Gaia Community: jhalifax's Blog

The Death of Neda: William Irwin Thompson

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:37:48 GMT

The whites of her eyes rolled up like a saint
in a filmed drama of staged yogic bliss,
then her head turned and showed it was not paint
that guttered out. The sniper did not miss,
in spite of Neda's black Persian Hijab,
the perfect placing of his pervert's kiss,
but he was just doing his Basij job;
the street was not the place for their complaint.
Religion is the robed disguise of thugs,
whether snipers on the roofs shooting girls,
Taliban buying guns by selling drugs,
West Bank settlers with their Uzis and curls
stealing wells with walls and Adonai's will,
who gave them the land and license to kill.

The whites of her eyes rolled up like a saint
in a filmed drama of staged yogic bliss,
then her head turned and showed it was not paint
that guttered out. The sniper did not miss,
in spite of Neda's black Persian Hijab,
the perfect placing of his pervert's kiss,
but he was just doing his Basij job;
the street was not the place for their complaint.
Religion is the robed disguise of thugs,
whether snipers on the roofs shooting girls,
Taliban buying guns by selling drugs,
West Bank settlers with their Uzis and curls
stealing wells with walls and Adonai's will,
who gave them the land and license to kill.

Tags: neda, iran, william irwin thompson, death, martyr

Roshi Joan, Frank Ostaseski, Richard Freeman, David Riley

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 04:08:33 GMT

Jul 10, 2009 — Jul 12, 2009
Exploring Compassion and Fearlessness at the End of Life
Frank Ostaseski * Roshi Joan Halifax with special participation by Ann Marie McKelvey, LPCC, MCC (PCC)

This retreat is for professional and family caregivers, those with life-threatening illness and those wishing to explore approaches to end-of-life care and issues related to dying and death. Participants will explore our views of pain, suffering, mortality, and freedom from suffering; perspectives on our encounter with death, as well as psycho-spiritual and contemplative approaches to care of the dying; the development of compassion and resilience in care of the dying, and methods for cultivating empathy, altruism, and compassion and sustaining resilience as we care for dying people. 10 CEUs for this program. Click here to register on-line.

Jul 23, 2009 — Jul 26, 2009
Yoga, Science and Selflessness Practice Intensive
Roshi Joan Halifax * Richard Freeman * David Riley, MD

This retreat is an immersion into the practice and science of asana practice and meditation. It includes an exploration of anatomy and Buddhist and Hindu philosophy. In a unique way, the retreat brings together the practice of Yoga with Buddhism and the latest scientific research in yoga and meditation. It is an exploration of the internal principles and forms of Ashtanga Yoga and philosophies of yoga into the therapeutics of asana practice, and includes pranayama and chanting, as well as the biomechanics of posture and movement. Click here to register on-line.

Tags: dying, death, upaya zen center, roshi joan halifax, yoga, science, neuroscience, buddhism

HIROSHIMA DAY: SACK CLOTH AND ASHES

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:39:08 GMT

Dear friends,

Upaya will be joining in with our friends from Pax Christi to commemorate Hiroshima Day this year (the 64th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan). We did this four years ago and it was quite a powerful experience for those of us who took part.

Please mark your calendar, and we hope you will join us for these two events:

* Friday, July 31: Witness for Peace -- an evening with two Nobel Peace Prize winners, Jody Williams and Mairead Maguire, at the Santa Fe Convention Center, 7 pm

* Aug 1: Los Alamos: sackcloth and ashes event, with Upaya and other sanghas offering a meditative/Buddhist presence

See the Pax Christi website: http://www.paxchristinewmexico.org/

Details are still to be worked out for the Aug 1 vigil, but we wanted to let you know in advance and we hope you will participate in this important commemoration. We'll post more information on the Upaya enewsletter and website as things get firmed up.

Tags: upaya zen center, hiroshima, compassion, social action

ALAN WALLACE AND THE SHAMATHA PROJECT

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:07:36 GMT

i am so looking forward to the program with alan wallace that will happen may 29-31 at upaya. he is an extraordinary teacher, has opened buddhist teachings on meditation in a way that makes them very accessible. all of upaya's residents will be in the program, as i feel his way of teaching meditation is important for our sangha to absorb. his shamatha project, which had cliff saron as the chief neuroscience researcher, is the most ambitious neuro research project on meditation ever done. cliff did a stunning presentation at the recent mind and life meeting in dharamsala with his holiness. new and stunning unpublished results were presented at this gathering. am glad that alan will be covering this as well. upaya@upaya.org

