Dear Common Ground Friends,

I want to invite us all to take some time in an ongoing way to acknowledge the Asian roots of the teachings that provide the foundation of our center and that have benefited us in so many ways. Let’s remember that these teachings of the Buddha have ancient roots. Here is a video of IMS Guiding Teacher Kamala Master’s opening words at the IMS Teacher Training Graduation Ceremony from May 2021, acknowledging and honoring our Asian spiritual ancestors. I encourage everyone to listen to Kamala’s words and for each of us in our own ways to cultivate a deeper experience of belonging to our wider spiritual community/sangha by doing a better job at recognizing and appreciating those who have held, protected and passed along these teachings before us. In order for us to become good stewards of the dharma in our hearts, lives, and world, we need to be sensitive to all causes and conditions that have allowed these valuable practices to show up in our lives. Gratitude is considered to be a rare and exalted state of mind.

peace,

Mark Nunberg

Related resources:

• Article: Exploring the Asian Roots of the IMS Lineage by Albert Karcher
• A group called Metta4Myanmar is leading monthly metta sessions in support of the people of Myanmar. Mark Nunberg will be leading on Friday evening, March 18th. You can sign up to receive emails about their upcoming sessions here.

Weekly Programs

• Sunday mornings, 10:30-11:45am on Zoom with Mark Nunberg (with an option to watch the livestream together in person in the meditation hall)
• Sunday evenings, 7:00-8:30pm in person with Mark Nunberg
• Wednesday evenings, 7:30-9:00pm on Zoom with Shelly Graf
  • Patrice Koelsch will lead the group on Wednesday, February 23rd.
  • The weekly practice group will happen at an earlier time on Wednesday, March 2nd: 5:30-7:45pm. Shelly will be giving the talk through Cambridge Insight Meditation Center. As such, the Zoom link will be different this week. See CIMC’s webpage for more details.

• FULL: Practice Period with Mark Nunberg 
  February 22-27
• Intro to Buddhist Retreat Practice with Mark Nunberg & Stacy McClendon
  6:15pm Thursday, March 10th – 10:15am Sunday, March 13th. In Person and on Zoom.
• Practice Period with Jane Reyer & Robb Reed
  5:30pm Thursday, March 17th – 2:00pm Sunday, March 20th
• Daylong Retreat with Mark Nunberg & Cecilia Ramon: Cultivating a Wise and Kind Resilience
  Saturday, April 2nd, 9:30am-4:00pm. In Person and on Zoom.

• First Wednesday of the month: Community Group led by Matthew King and other practice leaders
• Third Wednesday of the month: Monthly Practice Group with Mark Nunberg or guest teachers

The Practice of Generosity

Continuing in the tradition of Buddhist monasteries in Southeast Asia, all programs at Common Ground are offered free of charge in the spirit of generosity. This offering is possible because of the generosity of people like you—from the Buddha on down to all the people in our community—who contribute their practice, time, and financial resources to support the continuation of the center.

To learn how to support the center and our teachers, visit this page. Let us know if you have any questions.

Current Volunteer Needs 

• Looking for audio processing volunteers to help upload talks to Dharmaseed, let gabe@commongroundmeditation.org know if you have the skills to help.
• Weekly Sunday Evening Cleaning: Every Sunday evening there is a drop-in Community Cleaning time from 6-7pm, led by community leaders Brad Dupre and Dave Redelman. No RSVP needed.
• Tuesday evening bellringer (in-person): We’re looking for someone interested in ringing the bell for the evening sit on Tuesdays, 7:30-9:00pm, once or twice a month. Email gabe@commongroundmeditation.org if interested.

Administrative News – New Interim Office Manager

We are grateful to introduce Robin Major in her new role of Interim Office Manager, a position that aside from a few days of training at the end of February, begins officially on March 14th. This four-month position will give Robin time to settle into the job and us all time to fully consider the role moving forward. Robin has just returned to Minnesota after having lived out of state for the past three years. She began attending Common Ground programs in 2012 and has undertaken about 15 months of retreat practice over the years. Robin is currently in the middle of a long retreat at our Retreat Center. While in Minneapolis, Robin worked for several years helping to manage local farmer-owned co-ops. There will be opportunities later this Spring for the community to get to know Robin and support her in her new role. We are grateful for Robin’s depth of practice and the great set of skills that she brings to her new position.

-Mark Nunberg and Shelly Graf

Community News

 Upcoming Community Group Meetings

Weekly Tejaniya
Throughout our life we
habitually seek and grasp. To
sit back and just watch this hap-
pening is difficult. However, this
sitting back and just watching is
essential to become able to see
and understand these habits.

Thanks to The Daily Tejaniya for this quote

Kuan Yin’s compassion keeps watch over the snowy garden.