Newcomers FAQ

A sangha gathering is not a time to suffer, so comfort is important. Being mindful of our needs and taking care of ourselves is incredibly important, but it’s even more important to recognize that this is going to look different for different people. Sitting in a chair or against a wall or lying down are just some of the options. We provide chairs as well as mats and cushions for floor seating. We are all encouraged to take responsibility for our own well-being and to communicate our needs to the facilitator of the meeting within consideration for others. 

If our legs or feet fall asleep or begin to hurt while sitting, we are free to adjust our position quietly by following our breathing. Aware of how our movements affect our fellow practitioners, we remain as still as we can comfortably be. 

Mechanics: 
∙ Try to find 3 points of contact on a cushion, bench, or chair. 
∙ Sit upright and straight but relaxed. ∙ Relax your hands wherever they feel comfortable. 
∙ Close your eyes gently, or leave them half-open if you are tired. 
∙ If our legs or feet fall asleep or begin to hurt while sitting, we are free to adjust our position quietly.  
∙ In the beginning, just notice where you feel your breath—maybe in your stomach, nose, or elsewhere, and just rest your mind there.  
∙ We can maintain our concentration by following our breathing and slowly, and attentively change our posture. 

Yes! Noticing the mind wandering is meditation. You can just sit and watch where it wanders, or you can practice letting the attention come back to rest with the breathing each time you notice the mind wandering.

You can get the Zoom link sent to you by going to dallasmeditationcenter.com/groups  or, you can watch this video and our Co-Director, Cornell Kinderknecht, will walk you through it.

For our weekly and daily meditation groups, you can drop in and when you arrive, all are expected to check-in before entering the Meditation Hall. No registration necessary unless specified. The few occasional events that require registration will be clearly marked on our website and newsletter.

During the course of our sangha practice, we occasionally bow to each other and bow towards the altar. Bowing is not a form of worship or submission. It is, instead, a deep form of communication. A bow to another person may mean ‘hello’, ‘thank you’, ‘good-bye’, or ‘excuse me’. But it’s not just a way of being polite. It’s a way of recognizing and honoring the awakened nature in each of us. When bowing towards the front of the room, we are honoring this awakened nature in all beings.
To bow, we bring our palms together to form a lotus flower at the level of our heart. Then we look at the eyes of the person we will bow to and we smile. We say silently, “a lotus for you,” as we breathe in, and, “a Buddha to be,” as we breathe out and then bow from our waist. Then we straighten up, look at the eyes of the other person, and smile.

To Bow or Not to Bow
Thich Nhat Hanh has often said to his students, “To bow or not to bow is not the question. The important thing is to be mindful.” When we greet someone with a bow, we have the chance to be present with that person and with the wondering elements within us and around us.
With that said, bowing is an optional practice. Instead of bringing your hands together into a lotus flower, you may also place a hand on your heart, or you may simply follow your breathing.

We use the bell to mark the beginnings and endings of things in our meetings. We say we ‘invite’ the bell—like you would invite a friend—to bring our attention to the present moment. We invite the bell as an invitation to come back to ourselves. We always begin by coming back to our breath for three sounds of the bell, and we end with two sounds. 
You will notice that many of us will put our hands together and bow before speaking or acknowledging each other. This is to say that “the being in me recognizes the being in you” or “the Buddha nature in me sees the Buddha nature in you.” You don’t have to do this if you are uncomfortable. We also bow again when we are done to let everyone know we have finished.
-New Sangha Practice Book

If you aren’t familiar with the term sangha, it means a community of friends practicing  mindfulness and mindful living in order to bring about and maintain awareness.  

At the Awakening Heart Community of Mindful Living we have a chance for all of us, busy and committed people, with a lot on our minds, to come together in community with mindfulness and awareness, to stop, to be quiet, to calm down, to let go—together.  
We come to the sangha to take care of ourselves in a safe place and in community with others who share our practice.  
– New Sangha Practice Book

In sharing the practice with others, the energy of mindfulness, concentration, and joy is much more powerful. -Thich Nhat Hanh

A gatha is a poem of mindfulness. 
One way to help us dwell in the present moment is to practice reciting gathas or mindfulness verses. When we practice with gathas, the gathas and the rest of our life become one and we live our entire lives in awareness. There are many gathas. You begin with one or two and learn more over time.

Waking Up
Waking up this morning, I smile 
24 brand new hours are before me. 
I vow to live fully in each moment 
And look upon all beings with the eyes of compassion.  

Experiencing emotions 
Feelings come and go  
like clouds in a windy sky. 
Conscious breathing  
is my anchor.

Yes. Contact our Dallas Meditation Center Center Director for more information