February’s Poem

Let them rise
Let them come
to the surface

And whatever you do
Do not discount
anything

It is only through you
That these things
will be born

It is only through you
That the voices
will transform

Dharma Inquiry

Where does your awareness go when you wake up in the morning? Start your day by taking a moment to notice what thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations are with you. Allow yourself to soften around and breathe with whatever is present. Asking, “What is needed to be fully awake to today?” Perhaps responding with five minutes of bare attention, soft-belly, metta, or gratitude practice before sitting up and getting out of bed.  See this as your first practice of the day, and today as the perfect opportunity to cultivate freedom.

Western Theravada Buddhism

The Western practice of Theravada Buddhism invites us to let go of religious doctrine and return to the essence of the Buddha’s teachings through our own direct experience. Vipassana, or Insight Meditation,  means “to see clearly” and offers simple yet profound spiritual practices that allow us to deeply see and live in accordance with the truth of our lives; to fully come alive within all of the joys and sorrows of the human condition. In the past, the path to awakening has been taught primarily to monastics, but we are now engaging the Buddha’s teachings with the understanding that we all have the potential to awaken and that different containers or lifestyles simply provide different opportunities for practice.