May Sangha News
4-29-2025
This month brings a bounty of offerings along with all the May flowers!
- On May 5, we'll have a local teacher panel on Socially Engaged Buddhism with Jean Esther, Adi Bemak, Manny Mansbach, and Bernadine Mellis.
- On May 11, Dawn Scott will offer a half-day retreat on Finding Inner Balance Amid Outer Chaos.
- Wednesday night Dharma Talks continue weekly with teachers Yenkuei Chuang, nakawe cuebas, Jessie Morey, and Eve Decker.
- On May 31, the new Social Justice/Engaged Buddhism group will be holding its first gathering at 10:30am.
- Affinity Groups, Open Community Practice sessions, and Saturday Sangha meet regularly, and warmly welcome newcomers. Starting May 13, the Queer & Trans Affinity Group – which had over 20 people at their April gathering – will be meeting on 2nd Tuesdays as well as 4th Thursdays.
- Looking ahead, rolling registration is open for the June Residential Retreat with Rebecca Bradshaw and Zeenat Potia - scholarship funds are available. Also in June, Jean Esther will offer a half-day retreat open to anyone living with chronic illness/pain and/or disability, and local teachers will offer a panel on aging, illness, and death.
A Message from the IWM Guiding Teachers Council
Given these extremely challenging times, especially regarding our current government’s abandonment of core democratic values, the Guiding Teachers Council would like to offer a few words of encouragement and support for all of us in the sangha.
We know and share the widespread concern about the impact of the many chaotic and harmful actions coming from this administration across government, international affairs, climate and energy, human rights, the economy, and more, contributing to a pervasively heightened sense of insecurity, anxiety, sadness, fear, and anger, and real concerns about safety.
We are deeply grateful to have the treasure of the Buddha’s teachings as a precious map for skillful living and a blueprint for developing hearts and minds imbued with kindness, compassion, and equanimity. We recognize the blessing of these teachings as a privilege and a gift that all dharma students can lean on and share in these times. We affirm our commitment to a world rooted in compassion, respect, and care for all beings, and to a just and democratic society.
We take inspiration from a core expression of the Bodhisattva Vows in Mahayana Buddhism, “Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them all.” While the world we aspire to create may seem very far away at this moment, we know the truth of impermanence, the importance of community and solidarity in this time, and the power of planting seeds of wisdom and compassion across our personal, interpersonal and public lives.
Regardless of societal conditions, we celebrate together our ability to see clearly, to choose skillful and kind responses, and to endeavor to wrap our figurative and literal arms around our siblings and human and non-human family members. Even as governments and politicians change, our values remain consistent. We stand firmly with you and with all beings that seek a more respectful, harmonious, and just world.
We pledge to stand in solidarity with all those who are being vilified, targeted, and harmed: members of all kinds of non-dominant groups including BIPOC, trans, and nonbinary folks, the unlawfully fired workers, those without documentation or with the wrong tattoos, those who are punished for speaking out for human rights and against genocide, the abducted and disappeared, and more.
We are honored and grateful to be a part of this sangha rooted in dharmic values and to have each others’ support through this time. May all beings appreciate our interconnectedness and rally to care for every being without exception!
IWM Guiding Teachers
Candace Cassin, Jean Esther, Michael Grady, Manny Mansbach, Bernadine Mellis
Social Justice Group: First Meeting May 31
A Social Justice Group is forming within the sangha at IWM. We will gather to practice Meditation in Action and Engaged Buddhism regularly. Some of the activities we can engage in include sitting outdoors for justice, attending rallies, having discussion, writing postcards, hosting potlucks and phone banks, folding origami cranes for peace, and doing everything and anything we are drawn to do together.
We will be attending the Socially Engaged Buddhism Panel at IWM on Monday May 5 and hope to connect with folks there. Our first gathering is planned for Saturday May 31, 10:30am-12pm EST, in person only.
If you can't make it on May 5 or May 31 and want to learn more about the newly forming group, please email Cheryl Kiras at [email protected] and your message will be passed along.
EcoDharma Month Reflections
The Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment after touching the Earth. As Pamela Weiss writes, “The beautiful gesture of touching the Earth reminds us that awakening is less about stretching up toward transcendence than it is reaching down into the dirt, honoring our earthly, maternal home.” Specifically, he touched the Earth calling upon the earth goddess as a witness to his achievement. Can we collectively find ways to honor the Earth, and share the planet with our fellow non-human Earth dwellers?
IWM hosted our first EcoDharma month this year. We wanted to ask: how can the dharma support us during the growing climate crisis? How can we practice, grieve, celebrate, and act during this time? We were fortunate to have thoughtful and reflective teachers who each shared the dharma through a unique and powerful lens, including Kaira Jewel Lingo, Zac Ispa-Landa, Aravinda Ananda, Zeenat Potia, and Rebecca Bradshaw. We bow to those who led retreats: Kritee, Bernadine Mellis, and Gina Siepel. We hope all who attended went away with a small opening in your heart to accept what is, and to do what you are able. As Kaira Jewel Lingo says, “The future is the present moment.”
