This talk was given in the Online Dharma Practice Gathering with Rebecca Li held on Zoom on March 27, 2020, a weekly practice group established to support practitioners during the pandemic. In this talk, Rebecca shared the practice of cultivating clear, total awareness of the present moment in the body and our surrounding to allow joy into our heart as we experience anxiety and stress during the pandemic. She recommends listening to her talk on gratitude and total awareness here.
Author: Rebecca LI
In this guided meditation, I will take you through a whole body relaxation for ten minutes. You can use this for your 10-minute meditation session or continue after the recording ends for a longer period of sitting meditation to practice cultivating clear awareness of your body and mind.
In this guide meditation, I will take you through the relaxation of your head and face and your body to help you settle down your mind. If you have time, I encourage you to meditate for a few more minutes to relax your body and mind and to connect with your inner self after the recording ends. You can set a timer for a 10-15 minute meditation session if you wish. You can also use this for your 5-minute meditation session.
In this guided meditation, I will take you through a whole body relaxation followed by instructions to sit in clear awareness. The recording lasts for 24 minutes. I encourage you to continue the practice for another 10 minutes or more after the recording ends for a longer period of meditation if time permits. Be sure to take a couple of minutes to transition from stillness to motion when the meditation session ends.
On February 23, Rebecca led a Daylong Retreat at Newark Center for Meditation Culture with the assistance of Kathryn Davis and Leslie. It was the first retreat held at NCMC’s new home at 2 Park Place, a lovely space for the growing sangha. The day’s program included sitting and walking meditation, yoga led by Leslie, and a beautiful qigong sequence led by Kathryn. Rebecca also explained the practice of eating meditation over lunch and offered private interviews for several participants. The retreat organizer invited Rebecca to integrate her sociological expertise into the discussion. She spoke about group dynamics that cause suffering in her Dharma talk “Community-building with Clarity and Compassion”. With conceptual understanding of these dynamics, she explained how we can cultivate clear awareness of these unhelpful habits by Chan practice so as not to contribute to these dynamics. She also pointed out ways to build more enduring ties in group life that does not require perpetuating the usual dynamics deployed by groups. Retreat participants shared their experience and reflected on how they could apply the sociological insight and practice in their life at work and spiritual community. At the end of the retreat, many participants shared how they planned to bring various aspects of the practice home to be integrated into their daily life. (Photo by NCMC)
This is a reflection on Sallie Tisdale’s book Advice for Future Corpses on how to prepare for our own death and that of our loved ones by engaging in Chan practice. This talk was given as part of the meditation workshop on February 16, 2020 at the New Jersey chapter of Dharma Drum Mountain Buddhist Association in Edison, New Jersey.
This Dharma talk was given to the Buddhist sangha at Yale University on February 25, 2020. Rebecca discussed characteristics of lacerating self-judgment and how to work with it by cultivating total, clear awareness through Chan practice.
The Dharma talk was given at the Daylong retreat organized by Newark Center for Meditative Culture on February 23, 2020 in Newark, New Jersey. Applying sociological analysis of how the sense of belonging is often generated by maintaining a common enemy, Rebecca discussed how suffering is created in the process and alternative means of building community more in accordance with wisdom and compassion.
This bilingual talk was given at Chan Meditation Center on December 15, 2019.
Below is the English-only version of this talk
Retreat and Dharma Teaching Schedule (2019)
(revised 11/2/2019)
|
DATE |
Event (Location) |
| Jan 10 (Thur) 7-9 pm (Taiwan time) | My Practice with Master Sheng Yen
(Dharma School at Nung Chan Monastery, Taipei, Taiwan (Live stream)) |
| Jan 12 (Sat) 9:30 am-12:30 pm (Taiwan time) | Meditation Workshop and Dharma Talk
(International Meditation Group of Dharma Drum Mountain, Taipei, Taiwan) |
| Feb 2 (Sat) 7 pm – Feb 3 (Sun) 7 am | Night of Philosophy and Ideas: Facing the Present
“Community Building as a Social, Political, and Spiritual Practice” (8 pm) (Brooklyn Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY) |
| Feb 17 (Sun) 9 am to noon | Meditation Workshop and Dharma Talk
(DDMBA-NJ Chapter, Edison, NJ (http://www.ddmbanj.org/en))
|
| Feb 20 (Wed)
1-1:45 pm |
Mindfulness Meditation Workshop
(Rubin Museum of Arts (http://rubinmuseum.org/events/series/mindfulness-meditation)) |
| Feb 24 (Sun) 10 am-4 pm | Winter Daylong Retreat “Relaxing in Clarity and Flow” (with Shaka Georges) |
| March 14 (Thu) 7:15-8:45 pm | Meditation and Dharma Talk
(Boston Meditation Center at Karma Yoga Studio in Harvard Square (1120 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge) |
| March 20 (Wed)
1-1:45 pm |
Mindfulness Meditation Workshop
(Rubin Museum of Arts (http://rubinmuseum.org/events/series/mindfulness-meditation)) |
| Apr 5-7 (Fri-Sun) | Foundation Retreat
(Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC), 184 Quannacut Road, Pine Bush, NY http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/) |
| April 9 (Tue)
5:30-6:30 pm |
Meditation Workshop: Working with Self-Doubt
(Yale University (http://chaplain.yale.edu/)) |
| April 24 (Wed)
1-1:45 pm |
Mindfulness Meditation Workshop
(Rubin Museum of Arts (http://rubinmuseum.org/events/series/mindfulness-meditation)) |
| April 29(Mon)
7-9 pm |
Buddhist Sangha of Bucks County Dharma Talk: Why do we meditation?
