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Hi everyone. I'm back...
I'm watching "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...and Spring" right now. I was so happy to find it on the late night movie listing on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company) channel. It's beautiful but I'm about to cry my heart out.
Anyway, I'll write this during the ads. I wanted to say hello because I've been away for quite some time. My PC died and I had to get a new computer. I spent weeks researching Macs because I wasn't about to buy a new machine with an operating system like Vista and I was tired of Windows anyway. I'd been saving money I received 4 years ago when I got injured at work because I knew my PC would die someday and I didn't want to get stuck without a computer. Since I live out here on the farm it's my only real connection to the outside world (other than going into town once in a while and visiting my sister and brother-in-law). I very much love the peace and solitude this way of living brings me but I need my sangha and I'm so happy to be back with you all.
So I researched Macs for weeks and finally decided on a MacBook Pro and I couldn't be happier with my decision. It's so superior to anything I've ever experienced on a PC that I'll never go back to one again. Ever. It'll be Macs for me from now on. It's the most beautiful machine I've ever used and a million times simpler than a PC. So I'm really happy with it and happy to be back. Now I can post here even if I can't get out of bed because it's a laptop. My arms don't go numb like they used to sitting at my PC.
But my really big news is that last Sunday I visited the Thai Forest Tradition monastery that's close to where I live, Tisarana, and it was wonderful. As I was walking up to the house I saw a monk in his dull ochre robes feeding an apple to a deer. It was a great first visit and I'm really looking forward to getting more involved with the community there. They don't have the facilities to have retreats but they do have Days of Mindfulness every Saturday and many other activities and they do have the facilities for visitors to stay overnight. I just have to figure out a way to get there and back because it's a few hours from where I live.
But aside from the logistics I'm SO grateful to have this monastery close to where I live. I think there's only one other monastery in the same tradition in all of Canada. How lucky is it that I would have one so close to me? I chose this tradition after studying and practicing for about 2 years and looking at all the different traditions to see what was a right fit. When I came across the teachings of Ajahn Chah I knew the Thai Forest Tradition would become my school. I had no idea if there was a community anywhere in Canada let alone a community of monks just a few hours away from me. I still can't believe how fortunate I am to have it and I'm going to take advantage of it as much as I possibly can. It's just outside a smallish town called Perth (they have another monastery in Perth, Australia...) which has been voted the prettiest town in Ontario (or something like that anyway). When I was there over the weekend I thought the town was lovely which is a nice thing since I'd already decided to move there after my parents die to be closer to the monastery. In the meantime I'll visit as often as I can and participate as much as I can. I've been receiving their emailed newsletters for months and the monk who writes them, Ajahn Kusalo, has a great sense of humour. They always make me laugh and i really treasure them and get such a lift when I see them in my Inbox. So it was really wonderful to finally meet him face to face and talk with him. It was a brief meeting but so joyful for me. I'm really looking forward to meeting the abbot, Ajahn Viridhammo, whose book, "The Stillness of Being", I'm reading. I understand he's there most Saturdays so I'm sure it won't be long before I get a chance to talk to him. I have a lot of questions, too many to ask. So I'll have to think about them and distill them down to the essentials.
So that's my big news since I've been absent. I've really missed you all and missed this site and I'm so happy to be back. I have a lot of threads to catch up on which is what I'm going to do right now.
Peace and joy to everyone here and everywhere!
P.S. The movie's just finishing and it was beautiful. It's a must-see for everyone. Really beautiful.
Anyway, I'll write this during the ads. I wanted to say hello because I've been away for quite some time. My PC died and I had to get a new computer. I spent weeks researching Macs because I wasn't about to buy a new machine with an operating system like Vista and I was tired of Windows anyway. I'd been saving money I received 4 years ago when I got injured at work because I knew my PC would die someday and I didn't want to get stuck without a computer. Since I live out here on the farm it's my only real connection to the outside world (other than going into town once in a while and visiting my sister and brother-in-law). I very much love the peace and solitude this way of living brings me but I need my sangha and I'm so happy to be back with you all.
So I researched Macs for weeks and finally decided on a MacBook Pro and I couldn't be happier with my decision. It's so superior to anything I've ever experienced on a PC that I'll never go back to one again. Ever. It'll be Macs for me from now on. It's the most beautiful machine I've ever used and a million times simpler than a PC. So I'm really happy with it and happy to be back. Now I can post here even if I can't get out of bed because it's a laptop. My arms don't go numb like they used to sitting at my PC.
But my really big news is that last Sunday I visited the Thai Forest Tradition monastery that's close to where I live, Tisarana, and it was wonderful. As I was walking up to the house I saw a monk in his dull ochre robes feeding an apple to a deer. It was a great first visit and I'm really looking forward to getting more involved with the community there. They don't have the facilities to have retreats but they do have Days of Mindfulness every Saturday and many other activities and they do have the facilities for visitors to stay overnight. I just have to figure out a way to get there and back because it's a few hours from where I live.
