A door is only a door if it is open. Saying in India.
This post is by Gerald Virtbauer, a doctoral candidate at Vienna University and current resident at Upaya Zen Center near Santa Fe, NM.
Happiness and Buddhism have a tricky relationship. Many people consider the aim of Buddhist practice to be a neutral equanimity and calmness. Being happy [...]
the gates of happiness
(y)our greatest gift
Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disposition to go with others to the place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely, and broken. But this is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing [...]
monkey minds
By the time you read this, twelve of us will be sitting in a small sanctuary on Mayne Island for a long day of meditation. We’ll be sitting, walking, and standing–paying attention to our breath, thoughts, sensations, and feeling. Part of the day will be spent in “just being” outside, also work practice to help maintain [...]
half-hearted presence
The other day I offered to accompany two women to the van which would take the body of their father and grandfather to the funeral home. They looked distant and in shock as we stood waiting for the elevator to arrive. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t find the right words (as I usually do), [...]
whither suffering?
“It is often thought that the Buddha’s doctrine teaches us that suffering will disappear if one has meditated long enough, or if one sees everything differently. It is not that at all. Suffering isn’t going away, the one who suffers is going to go away.”
source: Ayya Khema. (2000). When the iron eagle flies. Boston: Wisdom [...]
be not afraid
On Tuesday (“holy ground”) I wrote about the intimacy of sitting with someone at the time of death; of looking closely at skin, veins, and bones, at hands and facial details, and of briefly feeling elated and unafraid. By a wonderful coincidence, I opened a book today in which the author recalls the experience of sitting with his dead [...]
permission to go overboard
“Will I ever conquer these fears?” I asked after an episode of reactivity when, during a staff meeting, I spoke unskillfully, only to realize later that the words had come from an old place of fear. Fear to be excluded and, more specifically, fear that my temporary job will end any day.
“I don’t know about conquer,” replied the voice of wisdom, “but [...]
holy ground
Over the last three days I’ve spent a fair amount of time at the bedside of an 83-year old women who is slowly dying. But until she’s dead, she’s alive. Such a simplistic thing to say, yet it catches the essence of hospice end-of-life care. Lying there, seemingly unresponsive in a sleep-like state, she continues to live [...]
day-long meditation retreat
The Mayne Island Zen Circle will host a silent meditation retreat this coming Sunday. We’ll alternate 25-minute periods of sitting, standing, and walking meditation. If the weather permits, we’ll take the practice outdoors for walking meditation and an hour of traditional work practice. Peter Renner will offer beginning instructions and occasional words of encouragement.
Details: Sunday, March 29, 7:30 [...]
safe drinking water “not a human right”
One of the three tenets of the Zen Peacemakers is to “bear witness.” For this reason I occasionally veer from this blog’s emphasis on end-of-life care and related spiritual topic.
The CBC reports that an international conference ended today in Istanbul with a statement that recognizes access to safe drinking water as a “basic human [...]
our sunday poem (by rumi)
Stop the words now.
Open the window in the center of your chest,
and let spirits fly in and out.
image: www.inner-circle.be
ich und du
This follows yesterday’s post on “consoling” and a comment by fellow-blogger Leslie about the forces at work when we try to “fix” another person’s discomfort. My sense is that such acts are driven by the desire to alleviate suffering and that they express our compassionate nature [com-passion, to suffer with]. Explored more deeply, they may also serve as gateway [...]
resist consoling
A few of us walked the body down the elevator, along the long hallways, and out to the van waiting to drive to the funeral home. Once the gurney was loaded and the car doors closed, we just stood there, very still, watching the car slowly pulled away, like a ship leaving its moorings. The man [...]
grief workshop in victoria bc
Transitions: Your Journey through Grief and Loss – March 27-29, 2009
.
This weekend retreat will give you the time and tools to work through your grief in a peaceful space with support from others who are on this same journey. You can take part whether you are currently grieving, or experienced a loss some time ago [...]
the indignity of addiction
By common definition, hospices provide medical, psychological, and spiritual support to terminally ill patients and their loved ones. Such care stresses quality of life—peace, comfort, and dignity. The principal aim is to control pain and other symptoms so the patient can remain as alert and comfortable as possible.
Now take a situation where a person comes into [...]
