Invitation to join Group:
Daily practice and new resolutions
Click here:
http://pods.gaia.com/self_acceptance
You're invited to join my new group “Daily practice and new resolutions”.
(: This group feels like a good space and a number of friends have already joined and are enthusiastically participating :)
introduction:
Am I happy and self accepting?
If I had one last last month on earth
what are the things I would want to do?
Can I start now?
If this were the last moment in my life
- what would my regrets be?
Can I prevent these?
What inspires me?
What am I good at
and do I give this place in my life?
Am I happy with what I do with my time?
What are my activities,
minute by minute through the day?
What are my thoughts,
minute by minute
and how do they play themselves out in my life?
Share practices, routines
and perhaps do a spring clean
(of your life)
in this non judgmental, caring place
Here you can confirm your commitments
and also share when you tumble from them!
Share resolutions,
whether they be new years resolutions,
renewed resolutions
or simply new ones.
Support, be supported and inspire!
Invite your friends to this group - it may be just the gift they need!
http://pods.gaia.com/self_acceptance
Friday, December 26, 2008
New years gift Invitation
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Dear Friends
During school time life is fairly structured for my 12 year old son, Neville. There's the morning at school, extra murals in the afternoons and homework, leaving an hour or two to do various chores and follow his interests.
Now its the holidays... and the thing which is catching my attention right now is:
Holidays, children and what they do with their time.
When i look around my sense is that its all too easy for children to have caretakers in the form of TV, computer and/or playstation games, movies and the likes. I also sense my dilemma may be fairly universal and there may be a crying need for attention in this area. Though I don't know how it is in other countries.
From what I see, my 12 year olds interests are music and the computer, seconded by spending time with friends. We don't have a TV otherwise it would most certainly be on the Must Do list. Parents are definitely NOT cool, so the days of organising shared activities are in the past (and future) to a large degree.
The 1st few days of the holiday are about unwinding and simply enjoying relative freedom. Our end of year holidays in South Africa continue for over a month and children (of all ages) often start complaining about being bored when not provided with something to keep them occupied.
My sense is that no one seems to be coming up with a solution. This has got me thinking of starting a holiday project, something which will include children of all ages (possibly children forming age related activity groups). Also something which will help people in some way, so the activity becomes a means of growing awareness while simultaneously being entertaining and creative. My thoughts are still unformed - but fairly persistent.
One thought I had; there are many mothers and children on our street corners begging for money which is really heart breaking and another area where no one seems to know what to do - after all it's been going on for years. I thought it may be a good idea to somehow get involved with one or two families like this. But i'm unsure of the logistics and know this is just one possibility.
At this point I'd like to open this conversation up and hear from you. Please share your ideas, experiences, anything else you think of
With deep gratitude
Wishing you and yours a blessed year ending and new beginnings
Friday, December 5, 2008
yesterday
Yesterday we had an electric storm as we do at this time of the year
Yesterday was also Gra-anna’s 4th memorial
When I was driving home, the largest dragonfly I’ve ever seen weaved its way in front of my car for about half a block.
I decided the artwork which I’d been planning for Gra-anna needed to include a dragonfly.
I tend to see things as symbolic so I looked up ‘dragonfly’.
Because of the storm yesterday
and wishing to connect with friends and family on the actual day
I hurriedly posted off a webcam pic
Today I create a less hurried post:
In memory of beautiful Gra-anna
Who 4 years ago decided it was time to take flight from this planet
Who left us precious foot prints
For those who still haven’t taken a peek – Gra-anna's Book is brimming with treasures and gifts to you and for those who have - take another dip into her gifting
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Extract from a conversation with the Dalai Lama
"You said you might not return. My question to you is where are you going to go?"
"To hell," the Dalai Lama retorted, bursting out in hearty laughter.
He then struck a serious note, saying that his favorite daily Buddhist prayer contains the line: "So long as sentient beings' suffering remains, I will remain in order to serve, to share their suffering."
Click here to read more
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
waking at 4am
the mornings 1st song
love's smiling eyes;
my horizon
we the weavers dance
suns golden hue
our heart is music
the birds sing to
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Right Thinking
Awen just loves cleaning,' my daughter, Gra-anna, told me with a big smile.
I watched three year old Awen with his cloth. Busy, busy wiping the floor, then shining it. When he was done he looked around purposefully to see where he could go next with his cleaning cloth.
My grandson was playing. He was playing, 'cleaning, cleaning'. If there was a spill so much the better, Awen was at it in a flash. When we finished our meal, Awen toddled off to the sink with his plate and on tippy toes, rinsed off his plate, after each meal. Happy as can be. That was 4 years ago, but the memory glows brightly in my heart.
When I partook in my yoga teacher training course, I learned about Karma Yoga. We were on a karma yoga roster for things like cleaning the dishes. I used these moments to learn to see the 'mundane' as sacred.
I was walking down the path a moment ago, going to fetch my son, Neville from school, when I suddenly remembered Awen cleaning and it all came together.
What is the attitude of play? When Awen was cleaning, he was very busy doing the work of a child which is to play. Do you remember the head space of playing? This is the way all things need to be approached, isn't it?
