Monday Grief as Love in the Face of Loss Support Group
We are a grief support group for practitioners of Zen Buddhism. We meet as we are inspired by the teachings of Zen Buddhism on grief and to provide support to one another in a safe and respectful manner. In each meeting we practice active listening, share a reading from the Zen tradition as related to grief, and share a few moments in silence together.
Join Us
- To join us, please contact Bryan Little directly at bryan_little “at” hotmail.com
- We currently meet in the Cloud Zendo each week via Zoom – Click here for instructions on joining us in the Cloud Zendo.
- Note: Please note the last meeting for the group before a summer break will be on June 12th.
We draw our inspiration from Zen Teacher, Domyo Burk who writes:
“Grief is love in the face of loss … if we try to control our grief – by ignoring, denying, suppressing, restraining, or holding on to it – we get emotionally stuck…
“Like the other Brahmaviharas [virtues] grief requires an open heart. When we acknowledge grief, we acknowledge our love and interdependence with other beings and things. Like other Brahmaviharas, our self-centeredness is worn away as we make an effort to extend grief further outwards, so it’s not just evoked in us when we lose beings or things important to our own personal lives, but we feel a connection to all being and therefore feel grief at the loss of any part of creation.
“Perhaps if we regard grief as something positive, as a Brahmavihara, we will find ourselves exploring it and inviting it into our experience. We can find ways to cautiously open up and tap into our underground reservoir of grief, becoming more familiar with it, and overcoming our fear of drowning in it. We can cultivate our capability to experience grief, learning how it passes through us in waves and can leave us feeling purified and more intimate with life. I offer these as possibilities to explore, which is really what Buddhist practice is all about.” – Grief in Buddhism: Some Buddhist Practices Helpful for Facing and Integrating Grief