By LYDIA ANDERSON

It is Saturday morning and I have my nose to the floor and my arms in front of me, prostrating to the Buddha.

Members and aspirants of the FCM Order of Interbeing (OI) are engaged in the Touching the Earth Chant at our recent OI Connection Retreat.

I am recalling the first time I did a prostration with this chant.  How odd!  But, then as now, I find the place within me.

I can feel a connection in the room to my fellow practitioners. I have arrived. I am home.

I have been a member of FCM since 2017.  Most of my involvement has involved working in the kitchen.  It’s been a rewarding and fruitful place for me. But, last year when this retreat came around I began to realize that my energies were ready for redirection. I was ready to move forward in my commitment to FCM. I saw the friendship and energy when this group of people came together and I wanted to be a part of it.

The theme for this year's retreat was "Fire-building".  How do we tend the fire that is the Dharma within FCM and outward, including the global Order of Interbeing with thousands of members around the world?

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Order of Interbeing, and FCM OI members and aspirants were taking part in a local “fire-building session” to allow

[Continued from Mindfulness Matters]

friends on the path to enjoy community, build harmony and share their hopes and vision for the future of the Order and the global Plum Village community.

Thich Nhat Hanh started the Order of Interbeing in 1966 to provide a spiritual path for practitioners committed to mindfulness, social service and nonviolent activism to address the violence and division engulfing Vietnam and the world.

Fred many times has said our practice and commitment are part of what is making American Buddhism, but that it is still in its infancy in the United States.

With this in mind, we broke into small groups and pondered these questions:

How do we ensure that FCM and our OI group are robust and sustainable for the future?

How do we support our global OI brothers and sisters in their efforts?

We spent a good part of Saturday brainstorming these ideas in small groups through deep sharing and listening and then discussed them together with Fred.

All were in favor of sharing any benefits that FCM might have to offer to assist other OI members with less support or without a teacher to guide them. We expressed gratitude for the programs and strong Dharma teachings offered at FCM to aid in our spiritual development and discussed plans laid by Fred to prepare FCM members to be Dharma leaders and to preserve the future of our community and of OI as a "core" group serving and building our sangha.

We also spent a good deal of time getting to know each other or reconnecting. We were encouraged throughout the retreat to find members who we didn’t really know and connect.

I was able to spend quality time with someone that I have “known” for years. Yes, we know who each other are, but, we had not had an opportunity to share more personally.

What was is about our personal journey that brought us to FCM? The similarities were surprising! Now, I can look at him and feel that he truly is my FCM brother.

This strong sense of ease and connection permeated the entire retreat. Old friendships were renewed and new ones forged.

I think I can confidently say that our sangha is in good hands. We are so fortunate to have very talented and dedicated folks in our OI Order and in our wider community of members.

May any merit generated by our gathering be of benefit to all beings, now and in the future.

Lydia Anderson of Tampa became a member of FCM in 2017. She is a member of OI and the FCM Leadership Council and has served as kitchen manager at the Tampa Center.