Arriving – Please arrive a few minutes early so that you can get settled and be ready for meditation when the sitting begins at 7:30 p.m. If you arrive late, please pause outside the door for a moment to cultivate calm, and then enter the room quietly, so as not to distract others. If there is no available space in the circle when arriving after 7:30, please make a place for yourself outside the circle until the transition to the next practice session.
Observing silence – Monday evenings and Saturday morning retreats are held in silence, except when sharing is invited by the person leading. Please enter the room in silence, even when arriving a few minutes early, to allow others to begin meditating. (If you need to speak to someone, please use a quiet voice. For any but the briefest communications, consider asking the other person to join you outside the room.)
Sitting style – Participants are welcome to sit in a chair, or on the floor using a zabuton (floor pad) and cushion or bench. Cushions, zabutons, and a small number of benches are available for your use. We don't ask expect practitioners to remain perfectly still during sitting periods. We encourage you, however, to make posture adjustments with awareness, and to do your best to avoid distracting others when moving.
Use of bells and bowing – A bell signals the transitions between practice periods and the close of our formal practice for the evening. Participants are invited to bow to one another at the end of sitting and walking periods and when we close. You may wish to treat bowing as an opportunity to bring to mind what you would like to honor in the moment, such as the value of the practice just shared, the teachings and those who have preserved them and passed them on, or the potential to awaken in each of us. You are welcome to choose whether or not to participate in this practice.
Donations – We encourage the practice of dana, or generosity, in the form of monetary contributions to our group. Donations are used to add to our tape and book library, to conduct retreats, and for other purposes that support the work of our community. Contributions are purely voluntary, but offer a valuable way to practice the key Buddhist teaching on generosity. Donations to the group (with the exception of retreat registration fees) are tax deductible.
Leadership and decision making – The Eno River Buddhist Community is peer led. Except for teacher-led retreats, all activities are led by members of the group who volunteer and are willing to work with others to develop their practice in this way. Decision making and planning is carried out in monthly meetings that are open to all who wish to attend. Decisions are made by consensus.
Other considerations
Revised 5/15/2007