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Something precious
(dedicated to those who are loving and all those who grant others the honor of loving them)
There was something precious
about the way you left your window open
that day it rained and the wind was howling
Your gauzy curtain, a dancing muse, flying
wispy poetry for all eyes to see
There’s something precious shared
When you leave your heart achingly wide
to share without withholding
loving without a single thought
For that utterly unprotected warm place
There’s something precious that happens
When you drop those boundaries
between self and others and objects
And gift all earth with the abundance
Of boundlessness
(1st published on Metta's new site: http://united-buddhist-networks.ning.com)
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Meditation
For those interested in meditation, I’ve posted a series of youtube talks by Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, titled Nature of Mind, which I recommend strongly. Although she is a Buddhist nun, her teachings target a wider audience and are useful for anyone wishing to understand the mind and how to improve one’s meditation practice. She uses a lovely simple approach and her manner is always ‘down to earth’. She spent 12 years in a cave in meditation; if anyone has insight into the mind, it is someone with this sort of experience.
As I watch this series, I have the sense of one who knows and understands the mind in the same way a doctor does anatomy. I get the sense of one who was watched the workings of the mind extensively and not only deeply understands, but has mastered this science/experience. Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo explains things so you know ‘why’ you need to do it, which makes the meditation experience practical and sensible, instead following what you’re ‘told to do’ without explanation, as many teachers seem to expect, perhaps unwittingly, When we simply act out instructions which we do not intrinsically understand, we will seldom pursue them with in a committed way or for any prolonged period of time.
This series feels like a lovely ‘handbook’ on meditation and is excellent for beginners and also for those who have had uneven experiences and access to information on meditation and may need to ‘fill in the missing gaps’. Click here and scroll down until you see the youtube postings
Monday, October 13, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
voicing tantalizing wandering
I just posted this, my 1st blog in Metta's lovely new site!
You are invited to visit and join if you find it interesting:
The United Buddhist Networks
While I was thinking about what to write,
how to say what I want to say
... finding what I want to say...
I was found this quotation which speaks to me so well:
"Of the many earnest, and how earnest, people we may observe reading, attending lectures, studying and practicing disciplines, devoting their energies to the attainment of a liberation which is by definition unattainable, how many are not striving via the ego-concept which is itself the only barrier between what they think they are and that which they wish to become but always have been and always will be?' - Why Lazurus Laughed by Wei Wu
Yesterday in this site, I started, what I hoped would become a conversation, on Emptiness.
I love this subject so much!
People always respond from a knowing place,
as do I when others raise a subject...
...and these responses are always helpful.
...but only to a degree.
As is the question itself.
I sense that as long as we are not enlightened
we will inevitably fluctuate between the relative realm and mindfulness
endlessly
As a person on the path my 'goal' is enlightenment.
...I know having a goal
is the very thing/concept between me and enlightenment...
The thing is
... until we have 'arrived' (become enlightened/awakened)
there will be a goal
...for at least part of the time
and you know what?
I find this a sad thing...
Which does not mean I do not also endlessly celebrate.
I do.
In each moment that I bring my awareness to the moment.
But ...there is always the underlying yearning...
this is the very thing I guess which propels me on
keeps me taking the next step,
and the next, on the path.
Moments of awareness
stillness in the mind
treasures
yet... my awareness is so limited...
and so I am propelled ...
to take the next step...
and the next...
I teach art and yoga. Sometimes people take up these as a hobby
and squeeze into the hour they can manage between the important things in their lives.
After one or two classes they reach the moment when they feel daunted,
realizing they are actually on the foothills of a mountain they need to climb.
I attended a talk by Tenzin Palmo a while back.
She spoke eloquently about how life brings us challenges and by taking these challenges on
we become fit and strengthened spiritually
- in the same way our body becomes fit and strong from physical exercise.
There is a path to walk
the journey feels arduous at times
also...
it is here
... this thing we search for
is here
http://united-buddhist-networks.ning.com/
Monday, October 6, 2008
Shantideva
Whatever joy there is in this world
All comes from desiring others to be happy,
And whatever suffering there is in the world
All comes from desiring my own happiness
(The picture above is an attempt at a sketch of precious Ven Geshe Damcho Yonten whose teachings I recently attended on Shantideva's 'A Guide to the Bodhisatva Way of Life')
Friday, September 26, 2008
Dancing
where is this dancer?
... when I look for it it is nowhere to be found
when I look without seeking
it is everywhere
Monday, September 22, 2008
GURU LIFE
I call life GURU LIFE
because I'm finding Life to be the most amazing sacred teacher of all
- the perfect teacher -
all other teachers a mere shadow in comparison
I cannot begin to express...
I hear of those who have gurus
and their great love for these beings
- and know these gurus must either be direct channels of Guru Life
one and the same
or else paled
by their obstructions to this great guru
freelly available to all
I know the love of a disciple of a guru
I sing the same songs,
cry the same tears and dance the same ecstasy
how fortunate!
emaho
there is nothing Guru Life hands me
which is not sacred
my only desire
is to become one
with this great teacher of oneness
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Why?
…. I'm having a sense that the question is more sacred than any answer
simply by what is being experienced
- that its the movement which takes place in the mind
an 'answer' placates movement/creativity
leads to something stagnant -
in a sense is the death of some journey (the question)
seems it's the 'I' (ego) who wants and creates answers
while being is the movement
which gives rise to these eternal questions
- or looking at it another way
a question can be seen as
a birth process suspended in time
- the unfolding creative process
and the answer is that final full stop
- the end of the telling of a tale
or dab of the brush when the painting's all done
mmm meandering, spinning a thoughtful thread…
Friday, September 19, 2008
Why is there beauty?
