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Crappy. I found a slug on my front path that I think the postman had half trodden on, so his guts had exploded out the side of him (the slug, not the postman). I poked him with a stick (as seems the first recourse whenever anyone encounters anything dead) and he moved. I was hoping he was already dead.
I decided the most compassionate thing I could do was kill him quickly to end his suffering, but I didn't want to tred on him as the thought made me gag. So I put a bit of slate on top of him and brought down a brick as hard and as fast as I could.
I hate killing anything, but the thought of him lying there in tremendous pain was worse. At least this way he was pretty much atomised in a nanosecond. Still...
Today I woke up early and read a few more chapters of commentary on the Prajnaparamita Diamond Sutra, meditated, listened to soothing music, got up and made breakfast in bed for my girlfriend We drank delicious organic coffee. After I took her to work I went for a nice long walk as the sun came up.
Today I woke up early and read a few more chapters of commentary on the Prajnaparamita Diamond Sutra, meditated, listened to soothing music, got up and made breakfast in bed for my girlfriend We drank delicious organic coffee. After I took her to work I went for a nice long walk as the sun came up.
So far the day has been wonderful!
That does sound lovely.
I also went for a walk, but I got lost and shouted at by drunken yobs. Not good for my misanthropy. :mad:
I've harvested loads of shallots from my garden though, which is nice, they're drying in the sun .
ooh sounds wonderful.I am reading a couple of great books at the moment.
I LOVE reading.
yoga and anatomy book is awesome.yoga truelly takes my jaw to the floor,I never knew before how spiritual it was.
Our doggy came home this week,her training is going well,we are so proud of her.
she is 8 mnths old.
she is a staffordshire bull terrier,I have had experience with this dog,its so good,actually great to have a doggy in the home again.
ooh shallots!!!yummy!send some my way won't you?
I hope you feel better for your walk and your shout.
better to get these things out than to repress.
Today I woke up early and read a few more chapters of commentary on the Prajnaparamita Diamond Sutra, meditated, listened to soothing music, got up and made breakfast in bed for my girlfriend We drank delicious organic coffee. After I took her to work I went for a nice long walk as the sun came up.
ooh sounds wonderful.I am reading a couple of great books at the moment.
I LOVE reading.
yoga and anatomy book is awesome.yoga truelly takes my jaw to the floor,I never knew before how spiritual it was.
Our doggy came home this week,her training is going well,we are so proud of her.
she is 8 mnths old.
she is a staffordshire bull terrier,I have had experience with this dog,its so good,actually great to have a doggy in the home again.
ooh shallots!!!yummy!send some my way won't you?
I hope you feel better for your walk and your shout.
better to get these things out than to repress.
love to you new friends
P
xxxxxxxxxx
Where was your doggy? Had she run away or had you adopted her from a shelter? Any way, glad you've got your doggy
I had a great weekend! I sat in meditation for longer than I'd done before, nearly thirty minutes. It's nice to see the length slowly increasing. I do want to start timing my sessions so I don't have to deal with the, "Am I ready to get up? Should I get up? Breathing, breathing, breathing, how long has it been? Breathing, breathing, man I have been sitting here forever; I am getting up."
I've always found it much easier sitting in a group than alone. Something about the energy of the group, plus the fact that someone else is keeping the time. I don't know if that's an option for you or not.
How long do I "meditation"? Actually I don't meditate much at all, as far as simply sitting meditation goes. Most of my practice nowadays is tantric, which means visualization of deities and so forth, but having a good base in meditation is essential to that. I used to meditate a lot, sometimes for days at a time.
Didun't u n33d 2 sl33P Polzing? Iv u donet w0Rdz luk fommie :crazy:
I though monks had to meditate... I though Buddhism didn't have deities, or do you have a certain sect of Buddhism?
Anyway, how are you lately? Are the flying pigs doing OK? I imagine you'll have to take in the cookie harvest soon.
