Current Newsletter
WE MOURN THE LOSS OF GINNY MORGAN, OUR GUIDING TEACHER
Informal Silent Sittings & Community Sharing:
Wednesday, August 31, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. (led by Lynn Rossy)
Thursday, September 1, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. (led by Richard Reuben)
Friday, September 2, 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. (led by Tonda March)
Buddhist Ceremony for Ginny:
Monday, September 5, 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.
All above events at Show Me Dharma Center
Interfaith Celebration Service for Ginny:
Sunday, October 2, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Potluck to follow at 7:00 p.m.
Unity Center of Columbia
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Register Now for Non-residential Retreat with Annie Nugent:
Living the Middle Path
September 23-25
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Dearest Sangha Members,
It is with great sadness, and with great gratitude for the gift of her life with us, that we share with you the news of the passing of our guiding teacher, Ginny Morgan. For almost 20 years, Ginny presence has touched the hearts and lives of all of us in our sangha. We will all miss her great heart of love, compassion, and wisdom. It was through that heart that she taught us the dharma, pointed the way to freedom, and was our dear friend. We will carry in our hearts the memories of Ginny’s presence with us. It is our hope that our fond memories of Ginny’s time with us will inspire us to connect more deeply with each other, and continue the community that she was so instrumental in creating.
It is in this spirit that we bring you the upcoming sangha events for September. In continuing to deepen our practice together and connect to our community, we carry on the legacy of Ginny’s teachings and her friendship to all of us.
First, our sangha will come together as a community to share our grief over our loss and to celebrate Ginny’s life in three Informal Silent Sittings on Wednesday August 31, Thursday September 1, and Friday September 2, each from 7:30-8:30 pm. We will also have a Buddhist Ceremony for Ginny on Monday, September 5, from 6:30-7:30 pm. All of these events will be at Show Me Dharma Center. On October 2 at 6:00 pm. there will be an Interfaith Celebration Service to honor Ginny’s life at Unity Center of Columbia with a potluck to follow. Please join us to share both our sorrows and our joyful memories of Ginny’s presence in our lives.
Annie Nugent will be returning to Columbia and teaching a nonresidential retreat the weekend of September 23-25. Attendees at Annie’s earlier retreats found her teachings to be full of joy and clarity. Both beginning and experienced meditators are welcome to this special event. Please register now.
Committed Practice Classes will resume in September. These classes begin on Monday morning September 19, 8-9:30 am and Thursday evening September 22, 7:00-8:30. The topic for this fall’s classes will be The Four Noble Truths. Please join us for this wonderful opportunity to share the dharma. Registration is required—please see below for registration information.
On Wednesday evenings in September, Richard Reuben will be teaching a series of classes on the practice of chanting. Chanting is a deep part of monastic practice in the Buddhist tradition. But we don’t have to be a monastic in order to enjoy the benefits of this wonderful practice. Please join us—no prior experience in chanting is required.
Terry Furstenau will be offering the Introduction to Meditation course, beginning September 12. This course, offered three times per year, is designed to be helpful for practice for both beginning students and seasoned practitioners; it provides teaching on the practice of developing mindful presence both on and off the cushion. Please consider this opportunity to deepen your practice.
We continue with our regularly scheduled weekly Sunday Morning and Tuesday Evening Meditation classes. For the Tuesday class, the topic that we are exploring in September is the practices of Pausing, Relaxing, and Opening in meditation.
To all, a sincere thank you for your commitment to the sangha. Please know that your presence is a true gift, whether it’s expressed through participation in Show Me Dharma activities or through heart and mind. If you would like to help SMD meet the expenses of offering opportunities for practice, please see information about donating in the Treasurer’s Report at the bottom of this newsletter.
May our practice – shared or alone, on or off the cushion – be dedicated to the benefit of all beings.
In loving memory of Ginny,
The SMD Teachers’ Council and Board
For more information about Show Me Dharma, go to our website at http://www.showmedharma.org. Phone: 573.355.5303
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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Living the Middle Path
A Non-residential Meditation Retreat with
Annie Nugent
September 23-25, 2011
A wellspring of joy arises when we realize the scope of the Buddha’s teachings and its impact on our relationships and activities. This silent retreat, open to all, is an invitation to explore the Middle Path and how it supports the cultivation of wisdom and compassion especially amidst the fullness and vibrancy of everyday life.