Tags: alan wallace, buddhism, neuroscience, enlightenment, meditation, research, upaya zen center

ROSHI JOAN'S LECTURE ON BIOETHICS: VIDEO

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:24:14 GMT

Roshi Joan Halifax gave the annual Sue MacRae lecture on bioethics in Toronto in May. A powerful talk on care of the dying, Buddhism, and ethics, she makes the important point that one cannot separate compassion and ethics. She uses the three-fold training as a model ethical care of the dying. She addresses the development of moral character. This is a video presenttion of the talk with powerpoint.

http://epresence.ehealthinnovation.org/epresence/1/watch/320.aspx

Tags: buddhism, ethics, roshi joan halifax, dame cecily saunders, care, death, dying, bioethics

SENSEI BEATE, ROSHI JOAN HALIFAX, ALAN WALLACE: UPCOMING AT UPAYA

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:27:47 GMT

Upcoming events at Upaya Zen Center
Upaya Zen Center, a residential Buddhist community founded by Roshi Joan Halifax and located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, will host these events:

May 13: A public dharma talk (5:30 p.m.) given by Sensei Beate Genko Stolte on “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.”

May 17-28: “Opening Prajna,” a retreat/work week at the Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge with Roshi Joan Halifax, Sensei Beate, Marty Peale, and others.

May 29-31: This weekend retreat, “Science Meets Meditation,” will be led by Alan Wallace .

July 10-12: A retreat exploring compassion and fearlessness at the end of life, led by Frank Ostaseski and Roshi Joan Halifax. This retreat is for professional and family caregivers, those with life-threatening illness, and those wishing to explore approaches to end-of-life care and issues related to dying and death.

Tags: roshi joan halifax, alan wallace, sensei beate stolte, buddhism, retreats, enlightenment, upaya zen center, zen, tibetan buddhism, theravada buddhism

Coming Home to Compassion - Upaya Zen Center

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:43:22 GMT

Enjoy a richly-layered and meditative visual exploration of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Upaya, founded by Buddhist teacher, social activist, author and anthropologist Roshi Joan Halifax, is a Zen Buddhist practice and educational center dedicated to fostering the relationship between traditional Buddhism and compassionate action. Renown for its innovation and beauty, Upaya welcomes practitioners and guests from all over the world, and hosts the finest teachers from East and West. Visit Upaya online at www.upaya.org or in New Mexico
http://www.upaya.org/index.php

Tags: upaya zen center, roshi joan halifax, meditation, compassion, santa fe, nature, zen, buddhism, karuna, chant

JOIN ROSHI JOAN AT THE REFUGE

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:44:19 GMT

May 19, 2009 — May 27, 2009

Opening of Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge Dana Retreat registrar@upaya.org


Instructors: Roshi Joan Halifax * Sensei Beate Genko Stolte * Marty Peale * Peg Reishin Murray
Prajna Mountain Forest Refuge is an extraordinary high mountain valley at 9400 feet, under the Truchas peaks in northern New Mexico. The Refuge is a retreat for those who wish to do the hermit practice of Bodhidharma and a place of environmental learning. During this dana retreat at the Refuge, we gather as friends to practice and open the Forest Refuge for the season. Working side by side with Roshi Joan, Roshi Enkyo, Sensei Beate, Peggy, and Marty, practicing zazen, we wake up the land from its long winter’s sleep. We get the garden ready for planting, work on the road, prepare the land and cabins for the summer, clear the forests of fuel-wood, and maybe even build a bath house! In addition to our work practice, we will do zazen, have seminars, learn the ecology of the Refuge, walk to the San Leonardo Lakes, and enjoy the great beauty of this remote mountain area with our sangha and teachers. We need carpenters, builders, woodcutters, folks who know how to use a chain saw, plumbers, electricians, cooks, and good friends. Most of us will camp, though we have some room in our cabins. Food is simple, organic, and full of nutrients. If you wish to join us, please fill out an application. We prefer that you stay the entire retreat. Note: Throughout the year, the Refuge welcomes a small number of practitioners, workers, and students of ecology to live, practice, learn and serve. These programs are directed by the Refuge’s Buddhist field naturalist Marty Peale. For more information about different ways to be at the Refuge, contact Marty Peale at mpeale@newmexico.com.

