Wednesday, January 03, 2007
As Cold As It Is...
..this beautiful Upstate morning, still we hear on the news that it will reach 60 degrees sometime this week, and we have yet to see a snow fall of any kind this supposed Winter....and as much as I know we will all complain about it once it falls, I have to say: I miss it, and wish the weather would begin to behave more normally....the flowering trees in our yard are confused.
I will go back into the City some time today, and joyfully join Peter, Rick R. and Amanda A. for dinner later at Joe Allen's...catch up on news of their lives and the Barter Theatre, hug them and hug them. We have not seen them in a year or more. Since their last trip to the City. I can hardly wait. SO much to talk about, as ever.
Then, since I have some private students who need help, I will work with them tomorrow, and return to the Upstate House after my Friday morning appointment or later that day with Peter when he finishes downtown at work,We will have a nice full weekend here again, as we run the pups around their favorite meadow and Peter helps Paul so some audio work at the local Buddhist monastery....Paul havs found the most wonderful community to engage with and learn from, and Peter is enchanted by the spirit and people there as well, so they are helping to digitalize hundreds of hours of Lama Norla's talks and lectures...plus old recordings of Kalu Rimpoche...it is a rare and wonderful chance to figuratively sit at the feet of Buddhist Masters, and I have not seen Paul this happy in a long long time. Also, when I can, I like going with him over to the Kagyu Thubten Monastery becaause I simply like the monks and nuns there. They are tremendouly warm and welcoming people with enormous knowledge of the Dharma, and since they are mostly Westerners, it is easy to learn from them all sorts of things about Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the Tibetan language itself. Several of them are certified teachers of that language and I am finding that study intriguing. I go at it slowly, but it holds my interest nonetheless. I have loved beginning to know these spirited people. And Paul and Peter are so drawn to the monastic energy. The fact that the entire place sits on the banks of the fabulous Hudson River only adds to the attraction, and a gorgeous ornate stupa the monastery had built there adds to the enchantment. Quite beautiful. And constant dedication to Peace and compassion and the teachings of the Buddha. Lama Norla is in residence there and travels the wide world from his home there to his various communities all over this country and others. He has been the teacher of many Buddhist leaders around the world, and the humble monastery is often host to Buddhist "stars" from all over the place..today the Lama Surya Das is coming for the afternoon,not to give a public teaching, but to simply have lunch with Lama Norla...! At least, that is what Paul told me when he came home from his volunteer work there yesteday....
Lots of Buddhist books as gifts for Christmas, among them several by the amazing Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh....and various members of his original Interbeing Council that came together in the Vietnam War's darkest days to help their country....the current one I am reading is called simply INTERBEING: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism....such simple and touching writing....so useful...especially when you consider the 14 guidelines were conceived when horrible things were being done to their homes and families by people who seemed intent on their distruction, and as Buddhists, they knew they had to find a way not to hate the people who were doing the horrible things...in fact, from their experience of war, they knew, as Buddhist scholars and spiritual people, that hate and retribution would only prolong the agonies not end them...and in that wisdom alone, I find enough to sustain my admiration and desire to continue to study them. One passage touched me particularly:
"The First Mindfulness Training of the Order of Interbeing opens us to the total openness and absolute tolerance of Buddhism. Openness and tolerance are not merely ways to deal with people in daily life; they are truly gateways for the realization of the Way. According to Buddhism, if we do not continue to expand the boundaries of our understanding, we will be imprisoned by our views and unable to realize the Way.
In the Sutra of One Hundred Parables,the Buddha tells the story of a young merchant and his son. The merchant,a widower, loved his son dearly, but lost him due to his lack of wisdom. One day, while the man was away, his little boy was kidnapped by bandits, who razed the entire village before fleeing. When the young merchant returned, he found the charred remains of a child near where his house had been, and in his suffering and confusion, mistook the charred remains for his own son. He cried unceasingly, arranged a cremation ceremony , and then carried the bag of ashes tied around his neck day and night. A few months later, a little boy, his little boy, managed to escape from the bandits and found his way home. At midnight, he knocked on his father's door, but the father, thinking some mischievous boy was ridiculing him, refused to let him in. The boy knocked and knocked, but the man clung to his view that his boy was dead and eventually his son had to go away. The father who loved so much lost his son forever.
The Buddha said that when we are attached to views, even if the truth comes knocking on our door, we will refuse to let it in. To inflexibly embrace a view and regard it as a fixed truth is to end the vital process of inquiry and awakening. The Buddha's teachings are a means of helping people. They are not an end to worship or fight over."