Please fill out this short survey if you attended an EcoDharma Month talk or retreat. We’d love to hear from you.
Deep Bow to Sangha Volunteers
Thank you for the countless ways you support IWM through generous acts of service, from watering plants to hosting offerings, serving on committees, and showing up to support our sangha. We’re deeply grateful for your generosity, and truly couldn't do it without you!
Community Feedback Form
Please complete a brief survey on your experience at IWM. We'd love to hear from you, as your feedback helps shape future programs. Thank you!
Downloadable Flyers
Given these extremely challenging times, especially regarding our current government’s abandonment of core democratic values, the Guiding Teachers Council would like to offer a few words of encouragement and support for all of us in the sangha.
We know and share the widespread concern about the impact of the many chaotic and harmful actions coming from this administration across government, international affairs, climate and energy, human rights, the economy, and more, contributing to a pervasively heightened sense of insecurity, anxiety, sadness, fear, and anger, and real concerns about safety.
We are deeply grateful to have the treasure of the Buddha’s teachings as a precious map for skillful living and a blueprint for developing hearts and minds imbued with kindness, compassion, and equanimity. We recognize the blessing of these teachings as a privilege and a gift that all dharma students can lean on and share in these times. We affirm our commitment to a world rooted in compassion, respect, and care for all beings, and to a just and democratic society.
We take inspiration from a core expression of the Bodhisattva Vows in Mahayana Buddhism, “Sentient beings are numberless, I vow to save them all.” While the world we aspire to create may seem very far away at this moment, we know the truth of impermanence, the importance of community and solidarity in this time, and the power of planting seeds of wisdom and compassion across our personal, interpersonal and public lives.
Regardless of societal conditions, we celebrate together our ability to see clearly, to choose skillful and kind responses, and to endeavor to wrap our figurative and literal arms around our siblings and human and non-human family members. Even as governments and politicians change, our values remain consistent. We stand firmly with you and with all beings that seek a more respectful, harmonious, and just world.
We pledge to stand in solidarity with all those who are being vilified, targeted, and harmed: members of all kinds of non-dominant groups including BIPOC, trans, and nonbinary folks, the unlawfully fired workers, those without documentation or with the wrong tattoos, those who are punished for speaking out for human rights and against genocide, the abducted and disappeared, and more.
We are honored and grateful to be a part of this sangha rooted in dharmic values and to have each others’ support through this time. May all beings appreciate our interconnectedness and rally to care for every being without exception!
IWM Guiding Teachers
Candace Cassin, Jean Esther, Michael Grady, Manny Mansbach, Bernadine Mellis
Social Justice Group: First Meeting May 31
A Social Justice Group is forming within the sangha at IWM. We will gather to practice Meditation in Action and Engaged Buddhism regularly. Some of the activities we can engage in include sitting outdoors for justice, attending rallies, having discussion, writing postcards, hosting potlucks and phone banks, folding origami cranes for peace, and doing everything and anything we are drawn to do together.
We will be attending the Socially Engaged Buddhism Panel at IWM on Monday May 5 and hope to connect with folks there. Our first gathering is planned for Saturday May 31, 10:30am-12pm EST, in person only.
If you can't make it on May 5 or May 31 and want to learn more about the newly forming group, please email Cheryl Kiras at [email protected] and your message will be passed along.
EcoDharma Month Reflections
The Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment after touching the Earth. As Pamela Weiss writes, “The beautiful gesture of touching the Earth reminds us that awakening is less about stretching up toward transcendence than it is reaching down into the dirt, honoring our earthly, maternal home.” Specifically, he touched the Earth calling upon the earth goddess as a witness to his achievement. Can we collectively find ways to honor the Earth, and share the planet with our fellow non-human Earth dwellers?
IWM hosted our first EcoDharma month this year. We wanted to ask: how can the dharma support us during the growing climate crisis? How can we practice, grieve, celebrate, and act during this time? We were fortunate to have thoughtful and reflective teachers who each shared the dharma through a unique and powerful lens, including Kaira Jewel Lingo, Zac Ispa-Landa, Aravinda Ananda, Zeenat Potia, and Rebecca Bradshaw. We bow to those who led retreats: Kritee, Bernadine Mellis, and Gina Siepel. We hope all who attended went away with a small opening in your heart to accept what is, and to do what you are able. As Kaira Jewel Lingo says, “The future is the present moment.”
Please fill out this short survey if you attended an EcoDharma Month talk or retreat. We’d love to hear from you.
Deep Bow to Sangha Volunteers
Thank you for the countless ways you support IWM through generous acts of service, from watering plants to hosting offerings, serving on committees, and showing up to support our sangha. We’re deeply grateful for your generosity, and truly couldn't do it without you!
Community Feedback Form
Please complete a brief survey on your experience at IWM. We'd love to hear from you, as your feedback helps shape future programs. Thank you!
Downloadable Flyers