Still, in the City: Creating Peace of Mind in the Midst of Urban Chaos

by Angela Dews (Editor)

Overview

Still, in the City is a collection of stories about the practice of urban Buddhism—when a New York City subway becomes a mobile temple, when Los Angeles traffic becomes a vehicle for awakening, when a Fifth Avenue sidewalk offers a spiritual path through craving, generosity, and sorrow.

The instructions offered here for exploring mindfulness in and around our cities are written to be accessible, whether you’ve practiced a lot or a little. Perhaps you’ve returned home from a retreat and want to hold the attention and intention gained from pausing and experiencing the silence. Or perhaps you practice mindfulness and don’t call it Buddhism, or you are just curious about what mindfulness is all about. Still, in the City will speak to you.

Practicing in the city comes with its own set of challenges and opportunities, and this book is attuned to both, offering guidance by teachers who see mindfulness not only as an intention for self-acceptance and relief of stress, but also as awareness that leads to dissatisfaction and that inspires our desire for deeper understanding and change. Dedicated to using their practice to make a difference not only in their own lives but also those of others, the authors speak of their involvement with their cities’ diverse communities, and their experience belies the notion that western Buddhists are of an age and race and class.

There is amazing clarity in stillness, and the opportunity for a skillful response rather than a reaction, even to injustice. And there is the possibility of equanimity and of freedom, everywhere and for all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510732346
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	09/11/2018
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	288
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Angela Dews and the Harlem Insight sangha often formed a line of walking meditators through the Saturday crowds on Lenox Avenue. She found the dharma in 1996 on retreat from politics, journalism, and government and is certified as a Community Dharma Leader by the Spirit Rock and New York Insight Meditation Centers.
Angela Dews and the Harlem Insight sangha often formed a line of walking meditators through the Saturday crowds on Lenox Avenue. She found the dharma in 1996 on retreat from politics, journalism, and government and is certified as a Community Dharma Leader by the Spirit Rock and New York Insight Meditation Centers.

Table of Contents

Foreword Eugene Cash Gina Sharpe Larry Yang Thanissara xi

Introduction Angela Dews xiii

Buddha, Awareness

Trees in the City Margo McLoughlin 1

Like all great teachers and poets, the Buddha knew the value of a good metaphor.

The Hawks in Our Hearts: You Are Nature Sebene Selassie 9

We all came from the wilderness. We all belong to it. And to each other.

Sonder, in the City Gary Singer 13

There is a word that describes the way we are together in the City.

Dare We Leave Our Buddhist Centers? Harrison Blum 19

How can mindfulness be an ally to the oppressed and not just a relaxation fad for the privileged?

Simply Living Alex Haley Carissa Jean Tobin 27

Can discipline and routine still offer a path to greater freedom with what is happening?

Practice in the Midst of Action Wildecy de Fatima Jury 35

In Brazil, Fatima more intentionally has had to cultivate "practice in the midst of action"-both action that happens in society and the deeply felt, life-changing action that happens in the heart.

Good Enough: Lovingkindness for Self Eve Decker 47

May all beings be free. Free from suffering, and free from the delusion of not good enough.

A Stranger in the City: Lessons from Traveling Alice Alldredge 57

Deeply examining our perceptions is an important part of the path to tranquility and peace, no matter what our surroundings.

Dharma, Truth

Clearly Knowing in New York Nakawe Cuebas 69

Nakawe can savor the pleasant, even knowing it's built on impermanence, and be present with the unpleasant, knowing it's changing-"this too shall pass."

Impermanence Tracy Cochran 75

The streets of New York are what Tracy imagines the Ganges to be-a holy river.

Teaching External and Internal Bart van Melik 81

People really took on this practice as something that they could do for themselves. And that they could eventually do in the community.

Training Underground Joshua Bee Alafia (Jbee) 91

Joshua had the realization that subway cars are actually moving temples.

Traffic as a Vehicle for Awakening Diana Gould 95

It is the first noble truth of living in Los Angeles: There is suffering and there is traffic.

Still, in the Pedals Paul Irving 103

Rolling through these neighborhoods, still and still moving, Paul holds these contradictions with the heartache of compassion.

Pavement Practice Angela Dews 111

She has arrived. She is home. On Malcolm X Boulevard in Harlem, New York.

Aging and Urban Dhamma Practice, NYC Nancy Glimm 117

Dhamma practice in an urban environment can sometimes show us clearly and sometimes very directly the impermanent nature of all existence.

Kickboxing with the Dharma Ellen Furnari 121

If our connected, nonjudgmental awareness is dependent on quiet, on just the right seat, the right time of day, etc., then it is quite limited.

Grounded in Presence: Our Bodies, Our Teachers Nobantu Mpotulo 125

Nobantu thanks her body and plans to remember next time that the body is an ever-present teacher.

Sangha, Love

Anger Is a Messenger JD Doyle 135

JD is curious as to how anger has been emphasized in our Buddhist circles as something to eliminate and seek to curb, rather than to ponder and open to the stories it can share.

The Perfection of Community Rachel Lewis 143

There's a form of purification of heart and mind that can happen only in community.

Awakening in New York City Rosemary Blake 153

Rosemary was clear she didn't want to be an expert mediator. She wanted to have the teachings infuse her.

Dharma as Civil Rights and Community Transformation-Atlanta Style Pamela Ayo Yetunde, ThD 165

In the midst of skyscraper transformation of Atlanta's skyline, Ayo finds Gandhi's statue and the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change remain low to the ground and accessible.

