Join Us!
The Mindfulness Community of Hampton Roads meets on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month from 10:30 - 12:30 at the home of Allen Sandler & Diana Kealey: 612 Westover Avenue in Ghent, near downtown Norfolk (please enter at rear door).
Everyone is welcome to join us, including beginners, & folks who are simply curious about Buddhism or the practice of mindfulness. Newcomers are encouraged to review the Guidelines for Dharma Sharing on the Sangha page of this site, as well as the material below and on the Mindfulness Practices page of this site before attending.
If you wish to be added to our email list for meeting notifications, or have any questions about our group, please contact Allen (asandler@odu.edu). If you would like to access our group's Facebook page, designed to facilitate communication among group members, please click https://www.facebook.com/groups /MCHRSangha/ (Please note it is a closed group so you will need to request access through this link.)
Our sessions include sitting meditation, walking meditation, a brief dharma talk on video, and dharma discussion, followed by a sutra reading and opportunity to socialize while sharing a snack. To maintain a contemplative atmosphere, we remain silent during these sessions other than during dharma discussion and following the formal session. Throughout the morning, we make an effort to engage in mindful breathing. Please click here for information about these and other mindfulness practices.
Our sangha gatherings provide an opportunity for contemplation – a time to reflect upon our everyday life within the context of the spiritual ideals that guide us. Are we living each aspect of our everyday lives with compassion for ourselves and for others? Are we aware of how our thoughts, our perceptions, our words, and our actions affect our own happiness and that of others? Are we taking time to enjoy the simple pleasures of life that are available to us?
Please make every moment of our time together a practice time:
We remove our shoes upon entering, arranging them carefully with awareness of the image of the Buddha in front of us, appreciating the scent of incense in the air, the candle’s glow, the fresh flowers on the shelf in front of us.
We enter the meditation room in silence, greeting friends with a smile or little bow, and practice mindful breathing until the session begins. If we arrive after the first meditation session has begun, we wait until it has ended to enter.
We make an effort to engage in mindful breathing throughout the morning.
When the bell is invited, when another person speaks, we listen with our full attention.
We experience the dharma talk with a quiet mind, without judging or comparing, fully open to receive the message that is being transmitted.
We comment on the dharma talk based upon our personal experiences rather than based upon theories or abstract ideas, speaking for a second time only if all in the group have had a chance to share.
We listen to others with our full attention, neither interrupting with questions or comments, nor engaging in cross-talk.
If we need to gently readjust our position during sitting meditation we move with awareness, taking care not to disturb others.
During walking meditation, we walk together as a community, keeping pace with the rest of the group.
Passing the sutra pages is a mindfulness practice. Making eye contact with the person next to us, we hand the sutra pages to him or her with care.
During the informal social time after the session, we enjoy refreshments & mindful conversation.
*Search phrases: Buddhism Norfolk, Mindfulness Norfolk, Meditation Norfolk