Friday Public Talk at 7:30 p.m. at Show Me Dharma
(Everyone is invited, including those not attending the weekend retreat)
Weekend Retreat at Country Day School
Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 9 a.m. to noon
Cost: Sliding scale, from $55 to $100 (All payments over $55 are tax-deductible. Please pay what you feel you can afford.) Scholarships are available by contacting Karen Hodges for scholarship application.
Two ways to register:
1) Send a check made payable to Show Me Dharma to Karen Hodges, 1199 East High Point Lane, Columbia, Missouri, 65203.
2) Register by credit card online at www.showmedharma.org. Please be sure to write “FOR ANNIE NUGENT RETREAT” and write your email address in the comments section.
For more information, contact Karen at hodgetribe@yahoo.com or (573) 999-3649.
Annie Nugent has practiced in the Theravada and Tibetan traditions since 1979 under the guidance of a range of teachers including Sayadaw U Pandita, Tulku Akong Rinpoche and various western teachers. She was born in South Africa, moved to the United States and was the resident teacher at the Insight Meditation Society from 1999-2003. She has since taught at the annual IMS 3-month retreat and The Forest Refuge, as well as many other places. Her teaching style aims to reveal how our lives are opportunities to develop a clear understanding of the Truth.
Retreat details: The non-residential retreat goes from Saturday morning at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., continues Sunday morning from 9 a.m. to noon, and ends with a potluck lunch. The retreat will be at the Country Day Center in Columbia. We will send you directions when you register.
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WEDNESDAY CHANTING CLASSES
Led by Richard Reuben
Wednesdays Evenings in September, 7:30-8:30 pm (September 7, 14, 21, and 28)
**No Registration Needed—you are welcome to attend any or all of the sessions**
Chanting is an integral part of Buddhist monastic practice. But one does not have to be a monk to enjoy the benefits of incorporating chanting into your normal sitting practice. On Wednesdays in September, we will learn three simple and widely used Buddhist chants in Pali – The Three Refuges, The Homage to the Buddha, and the Annica Vata Sankhara – and explore how to work with them as practices within our larger practices. We will also learn The Metta Sutta as a chant in English. As this series is about integrating chanting into our practices, we will also sit for approximately 30 minutes each session. No chanting experience necessary.
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INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION
A Seven-Session Class Taught by Terry Furstenau
Mondays, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm, September 12-October 24
Location: Show Me Dharma, 2011 Chapel Plaza Court, #9, Columbia, MO
Cost: Offered on a dana (donation) basis
**Registration is required**
Whether you are beginning meditation practice, wanting to increase your commitment to your meditation practice, find a community of support, or clarify your understanding, this next 7-week series may be for you.
We will be exploring meditation on the cushion as well as in daily life. We will work to strengthen our “seeing” to notice and short circuit the painful habitual patterns that come into all of our lives, even as we develop acceptance for those difficult aspects of our personality. Our focus will continue to remain on how we experience this mystery we call “life” and we’ll include plenty of time for questions and sharing. Each class will consist of a talk, meditation practice, and group discussion.
If you would like to register, or if you have questions, please contact Terry at tfurstenau@gmail.com or at 660-248-1770.
Terry Furstenau is a member of the Show Me Dharma Teachers Collective. He has practiced vipassana for 9 years and has been teaching for 5 years. His practice has been informed primarily by vipassana and dzogchen teachings.
CLASSES & WORKSHOPS
COMMITTED PRACTICE CLASSES
The Four Noble Truths: Finding Meaning and Joy in the Face of Suffering
Mondays 8 to 9:30 am, starting September 19, with Joe McCormack and Lynn Rossy
Thursdays 7:00 to 8:30 pm, starting September 22, with Bob Hodge
Classes held at Show Me Dharma Center
Cost: dana (donations)
There are two kinds of suffering: The suffering that leads to more suffering and the suffering that leads to the end of suffering. If you are not willing to face the second kind of suffering, you will surely continue to experience the first.” –Ajahn Chah, a Still Forest Pool
Join the committed practice classes this fall and move deeply into the teachings of the Buddha on the Four Noble Truths–the foundational teachings of Buddhist wisdom and freedom. This class will lead us from an exploration of the Truths as philosophical statements about suffering into a method for directly coping with suffering in your life. As a result of this direct experience, we can discover the freedom of mind that is always available to us in ever-increasing measure.