Someone asked me this question today:
"why is there beauty?"
Interesting question, I thought.
This was my response:
I just asked my daughter how she'd answer your question
and her reply was:
"beauty is food for the soul"
and I responded:
"does this mean so called 'ugliness' is not?"
and she said:
"ugliness is food for thought"
I enjoyed the playfulness of her response
I personally do not think there's anything such as beauty
- rather it's a perception which we create or do not create.
Right now the chat is unfolding with my daughter (she's in London and I'm in South Africa) and she's just said something rather nice:
"anyway, that's why we need beauty, for its positive energy. Coz it's love in another form"
I like that ;)
What do you think?
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Shadows & reflections and Before thought
1.
Shadows and reflections
Shadows and reflections have been inspiring me so!
I have been photographing them and contemplating painting too.
The other day while teaching an art class I noticed
a reflection cast by light through the window
reflecting on the floor tiles
I was enraptured.
The 'picture' was so powerful and entrancing
I glanced from the window which cast this image
back to the light reflecting
and back...
mesmerised!
in that moment I found they were the same
I posted photographs of shadows and reflections in a facebook album
I was delighted to see the responses of others
- they too were entranced
a dialogue started between myself and a friend
I tried to put in in a nutshell:
'...lately I'm looking at shadows and am not sure which is more 'the object' -
this is really abstract (love this word - it lets me off the hook of trying to explain!)
but I'm seeing the world and life as reflections or shadows
....Plato spoke of this:
""The Allegory of the Cave" symbolizes this trek and how it would look to those still in a lower realm. Plato is saying that humans are all prisoners and that the tangible world is our cave. The things which we perceive as real are actually just shadows on a wall."
2
Before Thought
Life is short and as long as we travel towards enlightenment we shall mourn this.
When we become enlightened we shall no longer be rocked by these journeys.
Life is so short
bearing this in mind – we need to use each jeweled possible second
because we do not know when it’s going to end.
We must love others in each second
because we do not know when their moment of passing will arrive.
I read something beautiful the other day about ‘before thought’ - and it has grabbed me!
'Before thought' is a place in the mind which is so sacred and liberating.
A simple shift of focus.
It is thought which creates all this pain, sorrow and passing joy.
There is peace, love and eternity in before thought
Monday, September 15, 2008
Calling on all women (Johanna's Blog)
This is the Hawk, that greeted the 1,000 Hummingbird All Nations Rebirthing Ceremony planners, Johanna and Corrina, when they went to the ancient village site, to meet with our native sisters. This ancient one made sure we understood it was by permission and authorization of the ancient hearts of that place, that we were invited to participate....
This new to our era process of joining native women with all nations of women, for the purpose of calling in our own rebirthing as a powerful force of wholeness and loving unity, has been dreamed of by many, and accomplished only in our hearts until this day.
The women of this circle...13 healers called together by fate, and representing multiple nations of mostly indigenous or native ancestral ceremony practitioners, are now preparing our most amazing meal ever: a ceremony to launch healing for women and children WORLD WIDE...like the stone in a pool on a full moon night...the sparkling ripples have already begun to call us forth.
From the most powerful showing of healing fire, within the depths of our lodges...we have been tasting the reality of profound spontaneous healings. WE have RE-MEMBERED ourselves as HOLY and are PREPARING to begin this most sacred march of WOMEN into our lives as empowered healers of world culture.
These words may sound lofty, yet we have been shown by the ancestors, when the dark is darkest...this, is when the light of LOVE shines most brightly...
In service of this understanding, we seek to host the light of loving and healing, by hosting for the women of our nation, and world...the seed ceremony for the One Thousand Hummingbird All Nations Womens Rebirthing Ceremony to be held for four years running, (2009-2012) as a preparation for networks that will connect women around the globe to other women of healing sources and resources.
Om Nama SHivaya
Oh Mitakuay Oyasin
Oh Mateo
Praise be to the consciousness of LOVE!
Gra-anna's visit
wearing a long flowing dress.
Her hair was long too.
She felt very beautiful and in a good space.
In the dream Gra-anna was going to a further realm
and wanted a blessing from me
She was carrying an ancient book
which she referred to
She’d chosen this day for departure based on the book which guided her to selecting this as the most auspicious day.
Time was running out and she had to go soon
moving to further realms
I said to her that if I could keep her I would
– but it wouldn’t be the right thing to do
I told her my wishes for her are wisdom, creativity and compassion
And that my personnel wish is that she carry my nurturing maternal love
with her to the furthermost reaches of the infinite universe
to draw from when she needs to
I woke feeling acceptance and also sadness
Gra-anna my beloved daughter
journeyed on this earth
1979-2004
She still is on a journey
We all are
Monday, September 8, 2008
Please, never forget
Take a listen to this special song dedicated to Burma
by David Rudder
http://www.burmadavidrudder.com/index.html
Gifted to us by our precious award winning journalistic blogger, Metta
sharing...
