Sangha

Thien Tri Thuc - Friendship Sangha

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Next meeting: TBD
Recent pictures: 2/1/2004 - Fremont, T3 Babies

Click on this image to see pictures from 2/15/03

This group was formed by Duc and Yen-Chi in December 2001. As friends and family, we come together to learn and practice Buddhist and other teachings, both spiritual and practical. Members need not be Buddhists nor hold a belief in Buddhism, for our main objective is to commune with each other; to learn from one another. We practice aspects of mindful living such as a vegetarian dinner and we meditate and hold discussions on various topics. And of course we come together for friendship and fun!

We meet once a month (the date is decided by consensus at the meetings) in a member's home (also decided by consensus), usually on a Sunday evening, around 4 PM. Although we do not have a strict format for the meetings, we do try to perform the following practices at each meeting:

Vegetarian potluck dinner.
Meditation for 10 to 20 minutes (may be performed at the beginning and at the end of the meeting)
Thought/Literature sharing
Dharma discussion

We also visit various temples around the bay area. We are always open to suggestions for activities and will likely change the format as need arises. For example, we may work with other groups on community projects and volunteer work.

Many of the current members know of or have learned Buddhism through the teachings of the Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. There are five basic precepts which are advocated by Hanh's teachings. These are: 1) Reverence for life, 2) Generosity, 3) Sexual responsibility, 4) Deep listening and loving, and 5) Mindful consumption. These precepts, along with other Buddhist and general spiritual teachings will be discussed at the meetings. The discussions are often wide-open in terms of topics and length, there aren't really any restrictions.

If you are interested in joining us for one of the meetings, please contact Paul at phuang@signite.com. Membership is open and you can come only once, or every time. Just come with sincerity and an open mind, and oh yes, a vegetarian dish for the potluck. There is a yahoo group set up where you can post messages to the group. Please contact Duc to be added to the yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/thientrithuc.

The pictures from the meetings can be found in the archives page.

Related to mindful consumption, we've been discussing the effects of meat consumption and other issues. See this page for more information. (Disclaimer: this information was put together by Paul and reflects his personal opinions and beliefs, not necessarily that of the Sangha group).