Please join us in the Community Room at Sweet Beet for a dynamic conversation with David Viafora, author of Thriving Together: Nine Principles for Cocreating True Community.
David will facilitate an interactive dialogue, inviting participants to share their own community experiences and aspirations, and share lessons on building a flourishing community in which individual or collective challenges can lead to community strength, joy and compassionate connections.
What: FREE community conversation with light refreshments provided
When: October 14th, 5-6:30pm
Where: 11 West Main Street, Bradford NH - Community Room at Sweet Beet Market + Cafe
How: Just show up and bring a friend!
'David was ordained as a monk by Thich Nhat Hanh in the Plum Village tradition, and is currently a lay member of the Order of Interbeing. He recently published a book on community building, "Thriving Together: Nine Principles for Cocreating True Community." According to the book's foreword by Sister True Dedication, a senior Dharma teacher and nun in Plum Village: “David Viafora’s quest to explore the essential elements of healthy communities of mindfulness has taken him on a multi-year journey across continents, visiting and living with dozens of communities in the Plum Village tradition…This book, the fruit of his exploration, draws on the collective wisdom of over 100 community builders who have shared their lives and insights with courage and vulnerability.
In "Thriving Together" David says, “In true community, we don’t have to face the difficulties of the world on our own. What we can embrace and heal as a community is far greater and more fulfilling than what we could ever achieve alone.”
Guest bio: David Viafora, LICSW, Chân Thiền Sơn/True Zen Mountain (he/him) first started a local sangha where he was raised on the land of the Cahuila Nation, in California, US, over twenty years ago, and the joyful flame of Sangha building has been lit ever since. He first ordained as a monk with Thích Nhất Hạnh in 2005 and spent several years living in the Plum Village tradition monasteries before finding his niche in lay community life. David now practices with Greatwoods Zen Sangha in the land of the Catawba in North Carolina, where he currently resides. As a white-presenting Chinese-American cis man, David is committed to learning from and making peace with his ancestors who both caused and were harmed by intergenerational trauma. Some of David’s favorite things to do are drinking tea in the forest with friends, Sangha game nights, conscious dance, playing with haiku, and sunset meditations.'