What does this practice mean for you?  How deep is it?  How wide?  How long?  What is the shape?  Does the practice follow the contours and confines of your body?  Does it live and die with you?  Where does the progress you make on the path reside in infinite space?  Do you come to get some relaxation for yourself?
 
I hope I get something from this practice.  We pretty much have to start with a “getting” mentality; get some relaxation, some peace, some insight. 
 
The bigger practice begins when we also are looking at giving.  Even the things that we “get” are for the purpose of giving.  So we get a little equanimity; that is certainly something we can give to others in the form of calm patience.  Insight can be given as simply seeing the complex interdependence that is a human being struggling for happiness.
 
If you read this and think, “Oh, my practice is so narrow.  I am only concerned about my own gain.  I should stop.”  Just let those thoughts go.  You are where you are.  You just keep practicing and contemplating and the mind can’t help but see that a practice based solely on self gain is one where we have painted ourselves into a very small corner. 
 
It’s often mentioned at Sangha that the place exists and is maintained through generosity.  People mow, garden, clean, teach, sit on the Board, drop money in dana boxes, edit newsletters, and on and on to give something to a place and community.  That is all true and every bit of it is important and appreciated.
 
Think bigger. Our support for this place has a much, much bigger and longer context. Buddhism has been around and evolving for over 2,500 years.  The teachings continue to reach new people every day who find in this ancient wisdom a way to understand the human situation and perhaps make their own and other lives a little more easeful.  
 
This will end.  You know you will die, right?  The guesthouse of the body will be left behind.  Even if you struggle with teachings that say the guest, consciousness, will leave this guesthouse of the body and continue to another life, all of us can know that the bigger guesthouse, the marvel of existence that includes these amazing and befuddling creatures called human beings, will continue.  Or we certainly hope it will continue.  We have all lived long enough to see that human beings can make a mess of their own lives and a collective mess of societies and even a planet.  Human beings can also be moral, peaceful, loving, kind, and caring.  This practice helps humans live better.
 
Sometimes on a Tuesday night, I look around at the group and try my best to realize that all of these people will be gone.  Death is there for everyone, even when we have an eight-year-old show up as happened not too long ago.  
 
Yet this will go on; these teachings, hopefully this place for a while, and a few humans in other chairs or on different cushions.  There may be the same longings and pains as those who sit in the chairs today, but in a world quite different.  
 
You and I are on a path that we can see as very narrow: me and my happiness.  Or it can be wide and deep.  It’s the same path and a different path.  The teachings are not different but the size of the heart that houses them expands.

Save the date!  Our Annual Meeting and Potluck dinner is Tuesday, November 14^th, immediately following the dharma talk.  Bring a dish to share and enjoy an evening with friends. 

The Introduction to Insight Meditation Class is being offered every Monday evening during November.  It is not too late to sign up.  Class begins at 6:30 pm at Sangha House and lasts about an hour.  If you, or a friend are interested, please sign up at https://www.imfw.org/intro.

Book Group is reading and discussing Sharon Salzberg’s latest book Real Life.  The group began last month, however, it is not too late to join.  It meets on the third Tuesday of the month immediately following the dharma talk.   If you are interested, please sign up at https://www.imfw.org/book-group to receive informational emails about the book study.

Thank you to everyone who helped to make our Fall Retreat with Joan Staubach such a success.  Thanks for attending and for helping to keep everything running smoothly.

If you have a question, suggestion, time or a talent that you would like to donate to IMFW please contact any board member and let them know.  We are completely staffed and operated by volunteers.  We appreciate all help.

Our mission is to provide for the study and practice of Insight (Vipassanā) Meditation according to the Theravāda Buddhist religious tradition and to support and encourage the development of community based upon Buddhist ideals, teachings and practices.

At this time of year, as our thoughts turn to giving thanks for all of our blessings, it is a good time to consider joining IMFW’s Gratitude Group.
 
