Easy Like Sunday Mornings …
Sunday is a day for a lie-in, a nice breakfast feast, a walk with a dog (or another human being), and now I can recommend another pleasant activity that you can add to your list of possible Sunday morning activities:
The Sunday morning meditation at the Shambhala Centre is easy, too. Well, not as easy as a lie in of course, but it’s a great way to kick start a Sunday. Once a month, since last summer, the community gathers to practice as one Sangha. Tea is served from 9:30 am and there’s an opportunity to meet and chat with old and new friends before the sitting begins at 10 am. We start with a little chanting – but don’t let that put you off, if that’s not your thing, as it only lasts for a few minutes – then we are straight into some silent sitting meditation …….just you and the cushion. We practise sitting meditation for around 20 minutes followed by a few minutes of walking meditation.
I love walking meditation or ‘kinhin’ (経行) as it’s known in the East. Walking meditation for me is a beautiful experience; now to walk on water that’s pretty good, but to walk on Mother Earth that’s a miracle. To walk peacefully in silence, fully focussed on each and every step is a wonderful opportunity to practise meditation off the cushion. The cycle of sitting, then walking practice continues until around 20 minutes before we finish, when we then practise Maitrī Bhāvana. Full instruction is given on Maitrī Bhāvana practice and, basically, this is a meditation practice with friendliness and compassion for others at its core. It’s a wonderful opportunity to offer loving-kindness to those in the community who are suffering from a physical or mental illness or who are seriously ill. Sessions finish around 12:15pm and it’s that easy……easy like Sunday morning!!!
