Reflect and discuss: 🧐

• Have you experienced a time when meditating felt like a chore? What was helpful during that time?
• Think of a time when you had a great deal of enthusiasm for your meditation practice. What conditions were in place to make that possible?
• What benefits have you experienced from meditation?

Read: 📖

• Practicing the Perfection of Diligence or Joyful Effort (Namchak Blog) ·
• The Practice of a Bodhisattva by The Karmapa (lionsroar.com)

Watch & Listen: 🎧

• Diligence – Virya Paramita (Prajna Sparks Podcast, www.prajnafire.com)
• Ringu Tulku Rinpoche • Wisdom in Action • Paramita 4 “Diligence” (RinguTulku YouTube channel)

Practice: 🧘🏽‍♂️

• Eight-minute Body Scan for Cultivating Mindfulness On a basic level, to be mindful is to be aware. In this short body scan meditation, you will practice mindfulness by systematically bringing your attention to each part of your body and simply noticing it. Do this meditation practice throughout the day to help bring your whole self to the present moment.

This month we spotlight the Tranquil Tuesdays Learning Circle.

Tammy, from that Circle, has this to say:

“Our Tranquil Tuesdays Learning Circle grew out of a Meditation and Community course in 2022. We are still working out the format, which currently includes discussion on the monthly themes, extended check-ins, meditations, and a bit of Buddhist book club chat. My circle sisters, Cora and Sally, have more experience and knowledge about meditation than I do, and I appreciate the wisdom and guidance they provide. We have formed a friendly, caring bond, and I look forward to the time I get to spend with them each week.”

This Circle is open and welcoming new members. Reach out to Rachel [email protected] for more info and if you are interested in joining this group.

One Community Activities

💫 Opening, Community Commitments, Check-Ins (15-20 min)

• Invite a moment of silence and give rise to bodhicitta.
• Read community commitments.
• Check-in questions: What does diligence mean to you in your meditation practice and your life? Do you have any associations that arise when you hear this word?

📽️ Video of Justin’s Talk on the Perfection of Diligence (25-30 min)

• Justin has been studying and practicing Buddhism for over twenty years and has been working as a Tibetan translator and interpreter for more than ten. He lived in India for eight years, studying and practicing with many great teachers and spent three of those years as a monk, studying Buddhist philosophy in a Tibetan monastic seminary. He now works at the Namchak Foundation as a translator of texts, as Namchak Khen Rinpoche’s interpreter, and as a meditation teacher.
• This video includes Justin’s teaching on the Perfection of Diligence. The recording was paused during sections of small group discussion in break out rooms and continues with the Q&A session.
• The full video is 1.5 hours. We recommend that you watch this video over the course of 3-4 Learning Circles (maybe 30 – 40 minute clips), so that you have time to pause the video to engage in discussion with your Learning Circle members.

• After watching about 30 minutes of the recording, discuss with your Learning Circle anything that stood out to you from the teaching. What are some questions, curiosities, insights or reflections you have about the teachings?

• You can practice together with this 22-minute Extended Round Robin
• After the session, reflect with your Learning Circle members on how that meditation was for you. What happened? How do you feel afterward? Were you able to feel enthusiastic about doing this meditation? What other reflections, curiosities, or insights do you have after this practice session?

By the power of this compassionate practice,
may suffering be transformed into peace.
May the hearts of all beings be open,
and their wisdom radiate from within.

📚 Recommended Resources from Justin

• Namchak blog: What are the Six Perfections or Six Paramitas?
• Video Introduction to the Six Perfections or Paramitas with Justin (35-minute video from previous One Community gathering)