Reading for February 4 (Preparing to Retreat)

Day of Silence
Eleanor Rachel Luger interviews Gina Sharpe
ERL: New York Insight has included three Days of Silence in the 2001-2002 schedule. Why has NYI scheduled the days of silence and what will the format be?
GS: People were asking for them. In addition, they, quite rightly, emphasize the wisdom aspect of the teaching. The days of [...]

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In Buddhist news

clipped from www.washingtonpost.com

For ‘Dharma Indexes,’ Firms’ Conduct Matters

Dow Jones has launched “dharma indexes” to track the stocks of companies that observe the values of dharma-based religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.

The Dow Jones Dharma Indexes are the first to measure dharma-compliant stocks and now track more than 3,400 companies globally, including about [...]

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Reading for January 28

Reality Isn’t What You Think
By Andy Karr
Unlike most religions, Buddhism says our big problem is not sin but ignorance—our fundamental misunderstanding of reality. Contemplative practice, says Andy Karr, is a good way to analyze whether things are as solid, separate, and lasting as we habitually think they are.
Do things really exist the way we see [...]

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Reading for January 21

Leaning into Fear: Gateway to Freedom
By Tara Brach
“We have to face the pain we have been running from. In fact, we need to learn to rest in it and let its searing power transform us.” — Joko Beck
In Pali, the language of the Buddhist scriptures, the word for fear and the word for separate is [...]

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Reading for January 14

To Know Yourself is to Forget Yourself
by Pema Chodron
Originally published in Shambhala Sun Magazine, June 1998
We might think that knowing ourselves is a very ego-centered thing, but by beginning to look clearly and honestly at ourselves, we begin to dissolve the walls that separate us from others.
The journey of awakening happens just at the place [...]

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Taking Refuge: One Day Meditation Retreat

 In many Buddhist traditions, winter is customarily a time of turning inward and taking refuge in the silence we cultivate within ourselves through meditation. This stillness helps to rejuvenate and open our hearts and minds while also preparing us for spring’s rebirth.  Mid-February will be an ideal time to take refuge in a day long [...]

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Thousand Hand Boddhisattva

Here is a beautiful peice of performance art that is truly amazing to watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24SoPihLdq4.

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