Mettacara's Covocation
you are welcome to share an expanded version of this blog here
Saturday, September 6, 2008
thinking versus experiencing
Shadow and reflection
Are no different from object
It’s all here
it's thinking about it
that diminishes the experience
Friday, September 5, 2008
My True Name
Please Call Me By My True Name
Thich Nhat Hanh
Do not say I depart tomorrow,
for even today I still arrive.
Look deeply: I arrive in every moment,
to be a bud on a branch,
to be a tiny bird with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the hearth of a flower,
to be jewel hiding itself in a stone.
I still arrive in order to laugh and to cry
in order to fear and to hope.
the rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.
I am the may fly metamorphosing
on the surface of a river,
and I am the bird, which when spring comes,
arrives in time to eat the mayfly.
I am the frog, swimming happily
in the clear waters of my pond,
and I am the grass-snake who,
approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.
I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly
weapons to Uganda.
I am the 12 year old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean
after being raped by a sea pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable
of seeing and and loving.
I am a member of the politburo
with plenty of power in my hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his
“debt of blood” to my people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.
My joy is like spring so warm it makes
flowers bloom in all walks of life.
My pain like a river of tears, so full it
fills up the four oceans.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and my laughs at once,
So that I can see that my joy and my pain are one.
Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
that so the doors of my heart can be left open,
the doors of compassion.
Monday, September 1, 2008
To my love
Come beloved
Let’s play again
The meadow dances
yesterday’s laughter!
Come beloved
Let’s play again
Hide and seek
Cat and mouse
Till we find
Ourselves again
Oh this is a death game!
I am so consumed by love
And you
Laughingly stoke the flames
Paying no heed to the funeral bells!
Now its ash ash ash
Ashes all about
I am gone!
The love furnace is all ablaze!
Love burns away all that is not itself
Surrender to love...
Love consumes...
all ability to see anything as outside of self
all fear, animosity...
...reduced to ash...
...fluttering away
in the sweet perfumed breeze
I am another you
there is nothing known to self
that is not self
love flows to love
Sunday, August 31, 2008
A dream
A precious being, 'X', told me a dream he had the other night.
A friend was committing suicide.
He poured petrol over himself and set himself ablaze.
It was a shocking and horrifying experience.
X ran inside to call people and tell them what was happening.
When he returned
...he saw Buddha seated where his friend had been
At that moment he woke.
I found this dream beautiful and meaningful
It spoke to me of the masks of Buddha.
Everyone is a masked Buddha (universal truth)
Life, the great Guru
brings us many many sacred lessons
- they all take the form of the Masked Buddha
We went on to speak about the difficulties life presents.
The great suffering one experiences.
Death of beloveds, financial hardship, loss, loss, loss...
I thought of the shock 'X' experienced in the dream
- seeing his friend in flames
then the awed amazement to find
Buddha sitting amongst the ashes
I thought of that feeling in our hearts and bodies
at the moment of trauma
loss or extreme hardship
- that sharp pain
that sense of 'AAAAH!'
- THE CRYING OUT WE DO INWARDLY AND SOMETIMES OUTWARDLY TOO.
What is the cause of the immense pain?
Is it the holding on to the mask
which will shift in time
if we allow it
to reveal
the Buddha
Pain is...
holding onto the mask
We went on to speak of the ultimate loss we will all experience
- the loss of our own lives.
I thought of the so obvious yet surprising statement
i heard on the radio the other day:
In 90 years
only a handful of all people living today
will still be alive.
Life is our guru
bearing sacred lessons
preparing us for the final letting go
Each painful experience we have
is an opportunity
to prepare for the final letting go
is an opportunity
to practice acceptance
and going with the flow
This morning I was reflecting on X's dream again/still
and I remembered a while back when I became aware
of the umbilical cord
which holds 'us' to this body.
A sense of awareness that there is an 'etheric body' (for want of another term)
connected to this physical body
And I could feel the cord somewhere above the physical navel area,
perhaps in the area of the solar plexus chakra.
- the sense of this cord is an echo or imprint of that 'aaah' we experience
in those very tough moments,
I wandered if this umbilical cord is also the cord
between ego and higher awareness
The physical body, it's emotions, survival instincts
bound up with the ego's sense of mortality, limitations, need to be in control. etc
whereas our higher awareness which we develop/commune with when we are meditating
is boundless, non dual, etc...
I wondered if enlightenment is the cutting of this umbilical cord
in the same way a baby's is cut
to be freed to live independent of the womb
which brought it to earthly existence
This blog has been quite hard to write
in the sense to trying to describe feelings coherently
it always seems to come back to
Acceptance and
Letting Go
Friday, August 29, 2008
A personal request
Dear Friends,
You might have seen the Appeal issued by the Tibetan Solidarity Committee to request all Tibetans, Tibet Support Groups and peace-loving people of the world to observe a 12-hour symbolic fasting
and prayer on 30th August 2008 for world peace and, particularly, for the departed souls of the Tibetan people in recent months in Tibet . The appeal also re-commits ourselves to the path of non-violence. The objectives and how to observe the fasting are mentioned in detail in the appeal. If you have not received the appeal as yet, please visit our official website
We consider this as extremely important non-violent action taken by Tibetans under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a very critical period for Tibet , particularly the post-Olympic period. I personally request you and your organization to kindly participate in this fast and prayer and encourage many other people to join us in this effort to reduce our own defilements and to create wisdom and compassion in the minds of the oppressor. I believe you will cooperate
us in this non-violent action.
