Hello everyone! The meditation group will meet from 7:30 to 9:30 tomorrow evening in the Chapel at First Parish UU, Chelmsford. Ajahn David from Wat Buddhabhavana in Westford joins us this week to lead the practice.

The headlines have been filled with reports of the ongoing crisis in Burma in the aftermath of Cyclone Nagris. As if the initial disaster were not enough, relief efforts have been stymied by the intransigence of a Burmese government that remains aloof from or indifferent to the plight of the survivors. I’ve posted some urther thoughts on the matter on the blog:

http://kalyanamittasangha.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/metta-for-the-junta/

Matthew Trevisan of the Globe and Mail (via The Buddhist Channel) outlines the five of the key challenges that lie ahead:

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=51,6369,0,0,1,0

While many foreign aid workers are having problems obtaining visas from the Burmese government, there are fortuantely a few (too few) organizations who have already set up relief operations:

- Alan Senauke of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship suggests directing emergency relief efforts “towards BPF’s affiliate, the Foundation for the People of Burma (FPB), which already has some funds in Burma, and has the resources and connections in country that assure proper distribution and use of your generous gifts:”

http://www.bpf.org/html/whats_now/2008/cycloneburma_000.html

- Avaaz.org is raising funds for the International Burmese Monks Organization “which will transmit funds directly to monasteries in affected areas.” More information can be found here:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/burma_cyclone/

- Grassroots International directs potential donors to the US Campaign for Burma and also the United National World Food Programme:

http://www.grassrootsonline.org/news-publications/articles_op-eds/an-effective-response-burma-tragedy

- The Taiwanese Tzu Chi foundation also has members already on the ground in Burma:

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=88,6396,0,0,1,0

The BBC, Christian Science Monitor, and Buddhist Channel websites continue to have extensive coverage of the crisis in Burma for anyone who is concerned — as does the Burmese dissident newspaper The Irrawaddy (http://irrawaddy.org/).

In other news, the Buddhist Geeks website now has a new home on the Web, but can still be reached via http://www.buddhistgeeks.com. This week’s guest is author Susan Piver, who is also a teacher in the Shambhala Tibetan tradition.

In honor of Mothers’ Day I want to direct your attention to a couple of articles:

First, from the Shambhala Sun archives, is Susan Moon’s take on “grandmother mind”: http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3132&Itemid=24

Second, from The Buddhadharma, are Ajahn Amaro’s reflections on a mother’s love: http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2006/summer/reflecting.html

Finally, Vesak — the holiday marking the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha — will be celebrated at Wat Buddhabhavana this Sunday, May 18, starting at 10am. More details can be found via the temple website:

http://www.greatwisdomcenter.org

Also that afternoon, at 2pm, Carrie and I are will host our own a potluck for the meditation group. At the moment I only Pris, Brenda, and Abhaya have confirmed that they will attend. If anyone else is interested, please e-mail to let us know. Friends, family, and well-socialized canines are all welcome.

That’s it for this week; I hope to see you all soon!

Metta,
Tim

One point that I want to reiterate is how much awakening/enlightenment really does seem to be about a radical shift in one’s perspective — specifically in relationship to one’s experience — more than anything else.

Daniel Ingram’s fine “blook,” Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha — http://www.interactivebuddha.com/Mastering%20Adobe%20Version.pdf — does a nice job of mapping and demystifying the process of awakening, which is certainly not exclusive to Buddhism.

In some ways I think the world of music also provides a good analogy:

On one level, all people have an innate ability to master the skill of awakening in the same way that they have the innate ability to learn to play a musical instrument (or to recognize the Magic Eye image hidden in the noise); this ability may be stronger in some individuals than in others, but it is a skill that all people can develop given sufficient training and practice.

All the great wisdom traditions point to this process and describe it in their own terms, despite “awakening” being inherently very difficult — if not impossible — to describe in conventional terms.

Hello again! The meditation group will meet, per usual, from 7:30-9:30 tomorrow evening in the Chapel at First Parish. Because of a schedule conflict, Ajahn David will not be able to join us and Brenda will lead the practice this week. We plan for Ajahn to rejoin us next Tuesday, May 13.

Unfortunately this week’s e-mail will have to be a somewhat abbreviated.

A couple of bulletins from the headlines:

First and foremost, for those who haven’t heard, much of Burma has been devastated by Cyclone Nargis. At last report nearly 4000 people have been killed, and a death toll of nearly 10,000 would sadly not be out of the question. Already suffering from extreme poverty, the Burmese people are in desperate need of food, clothing, shelter, and medicine. Unfortunately much emergency aid is still in limbo awaiting the persmission of the Burmese military government. The BBC has provides more info here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7384041.stm

Another major news item this week was the dialog between representatives of the Chinese government and the Tibetan government in exile. While a certain amount of skepticism is probably warranted, especially towards the motivations of Beijing, one must also remain optimistic that at least a modest degreee of progress is being made. Again, the BBC weighs in with more:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7382582.stm

The Buddhist Channel, as always, has more on the ongoing situation in both Burma and Tibet: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/

A little closer to home, yesterday Carrie and I attended the dedication of the new library at the Barre Center for Buddhist Studies. It was quite the event. Joseph Goldstein, Andrew Olendzki, and Christopher Queen all took time to say a few words about the project and how it reflects the vision of BCBS as a place of both practice and study. Ajahn Sucitto — currently leading the retreat down the road at IMS — gave his blessing to the endeavor and the new extension. BCBS has an amazing wealth of resources on a wide range of subjects across the Buddhist spectrum, and is well worth a visit for anyone with interest.

