Feb 2014 I had a chance to go on a field trip to an anatomy lab recently with a class studying the nature of the human body. There are Buddhist meditation practices related to bringing us into right relationship with the body through contemplating the human body in various ways. One is a contemplation on the “32 parts of the Body”. More details can be found at the excellent website of my colleague Bob Stahl who teaches a class on this topic in Santa Cruz, CA.
Jan 2014 Inspiration for learning in the new year: over the holidays I saw a relative who has been deaf all his life who just got a cochlear implant, which means he can hear sounds for the first time in 50 years. Amazing. However, this means a lot of work in learning to distinguish and identify which sounds signify what (running water, crossing signal, bird sounds, etc). I am wishing him well in his project, and hope this inspires you in developing your own continued perception of the way things are through your meditation practice and life, as it does for me. Happy New Year!
Dec 2013 Nelson Mandela has passed away, a great leader in South Africa and the world, who spent 27 years in prison. Mandela was oriented towards meditation and self-reflection. Of his time in prison, he said:
“You may find that the cell is an ideal place to learn to know yourself, to search realistically and regularly the processes of your own mind and feelings. In judging our progress as individuals we tend to concentrate on external factors such as one’s social position, influence and popularity, wealth and standard of education …. but internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing one’s development as a human being: honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, purity, generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve your fellow men – qualities within the reach of every soul – are the foundation of one’s spiritual life “
Nov 2013 Developing mindfulness meditation can help you become more aware of subtle levels of communication that are going on. Here is an example of some people who have the ability to communicate with animals in a way most people do not, through tuning in to a different level of awareness. This film ‘The Animal Communicator” highlights some modern Westerners who have learned this ability as well as people from traditional communities that have lived close to nature for generations. Interesting to consider– stretch your idea of what is possible. Buddhist teaching is that we should respect life and avoid harming all forms of life, including animals.
Oct 2013 This past month I taught a workshop on Mindfulness & Innovation at Spirit Rock, the first of its kind. I have been interested in the process of innovation (in design, service, and society) and how we can engage in positive creative change through developing the mind to support each stage of this process. More on this later!
Sept 2013 This summer I have had the honor of attending three weddings— none of which would have been legally recognized last year as they were all same-sex couples. Each celebration was unique, beautiful, and reflected the special attributes of each couple. Love comes in so many ways, and it was a joy to be part of these special days. Here’s to continuing to remove the obstacles to recognizing love, in ourselves and in our societies.
Aug 2013 I was teaching a retreat this year where someone asked me at the end whether I had any transcripts of dharma talks available online. I said no, but there are plenty of recordings on this website, dharmaseed.org and audiodharma.org. She told me that she could not access them because she is deaf, which made me realize that she had been lipreading the entire retreat in the front row! This summer, another person told me (completely independent of this event) that she wanted to transcribe some of my dharma talks, so started to do so. I will post them on on this website very soon. Thanks to both of you for bringing my attention to this and for doing the work to make the teachings accessible to all.
In other news, there is a great deaf-owned and operated pizzeria in San Francisco, Mozzeria, on 16th St btwn Dolores and Guerrero St. for those of you in town. It’s a good experience for hearing people to enter a different world and see what that is like. And the pizza is good :).
July 2013 This past month has seen some major progress in the United States around civil rights for LGBTQ people, while at the same time the erosion of the Voting Rights Act is a cause for concern around civil rights of people of color. Dharma practice calls on us to see what is really true, and to step out of delusion. On the Voting Rights Act, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg writes in the dissent:”40 years has not been sufficient time to eliminate the vestiges of discrimination following nearly 100 years of racial discrimination” and ““Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet,” indicating that to believe racism is not still at work in politics in these places and that these policies are no longer needed is believing a delusion. (see p 16 & 17 of her dissent for examples). So the work continues.
Meanwhile on the Prop 8 case, dismissed on standing, Chief Justice John Roberts finds that the plaintiffs could cite “no particular or personal injury” that would happen to them if same-sex couples were allowed to marry. That is, their objections and society’s fears around this are a fiction. The decision thus remains with each individual state, but since 81% of 18-29 year olds think it is no big deal, it is only a matter of time before there is justice on gay civil rights (after a lot of hard work along the way, of course). Meanwhile same-sex marriage is still illegal in 37 states, and you can still be fired for being LGBTQ in 29 states, which is why we need the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), so this work also continues.
June 2013 I am teaching a series on the Eightfold Path this summer starting in July, so have been noticing inspiration for the different steps on the path. Here is an amazing video of a small girl embodying concentration and focus through her martial arts form. Heroes come in all sizes 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0Scs8v4qto
May 2013 I have been fortunate to teach this year with some of the foremost Western scholars of Buddhism, including Bhikkhu Bodhi, Ayya Tathaaloka, and most recently Ven Analayo Bhikkhu, through Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioners Program. Ven Analayo is a German Buddhist monk who spent most of his training in Sri Lanka and is currently a professor at University of Hamburg. His most well known book is Satipatthana, about the sutta that is the basis of most insight meditation/Vipassana practices. He has also written a lot of articles on Early Buddhism, many of which can be found here, related to his comparative study of Chinese versions of early Buddhist suttas compared to the Pali versions. It was great to get to learn with him.