Community

The Community page is where sangha members can post self-organizing sangha participant activities such as hikes, picnics, outings, other practice opportunities, resources, etc. These activities are not initiated nor officially sponsored by Upaya Sangha of Tucson LLC.

If you would like to post an event, please send an email to Sensei Al Genkai Kaszniak with the title, event description, date of the event, where to meet, how to contact you, etc.

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Bill Thompson’s Art & Poetry

Click here to see Bill Thompson’s art and read his poetry.

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New Announcements:

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Touching the Depths of Our Practice in Challenging Times

A Hybrid Weekend Meditation Retreat with

Spirit Rock Teacher Donald Rothberg

Oct. 11-13, 2024

co-sponsored by TCMC and Insight Meditation Tucson

Tucson Community Meditation Center is very excited to welcome Donald back to Tucson once again!

We can learn to find refuge in our meditation practice during difficult times

In this weekend retreat, we will cultivate wisdom; the awakened heart of kindness and compassion; a spacious and easeful awareness; and mindfulness of the mind, emotions, and body; while grounding in the ethics of non-harming.

In such practice, we connect more with the depths of our being, our “bigness,” our peace and equanimity, and our deeper intentions to awaken and to benefit ourselves and others. We do so in a time in which many places in our world are going through challenging and often painful times.

This short video contains an example of Donald’s meditation teachings.

The weekend retreat will mostly involve silent practice, along with instructions and teachings, and daily Qigong. It will be a “hybrid” retreat, both in-person in Tucson and online via Zoom.

There will be a break for lunch around 12:30 on Sat. and Sun. If you wish to bring a lunch we have a fridge and microwave you may use. If you are sick, please do not attend in-person.

Fee: $75 for full weekend or $12 for Friday night only, plus Dana (donation) for the teacher. These fees only cover TCMC and IMT retreat and monthly expenses. Donald receives no compensation from TCMC. You will have the opportunity to offer Dana (donation) to the teacher, a Buddhist tradition of generosity. No one will be turned away due to inability to pay. Scholarships are available, and you may apply during registration.

Where: TCMC – 1147 N Howard Blvd Tucson, AZ or Online via Zoom.

When: Friday 7:00-8:30 pm, Saturday 9:30-5:00, Sunday 9:30-4:30

Registration: – Registration is required; use our online registration system HERE

Contact: Blake Barton at registration@tucsonmeditation.org or 520-775-1626

Teacher: Donald Rothberg, Ph.D., is a member of the Teachers Council at Spirit Rock Center in northern California, and a co-guiding teacher for the Marin Sangha. He teaches retreats and groups on concentration and insight meditation practice, lovingkindness practice, awakened awareness, transforming the judgmental mind, mindful communication, working skillfully with conflict, and socially engaged Buddhism. He has practiced insight meditation since 1976, and has also received training in Tibetan Dzogchen, body-based psychotherapy, and trauma work. He has helped guide many six-month to two-year training programs in socially engaged spirituality, both Buddhist-based and interfaith, and is the author of The Engaged Spiritual Life: A Buddhist Approach to Transforming Ourselves and the World, and the co-editor of Ken Wilber in Dialogue.

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Tucson Dharma Friends Study Program

This peer-led group meets Thursday mornings to promote engaged practice and Dharma discussion in an informal, friendly, and contemplative atmosphere. On the 1st and 3rd Thursday morning of each month, we meet via Zoom at 10am. For these Zoom discussions, we focus on chosen books.

In August, we will begin discussion of Christina Feldman’s book: Boundless Heart: The Buddha’s Path of Kindness, Compassion, Joy, and Equanimity. Then in the fall, we have chosen to focus on Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom where Fear and Courage Meet by Joan Halifax.

October through May we have been meeting in person on the 2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month. The 2nd Thursday, we typically meet at a park for a 30 minute group meditation, followed by time to check-in with one another. On the 4th Thursday of the month, we gather to go on short hikes, usually on Tucson’s West side. These meeting are on hiatus for the summer.

