Infusing Western Life with Tibetan Buddhist Compassion
Election Day, 2016 “The luminous nature of mind, like the changeless sky, is unaffected by temporary events.” — Bodhisattva Maitreya What Maitreya says is very reassuring, especially if one has the experience to affirm it. *** We are all so familiar with our ordinary mind . . . like breathing we tend to take it … Read more
The Chicago Cubs won the World Series last night. Coyote has caught up to Road Runner; Charlie Brown has finally kicked the football into the air. The Wrigley curse, age 108; the Lord Voldemort of curses, is dead. Long live the King! The stories speak for themselves, and at the core of each is a … Read more
There is a tendency in each of us to put up with things, to get used to them, or blame them on circumstances. “Ah, if things were right I’d be different.” “Give me the opportunity, I will fulfill myself.” “I am frustrated by the unfairness of it all.” Getting used to disturbances is a sign … Read more
Water is round when in a round receptacle and square in a square one, but water as water has no particular shape. It is good to remember this. *** We see things as this and that, we like this and dislike that; always discriminating based on individual perspectives. Then, caught in their entanglements, forming attachments … Read more
Today marks three months since the Pulse killings in Orlando, the event that sparked the writing and sharing of these Dharma Bread Crumbs. As witnesses, we’ve had this time for the horror to sink in, for reactions to arise, the stories to be known and processing to occur . . . For the sense of … Read more
Again there is news of terrorist activity, scores of dead and injured, today not by guns or bombs, but by the driver of a truck. It took place at a Bastille Day event in South France, in which people gathered to celebrate that nation’s freedom and culture. What to say? :: What to do? :: … Read more
Most in the West who study and practice Dharma come from an experiential background of Judeo-Christian beliefs and experiences, all of which are rooted in a firm concept of a divine, creator God. Commonly, direct communication with God occurs through prayer. But what if one no longer — or never has — believes in the … Read more
The hateful chatter of today: Rhetoric. Debate. Criticism. Persuasion. Dissuasion. Bias. Threats. Accusations. Manipulations. Say-so. Armed Response. Lives Matter. Assault Guns. Funerals. *** Chuang Tsu said: “Words are not just blown air. They have a meaning. Words seem different from the chirping of birds. Is there a difference or isn’t there?” The intended meanings of … Read more
(Dharma) Bread Crumb #17 So, the paradigm has temporarily shifted, and we’re back to police shootings in the headlines. Violence of a somewhat different order, steeped not in international terrorism but domestic fear and hatred. Same “sport” – different playing field. The scenes are repetitive: raw videos, furious/heartbroken families, shocked and protocol-following police and government … Read more
(Dharma) Bread Crumb #16 There is a connection between Tibetan Buddhism and towering mountains. By the 1970’s most of the world’s major peaks had been scaled, and what were once remote base camps are now sprawling base villages. But the terrains of your mind to which Buddhist practice leads remain largely unexplored. *** The Dharma … Read more