From reading all I have been reading over the past year, I am happily amazed by the amount of true wisdom man is capable of. One day, it will prevail.
I will go back into the City some time today, and joyfully join Peter, Rick R. and Amanda A. for dinner later at Joe Allen's...catch up on news of their lives and the Barter Theatre, hug them and hug them. We have not seen them in a year or more. Since their last trip to the City. I can hardly wait. SO much to talk about, as ever.
Then, since I have some private students who need help, I will work with them tomorrow, and return to the Upstate House after my Friday morning appointment or later that day with Peter when he finishes downtown at work,We will have a nice full weekend here again, as we run the pups around their favorite meadow and Peter helps Paul so some audio work at the local Buddhist monastery....Paul havs found the most wonderful community to engage with and learn from, and Peter is enchanted by the spirit and people there as well, so they are helping to digitalize hundreds of hours of Lama Norla's talks and lectures...plus old recordings of Kalu Rimpoche...it is a rare and wonderful chance to figuratively sit at the feet of Buddhist Masters, and I have not seen Paul this happy in a long long time. Also, when I can, I like going with him over to the Kagyu Thubten Monastery becaause I simply like the monks and nuns there. They are tremendouly warm and welcoming people with enormous knowledge of the Dharma, and since they are mostly Westerners, it is easy to learn from them all sorts of things about Tibetan Buddhism, as well as the Tibetan language itself. Several of them are certified teachers of that language and I am finding that study intriguing. I go at it slowly, but it holds my interest nonetheless. I have loved beginning to know these spirited people. And Paul and Peter are so drawn to the monastic energy. The fact that the entire place sits on the banks of the fabulous Hudson River only adds to the attraction, and a gorgeous ornate stupa the monastery had built there adds to the enchantment. Quite beautiful. And constant dedication to Peace and compassion and the teachings of the Buddha. Lama Norla is in residence there and travels the wide world from his home there to his various communities all over this country and others. He has been the teacher of many Buddhist leaders around the world, and the humble monastery is often host to Buddhist "stars" from all over the place..today the Lama Surya Das is coming for the afternoon,not to give a public teaching, but to simply have lunch with Lama Norla...! At least, that is what Paul told me when he came home from his volunteer work there yesteday....
Lots of Buddhist books as gifts for Christmas, among them several by the amazing Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh....and various members of his original Interbeing Council that came together in the Vietnam War's darkest days to help their country....the current one I am reading is called simply INTERBEING: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism....such simple and touching writing....so useful...especially when you consider the 14 guidelines were conceived when horrible things were being done to their homes and families by people who seemed intent on their distruction, and as Buddhists, they knew they had to find a way not to hate the people who were doing the horrible things...in fact, from their experience of war, they knew, as Buddhist scholars and spiritual people, that hate and retribution would only prolong the agonies not end them...and in that wisdom alone, I find enough to sustain my admiration and desire to continue to study them. One passage touched me particularly:
"The First Mindfulness Training of the Order of Interbeing opens us to the total openness and absolute tolerance of Buddhism. Openness and tolerance are not merely ways to deal with people in daily life; they are truly gateways for the realization of the Way. According to Buddhism, if we do not continue to expand the boundaries of our understanding, we will be imprisoned by our views and unable to realize the Way.
In the Sutra of One Hundred Parables,the Buddha tells the story of a young merchant and his son. The merchant,a widower, loved his son dearly, but lost him due to his lack of wisdom. One day, while the man was away, his little boy was kidnapped by bandits, who razed the entire village before fleeing. When the young merchant returned, he found the charred remains of a child near where his house had been, and in his suffering and confusion, mistook the charred remains for his own son. He cried unceasingly, arranged a cremation ceremony , and then carried the bag of ashes tied around his neck day and night. A few months later, a little boy, his little boy, managed to escape from the bandits and found his way home. At midnight, he knocked on his father's door, but the father, thinking some mischievous boy was ridiculing him, refused to let him in. The boy knocked and knocked, but the man clung to his view that his boy was dead and eventually his son had to go away. The father who loved so much lost his son forever.
The Buddha said that when we are attached to views, even if the truth comes knocking on our door, we will refuse to let it in. To inflexibly embrace a view and regard it as a fixed truth is to end the vital process of inquiry and awakening. The Buddha's teachings are a means of helping people. They are not an end to worship or fight over."
From reading all I have been reading over the past year, I am happily amazed by the amount of true wisdom man is capable of. One day, it will prevail.
Labels: Buddhist Influences
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