Leicester Great Heart Circle Meeting

The Circle met on a cold and dark night at Great Meeting. We talked of darkness and the light in the turning of the seasons and the differences between countries north, south and close to the equator. Celebrating Christmas in the dark of winter or the light of summer.  Mike read some poems by Ryokan, though not the one below, and we sat to meditate - silent night.


A cold night - sitting alone in my empty room
Filled only with incense smoke.
Outside, a bamboo grove of a hundred trees;
On the bed several volumes of poetry.
The moon shines from the top of the window,
And the entire neighbourhood is still except for the
cry of insects.
Looking at this scene, limitless emotion
(Ryokan)

Second Chester Circle, 6th December

 

We held the second Chester Circle this evening, in Sally's Secret Garden on Bridge Street Rows.  It was a great evening, nine of us in a big circle in the upstairs room, warmed by Sally's glowing heater, lit by candlelight and perfumed by inscense which Sally lit for us.  We did some relaxation, had a talk about Zen as a way of softening our usual sense of ourself and becoming more open to life, and then held a session of Silent Sitting meditation...  At the start of the meditation there was a big noisy parade outside with drums and trumpets!! (like last time too!)  The next circle will be on Thurs 20th Dec at 6.15pm.

First Chester Metta Circle this evening!

We held the first ever Chester Metta Circle this evening, in a room above Sally's Secret Garden in the Old Dutch House on the Bridge Street Rows (the rows are medieval walkways.  The house is over 400 years old, and the street is nearly 2000 years old)  The circle is held at the top of these stairs in the picture!

The timing was wonderful too - by chance it coincided exactly with a parade in Chester to light the Christmas lights.  There were children with lanterns, a walking huge snowman, drumming and dancing, and a choir on the row opposite us singing carols.  At exactly the moment towards the end of the metta meditation, when I talked about extending it outwards to all beings, the choir began to sing "Joy to the World..."

I hope it's a good sign for an auspicious beginning to exploring metta and Love in general together here in Chester.  May All Beings Be Happy!

Rumi Meets Shams of Tabriz

The Leicester Great Heart Circle met last night for the second of the three nights of Rumi.
We talked about how Rumi, an established preacher and lawyer with a growing reputation and audience, met with Shams of Tabriz.  Shams is described as a strange, wild man, a mystic, a hermit, a wanderer.  They become constant companions and he sets Rumi's heart ablaze with love for the Divine, but Shams disappears as mysteriously as he came. Rumi is transformed, he starts to write his poetry and starts to dance and whirl in longing for oneness. We read the poem "The Guest House" to the sound of the ney flute :

Darling, the body is a guest house;
every morning someone new arrives,
Don't say, "O, another weight around my neck!"
or your guest will fly back to nothingness.
Whatever enters your heart is a guest
from the invisible worl: entertain it well.

Every day and every moment, a thought comes
like an honoured guest into your heart.
My soul, regard each thought as a person,
for very person's value is in the thought they hold.

Chester Metta Circle Coming Soon...

There will hopefully be a new Metta Circle starting in Chester in November, following on from the one in Leicester which has been meeting monthly this year.  The Chester circle will meet fortnightly, probably above a lovely gift shop on Bridge Street in the medieval Chester Rows.

Like the Leicester circle, the one in Chester will begin with a guided session of metta (love/kindness) meditation, then we'll have tea together in the circle and have heart-talk about some theme of love, interconnectedness, oneness, and we'll end by singing a simple Buddhist chant together- "Sabbe Satta Sukhi Hontu", which means "May all Beings be Happy".

More details to come soon...

Virtual Metta Circle Begins!

Dear Friends,

Growing out of the monthly metta circles we started offering earlier this year, we now have a Virtual Metta Circle!  Anyone coming along to Great Heart activities is welcome to join - the idea is that if any of us has a friend who is ill, or someone needing help, or maybe something positive like beginning a charity project or going on a pilgrimage, then you would write a brief email asking the circle to send them good thoughts.  Anyone taking part in the circle would read your request, then stop for a few moments and think of the person you've mentioned.  They may simply send them metta ("love" in the Pali language), or they might say a favorite prayer or blessings for them.

I hope in this way we can reach out more and more to those in need, remember our shared vulnerability and kinship, and also create little moments of kindness and beauty in the midst of our daily lives.  If you're involved with the Great Heart Society at all and would like to be part of the Virtual Metta Circle, please send a quick email to:

greatheartmettarequest@gmail.com

and you'll be added to the list.  Love to you all,

Chris Starbuck

Celebrating Rumi's Birthday

We met close to the date of Rumi's birthday on 30th September, a great opportunity to talk about the great Sufi Poet and Teacher !  We talked about his early years from his birth in 1207 in a village in Tajikistan near Balkh (Afghanistan), the movement of his family through Samarkand, Baghdad and finally arrival in Konya.  Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkh becomes established as an Imam- a preacher and law expert, he attracts many followers, he practices the way of renunciation,obedience and studies his books. Time passes, fourteen years later he is about to meet his future Teacher, Shams Of Tabriz, and his life will be transformed!!

We finished listening to a recording of the sound of the Turkish ney flute and we read some of Rumi's classic poems.

This is the first of three nights celebrating Rumi between his birthday and his wedding night.
The story continues !