Sit. Sit and sit again. I only wanted to meditate somewhere and I was on meetup and I found this little spot called Palo Alto Buddhist group. Robert was leading the first week and he led the discussion on a topic in a book by Ani Pema Chodron who unbeknownst to me I will later on meet in real life.
The group was warm and welcoming so I was glad that I had another option to go and sit. All I wanted to do was to sit on a cushion and breath. I don’t really care for discussions or too much scholastic rhetoric. I just care for silence and sitting. The Palo Alto sangha provided a place once a week for 24 minutes of quiet time. A place where the smell of incense is more valuable to me than the smell of gasoline( I drive a lot). I found a home in Palo Alto for meditation where I could go and relax. That was in 2012 and it was what I needed to strengthen my practice. A cushion to sit on and 24 minutes to keep quiet and breath. That’s it. Later on I met Joji Santos who had this maternal energy that kept the group together. I would have long conversations with her after sitting on Sundays. She later introduced me to Khen Rinpoche and I felt a deep connection to this Sangha. I find the discussions to be an enormous help when contemplating topics or emotions that we might be dealing with at times. The discussions can point us towards buddhist texts. The discussions are there for us to help us reflect on our own experiences.
I appreciate the Palo Alto Sangha. It has provided me a true refuge over the years; a place to connect with a cushion and other cushion sitters.
-Michael Uhila