As you may know, some of us in the Sangha participate in an email Gratitude Group.  Each member of the group is invited to send out a daily email observing three things they are grateful for.  This is a wonderful practice.  It allows us to increase mindfulness of just what we are grateful for and notice that bringing awareness to that allows it to expand in wonderful ways.  This practice has the added benefit of giving us the chance to get to know each other personally a little better.
 
If you're interested in joining the group, please send an email to 
ifw-gratitude+subscribe@googlegroups.com
 
Once you have signed up you can send your gratitude email each day to ifw-gratitude@googlegroups.com and it will be delivered to all of the participants in the group.  
 
You can unsubscribe at any time, as described at the bottom of each email.  There is no requirement that you participate every day.  Some members faithfully send daily emails, others only send occasional emails, and some just like to read others' posts, but the whole group benefits from reading whatever emails are delivered each day.
 
If you prefer you can adjust your Google groups setting so you receive the gratitudes in digest form.  Then you get all that day's messages in just one email a day.  To do this, once you have subscribed, do the following:

• Go to groups.google.com/g/ifw-gratitude
• Go to My Membership Settings
• Under Subscription choose Digest

If you have any questions or encounter problems, you can contact me at eeengland@gmail.com.  Please consider joining if you haven’t already!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Ellen

We are offering the very popular Introduction to Insight Meditation course. This four week class meets every Monday evening during November, beginning at 6:30 pm lasting for about an hour.  Drew Consalvo, resident teacher at IMFW, is teaching.  This class is offered in person only and meets at 2332 Sandpoint Road, Fort Wayne, In.  If you are interested in attending or would like more information about the course, please sign up here.

Insight Meditation is a practice that trains the mind to be aware of what is happening, when it is happening. When we begin to see our experience more clearly, we become better able to make choices about how we might live our lives with less stress and anxiety.  As the mind settles and can see more clearly into the difficult situations of our lives, the qualities of love, compassion and wisdom naturally arise.  Insight Meditation is a way to help cultivate that state of mind.

Learning to meditate is not about becoming a Buddhist; it is not about adopting new concepts or dogmas.  It is not a scholarly pursuit, nor is it tied to a belief system.  Insight Meditation practice is useful no matter what your religious or spiritual orientation and can support your existing spiritual path, no matter what that is.

Insight Meditation, or Vipassana, has been practiced for over 2,600 years, since the time of the Buddha.  This lineage is practice primarily in Thailand, Burma, India, Sri Lanka and now in Europe, Australia, many parts of African and the United States.

While there is no fee for the class, donation boxes will be available for those who wish to express their gratitude to the teacher, or the Insight Meditation Fort Wayne community for freely offering this class.

Because cost should not be a barrier to growing one’s practice and in keeping with the spirit and practice of generosity (dana), Insight Meditation Fort Wayne (IMFW) has made available financial assistance for Buddhist retreats.

COVERAGE

IMFW financial assistance is offered to support the individual’s attendance at retreats as well as to support the growth of our the IMFW Sangha overall.  This assistance is therefore offered to those who are regular attendees at IMFW meditation classes, Tuesday meditation sessions, or IMFW Sangha retreats.  The Sangha and/or Teacher Collective welcomes feedback on your experience after the retreat. but it is not mandatory.

We offer financial support for retreats in Theravada as well as Zen and Vajrayana/Tibetan Buddhist traditions.

IMFW financial assistance is available to fully or partially cover the cost of registration and transportation of a retreat.  Because our financial resources are limited, we ask that applicants make every effort to pay as much of the registration fee and transportation costs as they are able so there will be funds to assist as many people as possible.

It is a long-standing tradition that teachers offer the teachings at no cost and that attendees freely offer dana (generous giving) to the teacher at the end of retreats. As generosity and contemplation of the value of the teachings is a key part of retreat experiences, IMFW financial assistance is not to be used to cover dana to the teacher.

APPLICATION PROCESS
 
If you would like to apply for financial assistance, please complete the scholarship application form and mail or e-mail it to InsightMeditationFW@gmail.com as far as possible in advance of the retreat. 

Retreat Scholarship Application
Insight Meditation Fort Wayne
2332 Sandpoint Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46809