Based upon the suggestion of a friend, I decided to do Tsam on Saturday. Tsam (or the Circle) is a Tibetan form of focus. It's really a meditation retreat but the retreat can be 3 yrs, 3 months, 1 month or even a day. I decided to try one day.
When I woke up I did my full sadhana and the Ganden Hlagyama (Thousand Angels), and The Source of All My Good. Next was yoga for an hour, then reading, and writing. After lunch I took a nap, woke up and cooked dinner for me and my mom, cleaned out my sister's room, threw away about 2 full garbage bags of paper, found my old study notecards from dharma classes, organized those, and then it was midnight. During the day I also looked after my Dad, helped my mom order lunch, and kept a low profile. No phone, no computer, no social media, no TV (outside of the TV yoga I did for an hour).
At midnight turned back on my phone and ordered grits, biscuits, and other supplies to make my Mother's Day Brunch. The delivery came at 6:30 AM.
Daily contemplation focused on The Self-Care Exchange:
https://www.mandaladharma.com/
Self-Care Exchange launches off from Master Shantideva's writings to relate the Bodhisattva way of living to others. There are several beautiful passages but this verse in particular had meaning....
"I must stop pain of others
because it's pain,
it's like the pain
that I feel myself,.
I must act to help all others
because they're like living beings
it's like the body I own.
I wrote out my interpretation of the verse as it applies to me. My goal was to write 20 ways. I ended up writing 24, refining them down to 22.
22 Ways of Looking at Master Shantideva's Self-Care
1. The hand of charity is an instrument used to feed others even though it is never hungry.
It takes responsibility and decides to put the stomach in its circle of care
because I have decided that the hand and stomach are connected.
If I had a child, I would expand my concern to include them in my circle of care.
My hands would take responsibility for their stomach...
and for my mother, and father...and friends...and some times co-workers.
The circle is malleable according to what and who my hands should feed.
My entire being is a vehicle for charity. How small do I want to make my circle?
2. Divine responsibility: The fingers roam over my body, cleaning, scrubbing, soothing, feed, holding. They are guided by the hands, the hands are guided by the arms, the arms by the mind, and the mind by intention, and intention by wisdom. The greater the wisdom the more territory the hands travel.
3. If pain can be transferred through pictures and words, why can't love?
4. A virus infiltrates, duplicates, and spreads. It does not discriminate. it has total equanimity and the power to go anywhere. If my love had the same equanimity then it could go anywhere. Infiltrate, duplicate, and spread kindness.
5. Meme is a thought virus. It is an idea reduced down to its universal essence to reach the most. If my kindness was reduced down to its essence then it travel like a funny cat video.
6. A radio frequency can be heard when we are tuned into the right channel. Often my love is like that radio frequency in that only a few people attuned perfectly can experience it. But if I set my kindness in different ways then it will cover a wider bandwidth. How many ways can I restate love? How many frequencies can I put out?
7. The first moment out of sleep is equanimity. For a split second I could be anywhere, anything, and anyone. The possibilities are endless when I wake up. I keep trying to return to that first wakefulness in all my kindness. Then there would be no limit.
8. Morning mist moves quiet and gentle over the lawn. It waters big and small things, old and new, all the creatures absorb it into themselves. And then it is gone with the sunrise. Deep kindness flows with the same gentle and quiet pattern. It covers big and small things. It seems to go away with the sunrise, but it's just rising up, condensing, and forming into rain clouds of blessings.
9. I dealt with insomnia for many years b/c my deeds made the mattress into a bed of icicles Tossing and turning in the night. And then I started treating other people's discomfort and the bed of ice melted. Then I could sleep on the floor covered in a blanket of kindness.
10. My Dad watches "Friends" and 'Seinfeld" which are the most viewed shows in the world. Every day, in every country, in every language, people tune in to see a group of people who like each other be 'friends.' These are shows that are only about living with other people and it helps so many with depression and loneliness...just to see people laughing with others, stumbling, and acting love. The act of being can help countless others. And if we can't be our highest self...act as if and many people will be inspired.
11. the immediate pain of working today is to benefit the 'the me of tomorrow.' I believe this so much that I celebrate the sweat, discomfort, and strain of today's workout. When I work for others I can celebrate the same discomfort and pain endured for 'the me' tomorrow. it's a higher form of exercise and self-care.
12. Found my baby clothes. My mom would buy them big and I would grow into them. She's buying them for the concept of a larger me down the road. Her love made her buy for my future. I think my love should be the same way: always a few sizes too big so others can fit into it.
13. My reputation is a shadow version out in the world. When someone insults 'this reputation' I defend it. I love it, cherish it, some times people die for this reputation even though it is separate person out there wandering. Imagine if I cherished real people as much as my reputation.
