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Monday, June 7, 2010
Bhakti-heart
Friday, May 7, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
addressing suffering
I decided that my being should be dedicated to something useful for others. One of my favourite prayers says "So long as space remains... So long as sentient beings suffer and remain... I will remain in order to serve". This gives me a lot of comfort. This is the meaning of my life
The Dalai Lama
*
Ahimsa
By
Sri Swami Sivananda
[extracts]
.... There is one religion - the religion of love, of peace. There is one message, the message of Ahimsa. Ahimsa is a supreme duty of man.
Ahimsa, or refraining from causing pain to any living creature, is a distinctive quality emphasized by Indian ethics. Ahimsa or non-violence has been the central doctrine of Indian culture from the earliest days of its history. Ahimsa is a great spiritual force.
Ahimsa or non-injury, of course, implies non-killing. But, non-injury is not merely non-killing. In its comprehensive meaning, Ahimsa or non-injury means entire abstinence from causing any pain or harm whatsoever to any living creature, either by thought, word, or deed. Non-injury requires a harmless mind, mouth, and hand.
Ahimsa is not mere negative non-injury. It is positive, cosmic love. It is the development of a mental attitude in which hatred is replaced by love. Ahimsa is true sacrifice. Ahimsa is forgiveness. Ahimsa is Sakti (power). Ahimsa is true strength.
Only the ordinary people think that Ahimsa is not to hurt any living being physically. This is but the gross form of Ahimsa. The vow of Ahimsa is broken even by showing contempt towards another man, by entertaining unreasonable dislike for or prejudice towards anybody, by frowning at another man, by hating another man, by abusing another man, by speaking ill of others, by backbiting or vilifying, by harbouring thoughts of hatred, by uttering lies, or by ruining another man in any way whatsoever.
All harsh and rude speech is Himsa (violence or injury). Using harsh words to beggars, servants or inferiors is Himsa. Wounding the feelings of others by gesture, expression, tone of voice and unkind words is also Himsa. Slighting or showing deliberate discourtesy to a person before others is wanton Himsa. To approve of another's harsh actions is indirect Himsa. To fail to relieve another's pain, or even to neglect to go to the person in distress is a sort of Himsa. It is the sin of omission. Avoid strictly all forms of harshness, direct or indirect, positive or negative, immediate or delayed. Practice Ahimsa in its purest form and become divine. Ahimsa and Divinity are one....
.... Ahimsa is never a policy. It is a sublime virtue. It is the fundamental quality of seekers after Truth. No Self-realization is possible without Ahimsa.... More
In Engaged Buddhism, Peace Begins with You
By John Malkin
Thich Nhat Hanh, who originated Engaged Buddhism, in an interview with John Malkin.
I met with Thich Nhat Hanh recently at the Kim Son Monastery in Northern California. I was happy to be seated on a zafu drinking tea with him, but I was also glad when he motioned with a simple gesture towards the page of questions sitting at my side: otherwise the lunch bell might have sounded an hour later without the interview having begun.
Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1967, after playing a central role in the Vietnamese peace movement. He is the author of over one hundred books, including Love in Action, Peace Is Every Step, The Miracle of Mindfulness and No Death, No Fear. He currently lives at Plum Village Monastery in France.
-John Malkin
John Malkin: Will you describe the origins of Engaged Buddhism and how you became involved in compassion-based social change?
Thich Nhat Hanh: Engaged Buddhism is just Buddhism. When bombs begin to fall on people, you cannot stay in the meditation hall all of the time. Meditation is about the awareness of what is going on-not only in your body and in your feelings, but all around you.
When I was a novice in Vietnam, we young monks witnessed the suffering caused by the war. So we were very eager to practice Buddhism in such a way that we could bring it into society. That was not easy because the tradition does not directly offer Engaged Buddhism. So we had to do it by ourselves. That was the birth of Engaged Buddhism.
Buddhism has to do with your daily life, with your suffering and with the suffering of the people around you. You have to learn how to help a wounded child while still practicing mindful breathing. You should not allow yourself to get lost in action. Action should be meditation at the same time.
John Malkin: Why did you come to the United States for the first time in 1966, and what happened while you were here?
Thich Nhat Hanh: I was invited by Cornell University to deliver a series of talks. I took the opportunity to speak about the suffering that was going on in Vietnam. After that I learned that the Vietnamese government didn't want me to come home. So I had to stay on and continue the work over here. It was not my intention to come to the West and share Buddhism at all. But because I was forced into exile, I did. An opportunity for sharing just presented itself.
John Malkin: What did you learn from being in the United States during that time?
Thich Nhat Hanh: The first thing I learned was that even if you have a lot of money and power and fame, you can still suffer very deeply. If you don't have enough peace and compassion within you, there is no way you can be happy. Many people in Asia would like to consume as much as Europeans and Americans. So when I teach in China and Thailand and in other Asian countries, I always tell them that people suffer very deeply in the West, believing that consuming a lot will bring them happiness. You have to go back to the traditional values and deepen your practice.