With my warm personal greetings,
Your sincerely,
Samdhong Rinpoche
KALON TRIPA
We consider this as extremely important non-violent action taken by Tibetans under the leadership of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in a very critical period for Tibet , particularly the post-Olympic period. I personally request you and your organization to kindly participate in this fast and prayer and encourage many other people to join us in this effort to reduce our own defilements and to create wisdom and compassion in the minds of the oppressor.
I believe you will cooperate us in this non-violent action.
With my warm personal greetings,
Your sincerely,
Samdhong Rinpoche
KALON TRIPA
The world, at large, is plagued by hosts of problem such as poverty, violence, environmental degradation, religious disharmony etc., that are the reasons for various unending sufferings humanity is facing today, and will so in future too.
For the last nearly about sixty years, as a direct result of PRC's ultra leftist policy & their discriminatory programs aimed at Tibetan Nationality and oppression of Tibetan people, hundreds of thousand of Tibetans have lost their lives and thousands of Tibetan cultural and sacred religious institutions have been demolished so far.
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the various policies and decisions that are currently being implemented in Tibet is leading to 'Cultural Genocide' in Tibet . Furthermore, the merciless and harsh crackdown on the non-violent, peaceful Tibetan protestors since March this year over demonstrating their deep anguish and aspiration has left many hundreds dead and thousands more injured, tortured and detained.
Unfortunately, this unthinkable atrocity is still continuing unabatedly with the apprehensions growing about further intensification of repression after the Olympic Games.
It is evident that, not just Tibetan, but the Chinese masses are also deprived of religious freedom and freedom of conscience & expression that can be understood from The Tiananmen Square Massacre and how the legitimate demands and grievances of many farmers and workers are meted with force and intimidation.
To bring an end to such injustices, a 12-hour symbolic fasting shall be observed by all truth and justice loving people of the international community and, particularly, by Tibetans in exile and Tibet supporters everywhere on Saturday, 30 Aug 2008, which is the last day of 6th month in Tibetan calendar. This symbolic fasting, which will begin and end at 0700-1900 hrs, is done in order to purify oneself from negative actions and to accumulate good karma, to stress the non-violent perseverance in struggle for the ideals of freedom, justice, democracy, freedom of expression and for transparent
political order for the whole world, Tibetans and Chinese people in particular. It is an appeal to all the justice, truth and peace loving people to effectively support such non-violent struggle and cause in whatever capacity.
This is also appealed to all the Tibetan elsewhere, Tibet Supporters and international community supporting truth and justice, and believing in non-violent struggle, to participate and observe this symbolic fasting and prayer service at your respective places. If we are able to observe this fast and prayer with loving compassion and in most altruist spirit, we believe it will certainly bring changes in the hearts of all beings, even in the hearts of our oppressor, to shed ignorance and confusion of mind, help pacify feelings of hatred and foster love and trust in the creation of a harmonious society.
The details of this program will be sent to you shortly.
Tibetan Solidarity Committee.
August 07, 2008
Detail programme of 12-hour long Fasting and Prayer Service to be observed by Tibetans, Tibet supporters and by the peace loving people of the world on 30th August 2008 or Last day of the 6th Month in Tibetan Calendar.
1. Aims of this Fasting and Prayer Service:
a) To purify negative actions of all beings, particularly of Tibetan and Chinese
people, and, to accumulate and multiply our collective good karma. As a result, this
will:
b) Bring long, healthy life to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and help his activities to
prosper and benefit all sentient beings.
c) Ease all the conflicts, diseases, sufferings, and natural calamities in the world, so
that all beings shall live in peace and harmony.
d) Cleanse the negative actions of all those Tibetans who have died fighting for their
political cause in the aftermath of March protest in Tibet this year and help them
reborn in higher realm and eventually get freed from vicious Samsaric cycle. And,
instantaneously relieve those Tibetan who are still enduring atrocities under the
brutal Chinese oppression from their sufferings, and for the truth of Tibetan issue to
prevail soon.
e) Finally get all those people in the world in general and Tibetans in particular, who
have been victims of forced oppression and violence and deprived of their religious
freedom and freedom of conscience and expression, be freed and enjoy state of
well-being and freedom. And, dismantle all the hatred in the hearts of oppressors
and guide them with discerning wisdom, and
f) Earnestly remind and appeal to all the human beings to effectively counter the acts
of oppression, violence and injustice with non-violent and peaceful means, borne
out of compassion and loving kindness to our oppressor.
2. Duration of Fasting and Prayer Service:
a) On the auspicious day of 30thAugust 2008 and the last day of 6th Month in Tibetan
Calendar, the Fasting and Prayer Service shall be observed in one's respective area
from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. for 12 hours.
b) In specific area of special cases, if the above timing is inconvenient they can modify
the timeline, suppose, from 0800 hrs to 2000 hrs but the idea is to observe 12 hours
long fast and prayer on that day.
c) Those who are old and infirm, patients and children who cannot participate in a
12-hour fast can join in for 10 minutes or half an hour or up to one hour, according
to their disposition.
3. Observing Fast:
During the period of observing fast, one is allowed to drink hot or cold water (plain
water). But drinking tea, milk, fruit juice and other energy drinks should be barred as
well as eating, chewing and munching any eatables. However, daily medical
prescriptions are exception; one can take them as in their daily routine.