14. Trying to remove 'I's from sentences to clearly see 'us.'
15. One morning without breakfast and no chance to eat breakfast until the late afternoon. The thought of it made my stomach growl with hunger. But when I meditated on where the hunger was in my stomach, I couldn't find it and the grumbling went away. The same is true when I looked at my hands for greediness or my eyes when I searched for lust. There is no affliction in these things because they are just instruments of my own mind. The same is true of my loved ones, my enemies, and all the rest: they are just appendages of my mental seeds. So why do I look to them for answers?
16. Turning off the phone for 24 hrs and my mind races to gossip and distraction...a kind of mental wi-fi from the router in my mind. The noise is as loud and clear as when my phone is on...which makes me wonder if it was ever the phone that was really distracting me? The pain, dullness, and agitation are provided from my mind of afflictions...so why look for others to correct it? The best way is to change my own router.
17. Wi-fi of "The Wish" can tap into a strong network. Subjectively there is so much supporting material for kindness and compassion. But ultimately these subjective things come from the main source.
18. Clearing out my closet last night of all the things I saved and thought they would mean something to me in the future. Despite my past passion most of the objects still fall into 3 categories now: things I still care about, things I dislike, and things I am indifferent to at this time. The love for most of the object is no longer there. I threw away over 2/3rds of the saved possessions. I will now restore 1/3 of the items and look at them a few years from now where the pattern will repeat itself: I will throw away 2/3rds because they don't mean anything to me now. I do that with people I cherish. But if I could reverse it and find joy in my enemies, then I too would be treasured.
19. About those objects kept, I saved them in a time capsule because I thought they would make me happy. I carried these objects around because I thought I would need them or enjoy them. I was being considerate of my future self. It makes me wonder what objects I can keep for others that I will never meet? The 3 Jewels can be kept to service countless others.
20. Pain is doubled when isolated and reduced when shared. My dad gets happier when he understand and alleviate his discomfort and we are happy. And we are planting seeds for alleviating our pain later on. In some ways, other people's pain is like a wishing jewel: it is the only thing that guarantee our future happiness. So I should take up other people's pain gladly...there is nothing lost and everything to be gained.
21. Pain is merely the absence of love and compassion. It points the way to where I need to focus. Therefore I should be glad to let pain point the way. It lets me know where to put my love.
22. I woke up this morning and cooked Mother's Day breakfast for my mom. I bought her flowers and a stuffed bear. This all started from someone having an idea to honor her mother. And it spread around the world to every single country. Just a meme, a love virus. The idea of honoring our mother has become an industry of cards, cakes, flowers, and millions of offerings. Our love can build economies, enrich everyone, give hope, spread kindness, and even become an international holiday. Just an idea of honoring our mothers and passing it along.
When I woke up I did my full sadhana and the Ganden Hlagyama (Thousand Angels), and The Source of All My Good. Next was yoga for an hour, then reading, and writing. After lunch I took a nap, woke up and cooked dinner for me and my mom, cleaned out my sister's room, threw away about 2 full garbage bags of paper, found my old study notecards from dharma classes, organized those, and then it was midnight. During the day I also looked after my Dad, helped my mom order lunch, and kept a low profile. No phone, no computer, no social media, no TV (outside of the TV yoga I did for an hour).
At midnight turned back on my phone and ordered grits, biscuits, and other supplies to make my Mother's Day Brunch. The delivery came at 6:30 AM.
Daily contemplation focused on The Self-Care Exchange:
Self-Care Exchange launches off from Master Shantideva's writings to relate the Bodhisattva way of living to others. There are several beautiful passages but this verse in particular had meaning....
"I must stop pain of others
because it's pain,
it's like the pain
that I feel myself,.
I must act to help all others
because they're like living beings
it's like the body I own.
I wrote out my interpretation of the verse as it applies to me. My goal was to write 20 ways. I ended up writing 24, refining them down to 22.
22 Ways of Looking at Master Shantideva's Self-Care
1. The hand of charity is an instrument used to feed others even though it is never hungry.
It takes responsibility and decides to put the stomach in its circle of care
because I have decided that the hand and stomach are connected.
If I had a child, I would expand my concern to include them in my circle of care.
My hands would take responsibility for their stomach...
and for my mother, and father...and friends...and some times co-workers.
The circle is malleable according to what and who my hands should feed.
My entire being is a vehicle for charity. How small do I want to make my circle?
2. Divine responsibility: The fingers roam over my body, cleaning, scrubbing, soothing, feed, holding. They are guided by the hands, the hands are guided by the arms, the arms by the mind, and the mind by intention, and intention by wisdom. The greater the wisdom the more territory the hands travel.
3. If pain can be transferred through pictures and words, why can't love?
4. A virus infiltrates, duplicates, and spreads. It does not discriminate. it has total equanimity and the power to go anywhere. If my love had the same equanimity then it could go anywhere. Infiltrate, duplicate, and spread kindness.
5. Meme is a thought virus. It is an idea reduced down to its universal essence to reach the most. If my kindness was reduced down to its essence then it travel like a funny cat video.
