tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38591499731852592542024-02-20T00:38:16.860-05:00Sacred SojournsCrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.comBlogger60125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-9686024427865045222013-05-23T12:09:00.002-04:002013-05-23T12:09:31.991-04:00Preparing to Work in a National ParkWith less than one week left before I head to Bryce Canyon National Park for my seasonal job in the gift shop, I am busy making final preparations.<br />
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Living in a company dorm is always a challenge. You sure learn how to downsize when it's the only "home" you have! For me, this time this has meant getting rid of absolutely everything I cannot carry with me in two suitcases plus one carry on.<br />
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Trust me. Releasing material possessions is <b><i>hard</i></b>. Up until the past few weeks, I had always considered myself a pro at not owning "things".<br />
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This week, I had to throw away several years' worth of handwritten journals and fiction manuscripts. I had to toss printed photographs from my time in Florida. I've had to give away all my books, and my souvenirs from my travels abroad.<br />
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I keep telling myself, this is all for the best. One day I will be glad I did it. I have challenged myself to consider this a spiritual process.<br />
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I am also writing about about letting go of your worldly goods which I will publish on Amazon later this year!<br />
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Now, the uniforms are bought. Some parks provide uniforms or have a very casual dress code. Forever Resorts has a much more strict, formal (and expensive) uniform policy for employees. So far I have spent over $200 getting everything together, and am still not completely finished.<br />
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The plane ticket is paid for. I have booked my hotel in the city where my job's HR staff will come to pick me up.<br />
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I remind myself of all the positive aspects of this upcoming adventure. I am looking forward to being in nature, again. To long hikes in stunning landscapes on my off days. I am looking forward to meeting new coworkers from around the world.<br />
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Most of all, I am looking forward to at least of few months' worth of financial security!<br />
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I still have no idea where I will go at the end of this season. Sometimes I think I want to return to explore more of India. Maybe I will finally attempt to make a life in Europe, finances permitting.<br />
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Part of me wants nothing more than to find whatever it means to have a "home". To have a place to call my own, where I can sit in the garden with one (or three) good cats and drink tea.<br />
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I have bounced back and forth between 7 US states and various other countries over the past two decades. I will always love travel and exploring new places. But I also want a place to rest.<br />
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On a positive note, let me leave you with a few national park images I've taken over my previous seasonal jobs!<br />
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From Rocky Mountain National Park, where I worked in the Gift Shop.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTlGmy2ngKfgP4fe2gJ1s_MviUg44iMiXjwflt7IczGQjO4S2gGcRUW3Lu32XqAZR5CIt1h3n2XhK1ucvyqghn8wyAR1rWMvX69LpYHiiO8E8pSVeD3B2HNbAg6JWCVFyefGDIGorBlE/s1600/wildflowers+on+Mountt+Ida+Colorado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlTlGmy2ngKfgP4fe2gJ1s_MviUg44iMiXjwflt7IczGQjO4S2gGcRUW3Lu32XqAZR5CIt1h3n2XhK1ucvyqghn8wyAR1rWMvX69LpYHiiO8E8pSVeD3B2HNbAg6JWCVFyefGDIGorBlE/s640/wildflowers+on+Mountt+Ida+Colorado.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wildflowers Along Mount Ida Trail in RMNP</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtnK9BQks40UZzAPyi_qh56sj_N5XwxNoHIsiQyXyvhE7QpapUS4IqNFnRf7Ko4f3PB4LRuF-CAZ8WJFOhDKznJfvdI_cw1LJpMNK7Y3Gya73Nr-2zJiPv1gF2jk8aPqf74BjRSzyVq8/s1600/Golden+Marmot+along+hiking+trail+Colorado+Rockies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="468" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtnK9BQks40UZzAPyi_qh56sj_N5XwxNoHIsiQyXyvhE7QpapUS4IqNFnRf7Ko4f3PB4LRuF-CAZ8WJFOhDKznJfvdI_cw1LJpMNK7Y3Gya73Nr-2zJiPv1gF2jk8aPqf74BjRSzyVq8/s640/Golden+Marmot+along+hiking+trail+Colorado+Rockies.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Golden Marmot on Mount Ida in Colorado's RMNP</td></tr>
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From Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming...<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijkGtTlVWf1u7mTGEOQZpejqxugvBsFKGz4KNLj406HktTf1alkY1-nDurtJtUpgtCLQam6txR7vYOHZ7XYBKESWJPLP08IF02UKsenEr3StAbuc1GQgvjh0ZqKUjSQ3uJj1-5jDgWNA/s1600/Jenny+Lake,+Grand+Teton+NP,Mount+Moran,+Wyoming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijkGtTlVWf1u7mTGEOQZpejqxugvBsFKGz4KNLj406HktTf1alkY1-nDurtJtUpgtCLQam6txR7vYOHZ7XYBKESWJPLP08IF02UKsenEr3StAbuc1GQgvjh0ZqKUjSQ3uJj1-5jDgWNA/s640/Jenny+Lake,+Grand+Teton+NP,Mount+Moran,+Wyoming.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jenny Lake, with Mount Moran in the Background</td></tr>
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And last but not least, America's "favorite" park, a scene from Mt. Rushmore National Monument!<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdHlclIBlisZOA7suPiEM71-NQBNASejYMtSnT7238RXuaFcVzDMH2O966LjWpuAiUil9Gu_tdlPDQJs4GZ3faxFxb6BXnPOxymrcb6o_SRmBPVt-Gqak9Xe2X384AWdZRm642-gsJ0Y/s1600/Mt+Rushmore+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbdHlclIBlisZOA7suPiEM71-NQBNASejYMtSnT7238RXuaFcVzDMH2O966LjWpuAiUil9Gu_tdlPDQJs4GZ3faxFxb6BXnPOxymrcb6o_SRmBPVt-Gqak9Xe2X384AWdZRm642-gsJ0Y/s640/Mt+Rushmore+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Washington and Abe Lincoln on Mt Rushmore</td></tr>
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Leave me a comment if you can relate to my adventures. Leave me a comment if you have ever worked in a national park! Or just leave me a comment if you have a particular topic you'd like me to cover related to this experience.<br />
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Thanks for coming along with me on this journey! Please share the post with all your friends!<br />
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<br />CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-30448208494863754132013-05-19T12:05:00.000-04:002013-05-19T12:34:09.884-04:00When I Went to Work in the National Parks<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em;"><tbody>
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In 2007, out of work and floundering for something that would both interest and support me financially, I discovered the<a href="http://www.coolworks.com/"> Coolworks</a> website, which lists a wide range of seasonal hospitality jobs.</div>
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Every year National Parks, ranches, resorts and wilderness lodges (just to name a few) hire thousands of employees from around the world to staff their facilities. Jobs range from housekeeping and kitchen workers, to gift shop and front desk staff, to the more "exotic" roles of ranch hands and trail riding guides! Employment terms start at a minimum commitment of 90 days. Occasionally you may find a full time permanent position. </div>
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I sent out several applications. My first choice was retail staff at Grand Canyon National Park (South Rim). I don't recall how long passed before I received an offer from a fishing lodge in Alaska. I think I waited about another week, and when no word came from Arizona, I accepted the job on the Kenai Peninsula.</div>
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Of course, since the Universe has a sense of humor, I had no sooner sent my non-refundable $100 room deposit to Alaska than I was offered the position at the Canyon! After a few days of weighing options, I decided my heart really wanted to be in the southwest, cancelled my gig in Alaska, and made preparations for Arizona.</div>
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I arrived on the property, which is maintained by contract with Xanterra South Rim LLC, in March 2007. My assignment was retail staff at Hermit's Rest Lodge, a smaller historic property at the far western side of the popular Rim Road.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlY2CKkhdJ6GGkBotUyBgKkO5jQ2xubih2fYMwxk6mfaY02NlqyHXirID8JwiyHVbP74Eqsu6XAivq7LW9HTVmUHzlFiEEAdrdtlYNjPS7nxaCyhrEEwym5IADfTQT3n0OxxXC-utGORA/s1600/IMG_0423.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlY2CKkhdJ6GGkBotUyBgKkO5jQ2xubih2fYMwxk6mfaY02NlqyHXirID8JwiyHVbP74Eqsu6XAivq7LW9HTVmUHzlFiEEAdrdtlYNjPS7nxaCyhrEEwym5IADfTQT3n0OxxXC-utGORA/s640/IMG_0423.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Porch Area of Hermits Rest Snack Bar and Gift Shop in Winter<br />