John Malkin: What did you learn from Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement in the United States?
Thich Nhat Hanh: The last time Martin Luther King and I met was in Geneva during the peace conference called Paix sur Terre—"Peace on Earth." I was able to tell him that the people in Vietnam were very grateful for him because he had come out against the violence in Vietnam. They considered him to be a great bodhisattva, working for his own people and supporting us. Unfortunately, three months later he was assassinated.
John Malkin: What is your view of the current peace movement in the United States?
Thich Nhat Hanh: People were very compassionate and willing to support us in ending the war in Vietnam during the sixties. But the peace movement in America did not have enough patience. People became angry very quickly because what they were doing wasn't bringing about what they wanted. So there was a lot of anger and violence in the peace movement.
Nonviolence and compassion are the foundations of a peace movement. If you don't have enough peace and understanding and loving-kindness within yourself, your actions will not truly be for peace. Everyone knows that peace has to begin with oneself, but not many people know how to do it.
John Malkin: People often feel that they need to choose between being engaged in social change or working on personal and spiritual growth. What would you say to those people?
Thich Nhat Hanh: I think that view is rather dualistic. The practice should address suffering: the suffering within yourself and the suffering around you. They are linked to each other. When you go to the mountain and practice alone, you don't have the chance to recognize the anger, jealousy and despair that's in you. That's why it's good that you encounter people—so you know these emotions. So that you can recognize them and try to look into their nature. If you don't know the roots of these afflictions, you cannot see the path leading to their cessation. That's why suffering is very important for our practice.
John Malkin: When the World Trade Center was destroyed, you were asked what you would say to those responsible. You answered that you would listen compassionately and deeply to understand their suffering. Tell me about the practice of deep listening and how you think it helps in personal situations, as well as in situations like the World Trade Center attacks.
Thich Nhat Hanh: The practice of deep listening should be directed towards oneself first. If you don't know how to listen to your own suffering, it will be difficult to listen to the suffering of another person or another group of people.
I have recommended that America listen to herself first, because there is a lot of suffering within her borders. There are so many people who believe they are victims of discrimination and injustice, and they have never been heard and understood.
My proposal is very concrete: we have to set up a group of people—a kind of parliament—to practice listening to the suffering of America. It's my conviction that there are people in America who are capable of listening deeply, with compassion in their hearts. We have to identify them, and ask them to come and help us. Then we will ask the people who suffer to come forward and tell us what they have in their hearts. They'll have to tell us everything, and that won't be easy for those listening.
If America can practice this within her own borders, she will learn a lot. The insight will be enormous, and based on that insight, we can start actions that can repair the damage done in the past.
If America succeeded in that, she could bring that practice to the international level. The fact is that people know America has the capacity to hit. To hit very hard and make people suffer. But if America does not hit, that brings her more respect and gives her more authority.
Source
*
When we feel love and kindness towards others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace. And there are ways in which we can consciously work to develop feelings of love and kindness. For some of us, the most effective way to do so is through religious practice. For others it may be non-religious practices. What is important is that we each make a sincere effort to take seriously our responsibility for each other and for the natural environment.
- The Dalai Lama
*
'The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more that you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you in proportion to your fear of being hurt.'
'What can we gain by sailing to the moon if we are not able to cross the abyss that separates us from ourselves? This is the most important of all voyages of discovery, and without it, all the rest are not only useless, but disastrous.'
img src
Friday, December 18, 2009
The Infinite Heart
My sense is we can never 'share' or 're-live' an experience.
We can speak 'around it', point to it, tell tales or draw pictures to illustrate
- but the experience itself can only be experienced with awareness.
The experience can only be experienced in the present
once experienced
it is in the past
- a memory or fantasy
not 'the thing itself'
Since the beginnings of time beings have been on a search
to experience the utter sacredness of all
to find meaning of Be-ing
Endless books have been written, tales told, paintings painted and
The Enlightened Ones in their compassion have left us trails and signs
and we each walk a path on our Life's Journey
and every path leads to
Oneness which is beyond words
which only takes place in the present
So can I share an experience
I can only invite you to experience it...
gratitude, love, wonder, awe, devotion, surrender ... words keep flowing in the attempt...
No matter what our path
unobstructed, receptive Be-ing in the moment
- the Divine flows through the window
in the thunder of silence
Many Windows
One light
raising Gaia's vibrations
Bowing to Beloved Guruji [Swamiji Sraddhasudhasharananda, also lovingly known as Swamiji Eli] who brought the GIFT of The Gaia Minute to all of us
The Gaia Minute has two aspects:
sign in
practice The Gaia Minute daily
also join Siona's GAIA MINUTE CALL
organise a Gaia Minute prayer group where you live
...More...
