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Cultivating Seeds of Stillness: The Three Watches of the Night December 31, 2025 (7pm) - January 1, 2026 (7:30am)

When midnight strikes and the world exhales into 2026, what will you be cultivating?

As the universal frequency becomes most turbulent and billions of beings move through waves of anticipation, celebration, grief, hope, and chaos across time zones, we will be cultivating a field of meritorious actions. This meditation marathon honors the Buddha's enlightenment experience and responds to suffering with liberation practice.

THE THREE WATCHES

First Watch (7pm-10pm): Expanding Compassion We gain intimate knowledge of our individual selves as we widen our identity, realizing our own karmic nature. Our karmic nature knows no time, it is accumulation from beginningless time and will continue on with the actions we cultivate here and now. We move beyond limitations of individual suffering and widen our compassion through wakefulness, sitting and walking meditation.

Second Watch (10pm-2am): Understanding Interdependence We turn our attention to the twelve links of dependent origination, observing how suffering arises and ceases through causes and conditions.

Third Watch (2am-7:30am): Cultivating Clear Seeing As darkness gives way to dawn, we sit with what is revealed, carrying our practice into the new year.

WHY NOW

We witnessed for ourselves the fruits of our actions from 2024 to 2025, still bringing forth great benefit. Even as tragedy struck just blocks away while we held space last year, we continue. Now, as the land we stand on experiences assault on members of our community, fear and dread, division and the three poisons of greed, hatred and ill will, we gather the lovingkindness, clarity, wisdom, and insight of our ancestors of all kinds as the ground from which we act. A great vow, a great action of liberation in practice.

Stillness is a noise too, a noise so loud when listening with ears of compassion. Our practice gives rise to insight that cuts through fear and delusion, replenishes the strength to meet what is in front of us. With the eye of the Dharma, we refuse to look away. This is liberation in practice and boundless love in action that slashes all obstacles of ill will.

THE PRACTICE

Sitting and walking meditation. Dharma talk by Venerable Clear Grace Dayananda. Silent watches. 108 bells at midnight. Light meal and refreshments between watches. Join in person at Sangha House or virtually from anywhere in the world.

The collective sangha holds and carries the energy when individual resolve wavers. Your presence strengthens what we are cultivating for the times ahead. When we cultivate together, we become agents of transformation for all beings.

"You can't separate peace from freedom, because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom." - Assata Shakur

SUPPORT THIS WORK

Sliding scale available. No one turned away for lack of funds. If you cannot sit with us, we ask that you support our cultivation. The merit of our practice benefits many beings, a stillness that penetrates the cosmos.

RSVP to join us or support our collective transformation. Let's radiate a field of merit together.