Ozarks Dharma Community

Ayya Dipa shared this opportunity with us. Click on the photo to enlarge it and see contact telephone numbers, or download a pdf announcement HERE . ************ Dear Dhamma Friends, We will be conducting New Year Vipassana Meditation Retreat from December 22, 2012 to January 1, 2013 under the close guidance of the residing Sayadaw Ashin Eindardipati and Sayadaw Ashin Nyana Nanda. Interested yogis should contact the following persons as soon as possible for further information and registration. Yogis who would like to participate only parts of the retreat are also welcome. Please visit Chanmyay USA website Event Page for more information as well as other events information at SVA and please feel free to forward this email to anyone who may like to join New Year Vipassana Retreat.                   Retreat Location:                     Chanmyay Satipatthana Vihara                     9 Harriett Lane                     Springfield, IL62702 May all beings find dhamma

Dear Friends, I just learned that Shaila Catherine will be leading a retreat in the Kansas City area. Here is a link with more information. This is a five day retreat. http://www.imsb.org/programs/retreatsWithShaila.php with friendliness, Ayya Dipa 

We just received the announcement that the January 2013 Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation course from Insight Meditation Center will open registration on December 4.  This is a great way to find support to begin or deepen your practice! Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation January 13 - February 23, 2013 Registration opens December 4, 2012 7:00am Pacific Standard Time  Insight Meditation Center's Audiodharma program will offer a 6-week web and email based Introduction to Mindfulness Meditation course from January 13 to February 23, 2013. You may either audit the course (no personal support) or sign up for weekly personal support sessions by phone, Skype, email or chat with Audiodharma teachers.  Those who have previously taken the course may take it again only if space permits.  The teacher support slots fill quickly, so plan to register early if you want that option.  More information and registration (opening Dec. 4) are at  http://www.insightmeditationc

Recently our Saturday Group was visited by Nicolette Martin, a reporter for the MSU Standard.  She was accompanied by a photographer, Calvin Todd, and they observed as Rowena led the meditation and discussion.  You can read the article that was published with Nicolette's observations, a nice photo of the group, and quotes from an interview with Holly here.

Sister Dipa will receive ordination as a bhikkhuni in October 2012 . We are currently collecting donations to help support Sister Dipa, Mahajapati Monastery and the expenses associated with her upcoming ordination as a bhikkhuni. You can bring donations to our meditation sessions or give directly at Mahajapati Monastery's website .  We are very grateful to Sister Dipa for her generosity in leading the BOW Buddhist Meditation Group (2004-2009), her example in putting the Buddha's teachings into practice, and her willingness to share her time and thoughtful answers with us.  ****************     This embedded video can also be viewed at Youtube HERE .  A synopsis of Sister Dipa's answers can be found HERE (PDF) .   In this interview, Sister Dipa answers the following questions for our reflection: How long have you been practicing and what first inspired you to study and practice Buddhism?  What practices have been most helpful in sustaining your commi

We received the invitation to the Official Opening and Blessing Ceremony of the Quan-Am Bodhisattva Statue at the new Dinh Quang Buddhist Temple at 10:00 AM on Sunday September 23rd, 2012. The invitation explains that: "The Quan-Am Bodhisattva (in Vietnamese) is the Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva of Compassion, who is mostly known as the resemblance figure of a mother with a great loving heart. He loves everyone, every living being as his own child, no discrimination of any kind. Therefore, in the grand plan of rebuilding and establishing the Dinh Quang Temple, we have completed the establishment of the Quan-Am Bodhisattva Statue in the outdoor Zen garden to represent the great compassion he brings to people at the temple, in the community, and in the world. ...  This event not only endeavors to provide an opportunity for spiritual strengthening but also would celebrate a community symbol for peace and compassion to better the lives of the people in need." You can also do

Our former group leader, Sister Dipa, will be ordained next month at Dharma Vijaya Vihara in Los Angeles, along with three other women. We have decided to send all the donations that will be collected from now until Saturday, October 6th to Sister Dipa's monastery, Mahapajapati Monastery, to help cover the expenses that will be incurred for the ordination. We'll be posting more details about the ordination soon. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to show our support for Sister Dipa for the dedication she has shown in the past by leading our group, as well as for her strong determination to lead a life dedicated to practice as a fully ordained bhikkhuni. Please consider making a donation for this joyous event! If you can't make it to the group, then you may send a donation directly to Mahapajapati Monastery. Here is their website, where you will find more information:  http://www.mahapaja pati.com/ Thank you all very much for your generosity!

