Working with Where We Are

When people start to mediate or to work with any kind of spiritual discipline, the often think that somehow they're going to improve, which is a sort of subtle aggression against who they really are. It's a bit like saying, "If I jog, I'll be a much better person." "If I could only get a nicer house, I'd be a better person." If I could meditate and calm down, I'd be a better person."... But loving-kindness--maitri--toward ourselves doesn't mean getting rid of anything. Maitri means that we can still be crazy after all these years. We can still be angry after all these years. We can still be timid or jealous or full of feelings of unworthiness. The point is not to try to throw ourselves away and become something better. It's about befriending who we are already. The ground of practice is you or me or whoever we are right now, just as we are. That's the ground, that's what we study, that's what we come to know with tremendous curiosity and interest.

--Pema Chodron

James: It's so difficult sometimes to just accept who we are already isn't it? We constantly yearn to be something else, something better--anything other then "us." Yet we can't be any better then we are in this present moment because this is the only moment we have. Radical acceptance is such an important lesson to learn in our spiritual journey.

~Peace to all beings~

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Help Build Blue Cliff Monastery

I received a letter today saying that Thich Nhat Hanh's Unified Buddhist Church and Plum Village monastery are announcing that they are purchasing land for a new monastery in the Walker Valley of Ulster County, New York, in the USA.

This monastery is much needed as the UBC has no monastery on the East Coast and will serve 28 sanghas in New York alone.

The property is 80 acres, 65 of which are forest. How peaceful that will be for walking meditation!!! The land was formerly used as a conference and retreat center. There is a forest, creek (would love to meditate next to the creek) and two small ponds (two other great places to meditate or just contemplate). In includes 13 buildings with 35 rooms. Each room can accommodate 4-6 people with a private bath. The dining room holds about 200 people.

The owner is selling it for the sum of $2,650,000 and the monastics have all but $450,000 of it and are asking for donations to help pay that off.

Thay has named the center Blue Cliff Monastery because on top of a hill it has magnificent views of the surrounding mountains and cliffs. The picture I've attached to this post is of the Trapps Cliffs and Clove Valley of the Mohank Preserve which is near the site of the monastery--I think.

This monastery will be a great place for East Coast practitioners within Thay's tradition of Zen Buddhism to attend retreat and days of mindfulness. Of course, those of different traditions, no tradition or non-Buddhists are allowed and encouraged to visit and attend the different monasteries and retreats offered by Thay and the monastics.

If you wish to donate to this wonderful project then you can send a check written to GMDC (or you can spell it out, Green Mountain Dharma Center). GMDC is a center under the Thich Nhat Hanh tradition located in Vermont.

Here is the address:

Unified Buddhist Church
P.O. Box 182
Hartland Four Corners, VT 05049

If you do not trust me that this is a legitimate project and do not wish to send your money without more verification and information then please contact:

Brother Phap Dang and Brother Phap Duyet at 802-457-9442

or

Sister Annabel - True Virtue at 802-436-1103

~Peace to all beings~

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Resentment Against Suffering

The suffering itself is not so bad, it's the resentment against suffering that is the real pain.

-Alan Ginsberg

James: Today I'm dealing with the resentment against suffering. Sorry it's been awhile since I last posted. It's been a rough week with my illness. Any words of comfort and support would be greatly appreciated.

~Peace to all beings~

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Thoughts on Enlightenment During Meditation

During my meditation session yesterday I had an interesting thought enter my mind:

"Enlightenment is a practice not a prize."

~Peace to all beings~

PHOTO CREDIT: Standing Buddha statue from the 2nd or 3rd century in a museum (not sure which one). However, Tom Armstrong sent the picture to me. Thanks Tom!!

It's amazing how well intact is appears to be considering it's age.

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Guilt, Shame and Buddhist Practice

Remembering a wrong is like carrying a burden on the mind.
~Buddha

James: This reminds me of something that my mom told me in regards to guilt. Carrying guilt around in our minds is like hiking up a mountain and picking up every rock we stub our toe upon and throwing it in our backpack. That is unskillful. It is unnecessary suffering and it stems from a belief in a separate self. That somehow we are so important that we should suffer more than anyone else. It is also the belief that we are so powerful that we can actually revisit these past unskillful actions and somehow in reliving them change the result.

I personally have greatly suffered from the vicious cycle of guilt and shame and understand this process very well. I have worked hard on being in the moment and am now slowly learning how to let go of guilt through meditation and concentrating upon mindfulness.

Through meditation we can practice letting go of the burdens within our mind via deep breathing. Further, meditation is like a reset button that we can push to return us to the sharp wisdom of the present moment. Bringing us back to our natural state of peace, relaxation and freedom from the specter of invented ghosts which the ego-self creates for it's need of chaos and drama to feed "itself" and survive.

Mindfulness brings us back to the present moment as well. It keeps our attention upon what is going on in our present reality. Keeping us focused and aware. This keeps us from falling one step behind ourselves which leads us to trip over obstacles along our path because we are so focused on reliving the past that we do not see them coming. Obstacles which throw us off of the trail of balanced Reality of the present moment and into the waiting arms of the ego-self. Staying mindful of the present moment allows us to be aware of obstacles rising up and have the mental clarity to move safely around them.

May we all be more aware of the present moment and not pick up rocks. And if we do, may we only hold them for only a moment and throw them innocently back down onto the path and not into our backpacks to carry around like a martyr.

~Peace to all beings~

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