Q&A
Share experiences
Do you have a Gaia Minute link?
Prayers and Meditations
Spreading the message
We can speak 'around it', point to it, tell tales or draw pictures to illustrate
- but the experience itself can only be experienced with awareness.
The experience can only be experienced in the present
once experienced
it is in the past
- a memory or fantasy
not 'the thing itself'
Since the beginnings of time beings have been on a search
to experience the utter sacredness of all
to find meaning of Be-ing
Endless books have been written, tales told, paintings painted and
The Enlightened Ones in their compassion have left us trails and signs
and we each walk a path on our Life's Journey
and every path leads to
Oneness which is beyond words
which only takes place in the present
So can I share an experience
I can only invite you to experience it...
gratitude, love, wonder, awe, devotion, surrender ... words keep flowing in the attempt...
... Be-ing whispers its heart-language as sacred prayer.
No words, just surrender, devotion, infinite love ...
the Infinite Heart is realised
unobstructed, receptive Be-ing in the moment
- the Divine flows through the window
in the thunder of silence
Many Windows
One light
raising Gaia's vibrations
Bowing to Beloved Guruji [Swamiji Sraddhasudhasharananda, also lovingly known as Swamiji Eli] who brought the GIFT of The Gaia Minute to all of us
The Gaia Minute has two aspects:
1. Sincere prayer by 1,500-2,000 people EACH day at the SAME appointed time.
2. At the individual level, Prayer as Daily Practice.
"... morning and night, for 9 minutes beginning at 9:09, in each participant’s time zone, this Divine Mandate – will join my heart with yours in combined prayer. An hourly wave that takes place on opposite sides of the globe simultaneously, every hour. Every hour, somewhere, it will be 9:09.
Please consider also, if both morning or night at 9:09 in your time zone, does not work for you, that you may also define time by the word MUHURTA, the moment of NOW. As noted, at 9 past the hour, someone, somewhere, will eventually be part of this prayer project and will be meditating with you." Swamiji Sraddhasudhasharananda
sign in
practice The Gaia Minute daily
also join Siona's GAIA MINUTE CALL
organise a Gaia Minute prayer group where you live
...More...
Q&A
Share experiences
Do you have a Gaia Minute link?
Prayers and Meditations
Spreading the message
Om Namo Narayanam
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Farewell to FaceBook
For some time now my facebook account has been hacked. Although my profile page is visible, I have been unable to post, comment, etc. Now I have also been disabled to login, make inquiries about my password etc.
I would like to be able to login one final time in order to close my account and have written a request to FaceBook admin to close my account for me as I am unable to do so myself.
This morning I remembered that when I post a blog here from my HummingBird blogsite, it automatically shows up on FaceBook and so I'm attempting this avenue as an opportunity to say farewell to FaceBook - not to my friends and beloveds.
Those wishing to stay in contact are welcome to do so in the Gaia network where my name is hummingbird and my profile page is http://anuradha.gaia.com/profile.
I receive my Face Book notifications and have been sorry not to be able to respond to them. I would be grateful if those who read this message pass the word on so those who don't know, so they understand why I have not responded.
I have asked my daughter Natalie, who has lovingly downloaded all my photo albums, to post an explanation in my group 'passing', which I am most sorry to say goodbye to, but know all is as it must be and it will be in good hands. Those who wish to join http://groups.gaia.com/passing in the Gaia Network which is a similar group are most welcome - it is a very compassionate and interactive group.
Clearly I am not meant to be here any longer. Thank you for the wonder filled journey together and may those who feel a connection contact me on Gaia - and those who don't wish to join another network, know the heart is the best meeting place of all
love a
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
A Guide To Prayer Prepared For The Gaia Minute
Great blessings!
It is so wonderful to hear this simple but powerful teaching
Guide To Prayer Prepared For The Gaia Minute -
What we’re asking here is pray, just pray.
Pray… Pray… Pray…
Gaia needs your prayers.
Just pray with total surrender,
in complete faith…
and that prayer collectively done –
at least 1,000 or 1,500 people,
done at the same time,
will generate the positive healing energy for all of us.
Not asking for anyone special,
not even for the betterment of general life.
Nothing…
Just surrender and praying.
Om Namo Narayanam.
If you keep your palms upside down,
how can you hold the blessings in your palm.
So to receive the prayers also,
to receive the blessings also,
you are to turn your palm the right way up and receive it.
Praying is that.
Although we know that the blessings are around,
but to be aware of the blessings
we’re to put our palm the right way up
so that it comes into our palm.
That is the prayer which has the maximum power.
deep bows
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Israeli-Palestinian 5 day Retreat conducted by Thich Nhat Hanh
I found this 5 day retreat series conducted by The Most Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. I have collected the whole series together so the retreat may be at the disposal of anyone wishing ‘to attend’. For any one giving this retreat the time it deserves there will be great benefit. Simply click the links below.
