Zen

An interesting commentary on the new liquor product called Zen.

No to censorship

No to censorship
Originally uploaded by riopel2dali

Kumbum - Milarepa

Kumbum - Milarepa
Originally uploaded by Vessantara

Vessantara has a lovely public slide show of his trip to Tibet, that I just looked at it. Click on the name Vessantara under the photo to go and look at it.

More Pujas!

I just found on Vessantara's beautiful web site, 5 more pujas to female Buddhas!

I'm also going to try the readings of Sangharakshita's books, like Widsom Beyond Words, in MP3 format.

How cool is that!

I'm following through blogs, Maia. She got to meet Johnathan Edwards! How cool is that.

Vajramati and Sita

Vajramati and Sita
Originally uploaded by sravacitta

We had mitra study last night at Sita's. I really appreciate these two.

I've been listening to two talks in my car as I drive. The first is an excellent talk by Kulananda called Mindfulness of Reality. I know mindfulness can be broken into 4 parts, the last and most slippery one being about reality. This clear talk is just the kind of talk that I tend to think, "and that's the heart of the Dharma." Until I find the next one.

To develop friendship with Vajramati, is to also deepen one's knowledge of Padmasambhava. There happens to be an excellent talk on Padmasambhava by Davavira It is at once very personal and architypal. A very authentic talk that evoke authenticity. It's very poetic, and forecefully given at times. It has me chanting the mantra at work, where I'm a little in the closet about being a Buddhist out of consideration of my clients and my role as being there for them--my usual mistake. I hide myself out of misguided projected rationalization on others--probably out of fear of rejection and difficulty.

Everything--my psychoanlaytic training at ICP, the people that support me in the GFR process, all my spiritual friends, my friends period, scream out to me "BE AUTHENTIC!!!" It's weird that at age 40, that is what I'm hearing. Am I so artificial. Can I even be natural around my own lovely children? I hope so, and that is the ideal to which I lovingly strive for and lovingly accept when I fall short.

I saw a great/disturbing video on you tube, about animal fur. I'm starting to gather momentum toward reducing the use of milk products, egg products, I don't think vegetarianism is enough for me. I need to move towards being a vegan. Meanwhile I get more and more out of step from my fellow Americans and the intensely meat eating culture.

I found the video on a new blog I'm checking out call "no impact man." File under taking the not given envirnmentally. What world will I be leaving my kids?

Quote from Sangharakshita

If we just regard the spiritual community as a convenience for our own spiritual development, we are living in accordance with a very narrow spiritual ideal. This narrow ideal becomes self-defeating, because you cannot really help yourself without helping others. If you think in term of helping yourself to the exclusion of helping others, you have a very rigid idea of self and others, and as long as that fixed view is there you can’t even gain Enlightenment for yourself.

Quote

To file under the category of perfection of energy and vigor, from Theodore Riek (not to be confused with Wilhelm Reich, another psychoanalytic writer) from his essay "New Ways in Psycho-analytic Technique":

"It is easy to be energetic, less easy to know whither our energy is to be directed."

NYC sangha 2005

NYC sangha 2005
Originally uploaded by sravacitta

I'm not there, but it's a good photo.

The Inner Pillar

Jennifer Sokolov has a lovely web site, that collects her interests together. Available on the web site is her essay on how Pilates can support your meditation practice, from Tricycle.

video sangha

I've just begun to explore the interesting web site video sangha. I really laugh at Karuna Carpenter, plus there was a video about whether an OM thinks she's enlightened, and one by a fellow who met Bante, and what that was like--all very interesting videos. But there seems to be much much more. I think our sangha needs to put something up so we are known somehow. I have some videos of Vajramati on You tube. Vajramati said when he was at the convention many people mentioned they'd seen it, which is interesting. It's a way of connecting and seeing what's going on with people.

mens GFR retreat 2007 09 30

mens GFR retreat 2007 09 30
Originally uploaded by sravacitta

The wonderful men who were on my retreat! I felt so lonely in the car driving back.