The Koan

 

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

A Koan

 

Today,

In waiting for a bus

A policeman stopped in his car

And asked me for directions.

 

 

In writing this down it looked rather koanish, or maybe a semi-koan[1]?

When I got home… there was an email link reminding me of this talk (I missed it yesterday but knew I could retrieve later), so I tuned in:

Awakening with Koans: A Conversation with Joan Sutherland Roshi

During Roshi Sutherland’s talk, I looked at my notes… and just laughed. 

As besides enjoying the moment earlier in giving the off duty, but uniformed policeman directions, to the music store. The music store is up above the bus stop, like WAY above… next to the Café de Chocolate. I was waiting for the bus in Pilar  on the corner near Lulu’s and the  OuroPretano Cevejeria, after  going to the corrieos and getting a haircut.

 

I loved how the policeman, rolled to a stop, asked this foreign guy waiting for the bus for directions, thanked me and drove on. I liked how the ladies – the kind that clean houses or work in pousadas and meet up at the bus stop on their way home, like the ladies in ICEB at 4pm, began chatting with me as we waited for the bus up the hill, no one asked where I was from… no funny faces, nada… nice! 

 

This was after  another opportunity to practice in the Corrieos… where there was a long line, no one was masked, and when I asked the young lady texting behind me who was coughing, if she might  give me some space, she moved closer to me with a snarl… I wanted to growl back, but instead I moved a bit out of line, she tried moving into my space, but I held my ground. I was tempted to pull rank and use my idoso status and jump ahead, but when I am not exactly in a hurry, and well it seems wrong… those folks that are working and need a break, often end up getting stranded in line as seniors get to jump the line. It seems backward, the folks with time  might wait a bit and let those that need to get to work get in and out.  

Besides, I have my 4th vax, and am religiously masking my old man's sit upon... but I digress.

 

Dhukka… breathe in, breathe out. And I did, when I got to the desk… I asked  the lady if she had sent anything to México today.

 

“Não”

 

The person next to me at the window looked over and said, “Legal (cool)”.

 

We all laughed, suddenly one of the street beggars came in, shoved me aside, and told her he needed 6 reais for lunch and that she had only given him 5… I moved over, she fished out more troco, gave it to him and he left. I looked at her, she looked at me, and we smiled. We all have our designated beggars now, that things are a bit harsh for some here.

 

She  got my certified signature pages I needed to send to MXDF off to the folks in a masters defense I was in a few weeks ago, and as I left she shouted, “Muito obrigado Daniel!”. People are nice here.

 

My frustration with the mean girl evaporated, I went to the street… It was beautiful, and I thought… “Self, you earned a haircut”. So I called Lulu, after a lovely walk down to Pilar and Lulu’s he fixed me up, and there I was, waiting for the bus.

 

And so dear readers, that is how I ended up with my own semi-koan, with a dollop of Joan.

 

Here it is again:

 

Today,

In waiting for a bus

A policeman stopped in his car

And asked me for directions.

 

Yep, it’s that good here.

 

---

[1] What is a koan, you ask? Assist the talk link above, or make the jump here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koan

 

Awakening with Koans: A Conversation with Joan Sutherland Roshi

Via Lion's Roar// Walking in the Footsteps of the Buddha

 

GBF] new GBF talks

New talks have been added to the audio archive at the GBF website:

2022_05_22 Syra Smith The Heart of Sorrow.mp3

2000_03_05 Jim Wilson First GBF Spring Retreat 1 Engaged Buddhism Xin Xin Ming.mp3

2000_03_05 Jim Wilson First GBF Spring Retreat 2 If All is Buddha Why Do We Sit.mp3

2000_03_06 Jim Wilson First GBF Spring Retreat 3 Suffering .mp3

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Harsh Speech

 

RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from Harsh Speech

Harsh speech is unhealthy. Refraining from harsh speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning harsh speech, one refrains from harsh speech. One speaks words that are gentle, pleasing to the ear, and affectionate, words that go to the heart, are courteous, and are agreeable to many. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak harshly, but I shall abstain from harsh speech.” (MN 8) When one speaks unhurriedly, one’s body does not grow tired and one’s mind does not become excited, one’s voice is not strained and one’s throat does not become hoarse. The speech of one who speaks unhurriedly is distinct and easy to understand. (MN 139)

Reflection

The previous text on right speech emphasized the drawbacks of speaking hurriedly, and this one reverses the focus and speaks to the benefits of taking your time when you have something to say. This can seem out of touch with the pace of modern life, but does that mean we should ignore this advice to fit in with the times? Might it be better to be guided by these wise words and learn to slow down how we communicate?