With metta, a

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, a poet, a scholar, and a peace activist. His life long efforts to generate peace and reconciliation moved Martin Luther King, Jr. to nominate him for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. Thich Nhat Hanh (Thây) teaches, writes, and gardens in Plum Village, France, a Buddhist monastery for monks and nuns and a mindfulness practice centre for lay people. More about Plum Village
A long-term exile from Vietnam, he was allowed to return for a trip in 2005 and again in 2007. He has published more than 100 books, including more than 40 in English. He also publishes a quarterly Dharma talk in the journal of the Order of Interbeing, The Mindfulness Bell. Nhat Hanh continues to be active in the peace movement, promoting non-violent solutions to conflict. He conducted a peace walk in Los Angeles in 2005, and again in 2007. He was awarded the Courage of Conscience award June 16, 1991. More
Day 1
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 1 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkDWWwdNKeM
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 2 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5NMd1mmBgo
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 3 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aypOSxGPLI
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 4 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhHL30XWoW8
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 5 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIQqEQO9zzU
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 6 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCnDhBsFvhw
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 7 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOBEFioQnMU
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 8 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkIfW0AbRiM
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 9 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y0Lx0Hnpg8
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 10 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1UQCM6cnqM
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 1 of 5 - Part 11 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Hz-BgUROU0
Day 2
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 1 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6a-3k7NZME
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 2 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKlPQjLAV0k
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 3 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXOYJoss2m4
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 4 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvlD2SCFYJA
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 5 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEd9GKos2zE
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 6 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca7MNx5ANng
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 7 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1WIIru-8aM
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 8 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UTInRdsIZI
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 9 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y9Eh1FlgS8
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 10 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivrEqBQtb-s
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 11 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx7IPoKZUUw
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 2 of 5 - Part 12 of 12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EF-AYmUtYo
Day 3
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 1 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVu2KHItg88
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 2 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRyTNGWgvik
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 3 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76X0n1T8mlo
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 4 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_CbeTWIS6A
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 5 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWl-Maeb9UQ
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 6 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnaklEsytEs
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 7 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cQuo2Qi8ZA
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 8 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmb7r2lL3gA
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 9 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSFLGtTue5g
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 10 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FoSOkrim08
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 3 of 5 - Part 11 of 11 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XODVDo_3h3g
Day 4
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 1 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFuvKkux2Es
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 2 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAgUBAtkHrQ
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 3 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSxy7zQG0bE
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 4 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lBl3xE3o6Q
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 5 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KaUdFxCpug
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 6 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27yz1GblQYQ
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 7 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWg_HI0eSdg
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 8 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE57WjQ5q-g
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 9 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmhQWyAPLdw
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 10 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K-kuDYTiRg
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 11 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptqrdjTmG0Y
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 12 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yWCNVK8Rpc
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 4 of 5 - Part 13 of 13 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9uGwzu9DjQ
Day 5
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 5 of 5 - Part 1 of 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PabJW7b1l-4
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 5 of 5 - Part 2 of 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBOja2meapI
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 5 of 5 - Part 3 of 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4aNxWP2y9Q
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 5 of 5 - Part 4 of 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7h44IjoY5ko
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 5 of 5 - Part 5 of 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaGve8csgv0
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 5 of 5 - Part 6 of 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBxoyetS27I
Israeli-Palestinian Retreat - Day 5 of 5 - Part 7 of 7 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcocfMucYHg
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Gaia Minute
: 9:09 :
The Gaia Minute
a sacred time to beam your light, chant a holy mantra or say a prayer for 9 minutes
Each day at 9:09 in the morning and/or evening, let us contribute to the peace and harmony of Gaia, our Mother Earth, by raising our vibration and holding in our hearts all sentient and insentient beings.
To do so, we can pray, meditate, hold intention or simply visualize all Gaia, and ourselves, as healed, healing, whole, radiant. When thousands of people join together in an endeavour such as this, the energies so generated can bring miraculous changes. And when each of us does this in our own time zone, our Mother Earth and all of benefit from a round-the-clock and round the world healing. An hourly wave will take place on opposite sides of the globe simultaneously, every hour.
Every hour – somewhere - it is 9:09
The idea is for 1,000 or more people to focus positive energy on earth and beings living on earth, simultaneously
Go ahead - join The Gaia Minute in your space!
If you wish you can also click to read the history - The Gaia Minute
- Spread the word -
love from Swamiji and all at One Light Many Windows
* * *
you can also
Conference call and participate with others
from all over Earth in a guided meditation
– THE GAIA CALL –
Dial-in Number: 1 (218) 862 1300
Conference Code: 855 676
Siona says -
'... those who are able and interested, I'd like to invite you .... to a virtual weekly gathering. Each Monday, at 9:09 am MST (GMT-7), I'll be hosting a brief guided meditation intended to help strengthen the connection between us each and benefit more fully from the power of a shared positive intent. I hope you can join me.'
