Dear Common Ground Friends,
The Buddha's final words to his attendant Ānanda carry an unmistakable clairty and tenderness, inspiring us still more than 2,600 years later: "There are these roots of trees, these empty huts. Meditate, Ānanda, do not delay, or else you will regret it later. This is my instruction to you." The Buddha understood something we so easily forget in our very full lives, that the conditions for practice are always, in some sense, available to us. Perhaps we can think of an empty hut as any space where we choose, even briefly, to stop, connect, and feel what it is like to be a human being. With all the meaningful activities we engage in, it is worth pausing to notice something remarkable: we spend our entire lives using our own minds, yet rarely think to train the mind or explore how it actually works. The mind is the one instrument engaged in absolutely every moment of our lives, in every relationship, every decision, every moment of joy or stress, and yet caring for it somehow never quite rises to the top of our daily priorities. There is no need to judge ourselves for this; it is simply one of the great oversights of modern life. We can bow to the conditions that make life full and still remember that Common Ground, among other spaces, exists as a modern-day empty hut, a place to meet the Buddha's invitation to meditate, lest we one day regret having waited so long, however complex and beautiful our lives may already be.
For the next two weeks, I will be at our retreat center leading practice for a small group of people who will be coming and going over that time, each one carving out a few precious days to step away from the accumulated busyness of daily life and feel what becomes possible when the mind is given space and care. The beautiful thing is that a formal retreat, while deeply nourishing, is not a requirement. We simply need to find our own empty hut and return, again and again, to the Buddha's gentle reminder: do not delay.
Warm Wishes,
Shelly Graf
Co-Guiding Teacher