 In this issue:
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River of Karma
Pam Steinbach
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 William Stafford poses a question in his poem “Ask Me”: “Some time when the river is ice ask me / mistakes I have made. Ask me whether / what I have done is my life.” As an excellent poet, Stafford doesn’t take back the gift by answering: he allows us to ponder. He lets the river answer, the river of time, as he ends the poem with, “What the river says, that is what I say.” So please forgive me if I take his gift from you. It is not my intent.
On one hand, I’d answer yes: this life I experience depends on my past actions, karma of body, speech, and mind. That understanding leads me, so rare, to take responsibility. And in many ways, it is true. Yet we can’t flippantly say as we pass the homeless woman, “Oh well, it’s her karma.” The bombs falling in Ukraine are not the fault of the cowering family. The whirling suffering in the Middle East is not so easily dismissed. The child with cancer did not bring it on. There are many worlds the river flows through, there are many tributaries and time may not be so linear.
Neither Stafford nor Buddha mentions the headwaters; the source incomprehensible and irrelevant. Karma is not only a matter to be understood as a concept but to be observed. It is ours to respond, to enter our lives fully as experience here and now.
We don’t know why things happen in our lives. We can only deal with what arises with the wisdom we have at hand. We know that is with virtue, lovingkindness, compassion, and deep calm insight. Whatever happens can be a wake-up call. A difficult circumstance may be the one that opens our hearts; a treasure. Fortune or misfortune; hard to know. We are invited to enter the dharma gate.
- Pam Steinbach
Ask Me
By William Stafford
Some time when the river is ice ask me
mistakes I have made. Ask me whether
what I have done is my life. Others
have come in their slow way into
my thought, and some have tried to help
or to hurt: ask me what difference
their strongest love or hate has made.
I will listen to what you say.
You and I can turn and look
at the silent river and wait. We know
the current is there, hidden; and there
are comings and goings from miles away
that hold the stillness exactly before us.
What the river says, that is what I say.
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An Introduction to Buddhism – A four week course taught and facilitated by Pam and John Steinbach. This class will be offered freely every Monday evening 6 pm in February at Sangha House. Dana is gratefully accepted. In-person option only. Please sign up for the class here.
An Introduction to Insight Meditation class will be taught by Tammy Dyer and Barb Lahman beginning Monday April 8th, 6:30 pm, and for the next three Mondays in April. This class is freely offered and dana is gratefully accepted. In-person option only. Please sign up for the class here.
We offer a silent time of meditation on Sunday mornings at 10 am – and our cornerstone; the Tuesday night meditation and dharma talk, beginning at 6 pm.
Day Long Retreats may be offered as a pop-up option. Watch your email for any opportunities.
The Board of Directors for IMFW
Tammy Dyer, Founder and Guiding Teacher
Deb O’Kelly, President
Pam Steinbach, Secretary and Teacher
Alexandra Belyaeva, Treasurer
Drew Consalvo, Teacher
Nancy Tompkins
Luke Bassett
Josh Smith
Monica Cardenas
Dora Rogers
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.
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An Introduction to Buddhism
Pam and John Steinbach
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An Introduction to Buddhism will be offered this February, taught by IMFW teachers Pam and John Steinbach. Class will meet at 6:00 pm on the four consecutive Monday evenings in February at IMFW (in person only). The intent is for all who participate to have a better understanding of Buddhism and gain some insight into how these teachings apply to daily life. John and Pam look forward to seeing where the discussions take us and are planning to allow plenty of time for conversation. The class will address the Four Noble Truths including the Noble Eightfold Path, the Three Marks of Existence, lists of the virtuous qualities, the Hindrances, and the different schools of Buddhism.
Classes will be held from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Mondays, February 5, 12, 19 and 26. The classes are freely given. Dana (donation of generosity as you are able) is welcome and encouraged. You can sign up here.
Introductory classes will be offered quarterly at IMFW. Introduction to Buddhism offered summer and winter and Introduction to Insight Meditation in spring and fall.
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“What is it you plan to do with this one wild and precious life?” -Mary Oliver
Open Retreat Offered February 27, 28, 29 and March 1, and March 2th – 2024
An Open Retreat will be available at IMFW (in person only) led by John and Pamela Steinbach on February 27 – March 2, Tuesday, through Saturday. You are welcome to come for half a day or full days, all or any combination on any of these dates. Please bring a journal or paper to briefly note insights and questions, and a lunch if you are staying for the full day. The retreats are offered on a Dana basis, the practice of generosity: giving what you are able, out of gratitude, for IMFW and the teachers.
