Prologue, A word about Meetingbrook Hermitage Events:
- All are welcome. All events at meetingbrook are free, open, and informal.
- Each conversation, each practice stands by itself. You’ve missed nothing. Just stop by and join the sitting practice or the conversation.
- Each silent sitting is just that, nothing more. Each event and conversation begins with a space of silence.
- Residents of meetingbrook include a Border Collie (Rokpa) and two cats (Panta and Chitta).
- The hermitage seems to be becoming more eremitic. [From Late Latin erēmus, Ancient Greek ἐρῆμος (erêmos) /ἔρημος (lonely, solitary, desert, waste).]
EVENTS:
0. Anytime: ILU COTO
individual learning understanding conversation together
(ilu coto translates as: the illusion of barrier, opening beyond preserve/reserve)
1x1 conversation, contemplative, meditative, corresponding
ilu coto is the invitation to converse with one another about things that open us to what is present, and what is beyond our ordinary awareness.
1. Friday:
- Maine State Prison: (8am- 10:30am) (only open to prison volunteers)
- Buddhist Meditation Group;
- Meetingbrook Conversation;
- Quarry Hill (Extended Care Facility): Poetry, Tea, and Thee, (1st and 3rd Fridays, 3pm-4pm) open to all visitor poetry lovers. Bring one of your own, or from a book.
- Hermitage, Friday Evening Conversation: 5:30pm-7:00pm Topic or theme chosen each week by those attending.
2. Saturday:
- Saturday Morning Meditation Practice, 7:30am--8:45am, Buddhist/Meditative Focus. Format: 30min silent sitting, chant, reading, circle reflection, metta, (Coffee, tea, toast after available).
3. Sunday:
- Sunday Morning Collation, 9:00am - 10:00am. An Interreligious Centering Prayer/Lectio Divina (focusing on contemplation, conversation, correspondence), Format: A silent period (15mins), followed by reading from particular scriptures of two traditions, then reflective conversation, round-table.
- Morning Hospitality 10:30am-12:30pm, brunch and conversation
- Sunday Evening Practice, (Practicing Between Contemplative/Meditative Traditions), 6:00pm--8:00pm. Format: 40min silent sitting; 5min mindful walking; Heart Sutra chant; 15min table reading; 10min silent eating; 15min open conversation; final circle.
4. Throughout:
- We volunteer: at Maine State Prison (Buddhist Group and Meetingbrook Conversations); at Quarry Hill Assisted Living (poetry group); at Pen Bay Medical Center (patient visiting); at Coastal Family Hospice (visits & vigils); at Sussman House (end of life transitioning). It is with gratefulness, humility, and quiet joy we experience the invitation to participate in the lives and transitions in these places
Epilogue:
Meetingbrook Hermitage is a place of collation and recollection between
Ragged and Bald Mountains.
Ragged and Bald Mountains.
We practice, with simplicity, between traditions.
As Buddhists we are in the tradition of Dogen Zenji. As Christians we are in the tradition of Francis of Assisi. The Dalai Lama and Thomas Merton inspire us.
As Buddhists we are in the tradition of Dogen Zenji. As Christians we are in the tradition of Francis of Assisi. The Dalai Lama and Thomas Merton inspire us.
We cultivate our promises of contemplation, conversation, and correspondence.
This is attempted in the spirit of deep listening and loving speech.
Stop by any time to visit meditation cabin or bookshed.
The yurt is used for solitary retreats. Inquire.
The yurt is used for solitary retreats. Inquire.
Hiking trails of both mountains abound.
Meetingbrook Dogen & Francis Hermitage Central to Meetingbrook is its Schola dedicated to Interreligious Dialogue—Unveiling and Practicing Peace Between Ways. Donations are always gratefully accepted for the continuance and deepening of Meetingbrook. Our library is always available for your use. The books there are yours for the borrowing and sharing with others. |
m.o.n.o. (monastics of no other).
We are grateful for any efforts that encourage
an ongoing creation rooted in prayer, meditation, study, and service.
an ongoing creation rooted in prayer, meditation, study, and service.
