World Animal Day celebrates all the animals in our lives

World Animal Day celebrates all the animals in our lives

World Animal Day celebrates all the animals in our lives

Posted: 04 Oct 2012 09:00 AM PDT

Today is World Animal Day, which celebrates animals and the people who love and care for them. Started by a group of Italian ecologists in 1931 to draw attention to endangered species, the day has evolved into a worldwide celebration of all animals and their importance in our lives. (To find an event happening near you, check the World Animal Day website.)

There's a lot we can learn from animals, says behavioral ecologist Joanna Burger. In "Creature Comfort," she writes that by watching how animals show compassion toward one another, we can learn more about ourselves.

World Animal Day also raises the question of how animals are treated (and often mistreated.) Some Buddhist groups practice merit release — procuring animals that are about to be slaughtered and releasing them into the wild. While it seems like a good (and meritorious) idea, it's also potentially dangerous — read this SunSpace post to learn why you might want to think twice before participating.

In The Accidental Vegetarian, Noa Jones discusses the Buddhist ethics of eating meat and how she goes back and forth on whether to be vegetarian. And for more about the treatment of animals, check out Dharma Voices for Animals, a Buddhist organization that speaks out against the mistreatment of animals. Their website has a lot of great resources on it, including tips for sanghas and individuals on how to live a cruelty-free lifestyle.

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Floating Home

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:00 PM PDT

Prespa_houseboat1.jpg
Prespa Lake, Greece - notice the flowers.

This image was sent me by a reader who loves tiny living spaces as much as I do. You could call this a hut on water. This image of the same raft you will see what looks like a birds nest resting on a mast!

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After Retirement

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 02:00 PM PDT

It must be about ten years since Jim retired from his stimulating job in a police department in America. This is what he wrote, at my suggestion, some time after he officially retired.

There I was with a new found opportunity to unfurl from the responsibilities of what felt like, and at times literally were, life and death decisions. What slowly emerged were impulses and thought patterns which, when allowed to just be, seemed to be sparks of habit energy left over from the need to "manage" the world of conditions and to protect myself. Rev. Master Mugo described me as being one who had recently returned from a 'war zone' with my boots still smoking!
Boots Still Smoking.

Jim has been around in the sangha as long as history! He remembers me as a novice at Shasta in the 1980's. It is always a pleasure to reconnect as we did this evening on Skype.

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Seeing Fresh: Contemplative Photo of the Week

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Contemplative photography is a method for working with the contemplative state of mind, seeing the world in fresh ways, and expressing this experience photographically. Each week we choose an image that's been submitted to seeingfresh.com that really exemplifies this practice.

This week's photo, by Tasso Dikaios, is playfully titled "Caution," a reference to the sign that should be warning, "Watch out for this expanse of visual space." It's certainly a good example of fresh seeing.

For more about contemplative photography, and lots of other great photos, visit seeingfresh.com. And don't miss this video or this article on contemplative photography. You can see all our Seeing Fresh posts on Shambhala SunSpace here.

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Tonight in NYC: Get “Happy” with Sharon Salzberg

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 12:00 PM PDT

As part of the Rubin Museum of Art's "Happy Talk" series, Sharon Salzberg will be talking with artist Josh Melnick at the museum tonight, October 3, at 7 p.m. Happy Talk is a series of discussions between personalities and experts about the nature of happiness.

Salzberg is one of the country's leading insight meditation teachers and author of Real Happiness; Melnick is a photographer known for his ethereal photographs of New Yorkers riding the subway. About his work, Salzberg has written, "The Buddha said that all beings want to be happy. And he said that we are all vulnerable to loss, to change. I sensed the truth of that, watching those unpretentious faces, and felt how close we all actually are, and how close we should rightly feel. I think Josh's art is deep and true, and transformative. Seeing the exhibit left me contemplating the potential of art to change the way we see ourselves and others. And eager to look around the subway car."

Tickets for tonight's event are $ 25 ($ 22.50 for members.) The museum is located at 150 W. 17 St. in New York City. For more information and a full schedule of Happy Talk Events, see here. And to learn more about the Rubin Museum, see "Where the Deities Live," the Shambhala Sun's profile of this treasure.

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