Almost all schools of Buddhism include meditation practices to directly experience the workings of the mind. Retreats are an opportunity to devote a period of quiet focus committed to introspective awareness and mindful attention. If you decide you want to bring serious Buddhist practice into your life, two things seem necessary; a daily practice of meditation and periods of more prolonged practice to gain deeper insights into the workings of the mind. In the midst of our busy lives of gaining insights and performing outer responsibilities, a half day or full day or a short stretch of days is an opportunity to examine what this life is. IMFW is pleased to be able to offer some intensive opportunities for inquiry. This doesn’t mean that study of the dharma, listening to talks, and being a member of a sangha without a meditation practice is not valuable; they can all be of benefit to generate generosity, virtue, patience, meditation, and wisdom. Occasional retreats offer deeper pondering of the teachings, observing the nature of mind, and reflecting on the activities of body, speech and mind. Interspersed with periods of 30 minute seated meditation, these retreats include walking meditation, teachings, discussion, and yoga.
Please sign up here for any retreat/day that you are interested in.
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An Introduction to Meditation
Tammy Dyer and Barb Lahman
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The Introduction to Insight Meditation Class will be offered by guiding teacher, Tammy Dyer, and Barb Lahman Monday evenings from 6:30-8:00 pm April 8th and running until April 29.
The course will provide fundamental instruction in Insight Meditation. Emphasis is placed on mindfulness practices of awareness of breath, feelings, emotions, and thoughts.
Explanation and discussion of the teachings central to insight meditation are part of each class. The course is appropriate for beginners as well as experienced meditators who wish to maintain their “beginner’s mind.”
Classes meet at 2332 Sandpoint Road, Fort Wayne and are offered in person, only.
If you are interested in participating in this class that is “freely offered” (on a donation basis), please sign up here.
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Mindful Heart Centered Well-being 8 Week Course
Offered by Janet Lynch M.S.Ed, Certified Mindfulness Instructor
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From time to time, we will let you know about courses that we feel may be of interest or benefit to you. Janet Lynch is not affiliated with IMFW. If you any questions about the course, contact Janet Lynch directly.
Engaging the principles and practices of mindful awareness will support you in navigating life’s full range of experience. This course is a deep dive into practical Mindfulness and its foundational practice of meditation. With a curious Beginner’s Mind, you will begin to cultivate a kinder relationship with your thoughts, emotions, and stress through the practices of acceptance, non-judgement, non-attachment, kindness and compassion for self/others, heart centered intuition, and gratitude.
You will learn that transforming difficult emotions is not achieved with the logical mind, but rather at the emotional level where they reside. You will learn to trust your Heart (Brain), the epicenter of your intuition. You will come away with practices and resources to support: coping with difficult thought and emotional patterns, the daily challenges of every day life, becoming more embodied, personal growth, and wellbeing.
This course is both educational and experiential. The educational component covers Mindfulness, its history, core components and values, and practices for daily living. The experiential component includes guided meditation, as a model for your own dedicated and doable personal practice, as well as embodiment practices of gentle yoga movement, body scans, and sensorial activities. Essentially, the educational component of this course will be interspersed with engaging movement and hands-on activities so that we will not be seated the whole time.
For a thorough understanding of these practices and making them your own for personal transformation, it is recommended that participants intend to attend all 8 sessions which build upon one another, as well as engage in a daily at-home meditation practice. We will come together in Shared Humanity for the benefit of our own well-being and that of our fellow humans.
Mindful Heart Centered Well-being will be offered at Insight Meditation FW at 2332 Sandpoint Rd. on Wednesdays from March 6-April 24, 9-11:00 am, on a donation basis. Email Janet Lynch at janetlynch729@gmail.com to register.
Janet Lynch, MSEd, is a Certified Mindfulness Instructor who has taught Mindfulness and meditation to Kindergartners through adults for eight years. Her training includes: Mindful Schools Year-long Mindfulness Instructor Certification Program, Heart Math Institute training in Heart-Brain Coherence, Mindfulness Based Cancer Recovery (MBCR) with Dr. Linda Carlson, Trauma Informed Mindfulness with Dr. David Treleaven, Intuitive Intelligence with The Institute for Intuitive Intelligence, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) with Dr. Jack Dyer, and Mindfulness Based Self-Compassion (MBSC) & Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction for Teens (MBSR-T) with Lorraine Hobbs, UCSD Center for Mindfulness.
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