________________
Step out of the circle of time
And into the circle of love
- Rumi -
________________
OM NAMO NARAYANA
the heart holds nothing
yet is full
sitting in this fullness
nothing to hold
beloved Swamiji
thank you for the gift of your loving ways
the seeds you have sown
the myriad gifts you impart
- may they spread their branches
like wings
and soar
Om
_______________________________________________
Note Some of the seeds planted and nurtured by Swamiji -
One Light many Windows
The Gaia Minute
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Forgiveness
Sharing my post in One Light Many Windows, and some Rumi ...
I woke from a dream this morning round forgiveness. My dream chose deep seated subliminal material. Gien and I talked and processed - I, muddling along between intellect and heart tears. I realised, we simply cannot always understand - the intellect cannot always 'work it out'. Otherwise I could spend the rest of my life trying to unravel the details, trying to understand why someone did the particular harmful deed they did, or why I did something in my past which I would not do today, and still get no closer to the answer.
It becomes so clear when I think of my children. They aren't 'perfect' in all their actions, yet no matter what they do or will do, I love them. I hold no grievances. And it is this same approach needed for all beings. Forgiveness comes with unconditional love.
It always comes back to the spiritual path. Developing awareness - intellect just is not the same thing. Mmm, so…
The Buddha said
“Everything is so perfect you may as well
throw your head back to the sky and laugh.”
The Intellectual
The intellectual is always showing off;
the lover is always getting lost.
The intellectual runs away, afraid of drowning;
the whole business of love is to drown in the sea.
Intellectuals plan their repose;
lovers are ashamed to rest.
The lover is always alone, even surrounded with people;
like water and oil, he remains apart.
The man who goes to the trouble of giving advice to a lover gets nothing.
He's mocked by passion.
Love is like musk.
It attracts attention.
Love is a tree, and lovers are its shade.
THE NEW RULE
It's the old rule that drunks have to argue
and get into fights.
The lover is just as bad. he falls into a hole.
But down in that hole he finds something shining,
worth more than any amount of money or power.
Last night the moon came dropping its clothes in the street.
I took it as a sign to start singing,
falling up into the bowl of sky.
The bowl breaks. Everywhere is falling everywhere.
Nothing else to do.
Not Like This Before
I wasn't like this before. I wasn't out of my mind and senses.
Once I used to be wise like you, not crazy, insane and broken down like I am now.
I wasn't the admirer of life which has no trace, no being.
I used to ask : "Who is this?
What is that?"
and search all the time.
Since you have wisdom,
sit and think
that probably I was like this before.
I haven't changed much.
I used to try
to make myself better than everybody.
I hadn't been hunted
with the ever-growing Love before.
I tried to rise above the sky
with my ambition
yet I didn't know.
I was just wandering in the desert.
At the end,
I have raised a treasure from the ground.
~Rumi~
Thank you Swamiji Eli for this nurturing discussion topic
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
When a beloved passes
“Last year at the end of August my father died.... I loved my father very much and for some months after he died I entered a strange sort of place. I found out I couldn’t relate to many things I usually do. So much seemed utterly irrelevant. I didn’t feel depressed, in fact looking back it was as if part of me was sort of in the realm of the dead, with my father in some way, kind of seeing him through. But so much in ordinary life, so much of peoples concerns, what people wanted to know, what people were concerned about, seemed pointless. Meaning was in the experience of mourning my father’s passing. Of fully acknowledging his passing. Meaning was in the experience of meeting people heart to heart. They as living, breathing beings. Meaning was in fact looking at leaves in the sunlight or listening to bird song in the early morning. Meaning was in these things. So much else seemed like empty noise.”
Padmavajra
This morning while I was driving my son Neville to school, we were listening these words in a recording of a teaching by Padmavajra from Padmaloka Retreat Centre. As I heard him describe his experience at the time of the death of his father, I felt for the 1st time that my experience at the time of Gra-anna’s passing and the year that followed had been put into words - I said to Neville, ‘that’s just how I felt!’... and to some extent still feel. It’s as though the passing my child has forever made an imprint on me. What I’m more conscious of these days is how she has opened my heart to compassion. I am aware that through her I feel the suffering of all beings. She has torn my heart wide open.
The other day, Courtney, who was like a sister to Gra-anna, therefore a daughter to me, said she felt that with Gra-anna’s passing my spiritual journey began. I hesitated because in a sense I’ve always been on a spiritual journey. My precious mentor for seven years, Bill Ainslie, whose 20th memorial it is today, was a formative person in my life in terms of raising my awareness in so many ways. Among so much else, he introduced me to the stories of Mullah Nasrudin and Rumi’s poetry, which Gra-anna loved. But certainly it is true that I have never been the same since Gra-anna’s passing.