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Working at Grand Canyon changed my life. It gave me a lot of opportunity to practice my passion for photography (all images on this page are my own). It also introduced me to hiking and fueled my interest in ancient history and geology.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfanQDe41_RphDei0j1I_tuBeM6dBMKvHVCopBy_JOzLE5AzQuNKehkondilmWptmTBRfTD0tGOJAkrtEicu0HzwUyo2477EnxJn24NowLzPXI9X7Z1zakbGYeKZuT54U5YBMHkW0jxo8/s1600/hopi+house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfanQDe41_RphDei0j1I_tuBeM6dBMKvHVCopBy_JOzLE5AzQuNKehkondilmWptmTBRfTD0tGOJAkrtEicu0HzwUyo2477EnxJn24NowLzPXI9X7Z1zakbGYeKZuT54U5YBMHkW0jxo8/s640/hopi+house.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Exterior of Historic Hopi House at Grand Canyon</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Some of the difficulties for me were:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">* being 75 miles from the nearest city, Flagstaff (maybe going once a month for shopping necessities not provided at the village's general store)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">* cell phone coverage was slim, and even when available, calls dropped frequently</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">* long work hours (sometimes up to 60 hrs a week)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">Other lessons included:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">* living in close proximity to a lot of different personalities from diverse cultures and backgrounds, which was both fascinating and frustrating.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">* helping customers from all corners of the earth</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">* trying to help educate the public regarding proper ways to interact with and care for the environment and wildlife (I'll talk much more bluntly, ie less politely, about some of those experiences in a future post!)</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">I have since worked at three other western US national parks (not including the upcoming job), but the South Rim will always be a special memory for me.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 21px;">If you want to work for Xanterra at the Grand Canyon, or any of their other locations, you can check current openings and apply online at: <a href="http://jobs.xanterra.com/recruit/servlet/com.lawson.ijob.QuickCandidate?vendor=223">Xanterra Jobs</a></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVN_izxMiHuJk5HiZdCuGr7uZJEcq1u6UjVHthRCzWYYDo3080rWPgGf11_CakIqJLQpMcZ6pVrkaWGBHOTeUICVSPPXLBBeMcdBQgkTgeOpEN2o4p5ewP_XFAvhsNrtqZuvg4GsbiV0/s1600/GC+sunset2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: black; clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVN_izxMiHuJk5HiZdCuGr7uZJEcq1u6UjVHthRCzWYYDo3080rWPgGf11_CakIqJLQpMcZ6pVrkaWGBHOTeUICVSPPXLBBeMcdBQgkTgeOpEN2o4p5ewP_XFAvhsNrtqZuvg4GsbiV0/s640/GC+sunset2.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white;">Colorful Canyon Sunset Viewed from Yavapai Point</span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #454545; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></span>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-80869431417968763932013-05-18T13:22:00.001-04:002013-05-18T13:46:46.800-04:00The Sojourn ContinuesHere we are again, friends. The edge of another journey.<br />
I am not heading off to India this time. But my travels and vagabonding seem destined to continue at least for the foreseeable future, so I might as well share the journey.<br />
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On May 29th I will be flying from Denver, where I have only been since the start of April, to work at the gift shop at The Lodge at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.<br />
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This is not my first national park hospitality job. In fact from 2007-2009, most of my jobs were exactly that. Seasonal work in the great national parks of the American west and southwest.<br />
This time I will be working for a company that I have no experience with: Forever Resorts.<br />
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Many people have asked what working in the parks is like. I can tell you it sure isn't like any other job! There are unique challenges, and sometimes amazing rewards.<br />
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In the upcoming posts you will learn who my coworkers at Bryce are, where they are from and why they came to work there. You will discover what it's like to live in a college dorm room environment when you are well past college age. You will hear me talk about the trials and tribulations of dealing with tourists who give a whole new meaning to being on vacation!<br />
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It might be offensive to some. I will not be nice. But I WILL be real, honest, and hopefully entertaining.<br />
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In my next post, I'll tell you a bit about how I first entered this line of work, and what recent events have led me to go back to it.<br />
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Come with me on this rare glimpse into the world of a seasonal hospitality industry employee!<br />
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<br />CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-75604017760852822672011-12-07T17:49:00.004-05:002011-12-07T18:00:12.092-05:00Pashupatinath Temple Burning Ghats Photography Books<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As promised in <a href="http://sacredsojourns.blogspot.com/2011/11/months-since-i-last-updated-this-blog.html">my last post</a>, I am very pleased to share my first travel photography book, which is now available via blurb!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2707805">Pashupatinath Temple Burning Ghats</a> is a celebration of Impermanence, a core concept in Hinduism and Buddhism. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWh1N5Chir8ynyx3utFEdYzsVxOd5MmfXRqhQwbxyPqQwLmJK8fknOAIclMw7Rs_w7jp_w1PwVGOSYkCUHGG5_l_RbWcQHcgJ4tYsX68yyc8V-AgHWUTiq4vGPYjAFLYdoN84UMj7OPI/s1600/blurb+cover.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWh1N5Chir8ynyx3utFEdYzsVxOd5MmfXRqhQwbxyPqQwLmJK8fknOAIclMw7Rs_w7jp_w1PwVGOSYkCUHGG5_l_RbWcQHcgJ4tYsX68yyc8V-AgHWUTiq4vGPYjAFLYdoN84UMj7OPI/s400/blurb+cover.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pashupatinath Detail Page at blurb bookstore </td></tr>
</tbody></table><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Shot from a distance so as not to intrude on anyone's privacy, this 32 page photo essay chronicles a Hindu funeral ritual from a perspective of reverence.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(All images copyright 2011 by Tammy Winand)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The book has minimal text, in the form of photo captions, which seek to explain scenes many viewers may not be familiar with. I sincerely hope that, as well as being visually engaging, it will be a learning experience for all who view it.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> ~~~~~~~</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I continue to work hard every day to incorporate the teachings of Buddhism into my everyday life, becoming more and more open to being in the moment and accepting life's challenges.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many fellow dharma students have told me that my practice is patience. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Transformation via dharma practice can be excruciatingly slow. Realizations come and go. You may feel "enlightened" and "get it" one day but soon realize that with every new major challenge you need the same help and lessons that brought you there.</span><br />
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</span></div>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-33933055797761434072011-11-30T20:27:00.003-05:002011-11-30T21:20:15.703-05:00Impermanence and Suffering<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The months since I last updated this blog have been filled with unexpected challenges that have tested every aspect of my spiritual and emotional growth. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nagging illness of varying degrees of severity, emotional abuse and failed relationships, accidents which could have been life threatening had things gone just slightly differently. The move from Boudha back to McleodGanj. The move from McleodGanj back to the USA.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Impermanence. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Samsara.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Suffering.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Learning that you are viewed as an object to be used by those you have devoted so much time and energy to. Learning that even a Buddhist monastic can act completely opposite than the Buddhist precepts dictate, causing deep harm.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Painful stuff.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Often working in a blur, not even sure what you are doing, just killing time. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Every day fading into the next, and never feeling sure you are going to get through to see another one. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">One day it becomes clear that you are, in fact, still alive, and that</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> progress has somehow been made, in invisible moments.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Somehow the seemingly random bits and pieces have fallen into some kind of pattern. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Healing has happened, even if only in small amounts. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">New projects have begun, and some have even been completed.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It often feels like I will never be exactly where I want to be. I often feel hopeless, too far behind in "work" to ever catch up. There are some paths which I thought would lead me home that now seem to have been dead ends. These days I don't even know where that longed-for "home" might be.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Still, I am continuing the journey, trying to "allow" surprises to appear.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In my next post, I will share one of those "surprises", a photography book from one amazing afternoon on the outskirts of Kathmandu.</span><br />
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</span>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-75113430584503011362011-04-21T00:41:00.000-04:002011-04-21T00:41:10.250-04:00What Am I Doing Here?<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have been in Kathmandu for just over three weeks. Today I found myself shaking my head at the strange blend of similarities and differences between life here and in the USA, and also comparing it to my life in India.... </span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">I am not exactly feeling "homesick", although there are a variety of things I wish were part of life here. One source said I am experiencing one of the phases of "culture shock", where you realize that, even if you become accustomed to a place and learn a little (or a lot) of the local language, you will never really understand the local way of thinking.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">As I write this, it is nearly noon, and I am under an awning in Nir's Toast Restaurant and Bakery's garden. A thunderstorm is getting into full swing. It's very refreshing, but, frankly, I'm not feeling very well. I rarely ever feel well these days. I'm plagued by headaches, achy joints and muscles, fatigue.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">I find myself pondering, yet again, what I am doing here. By “here”, I mean on the other side of the world from where I was born and raised. Am I simply killing time? What do I want from this experience? I honestly do not know the answers.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">What I know is that I am no longer satisfied with my work as a human rights activist and Tibet supporter, at least in the form that I have been doing it over the past half year. I feel used, drained. I am not sure I want to continue studying the language or even dharma. Both pursuits have brough more stress, less pleasure.