(65 N Main Street, Yardley, PA |
| May 15 (Wed)
1-1:45 pm |
Mindfulness Meditation Workshop
(Rubin Museum of Arts (http://rubinmuseum.org/events/series/mindfulness-meditation)) |
| May 19 (Sun)
9 am to noon |
Meditation Workshop and Dharma Talk
(DDMBA-NJ Chapter, Edison, NJ (http://www.ddmbanj.org/en))
|
| May 25 (Sat)-June 2 (Sun) | Silent Illumination Retreat (with Simon Child)
(Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC), 184 Quannacut Road, Pine Bush, NY http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/)
|
| June 10-17 | Gen-X Dharma Teachers Conference
(Great Vow Zen Monastery, OR) |
| June 27 | Panel discussion and meditation workshops by Dharma heirs in the Dharma Drum Lineage of Chan Master Sheng Yen in Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of Master Sheng Yen’s Passing
(Dharma Drum Mountain, Taiwan) |
| June 28-30 | The 2019 International Conference on Buddhism and Social Science in Commemoration of the 10th Anniversary of Master Sheng Yen’s Passing
(Dharma Drum Institute of Liberal Arts, Taiwan) |
| August 1 (Thu) 7-8:30 pm | Public Dharma Talk: Harmonizing with the Rapidly Changing World
(Vancouver Chan Meditation Centre, Vancouver, B.C., Canada) |
| August 2-5 (Fri-Sun) | Four-Day Chan Retreat
(Dharma Drum Vancouver Centre, Richmond, B.C., Canada) |
| August 14 (Wed)
1-1:45 pm |
Mindfulness Meditation Workshop
(Rubin Museum of Arts (http://rubinmuseum.org/events/series/mindfulness-meditation)) |
| August 16-18 (Fri-Sun) | Beginner’s Mind Retreat
(Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC), 184 Quannacut Road, Pine Bush, NY http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/) |
| September 15 (Sun)
9 am to noon |
Meditation Workshop and Dharma Talk
(DDMBA-NJ Chapter, Edison, NJ (http://www.ddmbanj.org/en))
|
| September 17 (Tue)
5:30-6:30 pm |
Meditation Workshop: Working with Perfectionism in Relationships and Social Engagement
(Yale University (http://chaplain.yale.edu/) |
| September 21 (Sat) | Conference on Buddhism and Social Change
Title: Chan Practitioners as Agents of Social Change (Vancouver Chan Meditation Centre, Vancouver, B.C., Canada) |
| October 11-16 | Western Zen Retreat (with Simon Child and Fiona Nuttall)
(Dharma Drum Retreat Center (DDRC), 184 Quannacut Road, Pine Bush, NY http://www.dharmadrumretreat.org/) |
| November 8-10 (Fri-Sun) | Four Truths Chan Retreat
(Zen Mountain Monastery, Mount Tremper, NY) |
| November 18 (Mon) 7-9 pm | Buddhist Sangha of Bucks County
Title: “No self or not self? How should we consider the teachings on anatta?” (65 N Main Street, Yardley, PA |
| November 24 (Sun)
9 am to noon |
Meditation Workshop and Dharma Talk
(DDMBA-NJ Chapter, Edison, NJ (http://www.ddmbanj.org/en))
|
| December 15 (Sun) 11 am to 12:30 pm | Sunday Open House Talk
Title: Cultivating Dhyāna Meditation as a Chan Practitioner (Chan Meditation Center, Elmhurst, NY) |
| December 18 (Wed)
1-1:45 pm |
Mindfulness Meditation Workshop
(Rubin Museum of Arts (http://rubinmuseum.org/events/series/mindfulness-meditation)) |
Rebecca Li (智燈法傳 Wisdom Lamp, Dharma Transmitting) 