Musings

Equalizing Self and Others After Charleston

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I love summer here in buddhifull New England, with all its abundant greenery, outdoor sports, beaches and other getaways. Yet while I am trying my best to slow down the pace and enjoy the natural abundance surrounding me, I am also taking some time to reflect on the turbulence of our times. I’ve come to believe that good ole boy Winston Churchill wasn’t too far off when he said “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” We must seize this moment and Remember to Remember what’s important to our individual and collective hearts and minds, bodies and souls. Right now, during this pivotal learning...

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As I travel on book tour around the country this month my meditation practice is challenging, but oh so necessary. I thought I’d share with you my metta practice. Metta (maitri) is the practice of loving-kindness meditation and friendliness taught by the Buddha approximately 2,600 years ago.  It is an important component of the Buddhist wisdom teachings and their daily practice as applied in life.  I have taken the basic sacred phrases from the Metta Sutra (Loving-kindness Scripture) and added many of my own over the years as they come up for me in my own prayer and chant life; you are welcome...

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The Buddha taught us to really see how interconnected we are – humans, animals and the entire world around us. As you meander thru your day, having a cup of coffee, sharing a meal with your family or friends, or simply exercising, don't forget our brothers and sisters in Nepal.  We can all make a difference, big or small.https://goo.gl/hBIk5rIf all you can give is as short prayer, it's still a way to interconnect and assist.

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"What did the Dalai Lama say to the hot dog vendor? 'Make me one with everything.' It's a joke---and a pretty good one---but there's more to it than that. Becoming one with everything by seeing through separateness and rigidity is the heart of what I call inter-meditation. Inter-meditation means meditating with---the practice and art of intimacy and union with whatever is, just as it is. It is the yoga of convergence, connection, co-meditation, and spontaneous oneness. It's a path we can take to overcome all our illusions of duality."  I call my new book Make Me One with Everything: Buddhist...

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On Sunday, March 15th I was delighted to take part in the welcoming reception held for His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa in Menlo Park, CA. This auspicious occasion kicked off his two month USA tour, and marks His Holiness' third visit to America. Today he is giving a talk at Stanford University, and  yesterday was at the Google Campus in Silicon Valley. What a wonderful, youthful Lama! I invite you to visit the Karmapa's website for his official tour schedule- http://kagyuoffice.org/schedule/

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“Still Alice” is a moving and beautifully acted (by Julianne Moore and Kristen Stuart) film and it keeps reverberating around my brainpan. It reminded me of my old grannie who in her 90s seemed to live almost totally in the Now. Fortunately, Gram had the care she seemed to need and want, and a pretty good end. “Still Alice” also calls to mind other fine films about the individual and familial terrors and travails, breakthroughs and breakdowns of Alzheimer’s Disease, like “Leaving Iris”, “A Separation”, and “Away from Her”. Anyone interested in this all too ubiquitous human...

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Losar, the Tibetan New Year, begins tomorrow in our American time zone. This Year of the Wood Sheep celebration runs February 19-21, 2015, and is not dissimilar to the Chinese astrological (lunar) calendar. Like a spiritual awakening, each and every New Year holyday can remind us of birth’s sacred meaning. This huge and ancient 3 day Himalayan festival, now celebrated all around the world, is a time for purifying and relinquishing the old unwholesome and stultifying karma (actions and results) in our life outer and inner, and giving birth to the new, the brighter and more wholesome and enlightened....

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“From love we learn to ease our fretful longing for more and to rest in the blessedness of things as they are. From love we learn to heal our losses and our fears of loss. Love awakens us. It shows us the truth about ourselves and gives us the courage to live this truth. Love sustains us: it is our quintessential nourishment. And love connects us--to others, to ourselves, and to the source of all being. Love is our teacher, and we are love's apprentices.” By Rich and Antra Borofsky

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Try a little silence...stop. Be still. Remain silent. Meditators should be seen, not heard. Shhhh. Still all the senses. Let everything be. Let go, and let it all come to you. Relax. Being is in; doing is out. Do nothing. For a moment just be. Silence is golden. Enjoy it.

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