“If you have time to be mindful, you have time to meditate.” – Ven.Ajahn Chah Last Tuesday (Feb. 26) the Peacemakers’ Tuesday Inner Work Circle (TIWC) held an Open Evening (On-Site) session – visiting the Universal Wisdom Foundation, Inc. (UWFI) Buddhist Resource Center. Instead of the usual meeting at The Peacemakers’ Circle, the group met together at the LRT2 Katipunan station before proceeding to the center which is located at Gilmore Ave. in New Manila, Quezon City. The others who are already familiar with the UWFI center went ahead and met us there.
At the UWFI center the group was met by Mr. Mon Rivera, one of the staff members who was also the facilitator for the evening’s session. Checking out the books from their library and availing of some which were for free distribution, the group was received at the center’s office and library before proceeding to the meditation room.
Starting off with a round of introductions, Mr. Rivera then briefly introduced the UWFI and its regular activities. It was also noted by Shakun that during the beginning years when The Peacemakers’ Circle did not yet have an office, UWFI has once been the home of the TIWC sessions for some months. UWFI’s chairman, Mr. Mariano Yupiton, was also a founding trustee of The Peacemakers’ Circle.
Mr. Mon then proceeded to talk about Buddhism in general and the practice of Meditation in particular. After some discussions he then engaged the group into the actual experience of meditation. Starting off with some physical exercises to condition the body before engaging the mind, he led us to a series of stretching, limbering, and spine-flexing routines. This was followed by his guided meditation on a basic technique called Anapanasati or “breath awareness meditation”.
While the instructions were very simple, the actual experience was not at all easy – as most of the participants, especially the beginners, found out. Keeping the body still in a comfortable sitting position (with the spine straight), and bringing full attention to nothing else but one’s own natural breathing. One finds out the nature of our undisciplined mind. Like a wild monkey leaping from one tree to another, the mind leaps from one thought to another—drifting us away from that simple task of keeping our attention on the breath. Even as the regular participants of the TIWC have been engaging in guided meditation at the beginning of each session, most still found it difficult when they were left on their own to mind their own breath. This led us to a deeper understanding of the wisdom of mind-training, as well as an actual taste of the benefits of a calmer and clearer mind.
After some brief explanation, questions and answers in between, Mr. Mon then led another type of meditation called Metta Bhavana or “Loving kindness meditation”. Here, instead of just observing the natural breath, the participants were guided into visualization of people to whom they projected or sent vibrations of loving-kindness. It was a beautiful way to conclude the evening by intently sharing to others the peace of mind and warm vibrations that were generated and cultivated at that present moment.
Short sharings of some personal experiences and questions capped off the session and as we transferred to the office more discussions went on while everyone partook of simple snacks.
The Peacemakers’ Circle and the Tuesday Inner Work Circle again heartily thank the Universal Wisdom Foundation and Mr. Mon Rivera for hosting us! We look forward to another visit in the future.
Next week (March 4) we resume our regular session of sharing reflections and insights on the following guide questions: Ám I in a place in my life right now where I am physically comfortable? Do I feel that my basic needs are being sufficiently met every day? What was the most physically challenging thing that I did recently? Why was it challenging?
See you then!
