This sangha has meant the world to me. When I was searching for a community in Palo Alto in early 2015, I chanced upon the Palo Alto Sangha (then meeting at the Yoga Loft at the Cowper Inn). Little did I know that I would find not just the community I was seeking, but also find friendship, belonging, wisdom, and support (so much support) along the way. It has been a part of my life for the past 5 years through thick and thin, through new and old, through trials and tribulations. I have sought and found refuge in it consistently.
During this time, my life’s voyage once ran into some very choppy waters, to say the least. (I lost multiple beloved family members in quick succession). Those were dire times when I thought my own drowning was imminent. But the sangha saved me, time and time again. The friendships I made in the sangha came to my support multiple times when I needed them most. I can honestly say now in retrospect that my sangha saved me.
But beyond those extraordinary times, the simple, weekly cadence of the sangha keeps my life grounded. The Sunday discussions stimulate my mind and reinforce the often simple, yet pivotal principles the sangha teaches over and over again. Among them is to appreciate the present moment and to not take it for granted; that suffering exists in our lives naturally but that cures for it do as well; that those cures can be found inside our own mind; that meditation trains and disciplines the mind; that thoughts give rise to feelings and actions; that through deliberate, right action suffering can be reduced in our lives and in our world; that compassion and self-compassion are non-trivial powerful forces of healing. And so much more.
-Nauman Malik