We have regular members who are lifelong practitioners, as well as those new to Buddhism. All are welcome! For more information, please contact Dawn Messer at timdawnmesser@gmail.com.

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Outdoor Meditation/Hiking Club

To provide an opportunity for our members to explore eco-dharma by practicing in a natural setting, sangha participants have independently initiated an outdoor meditation club. We meet periodically (weather permitting) to go on a walk or hike, with about 30 minutes dedicated to silent walking or seated meditation. Please check contact Dawn Messer at timdawnmesser@gmail.com for more information about location and exact meeting times.

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Bhutan Pilgrimage 2024

Dear Sangha Friends,

Marla and I wish to invite you to join us in our 9th Bhutan pilgrimage-retreat Oct. 6-19, 2024, to Eastern Bhutan, the most traditional, hidden, and remote region.

Bhutan, the last in-tact Buddhist country-kingdom, that Venerable Matthieu Ricard, our beloved 2016 visiting teacher said: “Bhutan can become like any other country, but no other country can become like Bhutan’s society and culture”.

A Buddhist society where Gross National Happiness (GNH), with over 50 measurable metrics thrives instead of questionable gross national products, and with ‘spiritual ecology’, with big doses of meditation, is on the minds and practice of all Bhutanese citizens.

View this exuberant 6-minute video, produced by our filmmaker son, Jeremy Simmons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEKA_RAA5_E&t=363s

View this recent 33-minute video address by Harvard educated Prime Minister Tobgay about the inspired creation of the futuristic Buddhist Gelephu Mindfulness City, a 2,000 square km sustainable city- the intersection of spirituality and sustainability being built on the Bhutan border with India, run on green hydrogen and hydroelectric power, the world’s first carbon-negative city, unlike any other city.

Please be sure to press ‘skip’ in the ads, to get right to the Prime Minister’s presentation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoexzWdcdcw

This October, we have five visiting spiritual teachers and a 6th: Bhutan itself, a teacher, overflowing with transformative lessons and experiences for Western visitors and guests. Please view: https://twotruths.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bhutan-2024-Lions-Roar-Ad.pdf

Background: https://twotruths.org/tours/bhutan-2024/bhutan-2024-background/

If you are curious and interested, or know of family, friends, and colleagues who might be interested, the gift of traveling together is precious, and like almost no other gift. We have extended registration and deposits until September 10th, in order to get your Bhutan visa and the three in-country flight arrangements.

In this Bhutan adventure to sacred sites, we will be benefiting from our deep well of relationships we have cultivated over the years in this youngest of all democracies practicing mindfulness on a grand scale: With the Royal government leaders, scholars, prominent monks and nuns, Yak herders and red rice farmers, artisans and artists, authors and keepers of a deep Himalayan culture resonating in mindfulness.

Deep bows, and consider joining us. We have extended registration until September 10th, to get your Bhutan visas and your in-country flight reservations.

Marla Perry and Charles Simmons, www.twotruths.org Tel: (520) 668-9410.

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Breast Cancer SUPORT Project

Survivors and Partners Online Research Together

University of Arizona College of Nursing

The University of Arizona College of Nursing has received a grant from the National Cancer Institute to conduct a nationwide online study of compassion meditation or health education designed to help reduce the distress experienced by breast cancer survivors and their supportive partners. Participants will receive either formal meditation instruction in Cognitively-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) or health education information about survivorship through Zoom sessions in 8 weekly 2-hour classes. Between classes, participants will be encouraged to practice meditation at home using audio recordings supplied by the study or engage in healthy lifestyle activities. At the end of the study, all those who attended the health education classes can choose to receive the compassion meditation classes if they would like.