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">I feel like I need a long break.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">The western woman with her back to me at the next table lights a cigarette after finishing her beer, and sun reappears. She's left her order of french fries virtually untouched. I leave my last bite of buff thenthuk as an offering to the hungry ghosts.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Blue and yellow prayer flag banners at the Kagyu monastery next door snap in the wind. No ceremonial music emerging, today. Only the “buzz” (more accurately a loud incessant grinding) of the generator during one of the daily scheduled power outages famous in Kathmandu.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: small;">Maybe there aren't even supposed to be any answers, though that thought makes me very uncomfortable.</span></div>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-22966681015684273912011-04-15T04:08:00.001-04:002011-04-15T04:10:52.415-04:00Renewing my Commitment to this Blog<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Once again, I have let life, or perhaps just laziness, get in the way of this blog. Somehow another 5 months have slipped by since my last post.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You'd think I had nothing to write about.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Despite my wide range of online pursuits, most of which are months behind what I'd like them to be, it's not as though I have no "free" time.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The truth is, I am plain unmotivated, as well as unorganized.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If only I could make a list of daily tasks and stick to it!</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">And, if only my internet connection cooperated at those times!</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My connection these days, while I am in Kathmandu Nepal, is much faster and more reliable than most wifi spots in McleodGanj. It has been working the past few days without much issue, but there are still many times when I log in and see that yellow exclamation point announcing "limited connection"...or worse, the RED X.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have recently asked some online friends to help me be more accountable for updates. There really is no excuse for letting things go for 5 months! I invite any and all of my readers to nudge me at my various social sites if they fail to see a new post at THIS page at least once a month (hehe, I'd like to say "once a week", but I don't want to scare myself!)</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meanwhile, my intent is to update <a href="http://everydayexile.blogspot.com/" linkindex="21">Everyday Exile Project</a> main blog at least twice weekly, and <a href="http://everydayexilephotojournalism.blogspot.com/" linkindex="22">Everyday Exile Photojournalism</a> once a week.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I welcome suggestions from readers on what they would like to see here. What kind of details interest you in a chronicle of a spiritual journey and travelogue?</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you read it here, will you still be interested in the "planned" book when it comes out?</span></div>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-50054086336397951102010-11-22T02:36:00.000-05:002010-11-22T02:36:53.258-05:00"Randoms"<span style="font-size: small;">A few years ago an online community forum I participated in had occasional posts called "randoms" in which people asked and responded to a set of random questions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">This post will be a series of random updates because I have no one particular topic I want to expound upon, yet I feel there is much to be shared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">*Regarding daily schedule: First, let me say, all things considered, life is good. I have not been sick this trip beyond a few minor inconveniences. Despite some discouraging events early on, nothing bad has happened. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Life has taken on somewhat of a routine. </span>I get up between 6-8am most days, enjoy a nice hot shower, dress and have tea and sometimes breakfast on the patio or (more recently, since a room change) on my private balcony, overlooking the Dhauladhar range of the Himalayas. Usually I leave the room by 9:30 and go either up into town to buy fruit or down and around the kora with a stream of local Tibetan exiles. By 10 at the latest I am usually seated in One Two Cafe having sweet milk tea and checking emails and facebook. By noon I have usually moved to another local restaurant which tends to have faster more reliable internet where I can actually upload pics and work on my online shops. I often have lunch there as well. Before 4pm I have usually finished and tend to drift around town depending on which friends have called or dropped by. Sometimes I go out for dinner, others I snack or cook back at my room. 3-5 days of the week, I tutor a Tibetan friend in conversational English from 6-7:30 or so, and we usually have a really good time. Most nights I am in bed by 9:30pm at the very latest.<br />
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*Regarding "Practice": I have gone through a series of views on daily Buddhist practice. I set up a shrine in my room and make offerings and do prostrations, albeit somewhat erratically. I may go to kora 3 times a week, depending on weather and energy level. I try to go to the temple at least 3 days a week, as well. I have started reading 2 more books on Tibetan Buddhism, but as is often the case with me, I read when the mood strikes, not daily. I've decided not to beat myself up over this because it just doesn't work for me. I try to do at least one mala of Om Mani Padme Hum daily and sometimes also Green Tara and Medicine Buddha, and on occasion other mantras such as Vajrapani, or Vajrasattva, creep in there. A few of my Tibetan friends have told me it's not what I do as ritual but what actions I do that make the difference.<br />
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*Regarding weather: So far it has been mostly pleasant weather. Daytime highs are still in the low 60s Fahrenheit with overnight lows dipping to the low 50s. I haven't bought my heater yet and am still only, usually, wearing a single layer of pajamas and socks! (last year in the depth of winter I was in double and even triple layers!). We had 2 days of showers with heavy rain during the pre-dawn hours, and on the 2nd day the snow level dipped below Triund, but other than that it has been mostly sunny.<br />
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*Regarding "curriculum": I am friends with a fellow American who speaks &/or understands 5 Tibetan dialects and who has been teaching me the alphabet and some very useful phrases. I would say my Tibetan language usage has increased two-fold since beginning to hang out w/her. Still, I frequently flounder trying to make simple conversation, and it can be very discouraging.<br />
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*Regarding <a href="http://everydayexile.blogspot.com/" linkindex="21">Everyday Exile Project</a>, my initiative to increase awareness of Tibetan exile issues and main reason for being here: Things have been erratic. At times I gather many new pieces of information and hold impromptu interviews, at others I feel very discouraged at the lack of local interest on the part of people I have spoken to, and the difficulty of making progress. Things here are done differently. Emails and phone calls often produce little if any interest or result. You literally have to plant yourself in front of someone to get something done. I have, admittedly, not made a huge effort to get down to the government offices, mainly because I am not sure exactly what I want to say. My questions are diverse and rather unfocused. I need a lot of information on a wide range of topics and have no idea where to begin. Even finding out which person I need to contact has been complicated.<br />
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Those are the main things I wanted to cover for the moment. I feel things evolving, but am not sure I can clearly describe how. The best I can say is "stay tuned" for updates! I will try not to be so inconsistent in the weeks ahead!CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-71175171865846756992010-10-26T01:35:00.002-04:002010-10-26T01:35:29.425-04:00I Was Asked to Describe India...For those who asked, a bit of descriptive prose about my India experience, round two.<br />
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For anyone who has never been here, the best way I can describe India is “in your face”. It is radically different from western life in so many ways. Sights, sounds, and smells come at you full force, non-stop. By the time your mind has processed whatever oddity you have just seen, something else is zooming nearer.<br />
A rikshaw carrying 16 people.<br />
A Hindu temple lit with neon lights.<br />
Chai wallas and roadside vendors of every imaginable variety.<br />
A drunk falling down crossing six lanes of traffic, being helped to safety, and immediately getting up to do it again.<br />
Donkey carts and horses jostling with motorbikes, taxis and vividly decorated long haul trucks.<br />
A dead rat belly up in the middle of the sidewalk.<br />
Cows sleeping on the edges of a busy highway.<br />
Rubbish of all types strewn on the ground.<br />
Electrical wiring hanging in knotted bundles on the outside of buildings.<br />
Women in dirty ragged saris carrying babies beating on your car window at every stop.<br />
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India is a place you will either hate because of its unkempt nature, or a place you will learn to love because life thrives despite that nature. Some of my Indian friends have called it “organized chaos”. I don't know about “organized”, but there is a sort of system, once you come to recognize it. <br />
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There is a beauty here that defies explanation.<br />
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India is ALIVE with music, prayer, joking, arguing, singing and dancing. <br />
It took me more than 3 and a half months on my first visit to come to terms with the experience. By the time I left, a month after that, I had come to think of it as home.<br />
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Yes, I still find it difficult and exhausting more often than not. Many things still make me sad and angry, but nothing shocks me, anymore. I have come to expect the unexpected and to not judge what is.<br />
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So here I am on my second extended stay. I successfully navigated Mumbai and Delhi's Tibetan colony and am now back in my heart's home on a ridge of the Himalayan foothills, where the first snow of the season fell just two days ago above town and gleamed like a white beacon in the moonlight as the bus wound its way up the tight switchbacks in the wee hours of morning.<br />
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Daylight arrives, first bathing Moonpeak in golden light, then pouring into the valleys. Birds are screaming, dogs are barking, the sounds of people cooking and starting their day are all around.<br />
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Soon I will make a walk around town to see what has changed, what's the same, whether I encounter any familiar faces. <br />
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It is so good to be home.CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-40837180292410932032010-10-15T22:50:00.000-04:002010-10-15T22:50:30.039-04:00Feels Like it's Been YearsI arrived back in India not quite 36 hours ago. I'd only been gone seven and a half months, but it felt like it's been years. In many ways, it felt like coming home, like my life has been on hold for this.<br />
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Oh yes, there are still things that boggle my mind about the place. I can barely make my most basic needs known in Hindi. I haven't a clue about the rituals and meanings of Hindu festivals. I still shake my head at the vast differences between life here and in the States (and probably always will).<br />
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Jet lag does not seem to be as severe this time. The worst of it so far has been sleeping several hours in the afternoon, a headache in mid-evening, and waking this morning at 2:30am without being able to go back to sleep. Compared to my constant aches and nausea of my first week in country last year, I'm feeling fabulous.<br />
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Although I am not terrified of the strangers and strangeness of much of Mumbai this time, I still have no real desire to wander around the city. My budget is extremely limited. There are internet contacts I've made here who I'd love to visit, but even getting to their side of town from where I stay would cost more than my weekly budget allows.<br />
My greatest plan is to return to Leopold Cafe, possibly tomorrow, and hopefully meet a friend from McleodGanj there who is now studying in Mumbai.<br />
My time in Mumbai allows me to regain a feel for things and let my body adjust to being on the other side of the world.<br />
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I head for Delhi 5 days from now, staying in Majnu ka Tila Tibetan colony for a few days. It will be an entirely new experience.<br />
After that, I'll catch the overnight bus to my Himalayan home of McleodGanj. Things will be very different, this time. I have a new project, a new mission, a totally new agenda. I come armed with a lot more knowledge.<br />
I look forward to learning so much more about the culture, languages, history and way of life of the region. <br />
It will be interesting to see how things unfold this time, and where the journey takes me.CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-45155826345938347192010-09-11T21:48:00.000-04:002010-09-11T21:48:34.099-04:00Moving Ahead with India PlansMy visa was approved and I am moving ahead with plans for my return to India.<br />
I plan to arrive in Mumbai on 14 October to visit my friend, recover from jet lag, and remind myself that, well, I'm truly back in India.<br />
There are so many differences, both subtle and direct, and it will require shifting mental and emotional gears.<br />
It doesn't happen over night.<br />
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I plan to spend about a week there before flying to Delhi. Last visit I did not spend any time in the city. This go round I'm thinking I'll spend a few days in Majnu ka Tila, the Delhi Tibetan colony. Something different. A more in depth view of exile life in India. Hoping it will lead to new contacts, new knowledge, eventually new material.<br />
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I aim to catch the bus from MT up to McleodGanj at the start of the following week.<br />
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In all honesty, I can no longer remember what it was like, there. The feeling has left me. I am both eager and excited, but I am also nervous. I cannot really pick up where I left off. I will have different priorities, this trip. When I arrived last autumn, I was not looking for the specific things I am this trip.<br />
This time, my goal is to find a Tibetan language tutor, and also someone who can guide me on the Buddhist path. Yes, I will still teach English conversation, but not at the same place...maybe only as a private tutor.<br />
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Mainly, I am looking for more details on the situation of Tibet in exile. I want to get a better feel for the views of the community regarding the future.<br />
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And, of course, I am hoping to further explore the interpersonal relationships which developed and meant so much to me.<br />
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One way or another, this trip will determine the course of the rest of my life.<br />
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After India, next spring I intend to spend 2-3 months in Nepal. Beyond that, nothing "concrete"...I would love to spend some time in Ladakh, maybe more time in MT, maybe back to Mclo...maybe something as yet unforeseen. <br />
<br />
Over the coming week I'll be putting more effort into organizing what still remains to be done on the Everyday Exile project, which is still very much in planning stage.<br />
<br />
<br />
To be honest, with less than 5 weeks til planned departure, I realize slowly slowly how much remains to be done. I've been in a holding pattern regarding planning, organizing, pre-trip shopping, and of course packing.<br />
I really need to sit and breathe and figure out exactly what still needs to be done.<br />
And then start doing.CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-90393710043118937852010-08-28T12:38:00.000-04:002010-08-28T12:38:46.263-04:00Planning for India<span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=artontheedg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1741791510&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span>Plans are progressing, although at the moment I feel more like I am just in a holding pattern.<br />
I completed and mailed my India visa application yesterday. Barring complications, which I do not expect (but as a worrier...I am also worried they may arise), I should have the visa back by the end of next week.<br />
When it arrives, we will buy my tickets.<br />
I am planning to depart on 13 October and arrive in Mumbai the evening of the 14th.<br />
I know all too well from last year that it will take as long as five days to recover from jet lag, so I plan to stay in Mumbai til at least the 21st, maybe as long as the 24th.<br />
I've made some new contacts from Mumbai on twitter, so am hoping to meet them when I get in town.<br />
I've begun preliminary planning for the trip to Delhi and on to HP.<br />
I've also started with pre-travel shopping as there were so many miscellaneous things I could not find on my first trip that I really wished I'd had access to, such as Ziplocs, garbage bags, and anti-histamines. <br />
I recall thinking it strange how easy it was to find some things and not others which seemed more everyday practical to me.<br />
But then, nothing about India can be anticipated, except that something unexpected will surely happen!<br />
<br />
I found my main notebook from the last leg of my first visit and was browsing through it last night. It also contains all my notes from when I first began studying Buddhism. A timely find. I've been so in need of resuming practice, and could not get my head around it. Now I can see how I did it the first time and get back on the path.<br />
<br />
If all goes according to "plan", in less than seven weeks I''ll be on India round two! Cannot wait to see what happens this time, to visit all my friends, to explore new places and aspects...<br />
<br />
Follow me.......CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-22565331395110826562010-07-25T16:49:00.000-04:002010-07-25T16:49:02.152-04:00Everyday Exile Book ProjectJust a quick update: <br />
After a successful fundraiser on Kickstarter, I am moving forward with the <a href="http://bit.ly/9dD4Ph">Everyday Exile Book Project</a>.<br />
Please follow the link above to learn more.<br />
<br />
My projected return to India will be mid-October 2010 and I intend to stay through early April 2011.<br />
<br />
Watch for updates at the info page (link above). <br />
My online access is limited for the next several weeks due to other commitments as well as need to go to public free wifi locations when I do have free time.<br />
<br />
Thanks for sticking with me.CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-92148354947045252462010-07-06T23:40:00.000-04:002010-07-06T23:40:43.385-04:00Resuming my Practice...<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Today is an Auspicious Day. It is the 75th birthday of HH Dalai Lama. Long Life, Your Holiness!</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">After my last post, I had a pretty much total breakdown. I fell away from my practice completely...no mantras, no prostrations, only occasional water bowl offerings, no daily reminders to myself of the Four Noble Truths or Precepts or Eightfold Path.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I was also unable to get online to listen to my "daily Buddhist playlist" which had previously had a very calming effect on me.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">In part this "breakdown"was due to living with a non-Buddhist roommate...but more so because she worked a different schedule than me and I allowed my insecurities about practising publically to stop me.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It also was related to a lot of stress from the workplace...When I was only dealing with a few negative people, I could talk myself into coping. But as more and more people came into my daily life and more of them became increasingly directly negative towards me, I lost it.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Being directly attacked triggers a terrible fight or fllight mechanism in me.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I cry when people fling harsh untrue words about me in my face. </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I freak out when co-workers who break rules & lie & do very little at work get away with their antics and a good employee like myself is ostracized.