Going As A River - Edmonton Sangha, Bellevue, WA (2026)

02/18/2026

Enjoy this cooler evening as winter begins to return to us with a snowy embrace this upcoming family day.

Please join us for our upcoming mindfulness gathering on Wednesday, February 18th, either in person or using the below online Zoom link. Catherine and I will lead us through a discussion around our recent retreat experience at Deer Park during the Rains Retreat and hope to inspire (with accompanying slide show) why you may also wish to consider these rare opportunities to cultivate mindfulness, find deep rest and build community is a supportive, peaceful environment.

6:30-8:30pm at the Belgravia Community Hall (Lower Hall) 11540 - 73 Ave NW.

or online at:

Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83317316822?pwd=CogwSQZyvo8S9ClpUCTakoIAkgxHlt.1

Meeting ID: 833 1731 6822
Passcode: 873044

ZOOM LINK ALSO AVAILABLE IN OUR STORY!

02/16/2026

As we reflect on the Lunar New Year and the celebration of Family Day, we are invited to remember that our roots, our family and our ancestors exist in many forms.

“The practice of Touching the Earth is to return to the Earth, to our roots, to our ancestors, and to recognize that we are not alone but connected to a whole stream of spiritual and blood ancestors. We are their continuation, and with them we will continue in future generations. We touch the earth to let go of the idea that we are separate and to remind us that we are the Earth and part of life.

When we touch the earth we become small, with the humility and simplicity of a young child. When we touch the Earth we become great, like an ancient tree sending her roots deep into the earth, drinking from the source of all waters. When we touch the earth, we breathe in all the strength and stability of the earth, and breathe out our suffering — our feelings of anger, hatred, fear, inadequacy, and grief.

We join our palms to form a lotus bud and we gently lower ourselves to the ground so that all four limbs and our forehead are resting comfortably on the floor. While we are Touching the Earth we turn our palms face up, showing our openness to the Three Jewels — the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Even after practicing . . . one or two times, we can already release a lot of our suffering and feeling of alienation and reconcile with our ancestors, parents, children, friends”

— Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddha Mind, Buddha Body

Photos from Going As A River in sangha celebration of Tet 2026, Vietnamese Lunar New Year

02/11/2026

Solid as a Mountain – Parallel Verses for the Year of the Horse

Plum Village joyfully offers these parallel verses to welcome Tết, the Lunar New Year of the Horse.

What is this Tradition all about?
Every Lunar New Year’s Eve, our beloved teacher, Thich Nhat Hanh, has established a tradition of offering the sangha a simple poetic couplet in calligraphy which can inspire and nurture our mindfulness practice throughout the year. Thay’s innovation has been to offer the couplet in English, French and Vietnamese (rather than in Chinese characters). The Plum Village Community is very happy to continue this beautiful tradition.

To learn more about this message for the next year and to access a copy to print for yourself visit https://plumvillage.org/articles/solid-as-a-mountain-parallel-verses-for-the-year-of-the-horse

Please consider joining Going As A River Sangha for our upcoming mindfulness gathering on Wednesday, February 11th where Lucy will help introduce us to Tet, or the Lunar New Year celebration. This is a time for family reunions, honoring ancestors, and new beginnings.

6:30-8:30pm at the Belgravia Community Hall (Lower Hall) 11540 - 73 Ave NW.

If you’d like a bit of quiet time or would like to help with setup, you’re welcome to arrive any time after 6:00pm.

02/04/2026

Each morning the light begins its quiet return a bit earlier each day. In this turning of the season, you’re warmly invited to join us for our upcoming mindfulness gathering on Wednesday, February 4th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Belgravia Community Hall (Lower Hall) 11540 - 73 Ave NW.

On the first gathering of each month, we come together to recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings, an opportunity to reflect and renew our commitment to mindful living.

Below you’ll also find the link to Brother Phap Linh’s short talk that was shared last week, which several sangha members asked for:

Embracing Pain
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU1fqTiL8gc

If you’d like a bit of quiet time or would like to help with setup, you’re welcome to arrive any time after 6:00pm.

01/07/2026

We hope this message finds you well rested as we move through this holiday season. Happy New Year to all.

You’re warmly invited to join us for our upcoming mindfulness gathering on Wednesday, January 7th, from 6:30-8:30pm at the Belgravia Community Hall (Lower Hall)11540 - 73 Ave NW.

As this is our first gathering of the month, we will come together to recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings, an opportunity to reflect, nourish our aspirations, and renew our commitment to mindful living.

If you’d like a bit of quiet time or would like to help with setup, you’re welcome to arrive any time after 6:00pm.

01/01/2026

Looking back at 2025 and all that we have gone through together as a planet, we see that our unhealed traumas, our fears and deep rooted belief in our separateness continue to cause much personal and planetary harm. We vow to transform the roots of war, hatred and violence, by every day generating the energy of non-violence and non-discrimination in our thinking, speaking and acting. We shall continue to challenge the boundaries of our hearts by asking ourselves: Do we have enough wisdom and courage to forgive those who have hurt us? Knowing that only by releasing the grievances of the past can we move forward as a species.

Dear Ancestors, you have taught us that no amount of wealth and power can guarantee our happiness, security and peace. True security and agency lies in our power to love and to be happy, here and now, and no one can take that away from us. We vow to actively cultivate generosity and cooperation as a way to help build a new culture of simple living, sharing and mutual trust.

