Garden Meditation

On May 15th, Saturday, we are opening our garden at the Temple for one afternoon. We invite all who wish to come and sit in person in nature to cultivate the clear awareness of mind and the state of equanimity together.

In a 1.5- to 2.5-hour session starting from 2pm on May 15th, we will be showing you how to prepare the mind for a sitting practice, how to settle the body into the right posture, and practicing meditation through concentration, insight/visualization, and Sino Esoteric inner yoga (standing meditation).

Please register in advance so we can arrange parking space, communicate the direction to the Temple and the structure of this meeting to you. We kindly ask you to wear a mask in all indoor and some outdoor areas and practice social distancing at all times at Jinyin Temple, even if you are fully vaccinated. In the event of rain we shall move the meeting indoor to our meditation hall.

Registration is open until the end of the day on May 14th. Donation requested. 

In our daily life, we all have inner dialogue happening, where we are judging, reflecting, and analysing things all the time. So our mind can be very busy. Bruce Lee said “Empty you mind” because that is when we are able to be open to receive. To turn all that clutter that creates blockages down, push it to the side, and really make ourselves neutral, available, and open to receive whatever is happening externally and whatever is rising internally from our consciousness in the present moment.

This kind of emptiness is not a doctrine of nihilism, which denies life with a rather passive acceptance. It is a state of equanimity that allows us to be ready to face and take in whatever that is in front of us. Śūnyatā in Sanskrit, Emptiness is about neutrality and heightened awareness, thus an active way to be with this state of constant flux and chain of co-becoming where everything in our mind is interconnected.

The practice of emptiness and equanimity is a practice of both the mind and the body. Our intention matters because it sows the karmic seeds for future consequences. Our posture matters because we want to settle the body into a posture that exemplifies the qualities of heart and mind that we are endeavoring to develop or strengthen.