Practices

What we do:

On this page you’ll find descriptions of our weekly gatherings, the meditation practices we do, and the dharma texts we study.

Our regular weekly gatherings consist of:

An hour of sitting and walking meditation, including a brief dharma reading for contemplation: we are currently moving progressively through Lojong, Seven Points of Mind Training. See below for the root text and some online commentaries on Lojong.
30 min. of Dharma Sharing, a mindfulness practice developed by Thich Nhat Han (see description below).
An hour or so of jolly social time with snacks, ending with a mindfulness practice developed by your mother, called ‘Cleaning Up’

The first Sunday of every month we have a night of practice, discussion and dharma teaching on video. Occasionally we have other special events, such as visiting teachers, retreats, visits to other venues for teaching and practice. These are announced in our Monthly Newsletter, and on the Calendar, Announcements, and Retreats pages.

Meditation Instruction & Dharma Study

Brief meditation instruction is provided at our weekly gatherings by a member authorized to teach meditation in Nyigma and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. We recommend that everyone get in-depth meditation instruction and training. Meditation instruction can be found many places in the city, including our location.

Dharma study is a life-long process, and it is important to select dharma teachers with care. We do not provide dharma teaching at QD except for occasional special events when we are fortunate to host highly experienced practitioners who are recognized and authorized as teachers in their own Buddhist lineages.

A selection of introductory material for Buddhist practices

Introduction to Shamatha/Vipashyana Meditation by Pema Chodron

Walking Meditation by Thich Nhat Hanh

Four Foundations of Mindfullness by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche

Tonglen: Exchanging Self for Others by Pema Chodron

Dharma Sharing developed by Thich Nhat Han. This is a description taken from the Plum Village site: “Dharma discussion is an opportunity to benefit from each other’s insights and experience of the practice. It is a special time for us to share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties and our questions relating to the practice of mindfulness. By practicing deep listening while others are speaking, we help create a calm and receptive environment. By learning to speak out about our happiness and our difficulties in the practice, we contribute to the collective insight and understanding of the Sangha. Please base our sharing on our own experience of the practice rather than about abstract ideas and theoretical topics. We may realize that many of us share similar difficulties and aspirations. Sitting, listening and sharing together, we recognize our true connections to one another. Please remember that whatever is shared during the Dharma discussion time is confidential. If a friend shares about a difficulty he or she is facing, respect that he or she may or may not wish to talk about this individually outside of the Dharma discussion time.”

Texts and Video Teaching on LOJONG: