Category Archives: Teachings

Daily Life, Teachings

Of Moscow – With Love

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In recent years, a lot of surprisingly rich archival photo series has been published on Moscow and on Russia in general. This is only partly explained by the easier access to the archives and collections of the former Soviet Union. A rather more important reason is that the interest in the city and its history has been livened up in a previously unimaginable way both at home and abroad, which created a wide public for this kind of photos.

From Poemas del río Wang blog. Moscow 1900-1960

This post is for Iain late of Little House In The Paddy blog – and so much more… Do take a look at the photos at the end of the blog sited above.

Viewing these black and white photographs this evening brings up a mix of emotion and sentiment. Excitement and mystery and rigor, honor and pathos. And an odd sense of the tragic too. All these thoughts could be attached to the way I have been thinking about goodly Iain as his sudden passing becomes less raw.

There are people who touch our lives
and there are people touched by ours.

Just sometimes these two people meet
and most often they don’t realize….

Until later.

Goodness! And there are these The Lithuanian School, photographs. They rival the big names in black and white documentary photography….

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Out and About, Teachings

Dedication Of Spiritual Merit

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Two monks from Shasta Abbey went to the Sakyadhita International Conference on Buddhist Women in Bangkok, Thailand in June. What stories they had to tell on their return. Their particular contribution to the conference was around the singing/chanting of scriptures in English. They did a brilliant job. Here you can see them singing the Scripture of Great Wisdom at the begging of the Conference. You see them about three minutes into the video.

And even better! Here are the two monks singing the Dedication of Merit at the close of the conference.


This is one of my favorite invocations. Sing along why not. Found on the Shasta Abbey website. Well done Rev. H – you have missed nothing out!

Another full day which included a two hour nap starting around 11.00 am! The mind and body can only take so much of this intense planning and organizing. This morning we mailed a parcel of clothes to the Funeral Home for Iain to be dressed in. Details, details, so many details to be taken care of.

I know very many of Iain’s friends and and on-line acquaintances are offering their best wishes and thoughts to his wife and family, and me. I mentioned to Iain when we last spoke on the telephone that spiritual merit was being sent and he said he knew that. Yes, he did know that. Deeply.

What on earth am I going to do without him watching over my posts and sending me emails when I made spelling blunders. Or worse, my language use slipped beyond his tolerance level. He loved language, among other things.

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Teachings

Move Like The Wind

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“Sit like a mountain
Stand like a pine tree
Lay down like a bow
Walk like the wind”

Walking tonight in
still evening air
What bliss!
What good fortune!

The Four Postures, sitting, standing, walking and laying down are most often talked about in Buddhism in terms of meditation practice. As deeply significant as formal seated Zazen is (as well as paying attention when standing, walking and laying down), we need not limit ourselves. There is after all also bending, twisting, standing up and sitting down, turning and all the other complex movements we can sit still within….right? And move like the wind.

Thanks for the quote K.

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Photo/Poem Series, Teachings

Shunning

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Outwitted
He drew a circle that shut me out—
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But Love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle that took him in!
—Edwin Markham

Hum…and it seems that Edwin Markham was born not a hundred miles away from where I am right now in Portland. Oregon City to be exact. Anyway I was introduced to this poem this evening and it seemed a good one to publish here.

Abandonment is a big one for very many people. Step out of line in school for example and one can carry the shunning with you all your life. I did something at school which I felt I could not own up to. That was until the whole class was told we couldn’t go out to play until the person who had printed their initial in several places on the walls of the school, owned up! Nobody thought to point out that it was obvious who had done it! Anyway, what a relief to own up and we all went out to play. But it was a close thing in the class mate shunning department. Others may actually suffer the shunning and that can be hard, very hard, to overcome. Especially so when one is held up for public ridicule.

To draw a circle around and draw in those who have cast you out can be more than most can do, at a tender age. Later on in life the circle can be drawn and they can be embraced. Drawn in with compassionate acceptance.

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Teachings

Hammock Time

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photo.jpg

Hammock: A hanging bed of canvas or rope netting (usually suspended between two trees); swings easily.

Yep, I spent three wonderful hours this afternoon at Eugene Priory swinging easily suspended between two trees, napping and contemplating. Then this evening a meeting with the good people who make this small temple possible. It is one of the few purpose built temples in our Order and largely built by the lay congregation. In fact I can’t think of another temple with a similar history at the moment. It’s set in a small woodland right at the edge of the city limits, bounded by three roads, minor roads. Quite the wild life sanctuary too – deer, chicken, cats + dense vegetation.

This is really for those who concern themselves about my well being. The message is, I’m learning to pace myself and isn’t that about maintaining a balance in ones day?

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