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Not to mention all the daily negative energy of conservative hypo-Christians talking about the glory of killing innocent (insert any non-Christian religion here) in the name of "god"... Of being surrounded by people who glorify hunting for sport...and many other issues.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">One on one, in small doses, I could actually look them in the eye and mentally say Om Mani Padme Hum...</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">But as their numbers increased and they banded together and I was dealing with several of them day in and day out, something in me broke.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I left South Dakota on 30 June, suddenly, without much planning. It had all ust become unbearable.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I have been spending most of my time since then online, alone (in the company of several very good cats).</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I wasn't even able to think clearly about what I was "supposed" to be doing in my daily practice.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">My shrine is all still packed away. I have not unpacked, because I will only be here another 8 days.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It was late last night, or maybe this morning, between bouts of sleep, when I began feeling like I could think about resuming any kind of daily practice.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">For now, I am going to be very easy on myself.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I will listen to and chant a few mantras. </span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I will re-read the precepts.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">I will do my best to develope a kind mindset. I always try to be kind and helpful and generous.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">That is why I never understand when I am attacked for doing exactly that, for being a good person.</span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">It is HARD to persevere when doing all the right things gets you into more trouble than being "bad".</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">My return to India is back in my sights...hopefully then, I will feel the joy that inspired me to take all this on in the first place.</span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Om tare tuttare ture soha.</span></strong>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-64992095337424259002010-06-05T21:11:00.000-04:002010-06-05T21:11:14.619-04:00It IS Called Practice, After All<span><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=artontheedg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0743453360&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span> Due to lack of internet connectivity in my current living situation, it has been almost a full month since my last update. I have thought often about what I would write when this time came around, but am still unclear where I want this post to go.<br />
<br />
Lately I have been reminding myself often, maybe even several times a day, that I have only been practicing Buddhism since mid-March. That prior to returning from India, I had no idea what the Four Noble Tryuths or Eightfold Path even were, let alone trying to internalize them and live them daily.<br />
<br />
Since moving and starting this new job, I have had a variety successes and failures "using" the Buddhist path. I feel like I fail at least as often as I succeed.<br />
Well, after all it IS called "practice".<br />
How can I possibly expect myself to be perfect, especially after such a short time?<br />
<br />
My main issues the past few weeks have been threefold: <br />
1) living in a dorm w/150 people aged 18-85 from about 7 different (and diverse) countries<br />
2) working day in day out w/those people in an atmosphere of "catty" gossip <br />
3) my terrible chemical (probably hormonal) imbalances which sometimes ruin up to 14 days of each month<br />
<br />
These three points have caused me to lose my mind in anger and frustration numerous times, recently. I have participated in gossiping, have had way too many malicious thoughts (never the intent of causing physical harm, but wishing bad things at others who hurt me), have shouted in anger, etc. <br />
But I think I have hurt myself more than anyone else. And I genuinely feel bad about all of it.<br />
It is just such an ingrained pattern, such a knee-jerk reaction. Especially the PMS-induced parts!<br />
I have been doing a lot of practices aimed at purifying negative karma.<br />
<br />
Just the past day or so, I have been able to calm my mind enough to think clearly about it for the first time in a few weeks.<br />
I have gone back to simply saying the mantra which got me through most of my experience in India:<br />
"It is what it is. It just IS. Accept. Allow. Let go. Breathe."<br />
In this case, it sometimes goes like "____(person) is a (insert suitable negative term)" or "gossip just is a reality at work"... I don't like it. I am not required to like it. But I also need to remember, IN THAT MOMENT, there is nothing else, that I cannot change it by wishing or being angry.<br />
<br />
I have been able to feel like a human being again. <br />
Of course, the PMS portion of the show is over again for about the next 14 days...so we shall see how mcuh progress has actually been made once 17 June or so rolls around.<br />
<br />
I am currently reading a variety of online articles by various Tibetan Buddhist teachers including HH the 14th Dalai Lama regarding how to deal with negative emotions and developing compassion.<br />
At times I feel like I have achieved the mind of bodhicitta...even if it only lasts for a few minutes.<br />
<br />
Of course, there's a whole new story! More often than not, when I say I truly wish happiness and peace for ALL beings, it means that I wish them all to learn and practice Buddhism so that there are no more conflicts for me to cope with!<br />
Ego alert! <br />
I am pretty sure this signifies a character flaw in myself, the wish for a better experience in my current life within samsara...<br />
Karma is confusing to me. The idea that my current bad experiences are the result of negative karma created in the past, possibly even numerous lifetimes ago. It doesn't seem quite right.<br />
<br />
And as I plow through all this confusion, I am determined to persevere. There have been moments when I at least felt like I absolutely "got it" and really aspired to become a bodhisattva, so I know that somewhere within me the potential remains, and that I must continue the journey...CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-50309829514231528952010-05-02T12:34:00.000-04:002010-05-02T12:34:46.902-04:00Doing the WorkThese days I am offered plenty of opportunities to PRACTICE and do the work of living as a Buddhist. I have relocated to a new part of the country, started a new job, and am living in dorm-style company housing with a lot of new people.<br />
I learn something new everyday. Often I quickly forget whatever I have learned and find myself relearning it the next day, over and over.<br />
Mostly, I am working with the precepts. The Three Pure Precepts...<a href="http://www.squidoo.com/buddhist-precepts">The Five Layperson's Precepts</a>...The Ten Mahayana Precepts. The book featured below is the one I am currently reading.<br />
<br />
For me, on a minute by minute basis, the most difficult precept is Right Speech. Right speech means a lot of things. It means that the practitioner should try not to lie, try not to gossip, and try not to engage in idle conversation. This can also be phrased in a positive light...that we try to be honest and to say things which are helpful and useful.<br />
<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=artontheedg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0609808966&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Other aspects of this precept are that we should try not to speak of others' faults and mistakes. We should avoid blaming others. And we should avoid praising ourselves.<br />
I never realized how difficult all these things were until I tried to get through a work day following the guidelines!<br />
The guidelines are only that...guidelines. They are meant to help us create a world where beings can coexist peacefully. The precepts can be practiced by anyone of any religion.<br />
The idea is to focus on our samenesses, not our differences.<br />
Being kind, gentle, honest, helpful etc are all ways we can create an atmosphere of loving-kindness in our immediate environment.<br />
Sometimes it is hard when the urge is to join a conversation and say things that make you "fit in" as part of the group, or to commiserate about a bad experience, or to lash out at someone whose negativity has disrupted the work place, and so forth.<br />
<br />
Some things I am doing which may help others who are looking for ways to practice the precepts or simply to have a better daily experience (or which may prompt you to find your own methods):<br />
*Whenever someone bugs me, I try to focus on his positive qualities. Granted, these are sometimes difficult to see, especially in the heat of the moment. But perhaps it is enough to say to yourself...this person is doing the best they can, perhaps they have never been taught another way of being/doing.<br />
*I remind myself that everyone wants the same basic things...peace, happiness, food, shelter, love. We really do have more in common than not, regardless of religious beliefs or political ideologies.<br />
*I remind myself that the goal is to create harmony, not to be right or to "win".<br />
*I remind myself that I do not wish to do harm or add harm to a difficult situation.<br />
<br />
Every day, I do not meet my own expectations. Sometimes (ok, often) I fail at the above. That is okay. The point is that we earnestly TRY. Every new moment is a new opportunity to do better.<br />
<br />
I truly want to do whatever I can to make this world a better place for all beings, and so I will continue to work with the precepts!<br />
I pray that my words may reach and inspire others to focus on making this world a better place for everyone!<br />
I wish YOU peace and happiness!CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-49306821503931029042010-04-21T18:31:00.001-04:002010-04-21T18:40:19.394-04:00Letter to the White HouseI am notoriously not well informed in the area of politics, and usually this doesn't bother me too much. Sometimes, though, it makes me feel like a simpleton.<br />
But even the least of us has a right to express our opinion to our government, and so, with that in mind, I composed and sent this short letter to President Obama/The White House staff today:<br />
:<br />
<br />
"Dear Mr. President:<br />
I am writing to you on behalf of myself, as well as my friends and former students, members of the Tibetan exile communities and their families who remain in Tibet.<br />