Daily Practice

How much of the stress in your experience comes from speaking too fast or trying to follow the speech of others who are speaking at a mile a minute? Notice, by paying attention, when this happens and make a conscious effort to slow down the pace of your own speech. This can have the effect of slowing down the people you talk with as well. You don’t have to be swept along by the speaking habits of others.

Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Mental Action
One week from today: Refraining from Frivolous Speech

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Exploring with Courage

 Only the courage to explore things as they are–in all of their messiness, pain, and resistance to our desires–leads to real surprises. One of them might be our own freedom, closer than we thought.

Matthew Gindin, “The Middle Way of Sobriety” 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - June 1, 2022 💌

  

 

What I’m suggesting is that after a while everything in your life becomes grist for the mill for awakening, and your priorities change. Instead of, ‘Am I awakening through my work? Am I awakening through this relationship? Am I awakening through this drive? Am I awakening through how I take care of my body?' The journey of awakening begins to dominate the terrain. There is clearly an inner shift of priority, and then you start to use your life that way.

- Ram Dass -

Via Tumblr

 

June LGBTQ+ Satsang PRIDE: A SPIRITUAL CELEBRATION

 

 

June LGBTQ+ Satsang

PRIDE: A SPIRITUAL CELEBRATION

June 12 @ 5 pm PDT | 8 pm EDT

REGISTER HERE

 

"Whatever I am, I just am, and from inside that allows me to be at home in the universe." ~ Ram Dass 

Join us for a spirited gathering to honor our queer fellowship community. This event will include meditation, social discussion time, and kirtan. We welcome you to decorate yourself and/or your Zoom background to reflect your own personal Pride style. Please feel free to bring a story, excerpt, or teaching to share with the satsang, that connects you to or reflects your queer spiritual experience.

REGISTER HERE

terça-feira, 31 de maio de 2022

 

Today´s practice, involved a bit of metta-ing about as it were. And just letting the mind go for a bit… nonjudgment,  enjoying the path we went down…  I accessed my  InsightTimer app, and it sounded the bell, and I was off to what I call the races… mind races… that is.

Breathe in, breathe out…

 

I began, during my sit, by counting breaths, 1-10, start over... and then for some reason wandered to the Bahá’í Prayer: The Remover of Difficulties. Which I hadn’t thought of for years… 

 

 

 

Hey old friend, long time no see... 

 Breathe in, breathe out…

 

The Remover of Difficulties sustained me during what I call the “the troubles”… coming out, divorce, a baby son, grad school, Ph.D. research and defense… I used to just walk about, repeating it over and over… vacillating from crazy to OK  to survival. I couldn’t deal with much, it felt like I was just hanging on by my fingernails, until I found a good bunch of Gay Zen Buddhists and a professor who mentored me through the bottoming out (pardon the metaphor). Zen guys became mentors, not unlike uncles, and really helped me steer out of the darkness and confusion I felt myself in.

 

Many Bahá’ís might use it as a sort of mantra… sometimes repeating it hundreds of times… Helen Bishop taught me to mantra it, using my knuckles… 45 times up, 45 times back. She knew she was dealing with a young man with a touch of ADD.

 

Breathe in, breathe out…

 

And then I said to myself "Self, how about, one more Remover of Difficulties just for old times sake?" And suddenly I was reminded of Melvin´s practice, that I archived on my virtual altar site:

 

 

Melvin takes his version of metta and moves through the pronouns… I have adapted to do a “I, you, “that person”, “them” all beings… sort of wheel of concentration.

 

Breathe in, breathe out…

 

So I said to myself, “Self, try it with our old friend, the Remover of Difficulties…" I mean what could happen, no one is watching... 

 

So, I began...

 

Is there any remover of difficulties save God? Say praised be God! He is God! All are his servants, and all abide by His bidding.

 

I did a second pass, this time:

 

Is there any remover of difficulties save God? Say praised be God! SHE is God! All are HER servants, and all abide by HER bidding.

 

Hmmm… that was fun… the gender thing about  English and monotheism has bothered me for a while. So, I wondered, h’bout this, and I tried:

 

Is there any remover of difficulties save God? Say praised be God! YOU are God! All are YOUR servants, and all abide by Your bidding.

 

Then…

 

Is there any remover of difficulties save God? Say praised be God! All Beings are God! All are THEIR servants, and all abide by THEIR bidding.

 

Breathe in, breathe out…

 

Then the bell rang, and I dropped back to chair. And it was over. 

 

As I write the music I am playing here, talked about a Franciscan prayer, I believe it goes something like this:

 

Oh my god

You are here

Oh my god

I am here

Oh my god

 we are here

And always, always, always, you love us!

 

 

 Be well, be safe…now, here.

Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You? (A YouTube Exclusive)

Via Daily Dharma: Learning Balance Prevents Burnout

 Knowing and feeling the suffering of others requires balance lest suffering overwhelm the sharer. Grief the same. It cannot be avoided. The trick is to navigate the bivalent nature of each of these states, building good from bad.

William deBuys, “Good Grief”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Appreciative Joy

 

RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Appreciative Joy

Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis upon which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62)  Appreciative joy fails when it produces amusement. (Vm 9.95)

Reflection

The emotion indicated by the term appreciative joy is a deep one and is to be distinguished from mere amusement. Noticing the success of others is not a momentary lift; you are allowing yourself to be profoundly moved by the beneficial aspects of life that do not center on yourself. Once we open to all the ways others have good things happen to them, this becomes a boundless source of our own good feelings.

Daily Practice

Cultivate appreciative joy at every opportunity. Get in the habit of noticing the good things that happen around you, not as they relate to your own gain but as they affect and benefit others. Being happy about other people being happy is a practice in itself. It is good to loosen the habit of always relating what you see to yourself and to develop an appreciation for the perspective of others. Feel the joy you experience from this.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

 

RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

What is the cessation of suffering? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving up, relinquishing, letting go, and rejecting of craving. (MN 9) When one knows and sees material form as it actually is, then one is not attached to material form. When one abides unattached, one is not infatuated, and one’s craving is abandoned. One’s bodily and mental troubles are abandoned, and one experiences bodily and mental well-being. (MN 149)

Reflection

We live in a material world, and contact with material things makes up a great deal of our experience. This is not necessarily a bad thing. The issue is whether we allow ourselves to become infatuated with these things, or if instead we are able to “abide unattached” as we make use of them. Knowing ultimately that material objects are impermanent and will change frees us from the suffering attachment to them can bring.

Daily Practice

Notice that you suffer in direct proportion to the amount of attachment you have to a material object. If something you care little about gets damaged, it is no big deal, right? But if something precious to you breaks, it can be the cause of great distress. Practice reminding yourself of everything you touch, This is fragile; it cannot last; it will pass away eventually. That sounds depressing, but it can be liberating.

Tomorrow: Cultivating Appreciative Joy
One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Considering the Suffering of Others

 Buddhism teaches us that everyone suffers, though we would do well to remember that we all suffer differently.

Olivia Q. Pintair, “A Raft Amid Rising Waters”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - May 29, 2022 💌

 

If I can’t stop thinking, maybe I can just let my thoughts go by without getting all caught up in them. Feel the breeze on your face or your neck? See how it’s going by? You’re not all hung up with it. You don’t have to see where each breeze goes. You don’t have to look quickly to see if it hit those trees over there. It’s breezes, and they’re just going by. Make your thoughts like those breezes, those little breezes...just going by.

- Ram Dass -

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling and the Second Jhāna

RIGHT MINDFULNESS
Establishing Mindfulness of Feeling

A person goes to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty place and sits down. Having crossed the legs, one sets the body erect. One establishes the presence of mindfulness. (MN 10) One is aware: “Ardent, fully aware, mindful, I am content.” (SN 47.10)   When feeling a mental pleasant feeling, one is aware: “Feeling a mental pleasant feeling”… one is just aware, just mindful: “There is feeling.” And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)

Reflection

We forget sometimes that it is okay to feel joy. In fact, it is encouraged. It is attachment to joy that is a problem, not the good feeling that comes with mental pleasure. The aggregate of feeling, which includes both physical pleasure and pain and mental pleasure and pain, is an inevitable and natural aspect of all experience. The challenge is to experience pleasure with equanimity, rather than with desire.

Daily Practice

Just as you can find both pleasure and pain when you review bodily sensations, the same is true of mental life. Take a few moments to inventory the contents of your mind. Certain things you think of are accompanied by happiness, while others arise with mental pain. Allow yourself to experience mental pleasure when it arises, and carefully observe the inevitable tipping point when the mind becomes attached to that pleasure.

RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Second Phase of Absorption (2nd Jhāna)

With the stilling of applied and sustained thought, one enters upon and abides in the second phase of absorption, which has inner clarity and singleness of mind, without applied thought and sustained thought, with joy and the pleasure born of concentration. (MN 4) Breathing in short, one is aware: ‘I breathe in short’; or breathing out short, one is aware: ‘I breathe out short. This is how concentration by mindfulness of breathing is developed and cultivated,  so that it is of great fruit and great benefit. (SN 54.8)

Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

 

Via Daily Dharma: Coming and Going

 When we really get a feeling for the coming and going of moments, it helps us break the illusion of a solid, separate self, which gives us relief from suffering.
    
Loch Kelly, “When Am I?”

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