The deities we use in our practices aren't deities like you normally think, like gods out "there" somewhere. Deity practice is a technique used in Vajrayana. The deities are symbolic representations of various qualities of the enlightened mind, like compassion, generosity, purification of negative karma, overcoming obstacles, spiritual power, and so forth. They're not "real" in the sense of there being some being out there named Avalokiteshvara or Vajrakilaya or whatever. They're simply aspects of one's own buddhanature that we seek to bring out. One visualizes oneself as the deity with the intention of developing those qualities in oneself. It is, in fact, a form of meditation. It is a technique developed in tantra back in India in the times of the golden flowering of Buddhism there before the Islamic invaders came in and wiped it out. Fortunately the teachings survived in Tibet, having been brought there by Padmasambhava in the 7th Century c.e. (current era). One can quibble about whether or not the Buddha actually taught these methods or not. To me it's immaterial. The bottom line is do they work, and the answer, from what I have seen, is yes, indeed they do!
I like to meditate very much. Unfortunately the pace of my life is such that I have very little time to do so. That is unfortunate, but it is just a reflection of my karma and the times that we all live in where everything is very condensed. So I do the best I can. It ain't easy being a monk in the West!
That sounds interesting So what happens in the daily life of a monk (I've actually half considered the lifestyle myself but I don't really know what it involves)
Well, I'd hardly call our lifestyle typical. For one thing, we have a female teacher. In other words, we're in a dakini (enlightened female wisdom being) mandala (the sphere of activity), and dakini mandalas are characterized by activity more than contemplation. Another way of saying that is to say that students at our temple tend to be doers rather than contemplatives. We're not much for sitting on cushions. So our teacher gives us plenty to keep us busy, like building stupas, rescuing and caring for animals (dogs, parrots), and so forth. Trungpa Rinpoche called this "meditation in action." My typical day involves going to work for 8 hours, then going home and either taking a shift on our 24 hr prayer vigil at the temple (which has been going without break for over 25 years) or practicing on my own. On Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings I also lead the chants for our video teachings by Jetsunma (our teacher). These are broadcast on the internet. I also maintain the temple donor tracking database, write things for the various temple websites and blogs, type the practice books we use (in Tibetan and English), take care of the lama's hot tub (which she finds necessary to maintain her health), etc. Like I said, I keep busy. It is not your typical monastic life. In Tibet or India, monks tend to spend most of their time practicing.
That sounds really cool I had a look at your site so I saw you had a female teacher and that you rescued animals. So do you just have an ordinary job and a house of your own?
Yes, a regular job and a regular house in the beautiful (?) village of Poolesville. And yes, we follow the rules of the Vinaya just like any Buddhist ordained. As I am a gelong (full ordained) monk, I have 256 (I think) vows to follow most of which are pretty irrelevant to modern life (like only being able to own so much black wool). Mainly we follow the 10 basic ones, no killing, no lying, no sex, no stealing, no intoxicants, can't sleep on a high bed, can't eat after noon (actually hardly anyone follows that one as it's virtually impossible to do when you're out working all day, and no one expects us to); no music, no dancing. For me, they're not that hard to keep, except maybe for the sex one, which is very difficult living in a materialistic society as we do, constantly being bombarded by erotic, sensual images. Of course, it is also difficult for monks living in a monastery as well. Boys will be boys, you know! Almost always when someone drops their robes and abandons their vows it is because of that one. But that's why we do confessional practice (sojong in Tibetan)!
Apart from my hesitations on outdated vinaya (and sex - I don't get much but what I do get I don't not want!), that sounds like a fantastic place to be in, Palzang! That lifestyle, for me, sits right up there next to becoming a wandering martial buddhist a la Kwai Chang Caine
Oh, and to keep to the topic - my day's followed the trend of the last few weeks - gloomy, overcast and crappy :S Ah well, comme ci, comme ça!
Well, of course, any lifestyle doesn't appeal to everyone, and that's why there are different teachers for different people. I mean, somebody's got to help crazies like me! And yes, much of the original vinaya is outdated. The rules were created on an ad hoc basis essentially to respond to issues that arose in the monastic community during the life of the Buddha. Like one of the vows, to look in your seat before sitting in it, came about because a monk had been invited over to someone's house and sat in his chair without looking first and sat on a baby! (don't know what happened to the poor baby) So naturally a lot of them don't specifically apply to situations that one is likely to encounter these days (though babies still abound, I hear). But the basic meaning of the vows is to always be aware of what you're doing, to not live mindlessly (which is a very easy thing to do in this multimedia age). As for the no sex, yes, it is difficult, and no one expects you to be perfect (at least in Vajrayana) as there are ways to purify mistakes. But the basis for the vow, just like the other vows, is to provide an external support for cutting through desire, which is the primary cause of suffering. It's difficult, but it's worthwhile doing it if you're serious about getting off this stupid wheel we're stuck on!