<br />
In the wake of the recent earthquake in Kham, Tibet, we would like to request you, personally, and the United States government as a whole, to do whatever is in your power to address the situation regarding HH the Dalai Lama's wish to return to his homeland with the Chinese government.<br />
<br />
This is a humanitarian issue. It pains me to know it is also a political one.<br />
<br />
I appreciate your attention on this matter.<br />
Thank you.<br />
<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Ms. Tammy Winand"<br />
<br />
To all my readers<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">Feel free to share this link everywhere and anywhere and to add your own voices, no matter how small you feel they are!</span></i></span></b></span>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-87977847535505051452010-04-17T11:43:00.002-04:002010-04-17T13:23:53.822-04:00Important Links Following TIBET EarthquakeI feel very small and helpless these days in the wake of the Kham TIBET earthquake. I feel like I should be doing more to help, but in my own situation, all I can do is offer prayers and keep as many people as possible informed of what's happening by passing along relevant links.<br />
<br />
Once again, my friend at Zen Dirt Zen Dust has compiled information on places offering assistance to earthquake victims. You can see his list here:<br />
<a href="http://zendirtzendust.com/2010/04/17/how-to-aid-victims-of-the-tibetan-earthquake-updates-video/">How to Aid Victims of the Tibetan Earthquake</a><br />
<br />
I am trying to post links to all stories of merit on my twitter and facebook accounts.<br />
The most important ones today are:<br />
<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/17/china.quake.dalai.lama/index.html">Dalai Lama seeks China's Permission to Visit Earthquake Victims</a><br />
<a href="http://kagyuoffice.org/#earthquake">Message from HH Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje to Quake Victims</a> in both Tibetan and English<br />
<a href="http://www.newsweek.com/id/236452">Newsweek Article on Quake's Coverage in China</a><br />
and<br />
<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/josh-schrei/to-die-with-dignity-in-yo_b_538840.html?ref=twitter#sb=822462,b=twitter">To Die With Dignity in Your Own Land</a> an amazing piece on Huffington Post regarding the quake and its aftermath.<br />
<br />
Updated to add:<br />
<a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/04/earthquake_in_yushu_china.html">Images of Quake Aftermath</a> Some of the most moving, detailed images I've come across regarding this incident.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, life must go on. I am in the midst of packing, wrapping up my time "off", and will be moving cross-country yet again this coming Tuesday for the seasonal job which will hopefully cover most of my expenses for my next trip (currently slated for early September) to volunteer with the Tibetan exile community in McleodGanj, where my heart lies.<br />
<br />
I plan to post a new entry regarding my travels along the Buddhist path once I am settled in my new "home".<br />
<br />
As always, my thoughts and prayers are with the Tibetans and all those working on their behalf.<br />
May all beings be happy and at peace.<br />
_/\_<br />
<br />
The following video is from Al Jazeera English language. The monks' names have been Sinocized, but it offers a view of what is going on in Kham.<br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OZfCMgH_n8w&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OZfCMgH_n8w&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-86473029351324701192010-04-14T14:48:00.000-04:002010-04-14T14:48:25.545-04:00Major Earthquake in Kham, TibetPlease hold the people of Tibet and their families, no matter where they are, in your hearts and prayers at this time.<br />
A 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Jiegu, Kyigudo (Yushu Co. or Prefecture in Chinese) in Kham Province Wednesday morning local time in Tibet.<br />
At this time, official sources are saying there are 400 dead and 10,000 injured but unofficial local sources are saying numbers are much higher.<br />
It is notoriously difficult to get accurate information out of Tibetan areas from Chinese state controlled media.<br />
<br />
I wanted to offer a list of links for info for those who are interested or who need it. Here are the latest articles on major news sources and relevant agencies for Tibetans. (the color may not change but these ARE links)<br />
<a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/04/14/china.quake/index.html">CNN coverage</a><br />
<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8619593.stm">BBC coverage</a><br />
<a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/400-killed-10000-injured-in-earthquake-in-China/articleshow/5799573.cms">Times of India newspaper coverage</a><br />
<a href="http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=27116&article=Tibet+earthquake+death+toll+rises+to+400&t=1&c=1">Phayul</a><br />
<a href="http://www.dalailama.com/news/post/520-his-holiness-offers-his-condolences-to-the-victims-of-the-earthquake-in-kyigudo">Office of HH Dalai Lama</a><br />
<a href="http://zendirtzendust.com/2010/04/14/tibetan-earthquake-updates-and-aid/">Zen Dirt Zen Dust blog compilation of articles</a><br />
<a href="http://tibet.net/en/index.php">Tibet Net Official Website of Tibet's Govt in Exile</a><br />
<br />
For those who have asked, all my friends live in exile in north India and were not directly affected, thankfully. However, I do have many acquaintances from Kham, and am not in touch with them to know whether their families were affected, so of course we hold ALL of Tibet and all Tibetans throughout the world in our thoughts, hearts, and prayers.<br />
<br />
_/\_CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-64120273940352745222010-04-09T21:49:00.002-04:002010-04-09T21:49:50.446-04:0053 Days and CountingJust a brief reminder that my fundraiser to return to teach English to Tibetan exiles in north India ends in 53 days and I still have $3762 to raise to reach my goal.<br />
<br />
I have added new backer reward incentives.<br />
<br />
If I do not top the $4000 goal NONE of the pledge money will be awarded!<br />
Thank you so much for your help.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kck.st/bLL0JO"><img border="0" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crypticfragments/teaching-english-learning-life-with-tibetan-refug/widget/card.jpg" /></a>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-6167642324913805802010-04-01T13:51:00.001-04:002010-04-01T14:01:39.195-04:00Bodhicitta and BeyondThis is going to be one of my most difficult posts yet...to write, at any rate.<br />
[note: this post is intended mostly for my non-Buddhist readers who wonder what exactly is going on with me right now, and who are not familiar with what Buddhism teaches. I am not intending to "convert" anyone, just shed some light.]<br />
<br />
Most of you know I haven't been a Buddhist that long, technically speaking. In fact, I am a newcomer to it since my recent exposure to Tibetan culture, and as per my previous post am only just beginning an actual study and practice of Buddhism.<br />
However, even before taking refuge I already had Buddhist tendencies/leanings, I guess you could say.<br />
<br />
The things which bother me (and have since my teens) most about Christianity (my own upbringing) are:<br />
1) Lack of accountability for your own actions (it never ceased to amaze me that many who claim to be Christians really believe you can sin and simply say a prayer,likely half-hearted, and that makes whatever you did ok- at least in your own mind). Buddhists seem to me to tend to examine karma more closely...at least serious ones who are truly interested in a higher rebirth. I am actually more likely to behave properly, morally, as a Buddhist than I ever did when I was a Christian.<br />
<br />
2) Seeing so many Christians NOT follow the teachings of Christ (which I guess ties in with the above). I hated listening to talk of converting heathens. I hated seeing politicians use Christian doctrine. I hated knowing that over the past 2000 odd years that more people have been slaughtered in the name of Christ than I care to think about. I saw that the church was not Christ and was shocked that no one else in my otherwise fairly intelligent immediate circle seemed to catch on to that, too. I lost friends when I tried to explain to them that Islam also teaches non-violence and that there are as many Christian radicals as Muslim terrorists.<br />
<br />
Then I read today's post at <a href="http://zendirtzendust.com/">Sweep the Dust, Push the Dirt</a>, a blog by a Zen Buddhist online acquaintance, which actually prompted me to write this post.<br />
<br />
So, as it IS related (ie the above complaints would be less of an issue provided everyone knew about the items below), I wanted to talk about bodhicitta...metta...and beyond. I honestly believe everyone can, and should, follow these guidelines, because the teachings are not at all limited to Buddhism (well, except bodhicitta).<br />
<br />
<b><i>Bodhicitta</i></b>: the wish to attain enlightenment so as to reincarnate repeatedly to help all other sentient beings attain enlightenment. (hey look! a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhicitta#Cultivation">wiki on How to Cultivate Bodhicitta</a>!)<br />
Of course I cannot claim to have total bodhicitta motivation. I'm not sure anyone can. We are not perfect. Every now and again ( we think of our own needs, our own comforts, in this life.<br />
But I DO strongly wish for peace, and for permanent world peace to happen, all sentient beings must become enlightened.<br />
So I endeavor to remind myself repeatedly and to practice...<br />
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<b><i>Metta</i></b>: loving-kindness...a pure selfless compassion for all other beings as based on the notion that, via eons of reincarnations, all other beings have at one time been our mothers (some say think "mothers, friends, lovers"). Meaning, we act kindly towards anything living (even insects) because we know we are intimately connected. Everything has its place and purpose. Harming any other beings is harmful to ourselves, to humankind as a whole, and to the planet.<br />
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Metta also involves Right Speech and Right Action, which fall under the <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/buddhist-precepts">Buddhist Precepts </a>(or moral code of conduct, if you will).<br />
<i><b>Right Speech</b></i> means that we are honest. We do not lie. But it goes far beyond that. It also means that we do not speak out of anger or with the intent of hurting any other living being. We do not gossip or talk about anyone behind his back. And we avoid "idle talk" about useless topics (and yes, these are really hard to follow, because if taken literally it would mean we pretty much shouldn't say anything at all...which is a recommended part of it, according to Buddha Sakyamuni).<br />