4. Program of the Prayer Service:
a) In the monastic assemblies of four great traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, and Bon,
as well as in other smaller monasteries and nunneries, apart from performing one's
own traditional pujas and activities unique to them, all should recite as many as
possible the Payers for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Guru Prayers, Dhen-pai
Nga-dra, Dhen-stik Mon-lam (Prayer of Truth), Prayer of 21 Taras, Six-syllable Mani
mantra and invocation prayers of deities Palden Lhamo and Nechung.
b) Those Tibet supporters and others who are non-Tibetan and who do not recite
Tibetan prayers can observe silent fast or they can recite prayers and hymns of their
respective faiths.
c) At intervals, official statements may be read out and speech on introduction of this
fast campaign should be invited. But raising slogans and aggressive speeches
should be avoided.
d) To make offerings and prayers to any place of worship nearby your fast observing
site.
5. How to assemble:
a) In monasteries and in nunneries, all the monks or nuns should assemble together
for mass in their respective Prayer Halls or Monastery Assembly Halls.
b) Dharma and Retreat Centers should assemble as many people as possible in their
prayer halls.
c) In schools, all the students and staff should gather in the school auditorium/hall to
observe the fast.
d) In Tibetan settlements, people may assemble in community halls or any other
facilities available in the area.
e) Hospitals and Old Age Homes that have difficulty assembling with masses can
gather on their own in their respective premises.
f) Scattered Tibetan community who don't have specific meeting place can observe by
themselves at home or together with their neighbours.
g) Tibet Support Groups can observe fast by gathering at convenient location or at
specific place where large participation is possible
h) Those Tibetans, Tibetan supporters and justice and peace loving people of the
world, who cannot go and join the masses to observe fast and prayer service, can
observe it at their own home.
6. Reporting:
On completion of one-day fast, a report should be submitted by Regional Committees, Associations or individuals clearly mentioning the number of attendance and the detail programmes of the event, to Tibetan Solidarity Committee, Dharamsala.
Tibetan Solidarity Committee
Dharamsala
13th August 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Sharing True Eloquence
I was looking at Assaji son's (True Eloquence) photo this morning
and we were sharing our sadness that traditional clothing is not often worn
my thoughts:
isn't it like that?
The youth always want to create something new
or at least 'be modern'
and so what was once status quo becomes traditional
and 'an old hat'
... to be followed by nostalgia
I guess that's why I loved wearing a chuba and following the traditional Tibetan ceremony on my wedding day!
Because Tibet is so threatened a culture
- having the opportunity to bring these traditions into the wider world
is so special - and gives them longevity
The other thing is -
the new is also inevitable
We have a push and pull situation going on
... looking over our shoulder with longing
while forging new paths ahead ...
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Gandhiji
...may every single person know their heart can make a difference...
Gandhiji was ONE man...
May we never march as though peace does not exist...
Never put ourselves on the outside
Of the experience of love...
There is only love
Love is all there is...
all else is tricky shadow
Sun will cast away
As sure as night flees the day
Peace does not arrive
Peace is
Om resonates over all earth
On the outside all is chaos and confusion...
Within is emptiness where all is peace
leap off the cliff into the Arms of the Divine
Om Shanti
*
torch
to mention but a few...
But we are all here
...In this crowd
It's all the same
You say I am prettifying..
White washing
with sweetness
I am taking a ride through the galaxy
on the tail
of a shooting star
We see Biko in his coffin
His face has been tidied up
But not enough to hide the hideous atrocities
Which break our heart so
we zoom in further..
Deeper...
We see ourselves..
The pain underlying the rage...
see the causes of this pain
The impotence felt as witnesses
The guilt
...at not having acted more..
Always could have done more...
Always reasons for holding back...
The anger..
Pain..
Hurt..
The... WHY!!! WHY!!! WHY???
Echoing thunderously through the mind
Zooming in further..
Further..
Further...
The killer is embracing the murdered...
The murdered... The killer...
Further..
Further...
Finding true essence...
one in all...
And zooming out
Out...
out..
out
Same thing..
Same thing...
we start...
...by seeing others
end with self...
Then beyond
all the same
All the same
power of love
May mercy flow to all beings...
may suffering and pain on earth be embraced rather than denied...
so it can be seen as the illusion it is...
And give way to the eternal power of Love
tears are shed...
listen.. the sobbing echoes through all time
in this life
...child
...arranged bundle of bones
...you look out knowingly through large eyes
...woman burned by your husband
...men bear the scars of war... below the skin
aah my cry echoes through all time...
my arms reach out to enfold
you
to my weeping heart
Kali looks on...
she knows the cycles
of this dual existence
and we fear her! and these cycles...
...until we embrace them lovingly to our Heart
when we reject the object of our fear
how fear thrives!
and fear
must dissipate in the face of love...
... written after reflecting on a trauma counseling session
Gra-anna's Wings, Gra-anna's Love
Flames rain
Falling upon me,
I am aflame
My wings are the drum
In the sun, rivers explode
in rippling laughter
She is dancing
upon the crescent moon
My wings are the drum
From the essence of my being
I am called to be free
Inspired by the moment
My wings are the drum
Rising from the ashes renewed
I greet the dawn
Listening to Earth's heartbeat
Child's laughter echoes
across the Earth
My wings are the drum
by Gra-anna
Suffering in Burma (1 Oct 07)
Sharing Blog with Love Gien who received the following mail from a friend
We just got phone call with our sister living in Yangon about a few hours ago.
