Let me share a little of the history of Kingfisher Sangha.  I began to get interested in Buddhism when I was teaching English to teenage Vietnamese refugees.  They were a challenge and a delight.  In order to understand their traumatic experiences better, I started to learn about their history and culture.  This led me inevitably to Thich Nhat Hanh who had become a recognized figure in the U.S.   He was already a prolific writer and his books on Buddhism brought it alive for me.  He gave me a whole new perspective on life.  For me, it did not replace my existing faith as a Christian, but it expanded my understanding and worldview.

 In 1998, Thay was offering a retreat at the Omega Institute and my husband, Tom, and I went to hear this wise person.  I received the Five Mindfulness Trainings and the Dharma name, Boundless Lamp of the Heart. 

I was on my way.  In 2000, I had a sabbatical and was able to visit Plum Village and participate in monastic life for a month.  This experience of Thay and all the monastics deepened my commitment to this path of practice.

In 2001, Tom and I attended a retreat with Thay in Massachusetts.  Participants were broken up into groups by zip code so you could get to know others in your area who might like to practice together.  Our group was called the Kingfishers.  The name stuck.  When we returned to the Capital District we started to gather in our homes for meditation and sharing the Dharma.  In 2002, I signed a contract with Eastern Parkway United Methodist Church and we started meeting there on Sunday afternoons.  That continued until recently when we changed venues to the Unitarian Universalist Church in Schenectady.

My own journey continued on as I studied with Dharma Teacher Patricia Hunt Perry.  She was loving, demanding, and devoted – a lifelong friend.  In 2003, I was ordained in the Order of Interbeing by Thay and given the name True Understanding of the Sangha.  Three years later, Patricia was at my side as I was ordained as an interfaith minister, my career for the past twenty years.  Our little Kingfisher Sangha was growing slowly and steadily, a real source of joy for me.  In 2007, I was honored to go to Vietnam with Thay as part of a peace delegation.  After many years of exile, Thay was able to return to his homeland where he eventually settled.

As my own practice matured, so did the beautiful sangha community of Kingfisher.  Tamara was the next to be ordained and became such a great help in the day-to-day administration of Sangha life.  Other OI members came along to support the growing numbers of practitioners and create a lively, diverse community.  Today my personal practice has incorporated a deep concern about the environment into nature journaling, art, and writing. 

I seek to navigate every day in mindfulness and compassion.  It has been a great privilege and responsibility to be the “True Understanding of the Sangha.”  But it has also been one of the greatest joys of my life.  My heart is full of gratitude to all Kingfishers, past and present.