There'd be no dancing along to Single Ladies I guess :-/ But... I suppose the non-sex is the biggest turn off for me, with being a hormone-addled soon-to-be teen and all I don't get some of those vows unfortunately. They're all a bit materialist, if you know what I mean. Like an attachment to the absence of attachment. It puts me off a little. But I'll just wait, maybe sex isn't that great... *recieves glares from recently of-age Buddhists * Maybe I should make my own temple with my own sect of Buddhism lolish... No, but it is quite a bummer (I had a pun to do with the no-sex vow but I won't put it ) I've always said to people, 'don't fit around your religion, find one that fits around you'. I meant the wholesome part of them, of course, and there's parts of being a Buddhist monk, or indeed any monk, that I can't and certainly wouldn't not do It's a matter of attachment, just because you don't do something, doesn't mean you're not attached to the idea. Simples, as the car insurence meerkat would say.
And what happened to the baby? Something similar to this poor doggy I imagine...
That sounded like it was just the sex bit that turned me off. It's all the ones I consider 'silly' like when to eat and stuff, it's a free country maaaan But if it's right for you, it's right for you I could look into becoming a Wiccan priest on second thought, it's good to keep your options open
Well, even if you wanted to become a monk, you couldn't become one until you were at least of age - and even then only with the approval of your teacher (i.e. you'd have to have a teacher first). I'm speaking here of Vajrayana, btw, though the other forms of Buddhism aren't a lot different (well, Japanese Zen is, the monks there don't take the vow of celibacy). Our pratimoksha (Vinaya) lineage, for example, is exactly the same as that of the Theravadan schools. But anyway, the purpose of the vows is to assist one in cutting off desire. The vows are meant as support for that, not as heavy-handed "thou-shalt-nots" like the Ten Commandments or something. One has to already be at the point of renunciation for them to be of any use. Just to take them to be a "cool monk" :rolleyes: would be the height of stupidity (not that you would do that, just sayin'). And it is totally not necessary to take the vows to be a good practitioner. It's just that for some people it helps to have that external support to one's inner practice. And most of them I was already doing anyway! I mean, relationships were never something I even came close to succeeding at, so it wasn't like I was giving up much, if you know what I mean. Plus I was already mostly bald, never did have much up on top...(not much inside the top either).
Well, even if you wanted to become a monk, you couldn't become one until you were at least of age - and even then only with the approval of your teacher (i.e. you'd have to have a teacher first). I'm speaking here of Vajrayana, btw, though the other forms of Buddhism aren't a lot different (well, Japanese Zen is, the monks there don't take the vow of celibacy). Our pratimoksha (Vinaya) lineage, for example, is exactly the same as that of the Theravadan schools. But anyway, the purpose of the vows is to assist one in cutting off desire. The vows are meant as support for that, not as heavy-handed "thou-shalt-nots" like the Ten Commandments or something. One has to already be at the point of renunciation for them to be of any use. Just to take them to be a "cool monk" :rolleyes: would be the height of stupidity (not that you would do that, just sayin'). And it is totally not necessary to take the vows to be a good practitioner. It's just that for some people it helps to have that external support to one's inner practice. And most of them I was already doing anyway! I mean, relationships were never something I even came close to succeeding at, so it wasn't like I was giving up much, if you know what I mean. Plus I was already mostly bald, never did have much up on top...(not much inside the top either).
Palzang
I wasn't thinking of becoming one now My future's still pretty formless at the minute so I'll just go with the flow for now. I wouldn't come one just to be a "cool monk" (although I considered it; it's just not right). I definitely think your temple looks really cool though, with all your saving abused animals and stuff. I'll have to visit it when I'm older Always bald ay? Born bald and didn't grow a hair... I'm sure that didn't have anything to do with it. You see lots of bald men with partners! (Please tell me your a man ) My family don't lose their hair 'till their 80 but we go grey early.... My dad doesn't mind as much 'cos he's ginger and when he's fully grey he can show true prejudice towards every minority My uncle looks like a badger and his daughter had her first grey hair when she was nine
Anyway, maybe I'll be rubbish at relationships too. I listened to some really modern music on radion 1 the other week and let's just say I won't be listening to music in the future... I'm curious about the music vow though because this Buddhist monk rapped the mantras to young Buddhists to get them more interested in Buddhism? Any thoughts?