Held in a climate of lovingkindness and safety, the Committed Practice Classes are designed to help us deepen our practice of meditation and learn to take the benefits of the practice off the cushion and into every part of our human lives. In this way we bring a balance to wisdom & compassion and tune our lives into that balance.
**Registration is required**
If you are interested in registering for the Monday class, or wish to learn more, please contact Joe McCormack at metta41856 (at) gmail.com or call (573) 355-5303.
If you wish to register for the Thursday class, please contact Bob Hodge at hodger (at) gmail.com or call (573) 355-5303.
SITTING GROUPS
SUNDAY MORNING MEDITATION
Meets every Sunday, 10:30-11:30 am at the Show Me Dharma Center
No registration required – open to all!
The Sunday Service is designed to help us bring together three blessings of our spiritual practice–the blessing of body, the blessing of heart and mind in balance, and the blessing of sharing the results of our mindful actions for the benefit and welfare of all beings. We will begin our morning of practice together with a short period of mindful movement (for example, gentle stretching or walking meditation), followed by a 30-minute period of sitting practice with instruction designed to bring balance to heart and mind. We will end the sitting with the sharing of metta (lovingkindness) followed by a short talk designed to bring our practices into the ordinary efforts of our work, our lives with our friends and families—the lives we live.
Come start your week with us!
9/4 Lynn Rossy
9/11 Beth Shoyer
9/18 Tonda March
9/25 Kim James
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TUESDAY NIGHT BASICS OF INSIGHT MEDITATION GROUP
Meets every Tuesday, 7:30 to 8:30 pm at Show Me Dharma Center
No registration required – open to all!
• If you’re new to meditation, you’re welcome to come soon after the doors open at 7:15 to receive a brief orientation.
A short Dharma talk, meditation instruction, & a 30-minute meditation period, with an optional discussion period following the tea break. Led by the Show Me Dharma Teachers Council.
September topic: We’ll begin exploring the practices of pausing, relaxing, and opening as they manifest in meditation practice.
9/6 Equanimity with Richard Reuben
9/13 Pause and Relax with Tonda March
9/20 Open and Trust Emergence with Beth Shoyer
9/27 Listening Deeply with Terry Furstenau
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BOOK/PRACTICE DISCUSSION GROUP
Meets on a Sunday afternoon, every 4 to 6 weeks
Show Me Dharma Center
Next meeting date: Sunday October 9, 2-4pm
No registration is required.
This is a peer-led group that explores off-the-cushion practice, using Buddhist writings as a starting point. We will be starting a new book, Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra by Mirka Knaster. Please read Chapter 7 through Chapter 10.
Living This Life Fully is a biography of the Indian Buddhist dharma teacher Munindra. Munindra-ji was a major teacher for our guiding Ginny Morgan, as well as dharma teachers such as Joseph Goldstein and Sharon Salzberg.
For more information, please contact Joe McCormack at 573-864-5617 or metta41856@gmail.com.
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TREASURER’S REPORT
As of 8/30/2011, our year to date (YTD) financial status is as follows: income: $17,301(donations and retreat fees); expenses: $12,088; bank balance (total funds): $33,750. Our budgeted income is $28,000. Your support is very much appreciated! Donations can be made online (http://www.showmedharma.org/contribute/donations/), placed in the SMD basket at the Sangha, or mailed to 5004 Dustin Ct, Columbia MO 65203.
We have received a number of checks for Ginny Morgan’s care and her family. The generosity of our sangha has been overwhelming, and Ginny’s family expresses their gratitude. The amount collected for Ginny’s care and for her family is not included in the figures noted above, because this was a special collection and we have learned that any checks written for Ginny’s care are not tax-deductible due to IRS regulations. The email sent by Lynn Rossy did not state that any checks written for Ginny’s care would be tax-deductible as this was not the intent.
Please feel free to contact me if questions.
Bob Hodge, Treasurer
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For more information about Show Me Dharma activities,
Buddhist teachings, contact information, or helpful links, go to
http://www.showmedharma.org
You can also find us on Facebook!
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Directions to SHOW ME DHARMA CENTER
2011 Chapel Hill Court, #9 Phone: 573.355.5303
From Forum Blvd., go west on Chapel Hill. Take a left onto Chapel Plaza Court, and then turn right into the parking lot for Kilgore’s. Go past Kilgore’s & continue south behind the long office building. #9 is a few doors down. Look for our blue and white poster on the door.