Manchester Buddhist Centre

Dayamala reports on a day of quiet reflec­tion and med­it­a­tion to take us into 2012

She writes …

On New Year’s Eve morn­ing we reflec­ted on the past year, acknow­ledging any con­fes­sions we still need to make, and reflect­ing on things we would like to let go of — whether things, tend­en­cies, views — to free our energy so that it becomes unadul­ter­ated, pure, not a holier than thou pur­ity but like pure new wool, unsul­lied or even pure dynamite!

The after­noon was spent rejoicing and express­ing our aspir­a­tions for the com­ing year.

Turning the mind away from samsara

Death comes without warn­ing!
it may come today,
part­ing me from all that is famil­iar
and all those I love.
now is the time to think
of what heart con­nec­tions mean.
now is the time to think
of what goes bey­ond birth and death.
now is the time to dis­cover
and learn to trust
the Openness, Clarity and Sensitivity
of my being,
the indes­truct­ible heart essence of all beings.
I have today to pre­pare.
Worldly attach­ments are use­less,
as are anger and delu­sion.
Now is the time to let hem go
and rest relaxed in my own true nature.
What use am I to oth­ers
if I am no use to myself?
How can I lib­er­ate the
if I can­not lib­er­ate myself?
May I and all beings be happy
and have causes of hap­pi­ness.
May I and all beings be free from suf­fer­ing
and the causes of suf­fer­ing.
May I and all beings have the hap­pi­ness of com­plete awaken­ing
that will never dimin­ish or fail.
Thus may we abide in great equan­im­ity,
unruffled by attach­ment and aver­sion
and with equal love for all beings.

New Year’s Day, 1st January

• Last Going Inward ses­sion for sangha mem­bers, 10.30 am
• Last Tools for Living your Life ses­sion for newer people, 11 am