Cognitively-Based Compassion Training is derived from Traditional Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and developed by a former Buddhist monk at Emory University’s Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-Based Ethics. The program is completely secularized and is appropriate for people of any, or no, religious background. Instructors are trained and certified by Emory University and are themselves long-term meditators experienced in teaching meditation. Research is showing that participants enjoy learning to meditate and that survivors and their partners who practice compassion meditation are less emotionally distressed, support their underlying immune functioning, and have enhanced quality of life overall. These effects may even be stronger when survivors and partners meditate together. Using online technologies can allow those who don’t live near established meditation centers have better access to resources

Recruitment for the study is now open. People who are interested in learning more can visit the study’s online site, www.nursing.arizona.edu/content/breast-cancer-suport-project and can also leave their contact information there to receive a reply.

You may be eligible to participate if:

You are a breast cancer survivor who finished major treatments a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 5 years ago;
You are a family member who lives with a breast cancer survivor and will participate with her;
You or your partner exhibit a level of distress required for the study;
You are available and able to take part in online group classes;
You have access in your home to a computer or tablet with a 12-inch or greater diameter screen (participants will receive help in connecting to the online resources);
You are able to understand English.

The SUPORT study is funded by the National Cancer Institute to the University of Arizona College of Nursing, grant number R01CA264047(Thaddeaus W.W. Pace, Ph.D., Principal Investigator). It is conducted in collaboration with Emory University Center for Contemplative Science and Compassion-based Ethics. The study has been approved for safety, privacy, and confidentiality by the University of Arizona Institutional Review Board.

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Anti-Racism & Dharma Resources Submitted by Upaya Sangha of Tucson Participants

Angel Kyodo Williams (2000). Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace. New York: Penguin Compass.

Angel Kyodo Williams & Lama Rod Owens (2016). Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books.

Zenju Earghlyn Manuel (2015). The Way of Tenderness: Awakening Through Race, Sexuality, and Gender. Boston: Wisdom Publications.

Hilda Gutierrez Baldoquin (Ed.) (2004). Dharma, Color, and Culture: New Voices in Western Buddhism. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press.

Resmaa Menakem (2017). My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies. Las Vegas, NV: Central Recovery Press.

Tricycle, Jan 31, 2017 presient article “Teachings for Uncertain Times” by Wendy Joan Bittlecombe Asgar. It presents a video series with 13 Buddhist teachers of color. I especially love the Feb. 6 one by Mona Chopra: a METTA MEDITATION for BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Aspen Ideas Festival <https://www.aspenideas.org/articles/aspen-ideas-festival-2020-schedule?fbrefresh=1593194111>

21-Day Equity Building Habit Challenge <https://www.eddiemoorejr.com/21daychallenge>

James Baldwin’s fiercely true (1965) UK speech why Black Lives Matter. The subjugated and the master: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbj0oZYucKs>

James Baldwin’s talk before the National Press Club (1986) about distorted myths and the truth of our interdependence (CSPAN). During Q&A at 40 minutes into this, James Baldwin gets to the heart of it.

Land Loss and Black America <https://theconversation.com/land-loss-has-plagued-black-america-since-emancipation-is-it-time-to-look-again-at-black-commons-and-collective-ownership-140514 utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20June%2018%202020%20-%201654815923%20UPDATED&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20June%2018%202020%20-%201654815923%20UPDATED+Version+B+CID_b0f697ba9778dd1d4339d644b7c6fc0f&utm_source=campaign_monitor_us&utm_term=might%20address%20this%20vestige%20of%20slavery>

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Sangha Care Support Volunteers

While there are many resources both for hire and as formal volunteer programs through Neighbors Care Alliances across Tucson (contact Pima Council on Aging 520-790-7262), a few of our regular sangha participants have offered their limited availability to help their fellow sangha participants if something unexpected arises where they need some additional help which might include a friendly visit or phone call, assistance with errands, meal delivery, etc. Please send an email to <tucsonupayasangha@gmail.com> with questions or requests. We might be able to help you either find existing community resources or do a little limited assistance. Take care.

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