We are delighted to invite you to an Awakin Talk with Rev. Heng Sure, an American Buddhist monk visiting from California, as he reflects on the evening's theme Cultivating Compassion in Uncertain Times: What Would the Buddha Do?  Rev Heng Sure has been a close friend of the ServiceSpace community since the early days when we were planting seeds and has been a steadfast source of support and inspiration over the years. 

At gun point, the last thing you would do is bow to the man holding the gun. That's exactly what these monks -- Heng Sure and Heng Ch'au -- did. Three different times. Of course, bowing came a little easier to them because they'd been doing "three steps and a bow" for 800 miles. Yes, 800 miles for 2 years and 9 months straight. They were on a peace pilgrimage in the late 70's along California's highway 1, a pilgrimage to bring peace within and without.  

That journey to boundless compassion never ended, though. "To make peace on earth we must want it. To stop harm and fear in the world we must change our ways. To change our ways we must change our minds," Rev. Heng Sure says. "The power is ours. Evil and good, selfishness or compassion all come from the mind first. If more people care for others, the world will spontaneously grow brighter."

On Monday, September 18th, we plan to come together at St. Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace for an inspiration-filled gathering to listen to insights and wisdom from Rev. Heng Sure's incredible life journey.  He'll share stories from his own experiences of cultivating personal practices to embrace these turbulent times we live in, share some of the Buddha's teachings that can help us to navigate through uncertainty with a heart full of compassion and share some uplifting music on his guitar with songs from his incredible album!  And if we're lucky, he may even do a little Buddhist puppet show with his collection of animal puppets!

The plan for the evening is as follows...

• 6:30pm - Doors Open
• 7:00pm - Collective Silence
• 7:15pm - Rev. Heng Sure's reflections and stories from his personal service journey
• 8:30pm - Q&A and circle of sharing with the group
• 9:00pm - Tea and light refreshments

It would be great to have you join us, share a contemplative space of reflection, and plant seeds for co-creating more goodness in the world.  To join, simply RSVP below and we'll send you a follow-up email with the details. The entire gathering is being offered anonymously as a pay-it-forward gift :) 

About Rev. Heng Sure



Words simply can't describe Rev. Heng Sure. You have to actually hear his riveting, wisdom-filled stories with his animated story-telling voices. You have feel his humility and how he can relate to and inspire just about anyone, from prisoners to monks, from recovering dot-commers to Macintosh fans, from kids to parents. You have to see how he moves entire audiences to tears with simple songs on his guitar.

Originally from Ohio, Christopher Clowery's life changed with a random phone call while pursuing graduate studies at UC Berkeley. Through a series of serendipitous events, he met a Chinese master who inspired him to dedicate his life to understanding and building virtue. He became Rev. Heng Sure.

Over the last 41 years as a monastic, Rev. Heng Sure has led a monastery in Berkeley, been a founding board member of United Religions Initiative (that has now spread to over 50 countries!), shared stories through his blog, made songs that open the heart, finished his PhD and has published books including bowing journals from their 800 miles pilgrimage.