The Broom and the Breath: A Day of Service and Mindfulness at the Vihara

Come spend the day serving and sitting  in community!  The Buddha said the mind is luminous and only obscured by visiting intruders. Culapanthaka was a young monk who couldn't learn a line of dharma. The Buddha gave him a piece of white cloth and told him to clean his hands with it. Cleaning was the process by which Culapanthaka awakened. My first teacher taught mindfulness alone is enough for cleansing the mind of visiting intruders, and showed me how to connect once and forever with a visceral sense of my own cleansing and purifying breath. 
 

My guiding light for this retreat is to pass this light on and for you to do the same, that is, for everyone to leave the daylong with a visceral connection to their own inner, deep cleansing process. 
 

Since the Buddha made purification the framework of the world‘s most ancient and comprehensive awakening map, let's explore the question:  what  is a cleaning practice that can awaken?

Together we will dedicate our day to cleaning out the dusty, forgotten corners of our heart, in service and silence. We will tend to our shared space as a form of dana and then move into meditation, communal meal, and dharma practices and discussions on the theme for the day. Please bring a vegetarian dish, water bottle, cleaning supplies (if you have some extras at home), comfortable clothes for cleaning and sitting, and possibly a mask and gloves if that's your preference. 
 

Marina Colby and I will be facilitating.