Happy Losar?

Losar Tashi Delek -- we wish!
The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) will honor Losar by renewing efforts to work for peace and justice in Tibet. They send this Thank YOU note to those who support the cause and "for standing with people of Tibet at this time."

Losar The word Losar is derived from two words, “Lo” meaning “year” and “sar” meaning “new.” For centuries, Losar, Tibetan New Year has been a time of celebration, a time for families to come together and be thankful for their blessings, for religious faith to be honored in prayer and a time when neighbors and friends greet each other with “Losar Tashi Delek!” or (Best wishes for an auspicious New Year!”). But this year’s Losar is marked with sorrow, with repression in Tibet reaching new lows, so it will be observed as a time for quiet reflection and tribute to all those Tibetans who have sacrificed their freedom and even their lives in protest against Chinese policies in Tibet.

As the card says, and as I say to you, "We humbly wish for a Losar Tashi Delek, and best wishes for the Tibetan Water Dragon Year." May it please bring PEACE and resolution to Tibet which has surely suffered enough!! Namaste!

5 Years...

Today (Feb 12) marks five full years of not smoking. So I thought I deserved a little gift. Back to the future with this 1935, "model A", crinkle finish Royal portable. Remember my post of last July, Analog Underground? Well, I couldn't resist this beauty. It's practically perfect. An investment, as I see it.

I'll write more, later. For now I just wanted to post a pic of the Silky Baby (as Darlene at John's Mechanical Antique Repair Shop called her.) And, some of my pens, too. I must say, the computer keyboard is more efficient, but the Royal and the pens are more aesthetically pleasing -- to touch and view!

Just because I'm Buddhist, I don't have to renounce EVERYTHING, do I? sure hope not!

Crazy Wisdom

No doubt, Chogyam Trungpa was one crazy Rinpoche. For me, he is best known as Pema Chodron's teacher, and the reason she is the Director of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. But serious Dharma students know him for his prolific, amazing writing and for creating Shambhala for Westerners who found Vajrayana too esoteric.

I was primarily posting the link below, from Shambhala to my blog (rather than sending it to FB) because other than a handful of folks, I don't think the FB crowd really "gets" my incessant interest in Buddhism. I would really LOVE to get a small group of like-minded folks to either share and read our blogs (and of course, we can still use FB to share links, too) and create a Virtual Sangha. I was going to tweet this link to Zatheos, when he emailed in with his own thoughts about life in "the Cave." I don't think he'll mind my sharing this one line with my limited followers:

Most days I'm really ok with it--having no one in my life who really understands this thing I'm so invested in. But some days you just don't want to feel alone in the things that matter most to you. . . I wonder if there were days in that cave that Milarepa wished that Marpa was there.

The irony is I started posting this hours ago, in response to an email exchange Z and I were having about deity worship. When I finally came back to finish this and post it, he sent the cave comment. So, Zatheos, this is mostly for you!! The next time you feel isolated, PLEASE post a comment here and include a link to your Amazing blog!! Vajra fan Ryan would love it, I'm sure!!

Here's that Trunpa link Crazy Wisdom / Choiceless Transmutation

I do have a Pema "fan group" on FB that I moderate, so perhaps a few of them (VERY eclectic folks) would ride this wave length-- Crazy Cave folk ;) OR, the title of another Trungpa book "the Mishap Lineage." Really!!

Auspicious, indeed!

During the last week of my Vajrasattva Retreat, we studied Mahamudra. This is a "secret" teaching, and until recently remained one of the teachings that was very inaccessible. So, it certainly seemed more than coincidental when on the last day of the retreat, I learned that Lama Dudjom Dorjee from Dallas would be in Albuquerque to give Mahamudra teachings over that weekend (Friday - Sunday) at the KTC center which is only three miles from my house! That is auspicious enough. But, then at the initial public talk, I learned that he would be teaching the same translation used by Venerable Thrangu Rinpoche, who is the Abbot of Pema Chodron's Gampo Abbey, two of my "top teachers." Then, we had the special opportunity to have dinner with Lama Dorjee Saturday evening at the home of one of the Sangha members. That was even more amazing and during that time I received a very special transmission.

Our Kagyu lineage actually means "the whispered teachings" and places extreme importance on receiving oral transmissions. I have spent far more time reading than directly receiving the transmissions, but the times I've had these blessings and insights, I am reminded why it is so valuable. Proper guidance. Auspicious, indeed!

Meditation and Dharma

GREAT Post, Great site: Meditation Journal

Sometimes I write here, and sometimes I write in emptiness. Sometimes I write about meditation. Sometimes writing is meditation.

Exploring Inner Space

That's the topic for today's section in the Sadhana (retreat program), but I'm going to veer off a bit and then circle back.

At the long life ceremony for His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama (at the conclusion of the Kalachakra 2012 in Bodhgaya ) Westerners got a rare glimpse of a secretive aspect of Tibetan Buddhism. The Oracles (in trance!) can be seen in the sixth photo (of the previous link.) There are now THREE Oracles that HHDL consults during auspicious events such as the Kalachakra event. Until about a year ago, I don't think anyone in the general public had seen any of these Oracles in trance, and only serious scholars and advanced practitioners probably knew of them (please comment and correct me if I'm wrong on this.) HHDL decided to allow a documentary, which I will link to later, to be filmed in 2010. I think his decision might have been tied to the ongoing controversy over the Shugden spirit (a former Oracle that you might say has haunted HHDL.) That is also addressed in the documentary.

I have to say my mind was blown when I saw the Oracles appearing right there on Ustream last night. I didn't think that ceremony would be streamed to the general public. We must stop and realize that only with the advent of the internet are we privileged to even see the Dalai Lama on a screen in our home, much less conducting an advanced tantric rite. Not so many years ago seekers and Buddhists had to travel to India and literally climb the Himalayan mountains for a brief audience with him. Then HHDL began to travel and I felt so honored to see and hear him give a public talk here in Albuquerque in 1991. I watched all the live video sessions of the summer Kalachakra in Washington DC and marveled at the opportunity. But, to "broadcast" the previously never-before-seen Oracles "in trance" was a true spectacle! I thought the Nechung State Oracle was much older. (You can see how young he is in the clip below, out of trance.)

Given that HHDL allowed this documentary to be filmed and it was released in 2010, you too can marvel (or maybe recoil in horror) at this clip from "The Oracle - Reflections on Self."

If that's not exploring inner space, I don't know what is! Once again, this is nothing like the post I envisioned. I have written over 100 pages in various journals since the retreat began. I'll cull through it all and hopefully post more insights soon.