Newcomers
Whether you are new to meditation or an experienced practitioner looking for community, you are welcome here. SnowFlower Sangha invites you to join us for any of the six weekly meditation gatherings and several special events during the year.
We are a community of many outlooks, many cultures, many professions, spanning ages, gender identities, sexual orientations and levels of education. We are those new to mindfulness and meditation, and we are practitioners with decades of experience.
Welcoming all spiritual paths
Although our tradition is Buddhist and follows the teachings of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, sanga participants come from – and continue to practice—many faiths (or none at all). SnowFlower does not replace or reject other spiritual paths.
What is SnowFlower?
SnowFlower Sangha practitioners are committed to mindful meditation, nurturing our ability to be aware and accept what is happening in this moment. When we are mindful, we recognize our thoughts, emotions and beliefs are ever changing and impermanent. Meditation allows us to stop being caught up in them and the busyness and chaos of the world.
Practicing together
The sangha gatherings bring us together to meditate, to learn and to share. Each gathering includes time for sitting and walking meditation. In some gatherings, experienced practitioners share their insights in short presentations. In others, participants read from books and essays about mindfulness or Thay’s (Thay is a Vietnamese honorific for teacher) teachings, or they may watch a video. All are invited to respond to the information, sharing wisdom, questions and a desire to grow toward being fully alive. Inviting the bell, a Plum Village term for ringing the bell, marks the transition between parts of the gathering.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Thay, who is our spiritual North Star, was among the first to bring Buddhism and mindfulness to the West. A peace activist, prolific author, world leader and poet, the roots of many of his teachings can be found in the suffering he witnessed as bombs dropped during the Vietnam war. He founded the Engaged Buddhism movement, connecting the wisdom learned in meditation to acting for the good of society and the world.