Welcome to the Port Townsend Sangha

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The Port Townsend Sangha website provides information on Meditation, Fellowship and Dharma Study opportunities in Port Townsend, Washington. While our focus is on Vipassana, or Insight Meditation, all who wish to meditate or who are interested in the dharma are welcome at all announced events. Program details and schedules are below.

The Sangha is an informal, leaderless, volunteer-driven, peer-led group. It’s members include all seekers interested in the Buddhist path. Sangha members and friends have gathered weekly for over 23 years. If you have questions, please email us.

WEDNESDAY MEDITATION ON ZOOM: The Sangha meets every Wednesday evening at  7 PM on Zoom to meditate, listen to a dharma talk, and discuss our practice. The links to these meetings are below, or will be sent if you subscribe to our newsletter.

MONDAY MEDITATION AT THE FRIENDS MEETINGHOUSE:  On Mondays, participants gather in person at 7 PM at the Friends Meeting House on the corner of Sheridan and 19th Streets in Port Townsend.

OUTDOOR MEDITATION IN THE PARK ON THURSDAYS NEXT SUMMER: This summer and early fall, the Sangha met weekly, each Thursday at 6:30 PM in Chetzemoka Park, in Port Townsend. We hope to resume in the Summer of 2025.

RETREATS: The Sangha offers weekend and one-day Retreats, open to the public. The most recent was held on July 19th and 20th, and was led by Tuere Sala, of Seattle Insight Meditation Society.

NEWSLETTER:  A weekly newsletter is sent to subscribers with the link to the Wednesday Zoom meetings and information on events and programs.

CHANT:  At the start of weekly meditation, we often play the devotional chant known as the Salutation to the Buddha. A recording and the words of the chant may be found here.

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Wednesday December 11th Meditation on Zoom

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A Cloud Never Dies

Join us on December 11th

At 7 PM on Zoom for

Meditation and a 

Presentation from

The Plum Village Band

 

Here is the link to this online gathering

After a half hour sit, beginning at 7 PM, we will listen to a track from a new album from the Plum Village Band.

The debut album from the monks and nuns of Plum Village Monastery is titled “A Cloud Never Dies”.  It is a musical meditation, a tribute to Thich Nhat Hanh who is credited with bringing mindfulness practices to the West.  It is a deep teaching on the Buddhist principles of “continuation” and “non fear”.

This piece arose from the community’s shared dreams and prayers for peace and healing in a world torn by conflict. May it bring a moment of calm and connection to your day.

Although Thich Nhat Hanh passed away in 2022, “Thay” taught that like a cloud, nothing ever really dies; it merely transforms.  A cloud, for instance, becomes rain, which becomes a river, which becomes the water with which we make the tea we drink, beginning the cycle all over again.

All are welcome to join us for meditation, this talk and an evening chat.

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Monday December 16th – Retreat in Thailand and Nepal

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Monks and Monasteries of Thailand and Nepal

A Three Week Retreat with Steve Wilhelm

Monday evening, December 16th, from 7 PM to 9 PM

At the Port Townsend Friends Meeting House

Attend in Person or on Zoom at this Link:

Steve Wilhelm of Seattle Insight Meditation has just returned from a three week retreat in Thailand, where he visited with several well known teachers, including disciples of Ajahn Chah.

Steve will show pictures from his trip and share the teachings he was given. He sent this message while traveling. “Writing to you from Nepal…where I’ve been on pilgrimage for three weeks with Jason Bartlett as pilgrim partners. We spent two weeks living and practicing in three Theravada monasteries in Thailand, with quick side visits to two others.”
 
After their experience in Thailand, Steve and Jason went to Kathmandu, Nepal, to visit the Boudhanath Stupa and the Swayambhu Stupa; to the Asura Cave, where Padmasambhava practiced; and then to Lumbini, in Nepal, where the Buddha was born.

 Steve writes: “The entire trip brought the path alive in some profound ways, including encounters with amazing masters. My aspiration is to share that with you all, to bring it alive for you, to support you in your dharma journeys.”