<i><b>Right Action</b></i> means we do not intentionally kill (another person, animal, or insect). We do not intentionally cause injury or suffering to any other sentient being. We do not steal...interpreted as meaning never to take anything not freely given to you. We avoid sexual misconduct (and this is open to a wide range of interpretations which I won't go into in detail) mostly meaning not to cause any harm by our sexual deeds (ie no rape, no extramarital affairs, no sex with minors, no suggestive behavior w/monks or nuns...you get the idea)<br />
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There are many places on the web to read much more about these concepts. I started with <a href="http://www.buddhism.about.com/">About Buddhism</a> and followed links until I was satisfied!<br />
<br />
I am really far from perfect. I eat meat. I have to try really REALLY hard not to kill ant colonies in my kitchen...no matter how hard I try, I can't envision them as my mother and do not feel loving-kindness for them! I get upset when I am attacked...but fortunately I am increasingly less likely to respond out of anger these days!<br />
I hope I don't come across as preachy.<br />
I have to remind myself through my own words on the subject that I need to think about these topics and try harder every day!<br />
<br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=artontheedg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1559390700&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
Wanna learn more about Bodhicitta?! (see left)<div><br />
I also highly recommend reading any and all works by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.</div>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-50676898034292884392010-03-28T12:51:00.001-04:002010-03-28T12:52:07.961-04:00Stuck at the Beginning<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I have been feeling "stuck", the past few days.</span></span></span></span><br />
<div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">After my recent life-changing travels through India, most of which I spent volunteering in the Tibetan exile community of </span><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/mcleodganj-india"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">McleodGanj</span></a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">, I came back to the USA feeling grateful for a chance to rest and recoup.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Almost immediately, I began reading everything I could get my hands on regarding beginning practice in Tibetan Buddhism.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Let me back track a wee bit:</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Living in McleodGanj (aka Dharamsala, exile home of the Dalai Lama) was a daily immersion in Tibetan Buddhism, and yet I never "studied" or read anything while there. I floated around in various stages of "enlightenment", carried by the incredible vibes swirling around the Himalayan foothills...Chanting emanated from monasteries as I walked Kora and spun prayer wheels and learned how to use my mala and do my own mantras.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I sat, on different occasions, within a few yards of HH the 14th Dalai Lama, swept away by unseen unheard waves of energy.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I had amazing insights and grew, spiritually, in leaps and bounds.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Leaving the Tibetan community was heart-breaking, and I have vowed to get back ASAP to do whatever I can for them, as well as continue my own journey.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">When I arrived back in America, after nearly 5 days recovering from jet-lag, I began ordering Tibetan Buddhism books, book-marking every Buddhist website I could find. </span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">At first it was more like intellectual learning, trying to get my head around what I had just experienced.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I wanted to know what all those red-robed monks knew that made them radiate pure light from their glowing faces.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I learned the Four Noble Truths, read and re-read the Eightfold Path, memorized The Three Pure Precepts and </span><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/buddhist-precepts"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">the Five Precepts</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">... I read articles and essays on "metta", and pondered whether true "bodhicitta" is possible.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I froze, however, at the idea of "meditation". I am notoriously scatter-brained, have been called ADHD.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Mindfulness? On rare occasion.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Oh I SIT plenty.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I sit on my rear-end and my mind goes all over the universe.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Letting go of attachments? Ummmm...not so much. In fact, I happen to quite like my sentimental nature. I've been known to wallow in memories and longings. It has driven most of my creative work for the past 30 years.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Last night, as I was reading, I simply hit a wall. I could not grasp a single concept. Mind, no mind...self, no self...</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I just kept thinking, "WTF?" Seriously.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">And maybe that's the point. Maybe an intellectual study of all of this is not important. Maybe, at least for now, it's okay to simply follow the precepts as best as I can.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=artontheedg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0007138873&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"></span></span></span></span></i></b><br />
<b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">My own phrasing of what I learned in McleodGanj, written at the top of several journal pages:</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">It is what it is. It just is. Accept. Allow. Let go. Repeat.</span></span></span></i></b></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span> </span></span></i></b></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">I giggle to myself as I realize my own impatience for progress.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">How can I measure "progress"? I have been practicing for less than 3 weeks, "officially". The fact that I am looking for progress may indicate a lack thereof!</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">The only progress I am sure of is that I am more likely to consider the karmic weight of thoughts before they turn into actions, whereas before I tended to act out of passion and think after doing so.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">And that is pretty amazing in itself, really.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;"><br />
</span> </span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #f3f3f3;">Yes, I am hungry to continue on the path.</span></span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></span></div></span></span></span></span></i></b></div>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-58088561870569026772010-03-20T10:50:00.002-04:002010-03-20T11:08:34.038-04:00The Path EvolvesIt has been eleven days and a lifetime since I returned to the USA. Life is good. I finally readjusted to a normal sleep cycle and am eating fairly healthy again after battling extreme fatigue and some kind of mild illness the first several days I was back.<br />
And so now life goes on. Is going on.<br />
<br />
What is the next step? That's something I ask myself fairly regularly, sometimes several times a day.<br />
<br />
I have begun a study, and practice, of Buddhism. It started as a way to understand more of what I saw in <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/mcleodganj-india">McleodGanj</a>. What did certain things represent? What did it MEAN? Why did they do THAT?<br />
I learned the major differences between <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/intro-to-tibetan-buddhism">Tibetan Buddhism</a> (meaning Vajrayana) and other paths/schools.<br />
<br />
And then I began again from the beginning. What IS Buddhism? What are the basic beliefs, and <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/Buddhist-Precepts">how should a Buddhist act</a>? Buddhism is mind-boggling, at once the most simple of paths, and yet the most complex, especially for a westerner whose only previous concepts of spirituality and behavior were based on Christianity.<br />
I am at once passionate about and deeply perplexed by Buddhism. And yet it feels right to me, if only because it was the framework amidst which I had this life-changing experience. If only because it teaches exactly the lessons I most need to learn, about loving and letting go, about kindness and compassion...<br />
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So I endeavor to read about it everyday from a research perspective, learning terms, as well as reading from the teachings of Buddha. Yesterday I slowly slowly started The Dhammapada. I laughing tweeted that I wish there was a plain English Dhammapada for Dummies, as I have never been good at finding the "right" meaning in ancient or translated texts. Usually what I think they mean and what the scholars tell me they mean are radically different. Sigh.<br />
But then, isn't that part of this whole experience?<br />
Buddhism is not cast in stone. As I understand it, each student/practitioner applies the teachings to his own experience, although the ultimate goal of becoming a boddhisatva (at least in the Mahayana schools) remains constant.<br />
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Simply put, to me, Buddhism means: being in the moment (which I have ALWAYS struggled with and no doubt will continue to resist) and being kind to all other living beings. It means recognizing that I am a potential Buddha and you are a potential Buddha and (to be a little silly) even that Republicans and criminals are potential Buddhas!<br />
I have so many questions and hope they never stop! I want to devote the rest of my life to this. And so the intellectual study also becomes practice.<br />
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While I confess, I have issues with the term "meditation", and have never "sat" as Zen Buddhists do, I am learning that to some extent even chanting Om Mani Padme Hum or using my hand held <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/prayer-wheels">prayer wheel</a><br />