Sangha as the Whole of Practice Tuere Sala 175

What if we realized the truth inherent in the statement that "one cannot be free unless all are free"? What if awakening were to occur within the body of sangha?

Practicing in Prison City Ellen Furnari Walt Opie 195

One member of the prison sangha told Ellen: Here in the prison city, there is so little to be attached to, so it is conducive to letting go, to focusing instead on meditation, almost like a Buddhist monastery. And Walt might even say that this is the best place he knows for his own practice.

Leaving the Big City and Finding Hope in the Big House Reverend Diane Wilde 211

One man said the assignment to be kind was stupid! The best he could do was be respectful.

Notes and Links 223

About the Authors 233

Index 249

Editorial Reviews

Mindfulness and Compassion practice in daily life? Still, in the City has many thoughtful and inspiring essays by Dharma practitioners and teachers, all ways to bring the teachings alive just where you are.”
—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart

“This is a book for those whose spiritual practice lives in the fierce light of day. As a New Yorker, a collection of authentic, personal expressions like these are critical.... Still, in the City is as critical for beginners interested in exploring mindfulness practice as it is for those devoted to the justice, equity, and love of a fully expressed Buddhadharma.”
—Greg Snyder, Senior Director & Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies, Union Theological Seminary, Dharma Teacher & Senior Priest, Brooklyn Zen Center

“Still, in the City is an insightful collection of practical wisdom bathed in the heart of the dharma. These seasoned practitioners invite us into deeper presence, understanding, and intimacy with the simplicity and complexity of our day-to-day lives, regardless of our surroundings or circumstances. We need this book to better understand our lives and our belonging. A must read and must share offering that reveals the healing power of wise awareness.”
—Ruth King, author of Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism From The Inside Out

“This book could be titled ‘Buddhism Made Real’ because the authors describe their firsthand experience of practicing Buddhism in the fullness and the complexity of modern life. The book is inspiring and heartwarming.”
—Gil Fronsdal, co-teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA and Insight Retreat Center in Santa Cruz, CA

“Still, in the City is a perfect book for the modern Buddhist reader. Underpinned with deep dharma, it presents engaging tools for living in the realm of samsara from a wise, compassionate, and diverse group of teachers and senior practitioners. Taking wisdom to the streets, they help keep these ancient teachings alive in our troubled world.”
—Kevin Griffin, author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps and Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World

“What you are offering here will be a great refuge to urban meditators.... To me your book establishes an apt metaphor for finding [the] quiet within the storm. We can’t make everyone else bow to our wishes for stillness. But we don’t need to. The inner quiet is much more accessible and practical anyway.”
—Gloria Taraniya, Ambrosia, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies

“Both practical and poetic, Still, in the City provides enormously helpful advice on how to undertake serious dharma practice where the vast majority of us actually live. This is a beautiful, rich anthology that fills a critical gap in the literature.”
—Sumi Loundon Kim, Yale University, author of Sitting Together: A Family-Centered Curriculum on Mindfulness, Meditation, and Buddhist Teachings

“Mindfulness and Compassion practice in daily life? Still, in the City has many thoughtful and inspiring essays by Dharma practitioners and teachers, all ways to bring the teachings alive just where you are.”
—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path With Heart

“This is a book for those whose spiritual practice lives in the fierce light of day. As a New Yorker, a collection of authentic, personal expressions like these are critical.... Still, in the City is as critical for beginners interested in exploring mindfulness practice as it is for those devoted to the justice, equity, and love of a fully expressed Buddhadharma.”
—Greg Snyder, Senior Director & Associate Professor of Buddhist Studies, Union Theological Seminary, Dharma Teacher & Senior Priest, Brooklyn Zen Center

“Still, in the City is an insightful collection of practical wisdom bathed in the heart of the dharma. These seasoned practitioners invite us into deeper presence, understanding, and intimacy with the simplicity and complexity of our day-to-day lives, regardless of our surroundings or circumstances. We need this book to better understand our lives and our belonging. A must read and must share offering that reveals the healing power of wise awareness.”
—Ruth King, author of Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism From The Inside Out

“This book could be titled ‘Buddhism Made Real’ because the authors describe their firsthand experience of practicing Buddhism in the fullness and the complexity of modern life. The book is inspiring and heartwarming.”
—Gil Fronsdal, co-teacher at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA and Insight Retreat Center in Santa Cruz, CA

“Still, in the City is a perfect book for the modern Buddhist reader. Underpinned with deep dharma, it presents engaging tools for living in the realm of samsara from a wise, compassionate, and diverse group of teachers and senior practitioners. Taking wisdom to the streets, they help keep these ancient teachings alive in our troubled world.”
—Kevin Griffin, author of One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps and Living Kindness: Buddhist Teachings for a Troubled World

“What you are offering here will be a great refuge to urban meditators.... To me your book establishes an apt metaphor for finding [the] quiet within the storm. We can’t make everyone else bow to our wishes for stillness. But we don’t need to. The inner quiet is much more accessible and practical anyway.”
—Gloria Taraniya, Ambrosia, Barre Center for Buddhist Studies

“Both practical and poetic, Still, in the City provides enormously helpful advice on how to undertake serious dharma practice where the vast majority of us actually live. This is a beautiful, rich anthology that fills a critical gap in the literature.”
—Sumi Loundon Kim, Yale University, author of Sitting Together: A Family-Centered Curriculum on Mindfulness, Meditation, and Buddhist Teachings

From the Publisher