All the best,
As usual, Nikki, you're very perceptive. However, I don't have any problem at all with a monk rapping mantra. My teacher produces music as well. The idea is to get people to hear the Dharma who would never, ever hear it otherwise, and to make it enjoyable for them to do so. As the late head of our lineage, Penor Rinpoche said, Dharma (or mantra) is indestructible, so putting it to music won't harm it or its power. The vow against listening to music means any kind of music that would potentially arouse desire in the listener, which, of course, would be different for every individual. But the usual take on the vow is any popular type music. That doesn't include "sacred" music. To me, it doesn't even include something like classical music, but that's my opinion. Since the Buddha never heard Western classical music, it's hard to say what his opinion would be! The idea, though, is not to get into music. I use music mainly when I'm driving to help me stay alert, so the motivation is not contrary to the vow.
I hope you do have the opportunity to visit our temple some day. Anyone is welcome there 24 hours a day. We're one of the few places of any kind of religion that is open 24 hours a day, and there's always someone there practicing. Guess we're kind of unique that way.
My very first holiday without my family will be to Maryland That'll probably be in about six to ten years time, so look out If I write my book I could get it published when I'm 16-18 and go on an independent holiday when I get enough money. The temple looks wonderful on the internet. Are visitors aloud to join in with the meditation?
If I write my book I could get it published when I'm 16-18 and go on an independent holiday when I get enough money.
When I was in junior high (I was 12 or 13) I had a classmate who wrote and published a children's book. It ended up winning some awards and she ended up making a good amount of money from it. So you never know!
I'm actually feeling good today. Finally got a decent night's sleep after a week of not sleeping much (too much going on in the noodle). It helps that the weather has also dramatically improved of late.
I'm actually feeling good today. Finally got a decent night's sleep after a week of not sleeping much (too much going on in the noodle). It helps that the weather has also dramatically improved of late.
Palzang
You caled yor hed a noodel, that maykes mi laff.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
edited August 2010
hey everyone, I don't know if anyone here remembers Martin of Norwich. he was here extremely briefly, but I have to say was vitally influential in my personal life, around 4 years ago.
I've just been in touch with him again, and he sends everybody his very best.
in his e-mail to me, he wrote:
I found myself a home on line on Treeleaf Sangha's Soto Zen community, and took Jukai there two years ago. I don't imagine anyone at newbuddhist remembers my brief sojourn there, but I often think fondly of you all. Remember me to anyone who remembers me.
I just thought you might all like to know.
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Barrasoto zenniewandering in a cloud in beautiful, bucolic Victoria BC, on the wacky left coast of CanadaVeteran
A warm sunny day in late summer is too precious a thing to waste putzing around on the computer or doing sewing projects. So today in the early afternoon I changed to shorts and a tank top, slathered on lots of sun screen, and headed down the road to the beach. I passed Mile Zero, where tour busses were discharging groups of people, crossed the road and headed down the wooden stairs. Crunched over the gravel beach to the glaciated rock bluffs and looked for a good spot to settle in. I found it, too – the perfect configuration of rock, with the back part at a perfect angle to the seat. I spread out my towel and settled down. Got out my sunglasses, book and cold beer and looked out across the water. There were two freighters anchored over towards the Washington state side of the strait. They were perfectly silhouetted against a fog bank. The whole scene was made up of blue horizontal stripes – the pale blue of the sky, then a darker blue of the Olympic mountains, with a jagged upper margin of the mountain peaks, some of them snow capped. Below that was the creamy blue/white of the fog bank and below that the darker indigo of the ocean. The water was choppy, with waves crashing against the rocks below me. I started drinking my beer and reading my book – interestingly it was a book of short stories set in the Pacific Northwest. And from time to time I’d look up and see the freighters still sitting there, and I’d think about that fog bank. I knew that this is something that happens regularly at this time of year – fog banks appear in the middle of the strait. If I lived on the shore all the time, I think, like First Nations people did before contact, I’d be constantly aware of the changing seasons. When the fog comes, when the bees get lazy and the grass turns golden brown. But I live inside, spending time working on the computer, doing projects, and have lost connection with the natural outdoor cycles. I vow to come to the beach every day at this time, and I wonder if I will keep this promise to myself.