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our donation for Dinh Quang Buddhist Temple. We were able to present a donation from our group of $400 today. Construction of the temple continues. Everything has been moved into the new temple, and the old building will be demolished this week. A tile floor will be installed in the back part of the temple. The asphalt parking lot has been completed, so finally there is enough room for everyone to park! Everyone in the temple community is busy helping Thay get the building and grounds ready for the festivities that will be held on Sept. 22nd and 23rd. Thay has invited 50 monks to attend, as well as people who are members of the various Vietnamese temples in the Midwest. It should be quite an event! I will let you know when I know the schedule of events. In another week or so, Thay will need volunteers to help paint.Volunteers will also be needed at the festival on the 22-23. We'll share more information soon. Thanks to everyone for the

Please don't forget our first Ozarks Dharma Community Picnic in the pavilion at Fassnight Park on Sunday, Sept. 9th from 11:30am-2:30pm. If you'd like to come, please bring a dish to share.  Drinks will be provided.  We will be serving veggie burgers. Please tell us if you'd like one so we know how many we will need. There will be a table with free Dhamma books to share with each other and interested folks, so if you have any books that you would like to donate, bring them to the studio beforehand or to the park on the day of the picnic.  There will be a mini meditation workshop to anyone who shows up and is interested in learning how to meditate, as well as an introduction to chanting. We will be putting up flyers around to invite everyone who is interested to attend. Of course, this is a family-friendly event, so bring the kids! There is a nice playground for them to play on. You can download a print quality pdf (1.78 MB) of the flyer  HERE

1. Ozarks Dharma Community Picnic, September 9 We will be having our first Ozarks Dharma Community Picnic in the pavilion at Fassnight Park on Sunday, Sept. 9th from 11:30am-2:30pm. If you'd like to come, please bring a dish to share.  Drinks will be provided.  We will be serving veggie burgers. Please tell us if you'd like one so we know how many we will need.   There will be a table with free Dhamma books to share with each other and interested folks, so if you have any books that you would like to donate, bring them to the studio beforehand or to the park on the day of the picnic.  I will give a mini meditation workshop to anyone who shows up and is interested in learning how to meditate.  We will be putting up flyers around to invite everyone who is interested to attend. Of course, this is a family-friendly event, so bring the kids! There is a nice playground for them to play on. 2. Celebration at the Dinh Quang Buddhist Temple, September 22-2

Dear Friends, You have an opportunity to attend a retreat with Shaila Catherine in St. Louis Aug 22-26. Even though I prefer to recommend dana retreats it might be that a fee based retreat is within your means. I am just passing this on and have no connection with this retreat. Please see details below. With friendliness, Sister Dipa ****************************** Shaila Catherine will lead a residential Insight Meditation retreat August 22-26, 2012 in St. Louis, MO, offered by Mid America Dharma. The theme is "Awakening With Insight - Cultivating Concentration and Mindfulness". We welcome your attending, but registration closes August 8, 2012. You must register before then to be assured a place. For complete information, and to register online, please go to:  www.retreat1208.homestead.com .  For a complete listing of all retreats currently planned by Mid America Dharma, go to:  www.midamericadharma.org/retreats.html  

I visited Dinh Quang Buddhsit Temple this morning, and had a nice chat with Thay and the others. He is planning a big celebration on Sept. 22nd and 23rd to commemorate Quan The Am (Quan Yin), as well as to have a dedication of the statue and the new temple. He is interested in getting performers to come and share their talents, so if any of you are singers or musicians and would be interested in helping out, please let me know. He needs to know soon so that he can put out a flyer with a schedule of events. This will be a way of attracting the general public to come and donate to the temple. They will also need help starting September 1st to clean and move things around in anticipation of the festivities on the 22nd and 23rd. I would like to schedule a time for those of us in our group to go out there and help. If you're interested, let me know, as well as when you'd be available. Thay said that we could come anytime those first two weeks of September, daytime or