On a semi-related note, this reminds me of a 2003 panel discussion I came across via the archives of The Buddhadharma:

http://www.thebuddhadharma.com/issues/2003/winter/panel.html

Another interesting listen this week is The Buddhist Geeks’ conversation (in two parts of about 20 min. each) with Gregory Kramer, who is pioneering the practice of Insight Dialogue. I haven’t yet read his book yet, but Kramer will lead an Insight Dialogue retreat at BCBS at the end of October: https://bcbs.dharma.org/Pages/course_detail.lasso?-KeyValue=36&-Token.Action=&image=1

Anyhow, the conversation is a very interesting one:

http://www.fallingfruit.tv/episodes/interpersonal-meditation-awakening-relational-beings

Finally, just a few reminders that Carrie and I would appreciated RSVPs for the potluck on Sunday, May 18. At this point I believe Pris and Brenda (w. Abhaya) are the only ones who have confirmed that they will attend. (Am I correct that Mike, Matt, and Christine will not be able to make it?) If we could get an idea of final numbers (and who/what you plan to bring!) by this Sunday, May 11 (Mother’s Day), it would be very helpful in planning. Again, friends, family, and dogs are all welcome!

Also, if there are any more takers for the day-long retreat in Newburyport with Chas DiCapua on May 31, please let us know.

That’s all for now; I hope to see everyone soon!

Metta,
Tim

Hello! Just the usual weekly reminder that we’ll meet for meditation tomrrow evening from 7:30-9:30 in the Chapel at First Parish. Matt will lead the practice.

A couple of things this week:

First, Jack Kornfield’s new book “The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology” is due to appear in bookstores tomorrow. Carrie and I are still waiting for our copy to arrive, but in the meantime Random House has published the introduction on its website:

http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553803471&view=excerpt

There are a couple of Earth Day-related articles I meant to recycle last week. The first is by Upasaka Nyanaloka on “Living Lightly on the Earth,” courtesy of the Buddhist Channel (http://www.randomhouse.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780553803471&view=excerpt); in the second, from the Shambhala Sun archives, Stephanie Kaza considers “how Buddhist principles can nurse the planet back to health” (http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3050&Itemid=24).

Sort of realted to the above, I was quite intrigued by Charles Shaw’s recent AlterNet article on the psychological factors of out-of-control consumption: http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/82013/

This reminded me of the work of another of my favorite authors, David Loy, who’s new book “Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution” — http://www.wisdompubs.org/Pages/display.lasso?title=Money,%20Sex,%20War,%20Karma — has been on my radar screen for a while now.

One chapter, “The Three Poisons, Institutionalized,” looks to be a revision of a talk I heard Loy deliver out at BCBS a few years ago, subsequently pubished in Insight Journal: http://www.dharma.org/ij/archives/TheThreeInstitutionalPoisons–DL.pdf.pdf

Climbing down momentarily from my quasi-political soapbox, this week’s must-read Dharma Gem of the Week is Beth Roth’s reflection “Taking Refuge (On Wings of Angels)” from the Tricycle website:

http://204.9.47.54/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=news&mod=News&mid=9A02E3B96F2A415ABC72CB5F516B4C10&tier=3&nid=45A1DE9B63524F6780DEB954CD87F29E&SiteID=6817839757

Finally, I wanted to mention that the trustees of Wat Buddhabhavana are looking for donations to help offset the expense of the new van they purchased for the Children’s Cultural Program. If anyone is inclined to help out, I’m sure it would be appreciated:

http://www.greatwisdomcenter.org/index.php?id=84

That’s all for this week; I hope to see everyone tomorrow!

Metta,
Tim

PS — Per last week’s e-mail, please don’t forget to RSVP if you’re interested in attending the potluck on Sunday, May 18. Also, if anyone is keen on joining Carrie and myself for the day-long retreat at IMCN on May 31, please let us know!

Brenda — Interesting that you should make the comparison to with your experience with Laura. Not surprising! Matthew mentioned that basically the entire point of Dzogchen practice is indeed to cultivate that state of “choiceless awareness.”

Brenda — Thanks; you raise a couple of good points. Regarding retreats, yes, one day is hardly the same thing as a longer retreat of a week, 10 days… or even a weekend, really I suppose. Again speaking from my own limited experience, but also that of others, there is definitely a rhythm to a long retreat such as you describe. In the beginning, there’s a settling-in period — maybe a day or two — followed by the heart of the retreat before the last couple of days when one’s attention starts to drift towards preparing for re-entry to the “real” world.

Still, having a whole day of practice is wonderful, and I think is a good trial run for anyone who wants to try out a longer period of dedicated practice. Carrie and I were both in a place where we were really able to drop right back into the practice, and left with an itch to get back to IMS. Alas, time and money….

It was interesting to hear Matthew talk about the various “modes” of practice — one centered on the breath, another in the space of “choiceless awareness,” and yet a third somewhere between the two. I personally find myself operating in the third mode more often than not, where awareness of breath is still the undercurrent “backbeat” of the practice while the majority of attention is on the “melody” of whatever else arises… maybe a 90/10 balance of attention between the latter and the former.

To me it’s almost like the “mindfulness of breathing” practice (anapanasati) establishes the baseline concentration one needs to open into more spacious awareness, from which one begins to develop insight. Certainly one can approach either anapanasati from either a concentration or insight perspective, but perhaps the choiceless awareness practice lends itself to more direct invesitgation of the “Three Characteristics” (impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, non-self).