We saw on BBC world, saying that 200 monks were arrested. The true picture
is far worse!!!!!!!!!
For one instance, the monastery at an obscure neighborhood of Yangon,called
Ngwe Kyar Yan (on Wei-za-yan-tar Road, Yangon) had been raided early this
morning.
A troop of lone-tein (riot police comprised of paid thugs) protected
by the military trucks, raided the monastery with 200 studying monks.
They systematically ordered all the monks to line up and banged and
crushed each one's head against the brick wall of the monastery. One
by one, the peaceful, non resisting monks, fell to the ground,
screaming in pain. Then, they tore off the red robes and threw them
all in the military trucks (like rice bags) and took the bodies away.
The head monk of the monastery, was tied up in the middle of the
monastery, tortured , bludgeoned, and later died the same day, today.
Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the monastery, warded off
by troops with bayoneted rifles, unable to help their helpless monks
being slaughtered inside the monastery. Their every try to forge
ahead was met with the bayonets.
When all is done, only 10 out of 200 remained alive, hiding in the
monastery. Blood stained everywhere on the walls and floors of the
monastery.
Please tell your audience of the full extent of the fate of the monks
please please !!!!!!!!!!!!
'Arrested' is not enough expression. They have been bludgeoned to
death !!!!!!
___________________________
http://ko-htike.blogspot.com/
___________________________
Dear friends,
Burma's generals have brought their brutal iron hand down on peaceful monks and protesters -- but in response, a massive global outcry is gathering pace. The roar of global public opinion is being heard in hundreds of protests outside Chinese and Burmese embassies, people round the world wearing the monks' color red, and on the internet-- where our petition has exploded to over 200,000 signers in just 72 hours.
People power can win this. Burma's powerful sponsor China can halt the crackdown, if it believes that its international reputation and the 2008 Olympics in Beijing depend on it. To convince the Chinese government and other key countries, Avaaz is launching a major global and Asian ad campaign on Wednesday, including full page ads in the Financial Times and other newspapers, that will deliver our message and the number of signers. We need 1 million voices to be the global roar that will get China's attention. If every one of us forwards this email to just 20 friends, we'll reach our target in the next 72 hours. Please sign the petition at the link below -if you haven't already- and forward this email to everyone you care about:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/t.php
The pressure is working - already, there are signs of splits in the Burmese Army, as some soldiers refuse to attack their own people. The brutal top General, Than Shwe, has reportedly moved his family out of the country – he must fear his rule may crumble.
The Burmese people are showing incredible courage in the face of horror. We're broadcasting updates on our effort over the radio into Burma itself – telling the people that growing numbers of us stand with them. Let's do everything we can to help them – we have hours, not days, to do it. Please sign the petition and forward this email to at least 20 friends right now. Scroll down our petition page for details of times and events to join in the massive wave of demonstrations happening around the world at Burmese and Chinese embassies.
With hope and determination,
Ricken, Paul, Pascal, Graziela, Galit, Ben, Milena and the whole Avaaz Team
Jopoa
Beautiful Spirit
Love and Devotion
incarnate
humbling all who cast their eyes
upon this magnificent Being
so ancient
this lined face
so endlessly youthful
so slight in frame
so boundless in spirit
Jopoa left this realm
but her presence ever here
e-maho
e-maho
Tenzin Palmo
sharing what I wrote...
last night listening to Tenzin Palmo
what beautiful spirit
bringing up a vision of a surfer
sitting in perfect poise
meditation on the crest of a wave
saying 'I am bliss
no wave shall ever rock me
I am perfectly centred
knowing every trial
strengthens me
and is welcomed as an opportunity'
...and when she reached for a bottle of water to drink...
there was an endless moment of poignant silence
and an unexplained tear ran from each of my eyes...
feeling utter love
I'm adding to this entry a few days after writing the above....having reflected with loved ones....
….that moment when she stopped…
and reached for a bottle of water to drink.
when I felt tears spring to my eyes and roll down my cheeks.
... Later talking about it to Gien
… he is so beautiful… the way he reflects things back…
we reach greater understanding this way…
...made me I realise what moved me so intensely
…. it was the way she held the moment...
she wasn't 'taking time out'
saying.. 'aaah excuse me for a second.. just need a drink' … and then returning…
she was moving into this moment.. as she had the previous…
and Being in this moment
as authentically
as she had been in the previous…
it was as though it didn't matter
if she was saying something profound
or having a sip of water…
it was all the same…
…sooo beautiful!
e-maho
Maitreya
Maitreya's name is derived from the Sanskrit 'maitri' meaning 'universal loving-kindness'. Infinitely compassionate and all-knowing, Buddhas teach by their words and example in order to guide us along the path to our own spiritual maturity.
When Shakyamuni Buddha's teachings disappear from this world (the teachings of the historical Buddha of our current age), negativity and misfortune will grow until, spontaneously moved by his overwhelming compassion, Maitreya will manifest in our world as a radiantly beautiful spiritual teacher inspiring people to practice the path of virtue, especially loving-kindness. '
http://www.share-international.org/maitreya/Ma_main.htm
http://www.maitreyaproject.org/en/index.html
RUMI
These beautiful poems were gathered by Gra-anna from our Friend Stephen Moss
I am a painter,
Painting pictures all the time,
Yet when I see them near Your beauty
I want to throw them all away.
