Against the Stream closes due to Noah Levine

ATS Board of Directors (AgainstTheStream); Ananda (DMI), Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly

LETTER FROM ATS BOARD

Dear [Against the Stream] Sangha,

In the last album of his life, three weeks before his death, Leonard Cohen sang this:

I wish there was a treaty we could sign

I do not care who takes this bloody hill

I’m angry and I’m tired all the time

I wish there was a treaty

I wish there was a treaty

Between your love and mine.

F all of you! It was mine to close. What of it?

While we may not be angry or tired, something about this verse feels right. Whoever you are, wherever your heart rests in this moment, may there be this: a treaty between your love and ours.

We want to acknowledge our bottomless gratitude for everyone who has created goodness in the ATS community. So many people have offered their hearts, talent and resources. The ripples and resonances of this goodness will continue. Refuge does not arise in a particular place, but in the space between the goodness of our hearts.

When this space is imbued with wisdom, respect and love, we call it sangha. It has been a privilege to walk this path together. We hope that the pain of recent months actually leads us back towards the heart and that we might understand compassion, clarity and change ever more deeply. As we have learned from practice, great pain does not erase goodness, but in fact, informs it.

Dipa Ma said, “There is nothing ultimately to cling to in this world. However, life is not to be rejected. It is here. And as long as it is here and we are here, we can make the best use of it.”

May we make the best use of our lives. Whatever freedom arises, may this be a cause and condition for less suffering and more safety in our world.

Love,

ATS Board of Directors

ATS Teachers Council

ATS Grievance Council

• Refuge Recovery meetings continue in Hollywood
• Find meetings near you at RefugeRecovery.org