Look at love
how it tangles
with the one fallen in love
look at spirit
how it fuses with earth
giving it new life
why are you so busy
with this or that or good or bad
pay attention to how things blend
why talk about all
the known and the unknown
see how the unknown merges into the known
why think separately
of this life and the next
when one is born from the last
look at your heart and tongue
one feels but deaf and dumb
the other speaks in words and signs
look at water and fire
earth and wind
enemies and friends all at once
the wolf and the lamb
the lion and the deer
far away yet together
look at the unity of this
spring and winter
manifested in the equinox
you too must mingle my friends
since the earth and the sky
are mingled just for you and me
be like sugarcane
sweet yet silent
don't get mixed up with bitter words
my beloved grows
right out of my own heart
how much more union can there be
Rumi
Love
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Silenced by the thunder of blessings, we are the rain...
Buddhist Relics Tour 2009, Johannesburg South Africa
Please click here to see photograph album
The Buddhist Relic Tour was a great success on it's 1st visit to Africa. More than 2000 people visited Lam Rim Centre in Johannesburg to see the relics. There was a great sense of peacefulness and gentleness on every person’s face as they left the centre.
I am still assimilating the experience and sense it's going to take many weeks to do this. Somehow words are not flowing now - though the eyes do! I am grateful that Gien has written about his experiences here
Geshe Lama Konchog glowing relic
Geshe Lama Konchog
On the last day while Venerable Nyingje was speaking, one of the Relics belonging to Geshe Lama Konchog started to glow
Venerable Nyingje
Venerable Samden who also accompanied the Relics Tour
Saturday, August 1, 2009
7 Years
It is raining today, Jopoa.
I see your traces
like lines on a tortoise shell
each time I look into Giens warm heart
your ancient lined face
made gold by the alchemy of love
this love between you two
I place on my inner shrine
next to Gra-anna's face
I see…
an ancient woman holding the hand of a young man7 years,
each adoring the other
and a young woman with beauty in her sad eyes
- sorrow - the source
of the River of Eternal Compassion…
a sacred and complete cycle in time
It's raining today, Jopoa
this day of your memorial
I do not ask, 'where are you now'
or wish to hold you with questions.
May you be surrounded by that which you truly are
Love
In this picture you are with precious beings
- your daughter, the mother of your\my precious 'Sum Goon Day',
main artery to your\my heart,
Gien, your grandson,
my husband
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Johannesburg and random google findings
December in Johannesburg
december in johannesburg
brought the heat wave
so familiar
to an anger torn again in
a brittle feeling of windswept leaves
high pitched laughter in
soweto shebeens and lilywhite
close corporate parties before a final
predictable violence of words
dying of maimed wounds in a brisk
afternoon of illegitimate reason.
another heat wave back home in gwalior
had cracked the north end fort wall
assaulting repeatedly the loneliness of
an earthy immortality
and sudden moments of madness that had once grappled
to stay in the shade of
your eye.
Amitabh Mitra
City Johannesburg
This way I salute you:
My hand pulses to my back trousers pocket
Or into my inner jacket pocket
For my pass, my life,
Jo'burg City.
My hand like a starved snake rears my pockets
For my thin, ever lean wallet,
While my stomach groans a friendly smile to hunger,
Jo'burg City.
My stomach also devours coppers and papers
Don't you know?
Jo'burg City, I salute you;
When I run out, or roar in a bus to you,
I leave behind me, my love,
My comic houses and people, my dongas and my ever whirling dust,
My death
That's so related to me as a wink to the eye.
Jo'burg City
I travel on your black and white and roboted roads
Through your thick iron breath that you inhale
At six in the morning and exhale from five noon.
Jo'burg City
That is the time when I come to you,
When your neon flowers flaunt from your electrical wind,
That is the time when I leave you,
When your neon flowers flaunt their way through the falling darkness
On your cement trees.
And as I go back, to my love,
My dongas, my dust, my people, my death,
Where death lurks in the dark like a blade in the flesh,
I can feel your roots, anchoring your might, my feebleness
In my flesh, in my mind, in my blood,
And everything about you says it, That, that is all you need of me.
Jo'burg City, Johannesburg,
Listen when I tell you,
There is no fun, nothing, in it,
When you leave the women and men with such frozen expressions,
Expressions that have tears like furrows of soil erosion,
Jo'burg City, you are dry like death,
Jo'burg City, Johannesburg, Jo'burg City.
Mongane Wally Serote
Johannesburg
Please don’t show your soul to me
I think I’d see the light shine through
And please don’t greet me on the street
I’d like to see a world without you
Please don’t change your uniform
And start to mourn the thousands dead
And please wear what you’ve always worn
And don’t be drawn by what I’ve said
’cause I’ve found there’s nothing more
That I could say to you
Nothing I could do to change your mind
Change your ways and your tune
So please don’t feel you have to sway
Or move away from how you feel
And please say what you mean to say
And always stay with a heart of steel
Housemartins
Walking the poem that is Joburg.....
