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Archive for March 15, 2012

Dharma Quote from Snow Lion Publications

Snow Lion Publications

Dharma Quote of the Week

In the Mahayana, there exist the vows of the Bodhisattva…but in Dzogchen, there exist no such rules or vows.

When the Indian Buddhist master Atisa came to Tibet in the eleventh century, he met the famous Tibetan translator Rinchen Zangpo. Atisa asked him how he practiced the Tantras which he had translated, and he replied that he practiced them meticulously one after the other. But Atisa told him that this was not the correct way. He pointed out to the translator that all of the Tantras could be condensed and integrated into a single Upadesa and one need only practise that in order to maintain all of the transmissions which he had received.

The same is true with Dzogchen. If we really understand this single teaching here which comes directly from Guru Padmasambhava, we can attain liberation. But we must grasp this vital core of the teaching. No matter what we are doing, which ever among the four modes of behavior–walking, sitting, lying down, or eating, we must always hold to awareness, never forgetting, never losing this awareness. This is the real meaning of Rigdzin, one who is totally aware. In Dzogchen, there is only one rule–always be aware in whatever we do, never be distracted!(p.68)

–from Self-Liberation through Seeing with Naked Awareness by translation and commentary by John Myrdhin Reynolds, foreword by Namkhai Norbu, published by Snow Lion Publications

Self-Liberation • Now at 5O% off!
(Good until March 23rd).

Kindness Daily: The Veteran Who Just Wanted To Be Seen

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The Veteran Who Just Wanted To Be Seen March 15, 2012 – Posted by marc
This happened about four or five years ago. I had been involved in "Non Violent Communication" for a couple of years. I was struggling as I still do with finding a natural and seamless way of connecting with people through compassion and empathy in everyday encounters; trying not to assume I know what someone needs but being willing to ask.

Walking through the lobby of an office building in San Francisco I could hear a man screaming and shouting obscenities. He was so loud his voice penetrated the sounds of mid-day traffic and the double glass doors leading to the street.

Heading through those doors I saw a double amputee hunched over on one of those little rolling platforms auto mechanics sometimes use to scoot under cars. He was gesturing erratically at pedestrians as they approached and yelling profanities as they veered as far away from him as they could get while still staying on the sidewalk.

“I fought in Nam!" he yelled. "I lost my legs In Nam! Why can’t you help me?”

Trying to avoid him I hugged the building and tried to melt into the crowd, hoping he wouldn’t notice me. I don’t know if his volume actually rose or it was just my imagination but his words surrounded me. With every step they seemed louder.

"I lost my legs In Nam! Why can’t you help me?” he roared (with added expletives!)

Two more steps and I’d be at the corner and out of range. Then something shifted in me and, to my surprise. instead of making my escape I stopped, turned and walked back towards him. Crouching down I put a few bucks in his cup and asked him if he just wanted someone to stop and listen to him.

"Don’t you think I at least deserve that?" he shouted. "I went to Nam!" There was a pause as he caught his breath. "I was a kid. I came home with no legs! And they won’t even look me in the eye!" He paused again as he struggled to get the words out. "… I did it for them …"

Looking into his gnarled, dirt-stained, unshaven face I guessed he was just a few years younger than me. I imagined our shared experiences as black youngsters growing up in the fifties and sixties. Had he, like me, shivered with fear when Emmet Till was killed in Mississippi? Was he also anxious when Ruby Bridges was escorted into that schoolhouse in New Orleans. Had he cried when John Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Robert Kennedy were assassinated?

I was also aware of our differences highlighted by his ragged clothes and his paper cup for spare change.

I asked if he just wanted to be seen and heard after all he had come through. His voice dropped and he nodded and whispered, “Yes … yes."

With a calm steady gaze he looked me in the eyes as tears spilled over his wizened cheeks. He clasped my hands in his.

Spare change would help but simply being seen and heard can be what some of us long for most of all.

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Quote of the Week | The Rope of Mindfulness

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Learn More | Books and Audio | The Pema Chödrön Foundation
March 15, 2012

THE ROPE OF MINDFULNESS

Cultivating mind’s inherent capacity to stay put is called mindfulness training. Mindfulness is like the rope that keeps the wild elephant from destroying everything in sight. The rope of mindfulness bring us back to our immediate experience: to our breath, to our walking, to the book in our hands.

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No Time to Lose: A Timely Guide to the Way of the Bodhisattva, page 105

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Teachings by Pema Chödrön, from works published by Shambhala Publications. Photo by ©Andrea Roth.

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9 year old Autistic Social Entrepreneur

Begin doing what you want to do now. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand, and melting like a snowflake. — Marie Ray

~~~~
Good News of the Day:
Kent Melville’s father was skeptical when his son first said that he wanted to use the profits from his successful summer lemonade stand to start his own soda company. Aaron Melville, who teaches business classes at a local college, did not believe his 9-year-old autistic son was ready to run his own business. He told Kent to wait until he was older. His son’s response brought tears to his eyes and change to his heart: “Dad, I have everything I need right now, but there are lots of other kids with autism that can’t do the things they want or need. I want to be able to help them get some of the things they want with the money we earn. Can’t we start now? I don’t want to wait.”
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~~~~
Be The Change:
Take a small step today towards a dream you’ve long harbored.

**Share A Reflection**
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