Last night, 8 people attended the sangha at my place in Sunnyvale: Yen-Chi & Duc, Khanh, Denise, Tomo, ThuHuong, Christine, and myself.  First of all, thanks again for coming.  We wrapped a bunch of dumplings and pot-stickers and cooked and ate till about 8:45.  Then for 15 minutes, Yen-Chi lead a meditation by following sensations of our physical senses: touch, smell, sound, etc.  That was followed by another 15 minutes of silent meditation.  Following that, we discussed how we felt during the meditation, with some folks offering invaluable advices.  Although we all struggled to some extent in quieting down our minds, it was clear, nonetheless, that we felt calmer after the meditation.  From 9:30 to 11:30, we had a very lively discussion about how we can help to prevent another 9-11.  For 2 hours, we presented different viewpoints about the cause and effect of such an event.  The issue isn't just 9-11, of course, but much broader, and that brought forth constructive and sometimes very emotional topics. 

Whether we agreed or disagreed about some of the opinions presented, there was one thing for certain:  it is IMPORTANT that we become more aware of the effects of our actions.  For the people that did not attend, this may be a little confusing, thus I would like to invite those that did attend to write a few words about the meeting via this email list.  For myself, I was pleased that we were able to discuss issues of capitalism, american foreign policy, consumerism, etc.  These ARE difficult topics to talk about and even more difficult to do something about, but I am very glad that we are at least talking about them now (finally).  I have faith that with time and more awareness, we will move on to beyond talk and begin to do what we can to help HEAL this world. 

From the inner-depths of my soul, I thank you again. 

paul