Portrait with Keys
Trade Paperback, 211 pagesDescription
RRP: R140, ISBN 1-4152-0020-3
Publication date: June 2006, Category: Memoir
A book about a city that has been described as ‘the Venice of the South’, Portrait with Keys is a portrait of life in Johannesburg – and ‘what-what’: home, habit, change, memory, mortality, friendship, ghosts, gardens, walking, falling, selling, stealing ... Neither a novel nor a collection of short stories, the book consists of 138 short texts organised in two parts – Point A and Point B – followed by Notes and Sources, Itineraries and an Author’s Note. Written by a consummate literary artist, this is a unique dossier of city life and a selective self-portrait of the author – in Ivan Vladislavić’s words “a bit like a map that shows only the side streets”.
Memory takes root only half in the folds of the brain: half’s in the concrete streets we’ve lived along. – Lionel Abrahams, poet and author.
Winner of the 2007 Alan Paton Award.From Portrait with Keys, Point A, section 68
Winner of the 2007 University of Johannesburg Prize for the best creative work in English.
“In Johannesburg, the Venice of the South, the backdrop is always a man-made one. We have planted a forest the birds endorse. For hills we have mine dumps covered with grass. We do not wait for time and the elements to weather us, we change scenery ourselves, to suit our moods. Nature is for other people, in other places ...
Written over eight years, Ivan Vladislavić’s Portrait with Keys - Joburg & What What is a sequence of 138 passages depicting a shifting Johannesburg. source
What motivated you to write Portrait with Keys – Joburg & What What?
A while ago, I was approached by Graham Friedman, who was putting together a celebratory anthology for the 70th birthday of Johannesburg writer, author and poet Lionel Abrahams. In preparing my piece for that book, I looked over a lot of the work that Lionel had done and I was struck by how much it had to do with the city. It got me interested in Johannesburg in a new way. I started making some notes towards a book of some kind, though I wasn’t sure what kind of book it would be. The next major momentum came when I was editing a book on SA architecture and my co-editor more or less insisted that I write something for the book, so I produced a piece called Street Addresses, which looked at sites around the city; that was the core of the book.
What is it about Johannesburg that interests you?
It’s different things. The way that the book grew also reflects my different interests in the city.
How long did it take you to write the book?
It’s hard to quantify because the pieces were collected over eight years. I worked on it in concentrated periods; when I was commissioned to produce a sequence of texts for a publication I would work on that in quite a concentrated way for a couple of months, but in the interim I was working on many other things.
In the years that you’ve lived in Johannesburg, how has your perception of the city changed?
I was born and raised in Pretoria and I came to Johannesburg as a student to study at Wits. When I came here I was a nice Pretoria boy and Johannesburg had this reputation for being really fast, dangerous, big and English. I’ve grown to appreciate what’s interesting about the city; I don’t think it’s a place that reveals itself obviously, you have to work quite hard to find the things that are pleasurable about living here. Often living in Johannesburg feels like hard work, but it’s also an extraordinary place with a lot of character.
Yes, because Johannesburg is aesthetically quite an unattractive city but it also has places of exquisite and surprising beauty.
I agree, but for me there’s even a beauty in the shabby, industrial side of Johannesburg. There’s nothing quite like driving on a Johannesburg highway alongside one of the industrial wastelands and seeing the remains of a factory or a mine; I think those places have a decrepit appeal to them.
What was the most challenging aspect of writing this book?
That’s difficult to answer. I suppose one of the challenges was making a coherent book out of the collection because it was written over such a long period.
Did you edit some of the older pieces at all before putting them all together?
I specifically didn’t change things. I was tempted to because the city changes so quickly and one’s perceptions of it change too. There were certainly observations about parts of the city that were no longer quite true and by the time I put the book together it was clear that I was thinking differently about things; but I thought there was a value in keeping the pieces as they were because it’s a documentary text.
The criteria for the Alan Paton Award say the book must ’illuminate truthfulness, especially those forms that are new, delicate, unfashionable and fly in the face of power.’ How does your book do this?
That’s a sweeping and grand statement; it’s not something that I, as a writer, would comment on easily about my own work. What I was trying to do was illuminate a few small corners of my own experience of the city. If that strikes a chord with other people, if they feel like I’ve captured something that rings true, that would be gratifying for me. I suspect that Johannesburg is a city of many truths.
How has democracy changed writing in South Africa?
We’ve been freed from an obsessive focus on the political. Writers have more freedom of movement both literally and imaginatively; there’s no sense of having to carry around the past and I think that’s reflected in our writing.
Having said that, do you think there is anything particularly lacking in South African literature?
