Dear Common Ground Friends, In the Dhammapada we find passages that emphasize the importance of directing the mind in wholesome ways. “Whatever an enemy may do to an enemy, or haters, one to another, far worse is the harm from …
Weekly Email 9-8-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, In his book The First Free Women, Poems of the Early Buddhist Nuns, Matty Weingast gives new life to the stories of the first awakened women at the time of the Buddha that we first encountered …
Weekly Email 8-31-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, One of the heartening aspects of mindful awareness practice is its endless forgiveness. Awareness can meet all that is here, with compassion and wisdom. What would it be like to be present with, and soften into, …
Weekly Email 8-24-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, The Buddha recognized the importance of having a training ground for the development and maintenance of present moment awareness. In one well known passage the Buddha said, “When one thing is practiced & pursued, the body …
Weekly Email 8-17-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, Registration is now open for the Fall Retreat and two practice periods at Common Ground Retreat Center. The Fall Retreat will be led by Shelly Graf and Mark Nunberg and assisted by Stacy McClendon; the lottery for in-person spots will be …
Weekly Email 7-10-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, I like to look through documents in the office to learn from past systems. The Program Host binder is one of my favorites to flip through, with old letters to program leaders, and a sheet on …
Weekly Email 8-2-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, The Buddha, through his own practice, saw clearly the conditional and impersonal nature of all experience, including the mental activities arising and passing in his mind. We practice to realize this same insight because it powerfully …
Weekly Email 7-20-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, One of the beautiful things about faith as a functional force in our lives as spiritual beings is that it moves us ever closer to what matters most. Faith leads us to a wise participation with life, …
Weekly Email 7-13-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, Someone emailed me recently, reminding me of a simple teaching, “Follow the thread that leads towards freedom.” They also included a wise and beautiful poem by William Strafford, see below. This simple teaching is based on …
Weekly Email 7-7-23
Dear Common Ground Friends, Many of us come to practice with sincere intentions, to be present in our lives and in our communities and to be more capable of showing up in the most skillful ways possible. Carving out moments …