This is our last week to collect donations from the Dinh Quang Buddhist Temple. Thanks to everyone for their generosity! ************** We have decided to offer a donation from our group to Thay, the monk at Dinh Quang Buddhist Temple, to help with expenses for the building of their new temple. We will give all donations during the month of July to the temple and also match the amount, up to $100, from our account. If you would like to give towards this, please place your donation in the basket at meditation, or  contact us  and I will give you the address so that you can mail your check. This is a good opportunity to express our support to the Vietnamese Buddhist community for the building of their temple, as well as a way to show our appreciation for their kind offer of the use of the temple for our group when it is fully completed next year. You can learn more about the temple at KY3 (" New Buddhist temple in Springfield includes 12-ton statue ") or the Springf

Here are some of the resources we discussed last evening. If we've missed something you'd like to add, please let us know. :) In This Very Life  by Sayādaw U Pandita, chapter 3, "The Ten Armies of Māra" Dhamma Lists  from Insight Meditation Center The Cow in the Parking Lot   by Leonard Scheff and Susan Edmiston " Social Rejection is a REAL Pain ," a summary article about the research at the Social Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory at UCLA Finally, you can find the quote from Jon Kabat-Zinn comparing mindful living to a sailor making the best use of the wind at this link to the book  Full Catastrophe Living   (page 3, beginning at "There is an art to facing difficulties...") . 

Show Me Dharma is offering a non-residential retreat, September 14-16. Annie Nugent  will be teaching on  The Five Spiritual Faculties.  Keep reading for more information, or click on the photo to download the flyer .  **REGISTER NOW** NON-RESIDENTIAL INSIGHT MEDITATION RETREAT The Five Spiritual Faculties  taught by ANNIE NUGENT These five “spiritual friends” - confidence, energy, mindfulness, concentration and wisdom are naturally brought to life as we undertake the practice of insight meditation.  Working together, they allow for a constancy and staying power to develop in our practice. This retreat will focus on how to balance and strengthen these qualities on our path to awakening, especially in the busyness of our daily lives. Public Talk:    Friday September 14, 7:00 pm at Show Me Dharma Retreat:           Saturday September 15, 9:00 am-5:00 pm                             Su nday September 16, 9:00 am-12:00 noon Location:         Silver Meadows

We have decided to offer a donation from our group to Thay, the monk at Dinh Quang Buddhist Temple, to help with expenses for the building of their new temple. We will give all donations during the month of July to the temple and also match the amount, up to $100, from our account. If you would like to give towards this, please place your donation in the basket at meditation, or contact us and I will give you the address so that you can mail your check. This is a good opportunity to express our support to the Vietnamese Buddhist community for the building of their temple, as well as a way to show our appreciation for their kind offer of the use of the temple for our group when it is fully completed next year. You can learn more about the temple at KY3 (" New Buddhist temple in Springfield includes 12-ton statue ") or the Springfield News-Leader (" Statue finds home at Springfield temple "). Thank you in advance for your generosity!

Ozarks Dharma Community is glad to share our new website.  We hope to be adding more in the days ahead and welcome your comments and suggestions.  ****** About Us The Ozarks Dharma Community is an informal and diverse group of practitioners committed to sharing the teachings of the Buddha with each other and with the greater Springfield, Missouri region. We are inspired by the Theravada tradition of Buddhism, but open to people of all persuasions. Our beginnings go back to 2001, when the Body of Works Meditation Group (BOW) was started by Dr. Neil and Cheryl Nathan, who invited two people from their Tai Chi class to begin a Buddhism study group. They would listen to recordings of prominent leaders of the Western tradition of Buddhism, meditate and then engage in discussion. Initially meeting in the Nathans’ home, they soon welcomed more practitioners and interested persons and moved to our present location in the  BOW Yoga Studio  at the Carlson Building in downtown Springfield