<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=artontheedg-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=8187943742&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> is a form of meditation.<br />
I have, if only to myself, taken refuge.<br />
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Every day I learn something more about Buddhism, about myself, about life.<br />
And so the path evolves.<br />
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As the book recommended here says, we are a long way from Tibet, a long way from the <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/tibet-in-exile">Tibetan community</a> in India. But that is okay. I had to leave them to learn certain lessons and accomplish certain things. I do feel we will be together again soon, if it is meant to be, if it is our karma.<br />
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</b><br />
<b>On that note, I would like to insert a quick project update for my fundraiser</b>, <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crypticfragments/teaching-english-learning-life-with-tibetan-refug">"Teaching English, Learning Life with Tibetan Refugees"</a><br />
To date I have received $187 in pledges towards returning to McleodGanj in mid-September to continue my volunteer work and studies. That leaves 74 days to reach the ultimate goal of $4000 USD, which will cover all my expenses including airfare to/from north India.<br />
Please understand, while in the USA, I am technically homeless. I have worked seasonal jobs for the past several years. These jobs provide housing as well as meals, which are both deducted from pay. This does not leave a lot left over. I have been unable to find stable full-time employment outside these seasonal jobs.<br />
<i>Now that my volunteer work with the Tibetans has become so important to me, I need YOUR help to make it happen! </i><br />
Even if you can only pledge $1, that dollar helps. Your money will be working for good in this world!<br />
Thank you.<br />
<br />
One last note: I've been somewhat sad that there are no Tibetan Buddhist centers where I'm currently staying, and only two centers at all, that I can find. I miss being in the sangha I found in McleodGanj and really wanted that sense of community, of fellow Buddhists/seekers here in the US.<br />
Well, we had lunch at a Thai restaurant yesterday. I felt an immediate connection with the hostess/waitress. We talked a little before she brought our food. As I was getting ready to leave, I knew I had to show my gratitude and respect with the lotus-bud gesture/mini-bow (I have not learned the term for this) which acknowledges the Buddha-within. When I did it, her face lit up with joy and astonishment. She burst out with a few sentences in Thai which unfortunately I did not understand, and she seemed to be telling her Thai friend/co-worker what I had done.<br />
I felt like crying, not from sorrow but from joy. Clearly, I am not alone. The sangha is not limited to McleodGanj, nor to Tibetans. Nor even to Asians, or to face-to-face. As the days progress, I look forward to meeting other travelers on this path, whether face-to-face or online, regardless of age or race or language.<br />
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Life is good, and everything IS as it should be.CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-35933496248879655622010-03-13T07:13:00.000-05:002010-03-13T07:13:37.526-05:00I Am SO Blessed<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I am shouting a big THANK YOU to the universe because I know that I am so truly deeply blessed. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">First, because I got to HAVE the experience I just had in India working with Tibetan refugees. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Second, because it has inspired me and motivated me to work on creative pursuits like nothing I can remember in my life.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And, third, last but not least, because the experience, and talking about it, and knowing I need to get back to do it again, has connected me with the most amazing, kind, generous people all around the world who are concerned about </span><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/tibet-in-exile"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the issue of Tibet</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and Tibetans and are helping me in so many ways as I endeavor to raise funds to return to </span><a href="http://www.squidoo.com/mcleodganj-india"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">McleodGanj</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> no later than October of this year (hopefully sooner).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, thank you universe, and thank you beautiful souls!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With the help of angel Deb Lauman (aka </span><a href="http://www.twitter.com/ramkitten"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ramkitten</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">), whom I have known on twitter, Squidoo, and in person (not all at the same time!), I discovered a website called Kickstarter which helps people fund projects of all kinds. (Deb is currently <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deb/the-himalaya-rescue-dog-squad-nepal-book-project">funding a project</a> which takes her to Nepal to work with Search & Rescue Dogs in the Himalayas.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I quickly joined the site and created my project, titled <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/crypticfragments/teaching-english-learning-life-with-tibetan-refug">"Teaching English, Learning Life with Tibetan Refugees".</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In less than 24 hrs I have received $135 in pledges towards my $4000 goal! YES!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, the "catch" with Kickstarter is that you have to reach your total goal in order to receive ANY of the pledge money...which means I have 81 days remaining to raise the rest.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That means I need to raise, on average, $50/day until the project deadline (mid-June).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This morning I have been deeply honored to be featured by fellow artist, Zazzler, and online friend Cherie, which has featured my project on her blog, <a href="http://cheriesartsncrafts.blogspot.com/2010/03/helping-teach-english-to-tibetan.html">Cheries Arts & Crafts</a>. She is a wonderfully talented artist herself, and has been more than kind and supportive of me in this (as well as other) endeavors.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Life is good, and I am glad to be in it. And THAT is amazing in itself.</span><br />
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</span><br />
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</span>CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3859149973185259254.post-53377951150793442032010-03-09T00:36:00.000-05:002010-03-09T00:36:49.436-05:00The End...is Just the BeginningThirteen hours from now the 777 will depart from Mumbai and I will look down and watch India vanish as thought it had never been real.<br />
Of course I am filled with strange mixed emotions. Mostly right now I am relieved. The past week in Mumbai has not been difficult. I am looking forward to trivial but comforting familiar things from my US home...a long bath, a nice steak, a stable fast internet connection so I can really do some work...the love of a few great cats...phone calls to my mom and long hours ensconced in bookstore cafes!<br />
<br />
Sometimes it feels like none of the past 5 months ever happened.<br />
But I know they did...and not because I have photos or journals or souvenirs.<br />
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I know they happened because my soul was touched, my life was changed. I know it was real because I am not the same woman who arrived here at the end of October 2009.<br />
I know because I am connected by invisible threads to so many other beautiful souls whose lights illuminate my darkness and shine out into the world. We will be forever connected, no matter where on the planet we may be.<br />
Some may stay in touch through facebook or emails while others seem quietly hidden...but they will still be there, whether they write or call or not...and I will hold them inside my heart until we meet again, if that is indeed our karma.<br />
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My work is just beginning as I look for new and more ways to publicize and support the situation of Tibet and the <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/tibet-in-exile">Tibetan exiles</a> whose lives touched mine. I am creating products for my online shops, the earnings from all of which are now ear-marked for my return trip. I will research fund-raising and holding talks and events to educate others...I am hoping to work with at least one teacher to help educate her 6th grade class.<br />
I am also reaching out to local print & tv media in the areas where I'll be living in the hopes that I can get them interested in covering some aspect of the situation, even if not by directly interviewing me re: my experience as a volunteer.<br />
There are many options and opportunities and I now know the universe is going to connect me to the people and events which I need, when the time is right.<br />
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I am thankful for all of this. For the pain, the confusion, the failures and the triumphs. Every new thing, every new lesson...All the difficulties of life in <a href="http://www.squidoo.com/McleodGanj-India">north India</a> (squat toilets, "no lights" power outages, no heat, etc).<br />
I would not trade the past 5 months for anything.<br />
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And I know in my bones that I will be back. This IS my life, McleodGanj IS my home, this is my passion and my calling.<br />
Thank you to everyone who has supported me by reading this blog, by messaging me on my social networks, to all who comforted me in times of confusion and doubt.<br />
Thank you to everyone who has purchased (or will purchase) products from my shops or will make a donation to support my return to continue my volunteer work.<br />
You are precious.<br />
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And so while today marks the end of this trip to India, it is only the beginning.<br />
The sacred sojourn which named this blog is by no means complete.<br />
I will continue to post when related soul journey insights occur, and of course whenever there is news concerning my return to my heart's home.CrypticFragmentshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18436166972482159772noreply@blogger.com2