THENAC SANGHA CENTER for MINDFUL INTERBEING
Both, a place for the practice of community, and a place for the community to practice
To make community life easier & more enlightening than living alone
Community is a dance we do together… Let’s get good at it
Consider this: We all belong to three bodies:
Our corporal, personal body; Our collective human body; Our Earthly, planetary body.
These three inter-are, inseparably, for all of us. Boundaries between them are useful but artificial.
Our collective, or community body, is often our most neglected, dysfunctional or malignant.
Whereas it should be most healthy, happy, helpful
It nurtures and conditions us all. And it influences the well being of the other two.
It should be the greatest focus of our attention.
If interbeing is our nature, minding our relations should be our most important function.
We propose a practice focusing on community consciousness, mindfulness & awakening.
How, as lay people, we live, teach, create & practice the Dharma together.
The Dharma as a collective issue and planetary issue – as well as a personal one.
Our guiding principles are the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Five Mindfulness Trainings.
Our emphasis should be on our own mindfulness of interbeing, particularly the group mind we create together;
the personal support we give one another; and the causal effects of our collective actions.