhamma operates through you, once your awareness is
present, alive, full of love, and the energy of truth, there is
no identification with ‘old’.”
“My teachings come from the depths of my practice,
and from my wisdom. [In the early days of teaching] I
could see that there needed to be an alternative to the stiff
practices of the day, the long sits, and long walks...I
brought them [the retreatants] onto the grass, to feel its
aliveness; into the sunshine, to feel its warmth on their
shoulders. I taught them to feel at home in their own
bodies, dancing, even singing, practices for lay people to
Page 5
Vol 5, Issue 2
MARIN SANGHA NEWSLETTER
bring into their lives. I asked them to hold a stone in their
hands while they walked and shift it from hand to hand,
feeling its warmth and weight, enjoying the substance and
earth of it, in silence. And then I told them to give it
away, practicing letting go, observing their newly found
attachment to it. I developed these methods to hold the
attention better, to realize the inner life and see it as
sensations and energy, to awake to who we are, and have
no separation from it, to see the wholeness and practice
it.”
Ruth’s words, spoken last October:
“Being close to the present moment:
There is no forgetting; it cannot be forgotten.
“My path is set.
There is nothing to be corrected.
There is nothing more to be said.”
*Most of the quotations are from conversations I have
had with Ruth over the years, which I recorded by notetaking, or by recorder.
New Members
If you are new to Marin Sangha, welcome! Please
feel free to talk with any of the other members of the
Sangha who will be happy to answer any questions.
Phillip’s teachings and other information about Marin
Sangha can be found at www.marinsangha.org and by
selecting the link to Marin Sangha.
You are also welcome to join the Marin Sangha
Yahoo Group as another means of finding out about our
Sangha. A copy of the Newsletter is posted on the Yahoo
Group.
Ruth Denison, October 17, 2011, at SRMC, Full Ordination of
the Nuns.
“But in those days, these methods were radical; out of
the mainstream; not approved; maybe not even seen as
Dhamma…Now of course, these kinds of practices are
not considered odd, but are mainstream, and emulated.”
Although she did not identify with “old” she also did
not deny the reality of it, the dukkha of the aging body,
and the pre-eminent Buddhist practice of understanding
the dissolution of the body, of “fully and deeply
comprehending sampajanna, the understanding of
impermanence” .
“[The coming of death] cannot be other than it is; we
cannot continue doing what we like, or staying in life
longer. It can soften the pain to know: it is natural and
has to be honored as it arises; it is natural. And when you
get hit with the moment of truthfulness, … bow to that
law. No matter how hard it is, it is the truth.
Acknowledge the law and there is no crying, no
possibility for pain, for having it otherwise. One stands
right in the center, touching that which is true, for me, for
everyone.”
As she said, Ruth lived her life, and she honored it.
She generously shared her energies and her joy. She
taught Dhamma “for no other reason than reaching you
out of your forgetfulness of who you are.”
Ongoing AcJviJes
Interviews with Phillip
Phillip does small group interviews of four people,
for anyone who has attended Sunday Sangha at least five
times. Interviews are from 4:30-5:45. To register contact
Mary Kelly at [email protected]. The dates for the
Small Group Interviews in 2015 are: May 24, August 2,
November 15. Phillip will hold special Q&A Dharma
Talks on 8/2 and 11/15. Bring your Questions !
Sunday Set-Up and Closing
Each Sunday three people are needed to set up the
room prior to Sangha, and as many as are available are
needed for restoring the room after Sangha. Please join
us - a little Sangha serving the big Sangha! Nick Rozza
[email protected] is available to help. You can meet
him at Sangha or by e-mailing him at the above link.
Sunday Dinner
A group of members continue to enjoy each other’s
company after Sangha by having dinner together at a
local restaurant. Want to join us? Contact Bill Coffin
after Sangha or at [email protected].
Third Sunday Social Gathering
Celebrate Sangha! Come early for Third Sunday
Social at 5:00 PM. Invite a friend from Sangha to join
you. Bring snack food and drink if you wish. And, think
about something to bring for the Food Bank. Dates are:
April 19 and May 17
Page 6
Vol 5, Issue 2
MARIN SANGHA NEWSLETTER
Sangha Reminders
Marin Sangha CommiMees & Groups Name of Committee or Group And Contacts
✦
Circle of Caring
Veta Jacqulin
[email protected]
Chanting Group
Linda Howerton-Prichett
[email protected]
Community Building Mary Paige
[email protected]
Dharma Buddies
Alice Lucas
[email protected]
Committees and Groups Lucia Chaudron
[email protected]
Newsletter
Veta Jacqulin
[email protected]
New Members
Shiah Cherney
[email protected]
Heather Fox
[email protected]
Phillip Moffitt SGI
Mary Kelly
[email protected]
Sangha Service Projects
Deborah Temple
[email protected]
Sangha Yahoo Group Linda Howerton-Pritchett
[email protected]
Sunday Announcements Wayne Cooper
[email protected]
Alice Lucas
[email protected]
Sunday Set-up & Closing TBA
Technical Support
Bill Coffin
[email protected]
✦
✦
✦
✦
✦
Some member arrive at 5:45 p.m. to bring the
room into silence. So be quietly settled by 6:00.
If you have to move after 6:00 please do so
quietly.
Cell Phones and Watch Alarms: Please TURN
OFF all cell phone and watch alarms. Unless
you are on-call you might consider leaving
your cell phone in your car during Sangha.
If you must take a call IN AN EMERGENCY
go outside and away from the building.
Remove shoes when you arrive.
If you arrive after 6:00 p.m., please, use the
rear side door that opens to the courtyard.
Some members are sensitive to fragrance, so try
to maintain a fragrance-free environment.
Marin Sangha NewsleMer
© 2014 Marin Sangha
Published Quarterly by Marin Sangha, San
Rafael,CA
Submissions Contact:
veta Jacqulin
Managing Editor:
Barbara McHugh
Production and Layout:
Lucia Chaudron
Contact veta Jacqulin at [email protected] or at
Sangha for submissions. All submissions must be
in by the 15th of the last month of the quarter.
All submissions are subject to editing.
Page 7
Vol 5, Issue 2