For those joining us this Saturday, November 7th for our 1st Saturday of the month Upaya Sangha of Tucson meeting, we will meet from 10:00 am to noon, and our meeting will include brief sutra chanting, participant check-in, announcements, sitting meditation (Zazen), and a brief tea break. After this, rather than the usual dharma talk and discussion, we will have our Annual Upaya Sangha of Tucson Suggestion and Planning Meeting (see discussion topic suggestions below). Please do try to attend, and feel free to bring a bag lunch, as we will reserve our meeting space until 1:00 pm in order to allow ample time for discussion.
If this is your first time to join us, we meet at Tucson Community Meditation Center (TCMC), 1231 E. Edison St., one block south of Grant, just west of Mountain, on the north side of the street. We meet the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month. There are plenty of zafus (meditation cushions) and chairs.
Parking reminder: It’s important to the future of TCMC to observe mindful parking by not parking on the same block as the Center and by leaving an empty parking space in front of the homes on the neighboring blocks. Please reserve TCMC driveway parking for people who cannot walk far.
Please help us to accommodate our members who are chemically sensitive to fragrances or other scented products. Thank you for not wearing perfume, aftershave, or similar products.
Thanks!
Annual Upaya Sangha of Tucson Suggestion and Planning Meeting – Possible Topics:
We are looking forward to hearing your ideas at this meeting and invite all thoughts on how the sangha could better meet your needs. The following are some suggestions made by sangha members to help stimulate our discussion. If you are not able to attend the meeting and which to have input to the discussion, please respond by email reply with your suggestions.
The meeting will be open for any and all suggestions. Some questions already raised for discussion include: Do people want to meet more frequently than the 1st and 3rd Saturdays? Is the day (Saturday) and time (10:00 am to noon) still good? Is there an interest in occasional daylong retreats? Would the sangha like to have occasional social get-togethers? Is there an interest in participating in engaged Buddhist action, such as collecting food for the Community Food Bank or some form of help for Syrian or other refugees? There exist many Helping Hands models of groups that offer practical assistance to someone with an illness, such as driving to a doctor’s appointment. Is there a need for and willingness of sangha members to organize something like this? Upaya Zen Center of Santa Fe holds a regular small metta council for people with chronic and/or terminal illnesses. Do we have an interest and need for such a metta council of our sangha? Zen Desert sangha holds circle meetings that are an opportunity for support and care of the sangha. Is there interest in something like this? Do sangha members have an interest in helping with any of the above efforts/initiatives?