Welcome to the Building Beloved Community Sangha!
We are a spiritual community of mindfulness practitioners centered in Detroit and are rooted in the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community. Our Sangha centers Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) facilitators and participants and is inclusive of people from other marginalized groups, including people in the LGBTQ+ community and people with disabilities, while welcoming people from all backgrounds and faith traditions.
We also meet monthly at various times for in-person walking meditation on Belle Isle, and online and at members’ homes for Days of Mindfulness.
We use the 5 Mindfulness Trainings as guidelines for how we communicate, primarily through using loving speech that waters seeds of compassion, understanding, and love.
We hope you will join us online and/or in person!
The Building Beloved Community Sangha Caregiving Council
Gatherings on the Horizon
Following are both regularly scheduled online gatherings and unique in person or hybrid events.
Sunday Evenings
7-8pm ET on Zoom
This begins with a 5-minute silent sit, a brief check in, a 20-minute guided and/or silent sitting meditation, time for Dharma sharing, and offering the merit. Every third Sunday of the month we also meet in person at Passenger Recovery in Hamtramck.
Monday Mornings
7-7:30am ET on Zoom
This includes a chant and a 25-minute silent sit.
Walking Meditation
Dec 28th
Walking Meditation on Belle Isle @ 10-11:30 AM
Meet at the path to the lighthouse, park just after the coast guard station. Please dress for the wind and cold.
Sangha Facilitation Training
Jan 17th 4pm on Zoom
We would love to help you feel prepared and confident enough to facilitate or co-facilitate our Sunday evening or Monday morning practice. Email Joe if you would like to join him for the training.
Sangha Field Trip
Jan 24th 2pm at Friends Lake Community
Come for a winter walk, tree hugging, potluck, sauna, and mindful togetherness.
If you are interested in attending please contact Joe to inquire about details or carpooling.
Valentines Day of Mindfulness with Barbara Newell
Feb 14th 10am – 4pm at Earthwell Retreat Center
Limited spaces available, please RSVP by responding to the bi-weekly email.
Currently we are unsure if this will be offered through Zoom or not.
Sangha
The Sangha is a community of people practicing together. It has the capacity to generate the energy of mindfulness (smṛti) and concentration (samādhi). When breathing or walking, we breathe and walk in such a way that we can generate more mindfulness and concentration. When we interact with a Sangha, a community that is practicing like that, we will recognize this energy right away. – Thich Nhat Hanh
Like a drop of water flowing towards the sea, it knows that it can hardly succeed alone. It could evaporate half-way, become a cloud, wander here and there and never reach the sea. But if that drop of water enters a river and allows the river to embrace and transform it, then for sure it will arrive at the sea. As practitioners we must allow the sangha to lead, embrace, and carry us, for us to succeed. – Thich Nhat Hanh
There are people who ask, “Where can we find the Buddha today?” That is very easy to answer. When you can find a sangha with the practice, with the capacity to generate mindfulness, concentration, and insight, then you have found the Dharma–and when you have found the Dharma, the Buddha is there. The Buddha is truly present in the Dharma and the Sangha. – Thich Nhat Hanh
We would graciously like to acknowledge that we live and practice on the lands of the Anashinaabe people, now known as metropolitan Detroit.
Building Beloved Community Sangha 