about

Aloha Sangha is the name of a group that has been meeting since February 1998 in Honolulu.

We meet on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, from 6-7:30 PM in Manoa, on the island of O’ahu. We are very informal–no fees, nothing you have to commit to, we simply offer this every week as a community service. They have been ongoing weekly for 12 years now.

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What we do at our meetings

Over the years folks have found that beginning the sessions with slow, gentle movement (yoga and qigong based) for the first 30 minutes is a great way to lead into meditation, so that’s what we do. Guided meditation follows for about thirty to forty minutes. We end with a very short discussion period, with snacks and tea, which we provide.

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Orientation and affiliations

I am not sure labels work that well to describe our group. We practice bare-bones mindfulness meditation. It just so happens that I personally have found the teachings presented by ancient and present day sages of Ch’an and Pure Land Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, and Christian and Jewish mysticism to have had the most lasting and beneficial effects over the long term. But we are neither a Buddhist, Advaita, or mystical-religious group.

For details on how this orientation plays out in practice please see the nuts and bolts page.

That we are not affiliated with any other group, teacher or spiritual lineage has its advantages and its drawbacks. Some folks like to know there is a place where they can come to meditate where they won’t be sold a worldview or other aspects associated with belonging to a spiritual tradition or lineage. This works well for people who are naturally sceptical about these issues, or for those who already have a lineage of instruction and know that they can practice it without the pressure to conform. The meditation instruction which is provided is bare-bones mindfulness practice inspired by the Theravada Buddhist tradition in which I trained for many years.

We attempt to host teachers from a variety of spiritual traditions when they visit O’ahu regardless of their lineage.

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Mission Statement

Our mission is to contribute to forming a generation of spiritually literate, independently thoughtful individuals who respect all traditions, who are committed to transforming themselves through authentic practice and who live in such a way as to promote inter-religious understanding and respect.

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What to bring

If you have an exercise or yoga mat it would be good to bring it. If you don’t have one, we can provide a mat for your first few times.