I am a sculptor, carving images
and filling each with life,
Yet when I compare these with Your beauty
I want to dump them in a fire.
O bringer of sweet wine,
Enemy of the sober
You have laid waste to
every house I ever built!
Tell me, are You the cupbearer or do You take the cup from my sober lips?
Perhaps You are both, the builder and the ruiner of all that I build
My soul has merges with Yours-
Water into wine, wine into wine.
Now there is only the scent of Your rose perfume.
Every drop of my blood calls out,
Dye me the colour of Your love
Make me the jewel of Your affection.
In this house of water and clay
my heart is in ruins.
O Beloved, please enter my house or let me leave this empty world
---
Last night I gave a star a message for You.
On my bended knees, I begged her to tell You
How much I pray that You turn my stony heart
golden with Your radiance
I bared my chest to show my wounds
And asked her to tell You that if I sway this way and that, it is because I need to calm
the infant of my heart
As babies sleep when rocked in their cradles
My beloved, my heart was Yours always,
nurse it like a child, save it from wandering
How long will You keep me in exile?
I will be quiet now, but even in my silence
my heart will long for one glance of Your grace.
---
Do not worry if our harp breaks, thousands more will appear.
We have fallen into the arms of love, where all is music.
If all the harps in the world were burned down,
still inside the heart
there will be hidden music playing
Do not worry if all the candles in the world flicker and die
We have the spark to start the fire
The songs we sing are like foam on the surface of the sea of being,
whilst the precious gems lie deep beneath
But the tenderness in our songs is a reflection of what lies in the depths
Stop the flow of words
Open the window of you heart
And let the spirit speak
---
When You come back inside my chest
No matter how long I've been away
I look around and see the way
At the end of my life, when I have one, last breath left in me
If You come to me then, I will sit up and sing
Gra-anna's Memorial Day (4 Dec)
this was probably the hardest poem I ever wrote...
and like all tough journeys undertaken
a door opens
Loved one
4/12/05
Dear one you came to this planet
through the passage
of my womb
You reached for the umbilical cord again
as you took your life
hanging from this tree
with the scarf I¹d given you
a little while before
I think of this
as I sit at the foot of the tree
molten rock of attachment
runs red rivers from my eyes
I say quietly
'loved one, I gave birth to you,
you never asked
if you could end it all'
A bowl of swirling liquid
filled with silver and shadow
presents itself to me
In it I see the blend and journeys
of your sacred life
These I did not sanction either
none of this was mine to direct
I thank the Great Mystery for imparting this wisdom
softly returning to the arms of the Beloved
the place of 'It is so'
the place of eternal rest
Wordless prayer
mmm.. I am loving wordless prayer...
... exploring the breath...
seeing how the breath reflects the whole....
reflecting duality..
in-breath... out-breath..
warm nostril... cooler nostril...
dominating nostril alternating throughout the day...
breathing
...listening to the sound...
like the ocean..
waves rising and falling...
breathing...
reflecting action with the in-breath
letting go with the out-breath...
aah...then the 3rd way... the middle way
reflected in the Khumbaka; breath retention
...that pause between each breath...
at the beginning and the end of each breath...
awareness
how breath and mind are intimately connected...
one reflecting the other...
...when we are anxious...
the breath shallow... fast...
when we are relaxed..
breath even...
pranayama.. control of vital energy..
breath
can also control the mind...
we learn this in yoga...
Khumbaka...
same pause again
.... in between thoughts...
we think a thought...
then a pause...
and in this space...
the next thought is born...
this pause...
this empty space
... the space
where we dive into deep meditation...
mm Deepac Chopra speaks beautifully of this..
this space
...the womb of all creation...
Om Shanti
Dream appearances
dreaming you...
dreaming me...
dreaming this
which we name Life....
body is birthed
by mother earth
body & earth
each belonging to the other
...made of the same stuff
...all material realm....
fleeting visit
blink of an eye
sacred precious moment
no matter what's the matter...
...always sacred...
living compassion
Compassion is not an idle word
but is a living expression of love
that we embody in every single action
There is no enemy other than ignorance
Ultimate freedom means ultimate awareness
All beings have been our mothers since beginningless time
Other living beings don't harm us
but their ignorance does
When confronted with ignorance
be like a doctor fighting a disease
love and care for the patient
but heal the sickness
(by Gien and HummingBird)
The path
the path is breathtakingly beautiful
there's no doubt about it
at times we are presented with difficulties
which may feel daunting
and cause us to shed tears
but they are never insurmountable
we always always have what it takes
to meet the challenges these initiations present
...and we are spiritually strengthened as a result
... then we can share with others what we learn
brave fellow travelers
this path is breathtakingly beautiful
...have no doubts
May I speak to you
May I speak flowers to you
precious Be-ing
may my words be silent
...and my heart spill from my lips
may my small heart beat resonate
with earth's pulse
....aah I am of the same stuff of this Mother
...this precious Earth
who births this body in every moment
may I release all that stains this emptiness
so I may be open
and my heart rays shine with the sun
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