6. A radio frequency can be heard when we are tuned into the right channel. Often my love is like that radio frequency in that only a few people attuned perfectly can experience it. But if I set my kindness in different ways then it will cover a wider bandwidth. How many ways can I restate love? How many frequencies can I put out?
7. The first moment out of sleep is equanimity. For a split second I could be anywhere, anything, and anyone. The possibilities are endless when I wake up. I keep trying to return to that first wakefulness in all my kindness. Then there would be no limit.
8. Morning mist moves quiet and gentle over the lawn. It waters big and small things, old and new, all the creatures absorb it into themselves. And then it is gone with the sunrise. Deep kindness flows with the same gentle and quiet pattern. It covers big and small things. It seems to go away with the sunrise, but it's just rising up, condensing, and forming into rain clouds of blessings.
9. I dealt with insomnia for many years b/c my deeds made the mattress into a bed of icicles Tossing and turning in the night. And then I started treating other people's discomfort and the bed of ice melted. Then I could sleep on the floor covered in a blanket of kindness.
10. My Dad watches "Friends" and 'Seinfeld" which are the most viewed shows in the world. Every day, in every country, in every language, people tune in to see a group of people who like each other be 'friends.' These are shows that are only about living with other people and it helps so many with depression and loneliness...just to see people laughing with others, stumbling, and acting love. The act of being can help countless others. And if we can't be our highest self...act as if and many people will be inspired.
11. the immediate pain of working today is to benefit the 'the me of tomorrow.' I believe this so much that I celebrate the sweat, discomfort, and strain of today's workout. When I work for others I can celebrate the same discomfort and pain endured for 'the me' tomorrow. it's a higher form of exercise and self-care.
12. Found my baby clothes. My mom would buy them big and I would grow into them. She's buying them for the concept of a larger me down the road. Her love made her buy for my future. I think my love should be the same way: always a few sizes too big so others can fit into it.
13. My reputation is a shadow version out in the world. When someone insults 'this reputation' I defend it. I love it, cherish it, some times people die for this reputation even though it is separate person out there wandering. Imagine if I cherished real people as much as my reputation.
14. Trying to remove 'I's from sentences to clearly see 'us.'
15. One morning without breakfast and no chance to eat breakfast until the late afternoon. The thought of it made my stomach growl with hunger. But when I meditated on where the hunger was in my stomach, I couldn't find it and the grumbling went away. The same is true when I looked at my hands for greediness or my eyes when I searched for lust. There is no affliction in these things because they are just instruments of my own mind. The same is true of my loved ones, my enemies, and all the rest: they are just appendages of my mental seeds. So why do I look to them for answers?
16. Turning off the phone for 24 hrs and my mind races to gossip and distraction...a kind of mental wi-fi from the router in my mind. The noise is as loud and clear as when my phone is on...which makes me wonder if it was ever the phone that was really distracting me? The pain, dullness, and agitation are provided from my mind of afflictions...so why look for others to correct it? The best way is to change my own router.
17. Wi-fi of "The Wish" can tap into a strong network. Subjectively there is so much supporting material for kindness and compassion. But ultimately these subjective things come from the main source.
18. Clearing out my closet last night of all the things I saved and thought they would mean something to me in the future. Despite my past passion most of the objects still fall into 3 categories now: things I still care about, things I dislike, and things I am indifferent to at this time. The love for most of the object is no longer there. I threw away over 2/3rds of the saved possessions. I will now restore 1/3 of the items and look at them a few years from now where the pattern will repeat itself: I will throw away 2/3rds because they don't mean anything to me now. I do that with people I cherish. But if I could reverse it and find joy in my enemies, then I too would be treasured.
19. About those objects kept, I saved them in a time capsule because I thought they would make me happy. I carried these objects around because I thought I would need them or enjoy them. I was being considerate of my future self. It makes me wonder what objects I can keep for others that I will never meet? The 3 Jewels can be kept to service countless others.
20. Pain is doubled when isolated and reduced when shared. My dad gets happier when he understand and alleviate his discomfort and we are happy. And we are planting seeds for alleviating our pain later on. In some ways, other people's pain is like a wishing jewel: it is the only thing that guarantee our future happiness. So I should take up other people's pain gladly...there is nothing lost and everything to be gained.
21. Pain is merely the absence of love and compassion. It points the way to where I need to focus. Therefore I should be glad to let pain point the way. It lets me know where to put my love.
22. I woke up this morning and cooked Mother's Day breakfast for my mom. I bought her flowers and a stuffed bear. This all started from someone having an idea to honor her mother. And it spread around the world to every single country. Just a meme, a love virus. The idea of honoring our mother has become an industry of cards, cakes, flowers, and millions of offerings. Our love can build economies, enrich everyone, give hope, spread kindness, and even become an international holiday. Just an idea of honoring our mothers and passing it along.
1 comment:
Awesome bllog you have here
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