April 7th, 2008 · No Comments · Filed under: books
I started reading The Time Falling Bodies Take To Light, a classic on mythology, which I had never read. I was struck first by William Irwin Thompson’s awesome power of writing, and then very soon into the Prologue by these 111 words:
The Fall is not only once and long ago; it is recapitulated in each instant of consciousness. The unfallen world beyond time remains as a background to the figured beats of the heart in our world of serial progression. Like the white page that surrounds the darkness of each letter you are reading here, eternity surrounds each heartbeat, and as the contemplative watches his breath, he can move out of time through the doorway which opens in the interval between each heartbeat. Each open space is a spiritualization, each beat a materialization; and both are sacred, for in one is the spiritualization of matter; in the other, the materialization of spirit.
January 9th, 2008 · 1 Comment · Filed under: Practice
Can the self be found? Is the self even necessary? A beginning practitioner in the Buddhist methods of inquiry relates his first experience of looking for the self, and watching it shy away from discovery, seeming to flee from the present moment. He notes with surprise the giant claim of ownership that we assume to be ourselves.
But what does this feel like? How do we experience this? As a practitioner of buddhist meditation, and a student of the Dharma, this is how one looks for the self - read on.
December 14th, 2007 · No Comments · Filed under: Dharmic
A friend sent this over:
There is only one thing, from the very beginning,
infinitely bright and mysterious by nature.
It was never born, and it never dies. It cannot be
described or given a name.
What is this “one thing”?
An eminent teacher wrote,
Even before the ancient Buddhas were born,
One thing was already perfectly complete.
Even Shakyamuni Buddha could not understand it.
How could he transmit it to Mahakashyapa?
There is one “thing” that is never born, and never
dies. For this reason it cannot be named in any way,
or expressed, or depicted.
The Sixth Patriarch of Zen once addressed the assembly
thus: “I have something that has no name and no form.
Do any of you see it?”
Zen Master Shen-hui immediately replied, “It is the
essence of all Buddhas, and also my buddha nature.”
Due to this answer, Shen-hui cannot be considered a
legitimate heir and descendant of the Sixth Patriarch.
- Zen Master So Sahn (1520-1604)
November 15th, 2007 · No Comments · Filed under: Dharmic
All beings, everywhere, suffer; let your heart go out to them all in
spontaneous and immeasurable compassion.
-Sogyal Rinpoche
And who is Sogyal Rinpoche? Read on, and watch this clip on meditation…
November 7th, 2007 · No Comments · Filed under: Events
Tibetan Buddhist Teachings
In Austin, Texas
with:
Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche
Friday, November 30th, 7PM - 9PM (registration at 6PM)
Saturday & Sunday, December 1st and 2nd - 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
“From My Heart”
A Hymn on Discovering the Sacredness of Life
In this lyrical work, His Holiness Jigmed Puntsok offers a complete vision of the innate sanctity of life. His poem describes every detail of how one can live in the true heart of purity each moment, with each breath, with every thought. “From My Heart” is His Holiness’ melody of exaltation, celebrating the wonder of eternal liberation. Tulku Orgyen Zangpo Rinpoche will explain the underlying significance of His Holiness’ poem and how it applies to each of us as we remember our true essence as awakened beings.
Here’s a quote from a Mary Oliver poem:
And who will care, who will chide you if you wander away
from wherever you are, to look for your soul?
“The Buddha said, ‘Understand suffering.’ That is the first Noble Truth. Many of us mistake pain for pleasure - the pleasure we now have is actually the very cause of the pain that we are going to get sooner or later. Another Buddhist way of explaining this is to say that when a big pain becomes smaller, we call it pleasure. That’s what we call happiness.”
August 20th, 2007 · 4 Comments · Filed under: Dharmic
This is the beginning of a page about Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, a most remarkable being. The more I read his teachings, the more he takes hold. I like this man, and recommend his teachings to you.
August 2nd, 2007 · 2 Comments · Filed under: Events
Well, the retreat is over. As with all retreats, you only know afterwards how it was, as you see the ways you seem to have changed. I feel changed, very much.
Anam Thubten Rinpoche is a maverick: despite his robes he discourages much ceremony, and goes straight to the teachings of Lord Buddha. He is relentless. He doesn’t stop expounding the teachings, gently hammering home the key point of the Dharma, which is to drop attachment.
Anam Thubten Rinpoche is coming to Austin in eight days from now, and this to me is a very big deal, even on a path made up of no big deals. He’ll be here for the retreat weekend of July 28th and 29th, plus the Friday evening on the 27th.
If you’ve never experienced Anam Thubten Rinpoche, well, maybe you should. You can’t help but love the man, his spirit is so warm, and he’s so positive. His particular thing is wakefulness, he wants us to wake up now. He makes it seem possible.
