sangha facilitation

in the plum village tradition

  • basics

  • advanced

  • mediation

  • dharma talk

  • dharma sharing

  • aspiration

  • starting the session

Technology

Basic

All you need, is to find your way into a zoom meeting, the rest are optional extras. If you get very anxious, you could share this with your sangha, and allow the sangha hold you.

It can be helpful to set a clear etiquette for your ‘digital dharma hall.” This might include discouraging eating / drinking, inviting friends to have their video on, avoiding the use of chat when someone is speaking and so on. 

There are no rights or wrongs here, just what feels most appropriate for your group. If you are unsure, you could ask the sangha or seek guidance from other facilitators via plumline.

Claiming host: If you are using the plumline zoom license, you will be given a “host key”. You can use this to claim host, giving you additional controls such as muting and blocking participants.

Original sound for musicians: Zoom optimises the audio for voice, filtering out other types of sounds. If you invite the bell, or play music without screen sharing, the sangha is likely to have a better experience by the host turning on original sound.

Advanced

Screen Sharing: By share applications from your computer you can offer a wider variety of practices and in richer ways (audio and video).

Breakout Rooms: Some sanghas use this to create smaller dharma sharing groups.

Closed Captions: Turning on closed captions can be more inclusive by making the meeting more accessible. To enable, click on the icon “CC Live Transcript” then click “enable” under “Live Transcription.”

claiming host

original sound for musicians

screen sharing

breakout rooms

Energy

To be Beautiful is to be Yourself

When I first started facilitating I often felt anxious. What if I make a mistake, forget something, or there is a technical glitch I can’t fix?

I kept experimenting – my litmus test was whether we were moving in the direction ‘transformation and healing.’ If not, then I’d recalibrate.

What I found overtime, was that when I was comfortable in myself, everything flowed well. There were still plenty of glitches, some in my control, some not – but somehow no one seemed to mind.

I gradually learned to let go of the self judgement. I started to  be more in touch with the good, the true and the beautiful, allowing things to flow. On nights when I was tired, restless, or the words just didn’t seem to come out right, I shared openly about my internal weather, letting the sangha carry me. 

For me, the most important element of facilitation is to learn to let go, and enjoy dwelling in a space of self acceptance.

— sangha facilitator

Starting the Session

Our orientation is to support the formation of a peaceful and joyful atmosphere where the sangha can come together and flow in harmony.

You might find it better to allow a few minutes of open for ‘chit chat’ to help friends settle in, and accommodate late comers. This more relaxed approach may cultivate warmth and togetherness..

Another approach is to open the space a few minutes before the scheduled start time, inviting people to sit in silence. This approach may support people more easily transitioning to a quiet meditative mind state.

Here is how world interbeing sangha facilitators are guided to start their sessions:

If any new member is present, welcome them and ask if they have experience in a PV tradition sangha. If they don’t, assure them that you will provide guidance on what is about to occur as we move through the sangha meeting; then do that throughout the meeting.

Announce who is co-hosting the meeting and say that the co-host, not the facilitator, should be messaged in the Chat for matters that require immediate attention during the meeting, e.g., audio or muting issues.

you only need to accept yourself

Practices

Meditation

You may like to start the meditation by letting friends know the length of the meditation and any guidance or chanting you might be offering.

It might be helpful to remind everyone to mute their microphones and to make any other adjustments that would make them more comfortable (eg turning off their camera, silencing the sound, practicing walking meditation and son on.)

Inviting the bell: For best sound quality, which is often helpful for members with auditory sensitivities, you can turn on original sound.

If no one in the sangha has a bell, or feels comfortable inviting one, you can use the plum village app or these bell recordings.

Prepare to “wake up” the bell by taking at least one mindful breath and/or saying a gatha silently to yourself, such as:

Body, speech, and mind held in perfect oneness,
I send my heart along with the sound of the bell.
May the hearers awaken from forgetfulness,
And transcend all anxiety and sorrow.

“Wake up” the bell by touching the bell inviter to the side of the bell gently without removing the inviter. Then invite the bell three times, allowing three breaths before the second and third times.

Ending the meditation: to end the meditation, “wake up” and then invite the bell two times (close together.)

Dharma Talk

In session practices: Not every member may be familiar with the practices in the meeting such as the bell, sitting meditation, dharma talk and dharma sharing. It might be helpful to email links to these teachings to new members prior to the meeting. The teaching on dharma sharing is particularly important as how people approach this practice impacts the entire sangha.

Book Reading: this is a simply way to bring teachings into the sangha without relying on more advanced technology such as screen sharing. It might be helpful to tune into the group and see what is needed. You could focus on a topic, a book, or just approach it popcorn style where each week a different reading is offered.

Where to start: A simple place to start is the book Happiness. You could run through one practice a week, experience it in the session, and invite the sangha to share their experience. This is similar to applying the scientific method: hypothesis, experiment, result.

Dharma Sharing

Dharma discussion is an opportunity to benefit from each other’s insights and experience of the practice. It is a special time for us to share our experiences, our joys, our difficulties, and our questions relating to the practice of mindfulness. 

By practicing deep listening while others are speaking, we help create a calm and receptive environment. By learning to speak out about our happiness and our difficulties in the practice, we contribute to the collective insight and understanding of the group.

Here is how world interbeing sangha facilitators are guided to introduce dharma sharing:

It’s time for dharma sharing, which is the practice of sharing from the heart.

We practice not to give advice, not to teach or interrupt. We practice to share to the entire circle, and in the spirit of confidentiality. And if you’d like to approach someone after the sharing to ask them a question or to offer a comment, then you can ask permission and do it discreetly.

We can try to keep in mind Thay’s listening gatha

I am listening to this person with
only one purpose: to give this
person a chance to suffer less

Singing and Chanting

It is beneficial to sing as part of our meditation practice. The music helps us remember the words of the guided meditation that have been incorporated into the song. Before beginning a Dharma talk or a Dharma discussion, singing a song can help create a calm and joyful atmosphere.

We have designed a songbook specifically for online practice. Youtube is another great way to support singing online. You may like to switch on closed captions to allow people to follow the words. You may need a premium account, to avoid advertising entering your digital dharma hall.

Experiment and Improvise

Ceremonies: can be powerful in supporting our transformation and healing. You can find a series of them in Chanting from the Heart.

Touching the Earth: Based on the loving kindness and compassion meditation of the Lotus Sutra, Touching the Earth is a poetic conversation with the Buddha. It has the capacity to remove obstacles brought about by past wrongdoings and to bring back the joy of being alive. You can either offer this practice from the book, or play the audio recordings.

Transformation & healing: Please feel free to experiment and improvise with practices that you bring to the sangha. There is no right or wrong, there are no rules. We are guided by what is nourishing, what is healing, what helps transform our suffering and takes us in the direction of peace, joy, love and compassion.

inviting the bell

inviting the bell

how to practice sitting meditation

what is a dharma talk

dharma sharing