Comments
I decided the most compassionate thing I could do was kill him quickly to end his suffering, but I didn't want to tred on him as the thought made me gag. So I put a bit of slate on top of him and brought down a brick as hard and as fast as I could.
I hate killing anything, but the thought of him lying there in tremendous pain was worse. At least this way he was pretty much atomised in a nanosecond. Still...
sorry about slug.hope he enjoys his next life.
Got back from doing a silly shift at work, It was like i never left.
7-11 Pm, 7-2 am. :skeptical
So far the day has been wonderful!
I also went for a walk, but I got lost and shouted at by drunken yobs. Not good for my misanthropy. :mad:
I've harvested loads of shallots from my garden though, which is nice, they're drying in the sun
I LOVE reading.
yoga and anatomy book is awesome.yoga truelly takes my jaw to the floor,I never knew before how spiritual it was.
Our doggy came home this week,her training is going well,we are so proud of her.
she is 8 mnths old.
she is a staffordshire bull terrier,I have had experience with this dog,its so good,actually great to have a doggy in the home again.
ooh shallots!!!yummy!send some my way won't you?
I hope you feel better for your walk and your shout.
better to get these things out than to repress.
love to you new friends
P
xxxxxxxxxx
Ow :eek:
It sounds like it
Where was your doggy? Had she run away or had you adopted her from a shelter? Any way, glad you've got your doggy
I picked up our new doggy friend a few days ago
she needed a home and we gave her one
ooh tonights indian food scrumm!!!!!!
Yes Ow Indeed...Its actually amazing Red Bull had be bouncing of the walls all day
Palzang
Palzang
I though monks had to meditate... I though Buddhism didn't have deities, or do you have a certain sect of Buddhism?
Anyway, how are you lately? Are the flying pigs doing OK? I imagine you'll have to take in the cookie harvest soon.
I like to meditate very much. Unfortunately the pace of my life is such that I have very little time to do so. That is unfortunate, but it is just a reflection of my karma and the times that we all live in where everything is very condensed. So I do the best I can. It ain't easy being a monk in the West!
Palzang
Palzang
Palzang
Also, do you have to follow any particular rules as a Buddhist monk at your temple?
Palzang
Oh, and to keep to the topic - my day's followed the trend of the last few weeks - gloomy, overcast and crappy :S Ah well, comme ci, comme ça!
Palzang
And what happened to the baby? Something similar to this poor doggy I imagine...
Palzang
I wasn't thinking of becoming one now
Anyway, maybe I'll be rubbish at relationships too. I listened to some really modern music on radion 1 the other week and let's just say I won't be listening to music in the future... I'm curious about the music vow though because this Buddhist monk rapped the mantras to young Buddhists to get them more interested in Buddhism? Any thoughts?
All the best,
I hope you do have the opportunity to visit our temple some day. Anyone is welcome there 24 hours a day. We're one of the few places of any kind of religion that is open 24 hours a day, and there's always someone there practicing. Guess we're kind of unique that way.
Palzang
When I was in junior high (I was 12 or 13) I had a classmate who wrote and published a children's book. It ended up winning some awards and she ended up making a good amount of money from it. So you never know!
Don't dream it, be it
Of course, as long as you're not too "aloud"!
Palzang
I have only one word for it so far...
AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!
Om mani padme um
Om mani padme um
Om mani padme um
I'm with you on this one
such a nice thought LnP ^.^ i Hope everyone is having a decent day too. If not... owel, that will pass :P
Palzang
Not Ow,but Om or givemecoffeenowimuststayawake...... (a mantra for someone working at night
You caled yor hed a noodel, that maykes mi laff.
I've just been in touch with him again, and he sends everybody his very best.
in his e-mail to me, he wrote:
I just thought you might all like to know.
My days have been calm lately, which is always welcome.