But aside from the logistics I'm SO grateful to have this monastery close to where I live. I think there's only one other monastery in the same tradition in all of Canada. How lucky is it that I would have one so close to me? I chose this tradition after studying and practicing for about 2 years and looking at all the different traditions to see what was a right fit. When I came across the teachings of Ajahn Chah I knew the Thai Forest Tradition would become my school. I had no idea if there was a community anywhere in Canada let alone a community of monks just a few hours away from me. I still can't believe how fortunate I am to have it and I'm going to take advantage of it as much as I possibly can. It's just outside a smallish town called Perth (they have another monastery in Perth, Australia...) which has been voted the prettiest town in Ontario (or something like that anyway). When I was there over the weekend I thought the town was lovely which is a nice thing since I'd already decided to move there after my parents die to be closer to the monastery. In the meantime I'll visit as often as I can and participate as much as I can. I've been receiving their emailed newsletters for months and the monk who writes them, Ajahn Kusalo, has a great sense of humour. They always make me laugh and i really treasure them and get such a lift when I see them in my Inbox. So it was really wonderful to finally meet him face to face and talk with him. It was a brief meeting but so joyful for me. I'm really looking forward to meeting the abbot, Ajahn Viridhammo, whose book, "The Stillness of Being", I'm reading. I understand he's there most Saturdays so I'm sure it won't be long before I get a chance to talk to him. I have a lot of questions, too many to ask. So I'll have to think about them and distill them down to the essentials.
So that's my big news since I've been absent. I've really missed you all and missed this site and I'm so happy to be back. I have a lot of threads to catch up on which is what I'm going to do right now.
Peace and joy to everyone here and everywhere!
P.S. The movie's just finishing and it was beautiful. It's a must-see for everyone. Really beautiful.
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Comments
It was nice to be able to hear what you've been up to. I am so happy you have had a good experience at the Thai Forest monastery. I do hope that this auspicious visit portends many happy returns.
Now that you're online (finally!!!!) again, I hope you'll be posting often. As long as you're posting I'll know that something is happening on NB.
I do marvel a bit, though, that it took you so long to venture over to the Thai Forest monastery "near" you, unless by "near" you mean fifty miles or more away. Even then, I couldn't see myself "staying away." I'd go check it out and stay away only if something seemed "off" or something along those lines.
I mean, there's nothing in books or on the web that can "re-present" in any real way what is "caught" from the spiritual masters. As I've heard so often, some things just can't be taught. Instead, they're caught by interacting with those who really have something to show.
Once you meet genuine teaching monks you will know it. There is just something in their eyes and soul that seems to know you better than you know yourself, yet reveals hidden tendencies or powers in you that have been emerging for some time in you unawares. It's so hard to explain. Of course, it's a two-way street, too, and everyone is different. Oh, how I'm rambling. Please excuse.
Well, life is a big collection of missed opportunities. One of mine, I suspect, is failing to meet some Thai Forest monks.
Fondly,
Nirvy
I wish it was easier for me to visit the monastery and especially to stay overnight. Visitors can stay for up to a week if they want to. My physical challenges are what prevents that. The monastery is about an hour and a half drive from my farm but I can't travel that long in a car. The longest I've been able to go is about 30 minutes but it's a crap shoot. If something happens to my back, and it could be anything, the pain could start to rise rapidly. I could go from a 4 or 5 on the pain scale to an 8 or 9 in a matter of minutes. (I've only been stuck in a car once when that happened and when we finally stopped I couldn't move. It was really embarrassing not to mention painful.) So if I have to travel a fair distance I take the train. To get to Perth I have to switch in Ottawa and take a train to Smiths Falls which is a town right beside Perth. The wait in Ottawa for the Smiths Falls train was three hours when I visited that first time. So I didn't arrive in Perth until about 7pm. That means I have to find somewhere to stay overnight that has beds I can sleep in and not wake up completely crippled, which has also happened in the past. That's also the reason I can't stay overnight at the monastery. Their beds are glorified cots and a few hours on one of them and I'd be in serious trouble.
So you can see it's a matter of logistics and financial ability. I'm hoping to be able to sleep in the beds of one of the motels in Perth because that would save me some money but I'd still have to take a cab from Smiths Falls to Perth (around $40) and another from the motel to the monastery (another $30 to $40) and then back again. My sister and brother-in-law were kind enough to come with me the first time so I didn't have to take any cabs. We stayed the night at one of the nicer hotels in Perth but that's going to be a one time thing because it was expensive. It was a nice treat for us, though.
But I figure the cabs are going to be an early investment because once I start going to the monastery I'll meet more people from the lay community and I'm sure I'll be able to get lifts after they get to know me. I'm sure a lot of people go to the monastery from Ottawa because it's only about a 45 minute drive from Ottawa and the monastery is attached to the Ottawa Buddhist Society and Ajahn Viradhammo often gives talks in Ottawa. He also lives in Ottawa most of the time taking care of his aging mother. So maybe I'll eventually be able to take the train to Ottawa and meet people going to the monastery from there. It'll all work out in the end. Other than being with my folks until they die nothing is more important to me than getting to that monastery as often as I possibly can.