The Friends Meeting House is on the corner of Sheridan and 19th Streets in Port Townsend, WA.

All are welcome.

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Wednesday December 18th, Zoom Meditation & Discussion

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Curtis White

Please Join us Wednesday

At 7 PM, December 18th

On Zoom for meditation, 

A talk by Curtis White

And a group discussion

 

 

Here is the link to this online gathering

After a half hour sit, we will hear a dharma talk from Curtis White.  We are fortunate to have him as a member of the Port Townsend Sangha. He has offered to present an evening during which he’ll read a letter he discovered after both of his parents had passed.

Curtis writes: “Metta is easy when you’re offering friendship to people you like. But the Buddha taught that metta was for all people, even those who have harmed you. That’s not easy. The reason for the Buddha’s teaching was that ultimately we all share the same nature, Buddha-nature. In the essay “My Father’s True Nature,” I look at the difficulties of offering metta, not blame, to my father.”

Curtis White is a novelist and social critic. His most recent books include Living in a World that Can’t Be Fixed: Reimagining Counterculture Today and Transcendent: Art and Dharma in a Time of Collapse.  He has written multiple books and articles for Buddhist magazines including Tricycle.  Please see this article to have a better understanding of his work:

The Science Delusion – An Interview with Curtis White published in Tricycle.

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Service and Dana – 2024 Winter Shelter Program and Donations

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Dana is charitable giving. Each year, members of the Port Townsend Sangha have contributed time and funds to organizations providing services to the most vulnerable members of our community with the goal of reducing suffering among the area’s most  at-risk populations.

In 2024, donations were made to Dove House, working to serve victims of domestic abuse, Jumping Mouse, providing mental health therapy to area children, and Bayside Housing, offering housing, food and related services to the homeless and others in need.

Sangha members also contribute time to support the Port Townsend Winter Shelter Meal Program. If you would like to help prepare and serve food for one evening with a Sangha group – please contact us at ptsangha@gmail.com.

Individuals can sign up to participate as well. Information for meal program volunteers and links to sign up pages for groups and for individuals may be found here. Technical support is available here.

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Meditation at the Port Townsend Friends – Every Monday

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You Are Invited to Attend

Meditation and  Discussion

At 7 PM in Port Townsend

Each Monday at the Friends

 

The sangha gathers each Monday, at the Friends Meeting House on the corner of Sheridan and 19th Streets in Port Townsend, WA.

The subject matter of dharma talks is chosen, and discussions are led by volunteers on topics most often related to insight meditation (vipassana).

We arrive silently before 7 PM, begin mediation at 7 PM. After about 20 minutes, a bell rings as a signal for who wish begin walking meditation. The group takes a break for tea at 7:40 – for socializing. At 8 PM, dharma talks, presentations and discussions begin.

More information on the weekly format is found here. All are welcome.

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The Sangha Lending Library

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The PT Sangha Library shares space with the Quaker’s Library at the Friends Meetinghouse. It is open on Monday evenings when the Sangha meets.

We have a wide variety of books on Buddhism, Buddhist practice, meditation and other spiritual traditions.

Search Our Library Collection Online

Learn more about how the library works at the the Lending Library.

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Port Townsend Sangha’s Nonresidential Weekend Retreats

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The Port Townsend Sangha conducts non-residential weekend retreats with visiting teachers live, in person, and on Zoom. Information on the Sangha’s Retreat Program is found here.

Information on these events is posted on this website and is sent to our mailing list.

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Port Townsend Sangha One Day Retreats

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One-day meditation retreats are offered the Sangha in person and on Zoom. There is no charge to attend.

Information on these events will be posted here, and Zoom meeting invitations will be sent to our mailing list or may be obtained by writing us.  More information is here.

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More Opportunities for Dharma Study and Meditation

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There are other current opportunities for Vipassana and Dharma Study and Meditation in or around Port Townsend.

Below are some suggestions and additional links.

Continue reading →

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