Ground Mouth (3)

A recording of "Kisa Gotami's Story Reminds Us That We Are Not The Only Ones" - a community meditation and dharma talk by Aishah Shahidah Simmons @elmcommunityinsight on Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 10:30am ET. The community discussion was not recorded. https://elmcommunityinsight.org.
You can view the video recording on YouTube: https://youtu.be/b-FR_ZIlOE0

Time Codes: 
00:02 - Welcome
00:55 - Guided meditation 
37:00 Dharma talk + Closing Mettā

Illness, betrayal, and death are among the many forms of suffering we tend to believe we are the only ones experiencing when •not if• they occur. Aishah shared what Kisa Gotami's story teaches about impermanence, the eight worldly winds, and equanimity; and how her story offers a path forward. 

Related Resources:
Buddhist Women at the Time of the Buddha by Hellmuth Hecker
Downloadable PDF - https://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/budwomen-buddha6.pdf

Anicca (Impermanence) Chant:
Annicca vata sankhara     All things are impermanent 
Upada vaya dhammino     They arise and they pass away 
Uppajjitva Nirujihanti         To be in harmony with this truth 
Tesam vupasamo sukho   Brings great happiness.
Link to a version of chant (in Pali Only) https://youtu.be/6nuFv2_g7dg

The Eight Worldly Winds are - Gain/Loss, Status/Disgrace, Censure/Praise, Pleasure/Pain
Link to Aishah's April 1, 2023 dharma talk "Balance in the Eight Worldly Winds" - https://youtu.be/de-Ih0vJFEw

Dharma Teachers referenced:
DaRa Williams - https://www.spiritrock.org/dara-williams
Tuere Sala - https://tueresala.org
Jeanne Corrigal - http://www.jeannecorrigal.com/
Rachel Lewis - https://rachelmeditates.ca/

Kisa Gotami's Story Reminds Us That We Are Not The Only Ones by Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Noted filmmaker/activist Aishah Shaheedah Simmons weighs in on the issue of #consent in matters of #sexual #violence & the difference in the #burden of #proof for celebs like #Cosby and their #female #accusers. #safespaces #allegations #money #power

The MOJO 11.19.14 - Aishah Shaheedah Simmons

We continue our frank conversation with Aishah Simmons on the #Bill #Cosby rape #allegations, the persistence of #rape #culture, and how society must #change the #narrative on #sexual #violence.

The MOJO 12.16.14 - Aishah Simmons

Filmmaker, educator and sexual violence survivor Aishah Shahidah Simmons provides an update on her latest project, #LoveWithAccountability, the ongoing demands of healing work, and thoughts on the pending Cosby trial's larger societal implications.

MOJO 5.30.17 - Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Aishah Shahidah Simmons joins Wake Up With WURD, guest host Dr. Aaron Smith, to discuss the recent Bill Cosby verdict and she is also the Producer, Writer, and Director of "NO! The Rape Documentary."

Wake Up With WURD 4.30.17 - Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Scholar/activist Aishah Shahidah Simmons helps dissect the complex issues involved in seeking accountability for sexual violations of Black women and girls, and how philanthropy and fame affects public opinion.

The Source 5.11.18 - Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Aishah Shahidah Simmons ​is the Producer, Writer, and Director of “NO! The Rape Documentary.” She rejoins Wake Up With WURD to discuss her newest article, “New Whitney Houston documentary reveals she survived child sexual abuse. But the silence around it harmed her.”

Wake Up With WURD 5.24.18 - Aishah Shahidah Simmons

WURD Radio’s President & CEO, Sara Lomax-Reese interviews Tuere Sala, a seasoned meditation teacher and leader in the insight meditation movement. Sala will be in Philadelphia this weekend (Feb. 1st & Feb. 2nd) leading a retreat specifically for People of Color. She will explore how we can cultivate emotional states that will heal rather than harm. For more information, go to https://www.dvinsight.org/events.

Sara Lomax-Reese Interviews Tuere Sala

Aishah Shahidah Simmons (she/her) is a survivor-healer and an award-winning Black feminist lesbian filmmaker and writer who, for 30 years, has examined the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and sexual violence. Her cultural productions, the 2006-released ground breaking film NO! The Rape Documentary, and the 2020 Lambda Literary Award-winning anthology, Love WITH Accountability: Digging Up the Roots of Child Sexual Abuse (AK Press, 2019), center on breaking silences, healing, and non-carceral accountability for harm. Aishah is also a trauma-informed Mindfulness Meditation teacher who has been studying and practicing Theravada Buddhism for 20 years. Her current book-in-process, Love, Justice, and Dharma, is both the capstone of the trilogy of works that began with NO! and the bridge to her new direction of work primarily focused on offering resources and teachings on how mindfulness is a tool for supporting balance and cultivating compassion amid the often turbulent vicissitudes in life. She is on social media  @afrolez. Learn more at https://linktr.ee/afrolez

Kisa Gotami's Story Reminds Us That We Are Not The Only Ones by Aishah Shahidah Simmons

Aishah Shahidah Simmons

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