How great is my life??? I've got absolutely everything I could possibly ever need and so many extras it's incredible! My life has never been in such good order before. Lol!! I only lose sight of how good things really are when the pain gets bad but that doesn't last because my meds are working really well and the periods of serious pain are few now that I've gotten to know and accept my limitations. It's usually only when I'm being arrogant and/or impatient that I do something to aggravate the back injury so the wiser I get, the less pain I experience. That's the truth for all of us, isn't it?
How far do you live from Ottawa, Boo?
It's nice that you can take the train, on which you can get up and walk as necessary. Being held down for long periods in a car can really cause problems, so the train's a blessing.
I frankly had no idea that travelling presented such obstacles for you. Airline travel, I take it, would be completely out of the question. Once the plane leaves the gate and is on the tarmac they make you stay seated. It's inhuman.
I enjoy reading you and hope you will keep us up to date on your monastery experiences. Photos are nice, too.
As for my dealings with Buddhist groups down here in the Carolinas, I just don't feel any beneficial effect. It all seems so parochial without a monastery, and the two I know of in N.C. are too far away for me to visit more than occasionally. My Advaita Vedanta circles in Boston and Providence are my sangha. Nothing but sublime appreciation for Buddha there, and no parochialism. I wish I could get up there more often.
I'm envious of your "nearness" to the monastery, just sorry that it's so logistically challenging to get there right now. I'm sure you will make some good connexions that will enable you to attend more frequently.
Keep us posted!
N
Well, it's like they say, "Once they go Mac, they never go back".
Good to see you again
I'm glad you're back.
I'm going to be needing a laptop computer fairly soon too. I'd been wondering if the MacBook was worth the cost.
I grew up in Ottawa! But I don't remember much about Perth. Except that we used to stop and get ice cream from their big cheese factory (don't recall the name) on family trips.
Palzang
Thanks for the welcome back. It's good to be home again.
Jacx,
I didn't know you were from Ottawa! Small world, eh? But I wouldn't want to paint it.
I'm about an hour south east of Ottawa if driving but I go into town and take the train and the ride is only 45 minutes. It's a good ride for meditating. It seems as soon as I close my eyes we're in Ottawa.
I don't know which cheese factory that is but isn't Balderson's around there somewhere?
Regarding your laptop, I'd definitely go for a Mac. It's one decision you'll never regret. And Palzang's right, Apple did just reveal some changes to their MacBook line which is a good thing for you because it means you'll be able to get a MacBook that has more of the features of the MacBook Pro including the aluminum case. No more plastic cases for MacBooks. You'll get a better graphics card too, (the NVIDIA card, which rocks!!), and a whole bunch of other improvements for the same price as the old MacBooks. The new MacBooks should be available soon. Just check the website, Apple.ca. You picked the perfect time to buy. (I sound like a salesperson. I can't help it, I love my machine too much.)
I've got election night hangover, especially since the results were not AT ALL what I wanted. We tried so hard to get people in the key ridings to vote strategically so we could at least defeat the minority Conservative government but we weren't able to. Prime Minister Harper still has a minority government but parliament doesn't look like I wanted it to. I wanted the Green party to at least get into parliament and I wanted the New Democratic party to do better than it did. But we have essentially the same government we had before the election. Which so sucks I can't even tell you. Stephen Harper has, by all standards, the worst environment record of any prime minister ever to hold that office and that's just the beginning of his...I better stop. I'm just getting riled up.
It's good to talk to you all again. It's amazing how much I love this site.
I am beginning to glimpse that politics and the political process are among the incarnations of Mara or, perhaps, it is his elephant Girimekhala! They tempt us away from equanimity (as you say) and from a generous mind of good-will towards all beings.
And yet, as humans engaged with others, we are so quickly drawn into the 'fowler's nets'.
Each time I go to vote, I am mindful of my late mother and her pride at being able to vote. I remember her anger when I stated (once only!) that I wasn't going to vote when the choice was between two scoundrels. The right to vote itself was the issue for her and has been for me, too, over the years.
Now I am genuinely asking myself whether the extension of the suffrage to all adults has truly been a good thing. (*gasps in horror*) Has it been a way in which the political class has justified its continuing support for its divisiveness, dualism and violent language/action?
Of course, when I ask the question, the next one arises: if we don't vote, how do we exert influence over rulers? And I just don't know the answer.
[Anyway, this is wholly off-topic and (still :ot:) I am becoming somewhat interested in the idea of a Mac if I ever have the money to replace my laptop.]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtp5gNhBZgo
I am not on here very often as I am finally back at work part time after my year of "off sick" but I have now discovered I have even more health problems and will need an operation so I am just withdrawing into a period of hermit-hood and quiet.
Still love you all, just not participating much.
Hi, Simon,Sri and Brian!
I feel like I've not talked to you forever....lol Very cool about the new Mac and that your feeling better these days. And going to the monastery - Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!
Knitwitch,
I'm so sorry that you have to have surgery..........my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Namaste'