In the face of despair and division, we vow to always stick together, to be a refuge for each other, and to strengthen our spiritual family as a community of nonviolence, offering each other courage to turn the tide of collective consciousness toward a more peaceful and compassionate world.

Dear Ancestors, please accept our offerings of fruits, flowers, and the incense of our heart, as a sign of our deep aspiration, respect, and love.

-Excerpt from December 31, 2025 New Year Prayer to Our Ancestors, Plumvillage.org

🙏🏽

Join for weekly practice in the new year. Wednesday nights 630-830 at Belgravia Community League. Learn more by visiting goingasariver.org for practice details.

12/21/2025

Celebrating World Meditation Day✨

Last year in a landmark decision, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 December as World Meditation Day to raise awareness about meditation and its benefits, recalling the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.

To advance and promote World Meditation Day, a two-day conference: “United and Present-Global Solutions from Within: A Mindful Approach to Diplomacy, UN Work, and Beyond” was held from 9-10 December 2025 in the Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. Sister Dinh Nghiem was invited as a panelist to share the Plum Village mindfulness practices.

Global Moment of Silent Meditation
We sincerely invite you to join this global moment of silent meditation on Sunday, December 21st, World Meditation Day.

Let go of distractions, gently close your eyes, and let your 15-minute meditation be a gift to the world. Your participation is the key force driving the evolution of global consciousness, forming a wave of harmony and positivity.

We look forward to your participation—across regions, cultures, and time zones—in this shared meditation moment on Sunday, December 21st.

Read more on the Plum Village website here https://plumvillage.org/articles/celebrating-world-meditation-day

12/17/2025

IMPORTANT MESSAGE: Please note that today’s snow storm is giving us the conditions to move our practice online for tonight -there will be no in-person meeting. Please flex with us in this natural rhythm as we adapt and change with nature, and huddle in our houses around zoom.

Please email goingasariver@gmail.com for the zoom link or click on the link in our stories!

🙏🏽❄️

Stay well and warm dear friends.

12/04/2025

Please join us for our AGM, potluck brunch and private theatre viewing of the film ‘Walk With Me: A journey Into Mindfulness,’ featuring Thich Nhat Hanh and Plum Village monastics.

This is an extraordinarily beautiful film by Marc J. Francis & Max Pugh, and narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch. We look forward to connecting with you!

GOING AS A RIVER | Annual General Meeting

Date: Dec 7, 2025
Time: AGM- 9-12:30pm (arrival 845am)

9 - 10:15am | AGM Meeting
10:15 - 11am | Veggie Potluck Brunch
11:00 - 12:30pm | Private Theatre viewing of the film ‘Walk With Me: A journey Into Mindfulness’

Location: Windsor Park Plaza, Edmonton

Please visit goingasariver.org for more information and to RSVP

11/05/2025

“The Five Mindfulness Trainings are love itself. To love is to understand, protect, and bring well-being to the object of our love. The practice of the trainings accomplishes this. We protect ourselves and each other and we obtain even deeper peace and joy” For a Future to Be Possible by Thich Nhat Hanh

You’re warmly invited to join us for our upcoming mindfulness gathering on Wednesday, November 5th, from 6:30-8:30pm at the Belgravia Community Hall (Lower Hall)11540 - 73 Ave NW.

As this is our first gathering of the month, we will come together to recite the Five Mindfulness Trainings, an opportunity to reflect, nourish our aspirations, and renew our commitment to mindful living.

If you’d like a bit of quiet time or would like to help with setup, you’re welcome to arrive any time after 6:00pm.

Warmly 🌻🙏🏽

10/13/2025

We hope you are enjoying your breathing on this beautiful Thanksgiving day.

Join us Wednesday for our weekly practice in a discussion around chronic pain, and how we can use our practice, including our suffering to transform this pain.

Please feel encouraged to invite your friends and have them reach out so we can join together in practice at the Belgravia Community Hall (Lower Hall) 11540 - 73 Ave NW.

If you’d like a bit of quiet time or would like to help with setup, you’re welcome to arrive any time after 6:00pm.

In gratitude 🙏🏽🌻

09/24/2025

“ Mindful walking is the foundation of hiking Zen. Training yourself to stop this hell-bent sprint through life, to look deeply and see the profound beauty of the present moment, is one of the most difficult—and yet most rewarding-—things we can do. “
~ excerpt from Hiking Zen

We hope you are all enjoying this beautiful fall equinox and we look forward to practising with you Wednesday September 24th at our NEW LOCATION Belgravia Hall in Edmonton!

Please note there has been a change in programming -we will be practicing ‘Hiking Zen’. We will take some time to become acquainted with our new practice location, with an extended Walking Meditation practice within the Meditation Hall and outside, in the surrounding park. Our practice will be guided by shared excerpts from the recently published ‘Hiking Zen’ book, by Br. Phap Luu and Br. Phap Xa.

Please come prepared with weather appropriate footwear and attire for outdoor walking.

We look forward to practising with you!

Learn more about the NEW LOCATION and practice guidelines on at goingasariver.org

🙏🏽🍂🌻

Going As A River - Edmonton Sangha

02/18/2026

02/16/2026

02/11/2026

02/04/2026

01/07/2026

01/01/2026

12/21/2025

12/17/2025

12/04/2025

11/05/2025

10/13/2025

09/24/2025

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