The main thing lacking in SA literature is readers, but that’s another story. I think there’s so much to write about here, and not just about contemporary society, there’s still so much to write about the past. Having said that, we’re free to write more creatively and imaginatively and look at a much broader range of subjects. I don’t think that means that writers shouldn’t be looking at the past. The amount of information becomes more available and the kind of overview that you might need to write a really large, inclusive novel about apartheid becomes more possible as the period recedes a bit. That’s one area that’s still open to writers.
When, how and where do you write?
I write at night. I understand the virtues of writing early in the morning but they don’t work for me. I don’t have a rigid writing programme because I work as an editor as well. My rule is to write consistently. If you’re going to produce work regularly, you have to write regularly; it has to become a habitual thing.
What lessons did you learn from writing this book?
I learnt the lesson I learn from every book that I write — that it’s hard.
Which writers do you admire most?
It’s a shifting group of writers that changes all the time. I have certain favourite writers that I go back to a lot. I’ve just started reading Charles van Onselen’s The Fox and the Flies and that sort of work really impresses me.
What do you think separates the great writers from the good?
I think that some writers and artists are born with a gift; there’s an element of luck with genetics involved. I think what really sets the great writers apart is hard work; the ability to pursue your writing interests over a long time.
What impact would you like Portrait with Keys – Joburg & What What to have on those who read it?
I don’t think too much about that. I would hope that people find it diverting and engaging and that they recognise some corners of their own city in it.
If you were deserted on an island, which book would you take with you?
I would take a self-help book like Robinson Crusoe or The Kon-Tiki Expedition by Thor Heyerdahl.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Imagining giving the Dalai Lama a birthday present...
It is His Holiness the Dalai Lama's birthday in a few days.
Would you like to give him a birthday present?
The idea of having the opportunity of giving His Holiness a birthday present just fills me with complete, dancing on my finger tips, delight!
Well you can!
Gien and I started an amazing site after consulting with the local Office of Tibet, called Gift to the Dalai Lama.
Members have the opportunity to post a pledge and also express their gratitude to His Holiness for his tireless compassionate work. After his birthday, all pledges and expressions of gratitude are sent to His Holiness's Office by the local Office of Tibet.
Click here if you wish to gift the Dalai Lama.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Death of a tree
a photographic journal on the death of the precious tree which has taken my breath away for as long as I've lived in its shade - as long as I've received the sparkling light filtering through it's branches and listened to its whispers… which now brings tears to my eyes as I say goodbye. Aah Sonnet our cat is crippled by fear as the chain saws hack the air all about
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Happy Birthday Genie love
Good morning on Giens b-day! All of 48 years old, he’s in bed with a hot cuppa litchi and lemon with a dash of green tea, homemade by his wife and room temperature – due to its being a winter morning - fruit salad. The fruit salad inspired by his dream where oranges featured strongly - the symbolism made me wonder if his body wished for those vitamins. He’s writing a book born today, about a love story - birthed on the internet – LOL guess who! This book seeded by our many discussions and the so many questions and mails we receive from others looking for love and too often not finding it. We so often ponder why so few seem to find love and remain seekers of it, or give up... so that’s the beginnings. Watch this space! Next to him lies the Nepalese meditation cushion and maroon Mala bag decorated with symbols I gave him as a birthday gift. Also the beautiful book by the Dalai Lama lent to him by a friend from our Sangha... the stage is set - the day is beginning...
Love
---------
my daughter, Natalie, emailed Gien
Happy birthday to you!Gien replied
Happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday dear Gien!
Happy birthday to you!
Hip hip hooooooraaaaaaaayyyyyy! Hip hip
hooooooorrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!
Wishing you a wonderful birthday and amazing year!
You are a wonderful addition to the family, thank you for making my
mom so happy.
Love Nats :)
----------
Hi Nats,
I love your mum a great deal
and she loves me in the same way
Our bliss is very natural and spontaneous
In Buddhism there is the idea of compassion or "Bodhicitta"
this means love for all beings
I think this is profoundly important in a relationship
and the actual "secret" to true happiness
For a genuine relationship to flow effortless and free
we must love both the other person AND ourselves in the relationship
We know that the joy we bring our partner
is returned to us many times over
In bringing joy to another
that is the only genuine way that we ourselves can receive the others joy
If we were to take a selfish view instead
and try to GET joy for ourselves from the other
by controlling the other and dictating conditions to the other
that is when it backfires
What we create instead
is an environment for a desire and attachment filled relationship
where the conditions no longer exist for love to flow freely
When we perceive that something is wanted from us
we feel used and objectified
and that closes down our natural propensity to give
How does it feel when someone comes to us
and demands "I want this", "Give me that"?
It doesn't feel right, does it?
There is no sense of gratitude
no expression of appreciation of the other
For this reason
we have the paradox
that the selfish attitude when manifest in relationships
leads to the very failure of the relationship
while the limitless giving to our partner
is what creates the condition
for our partner's limitless giving to us
Many Blessings to you and Jason
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