From The Under 35 Project: “Smiling at Strangers”
From The Under 35 Project: “Smiling at Strangers” |
- From The Under 35 Project: “Smiling at Strangers”
- Young Tibetan man self-immolates in Ngaba province
- Blame Is Not The Name Of The Game
- Plum Village raising funds to send delegation to Bhutan
- Celebrate online with San Francisco Zen Center this weekend
| From The Under 35 Project: “Smiling at Strangers” Posted: 10 Aug 2012 07:00 AM PDT
Smiling at Strangers I have this storyline that plays over and over in my mind. It goes something like "If only he were this way… If only she did this… If you hadn't…" and it ends with life being perfect and my being securely happy. Of course the times when I buy into this story are the most difficult times. I feel uneasy, fragile, irritated, trapped, dissatisfied, and very judgmental of myself. This is all too common among others I know as well. We are waiting for someone else to do that something that will make us happy. And it is so easy to be trapped in this thought. It is then that I feel so utterly alone. It's so dark in there, and why is no one coming to rescue me? Not just alone—this is lonely. This is the mind of not-having. Just try to have a relationship with someone when you're in this story: the dialogue consists of "Why didn't you?" and "You should," and "You make me," and the other person starts to think "If you would just stop criticizing me…" and we are never fully present with one another. We can never see the moment for what it is. We create this vast disconnect between the reality of another person and our thoughts. Largely because we have become so disconnected from the reality of ourselves. We can have this same relationship with our own selves. "If only I had done this… If only I had the strength to do… If I could just stop buying into my storyline, then I could really find peace." This is equally disconnected, and can make us feel alienated and alone. We feel unworthy of another's care, because we fail to care for ourselves. We just keep waiting for something. The right moment? The right person? The right action? The point is stop. Be present. We are already here. Already at peace. Already possess an abundance. Connect. I have to realize this over and over again. These are my stories in my mind, so what in the world do they have to do with anyone else? And further, what do they have to do with my true being? When I sit with those stories, I can see them for what they are and let them go. I can touch that tender space inside myself that is happiness already. It's peace. It's the abundance within that's always there. It's the place that needs nothing else and has plenty to give. At first it's painful to step into that place from the confines of my story. But that's okay too. There's a gentleness there, and a generosity that gives me strength and grace. Here, love abides. For myself and for all those people I thought should be doing something for me. Enter compassion. Loving-kindness. Sympathetic joy. Here is where alone becomes together. Connected. Even if I am physically alone, I feel this union with all beings, all of us alive with our stories and struggles and thoughts. I feel like I am not alone because I can recognize in others what I recognize in myself. And since I don't need anyone to do anything or be any way for me, I can fully appreciate how they are and what they are doing now. This appreciation generates love. And walking around with all that love makes you kind- even to yourself- connecting you even more. For me, letting go of the stories and stepping inside to this space is a flux and flow. Sometimes the stories are so loud and convincing, I fall into them. Other times I see them as little children needing my attention, and I can rock and soothe them until they fall into a peaceful sleep. The more disconnected I am from my own genuine heart, the more alone I feel. But when I rest fully in the present moment, my sense of togetherness is so immense, I walk around smiling at strangers.
To see the rest of our Under 35 Project posts, click here. To read more and submit your own work, visit the project's website. August's theme is "Being Alone and Being Together." Read More @ Source
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| Young Tibetan man self-immolates in Ngaba province Posted: 10 Aug 2012 06:00 AM PDT The Tibet Post is reporting that another Tibetan has self-immolated in protest of Chinese rule. The 24-year-old man, named Chopa, set himself alight in the center of Meuruma Township in Ngaba Province Friday morning. His condition is still unknown, though a statement from Kirti Monastery in India said it's unlikely that Chopa will survive. Government authorities and military forces descended on the town, witnesses say, and took Chopa away. Sources said hundreds of Chinese troops are now occupying the town, and most businesses and restaurants in the area are remaining closed as a show of solidarity with Chopa. Nearly 50 Tibetans have self-immolated in protest of Chinese occupation since 2009. For all of Buddhadharma News' coverage of the wave of self-immolation, see here. Read More @ Source
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| Blame Is Not The Name Of The Game Posted: 09 Aug 2012 12:00 PM PDT  Sheep over the Eden Valley - summer. We in Britain, and most likely everywhere in the world, are engaged with this huge event, the Olympic Games. I happened to catch the end of the women's hockey match where Argentina won, and Britain lost. Many of the British women were sobbing, right there on the pitch. They were hugely disappointed and they showed it. Initially I was mildly shocked at witnessing this outpouring of emotion. I've since grown to appreciate what I and millions of others saw. We have seen this showing of emotion at other events too. It's honest.  Clouds over Shropshire fields - viewed from the Wrekin How life in general, in the living of it, is punctuated with disappointments! And, unlike the Olympian hopefuls, one often doesn't know ahead of time what they might be. Perhaps we don't know how much we feel a certain way about something, or event, until things go a certain way or words are spoken. And then wham, those feelings of disappointment wash over and through body and mind. That's painful when emotions run high, or low, depending on ones disposition. The only response I know that doesn't lead to greater disappointments is to...stay with it. To have compassion for oneself, and for others and their actions and words which triggered the upset. Blame is NOT the name of the game. The photographs take from high up, relatively speaking, are for uplift. For those known and unknown who are in extremity in all the way one can fall into such circumstances. Read More @ Source
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| Plum Village raising funds to send delegation to Bhutan Posted: 09 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT  Trongsa, Bhutan The monks, nuns and laypeople of Plum Village, established by Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, have been invited to work with the Gross National Happiness Centre of Bhutan to offer programs and workshops to educators, combining Plum Village's approach to mindfulness with Bhutan's initiative of Gross National Happiness. The monastics and laypeople of Plum Village need your financial support in order to make this tour happen. They have started an Indiegogo campaign to raise the funds necessary. Be sure to read over their call for funds to learn more about what they will be doing in Bhutan. (Photo by Jean-Marie Hullot via Flickr using a CC-BY-SA license.) Read More @ Source
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| Celebrate online with San Francisco Zen Center this weekend Posted: 09 Aug 2012 10:00 AM PDT
The schedule includes dharma talks from Zentatsu Richard Baker on Saturday and Tenshin Reb Anderson on Sunday, and on Monday, a celebratory procession through San Francisco and a public ceremony at City Center. A full schedule of events is available here. If you're unable to watch live, videos will be available on SFZC's website about an hour after each event. Watching the videos is free, though the center will be accepting donations to support its online endeavors—you can donate here. To learn more about Zen Center, its history and its legacy, pick up a copy of the September magazine to read Colleen Morton Busch's "Always Beginner's Mind." There's also a forum discussion about SFZC in the Fall 2012 issue of our sister publication Buddhadharma — you can read an excerpt here. Read More @ Source
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Here's the latest from The Under 35 Project, by Leslie Gossett.
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