Dear Common Ground Friends,

Today I’d like to share with you a poem (below) from the book of poetry called The First Free Women, by Matty Weingast. Matty’s poetry was inspired by the Therigatha, which is a short book of poems of enlightened women at the time of the Buddha. Both collections of poetry have been deeply inspiring to me and help me to remember that no experience needs to be excluded from the path. We are invited to come just as we are, completely how we are, with all the movements of energy and emotion, confusion and clarity. With so much swirling in and around us these days, the reminder to be honest and let the practice begin from there has been a good reminder. Maybe it is for you too.
Warmly,
Shelly Graf

Ubbiri ~ The Earth

How many days and nights
did I wander the woods
calling your name?

Jiva, my daughter!
Jiva, my heart!

Late one night,
finally exhausted,
I fell to the ground.

Oh, my heart, I heard a voice say,
84,000 daughters all named Jiva
have died and been buried
here in this boundless cemetery
you call a world.

For which of these Jivas are you mourning?

Lying there on the ground,
I shared my grief with those 84,000 mothers.

And they shared their grief with me.

Somehow I found myself healed—
not of grief,
but of the immeasurable loneliness
that attends grief.

My sisters.
Those of you who have known the deepest loss.

As you cry out in the wilderness,
just make sure
you stop
every so often
to listen for a voice calling back.

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

• Intro to Buddhist Retreat Practice with Mark Nunberg & Stacy McClendon (ONLY VIRTUAL SPACE AVAILABLE)
  6:15pm Thursday, March 10th – 10:15am Sunday, March 13th. In Person and on Zoom.
• Work Retreat with Mark Nunberg
  11:30am Tuesday, March 15th – 10:00am Thursday, March 17th.  More info on Work Retreats here.
• WAITLIST ONLY: 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.
• Practice Period with Mark Nunberg
  5:30pm Tuesday, April 5th – 2:00pm Saturday, April 9th.
• Practice Period with Mark Nunberg
  5:30pm Tuesday, April 12th – 2:00pm Saturday, April 16th.
• Work Retreat with Mark Nunberg
  11:30am Tuesday, April 19th – 10:00am Thursday, April 21st. More info on Work Retreats here.
• Practice Period with Mark Nunberg & Louise Delagran
  5:30pm Thursday, April 21st – 2:00pm Sunday, April 24th.
• Practice Period with Mark Nunberg & Sarah Wilson
  5:30pm Monday, April 25th – 2:00pm Thursday, April 28th.

• 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 info@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.
• Bellringers (in-person): We’re looking for volunteers interested in ringing the bell for the morning sits on Wednesday and Friday mornings, 7:30-8:30am and for Tuesday evenings, 7:30-9:00pm. Email info@commongroundmeditation.org if interested.

Community News

 Supporting Parents in the Community

Weekly Tejaniya
Mindfulness aims to remember,
to recognize, not to forget. What
do we forget? What is whole-
some, what is right.

Thanks to The Daily Tejaniya for this quote