Tags: roshi joan halifax, buddhism, wilderness

ALAN WALLACE AT UPAYA

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:49:47 GMT

WWW.UPAYA.ORG
We are very grateful brilliant Alan Wallace is coming to teach at Upaya. I cannot recommend him highly enough. A physicist, early monk of the Dalai Lama's, and long time Buddhist practitioner, Alan's mind is something to behold. If you want to learn about Buddhist meditation, he is one of the greats.
MAY 29 - 31, 2009
SCIENCE MEETS MEDITATION: BALANCE THE HEART AND MIND

B. Alan Wallace
In this weekend retreat, Dr. Wallace focuses on two methods for cultivating meditative quiescence, or shamatha. In addition to exploring the important neuroscience research being done on Dr. Wallace's Shamatha project, he will teach, shamatha, the practice of “mindfulness of breathing”, which is an effective approach to soothing the body and calming the discursive mind. He will also introduce a method that is both a shamatha practice and a preliminary to Dzogchen, called “settling the mind in its natural state.” The attainment of shamatha is widely regarded in the Buddhist tradition as an indispensable foundation for the cultivation of contemplative insight (vipashyana).

This retreat is designed to provide participants with a sufficient theoretical and neuroscientific understanding of meditation and a basis in experience to enable participants to proceed effectively toward this extraordinary state of mental and physical balance.

Instruction will also be offered on the cultivation of the four immeasurables: loving-kindness, compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity. These qualities of the heart are so powerful that they can break down all the barriers that are created by attachment and aversion, opening our hearts boundlessly to all beings, which brings peace and happiness.
To register on-line, click here.WWW.UPAYA.ORG

B. Alan Wallace will be signing his new book, Mind in the Balance after lunch on Sunday, May 31, 2009. Other works by Alan will be available in our bookstore as well.
We encourage early registration, particularly, if you plan to lodge at Upaya which fills quickly. We have made arrangements with local hotels to handle your housing needs. Contact registrar@upaya.org for lodging information.

Tags: alan wallace, buddhism, upaya zen center, enlightenment, meditation

DALAI LAMA AND MIND AND LIFE, Dharamsala

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:26:53 GMT

Dalai Lama

Tags: mind and life, dalai lama, roshi joan halifax, dharamsala

KARMAPA, MATTHIEU RICARD AT MIND AND LIFE MEETING, DHARAMSALA

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 01:24:51 GMT

Mind and Life Meeting

Tags: mind and life, dalai lama, roshi joan halifax, dharamsala, karmapa, matthieu ricard

DHARAMSALA: FROM PEG MURRAY, ROSHI'S ASSISTANT

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 11:38:28 GMT

Greetings from Dharamsala!

Roshi and I arrived in Dharamsala from Delhi aboard a small plane
Wednesday, April 1st. Nari Rinpoche, who is the brother of His Holiness
the Dalai Lama (HHDL), was on the plane with us and joyfully predicted
that with the clear skies we would be able to see about 35% of the
Himalaya Range from the plane. Indeed the mountains looked themselves like
clouds from the distance and slowly resolved into magnificent jagged snow
capped massifs as the plane approached the valley where we were to land.

At the airport we were greeted with the traditional draping of a white
khata (scarf)—a welcoming blessing—and then popped into a small Toyota
taxi to begin our ascent up into Dharamsala/Mcleod Ganj. Road travel here
is pretty exciting as the roads are jammed with people, delivery trucks,
other taxis, private cars, many motorbikes, cows, and dogs. They all
manage to self-organize with the help of the ubiquitous beeeeep of vehicle
horns—not out of irritation—just to caution you that they are coming
close. The day we arrived, HHDL was also expected to be returning to his
residence from Delhi so many more people than usual were lined along the
roadways hoping to catch a glimpse of him. The road is paved, but pretty
narrow and numerous small businesses, shops and restaurants crowd the
edges adding a feeling of barely contained chaos in commerce here.

We are staying at a very modest guesthouse called Pema Thang, which sits
on the hillside up above the residence compound of HHDL. The guesthouse is
pretty much fully occupied by Mind & Life attendees who are well known to
each other and thus most meals in the dining room feel like family
gatherings and the conversations are quite lively and warm. You can
actually get pizza in their restaurant, but the Tibetan/Chinese/Indian
food mix of dishes is good. A typical breakfast of cheese omelet, toast
with jam and a pot of milky spicy Masala tea costs less than $2 US.

The first full day here I was privileged to accompany Roshi as Adam Engle,
CEO of Mind & Life took us along for his day. Roshi and I met Adam for
breakfast at the guesthouse where he was staying and he was in the middle
of doing an exercise routine using flexible tubing that anchors into a
doorjamb. Roshi joked that he should gift it to the Karmapa and on a whim,
Adam agreed. So first stop was the compound of the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa,
where we were granted a brief but delightful private audience. Adam
presented the gifts he had brought by first handing over a giant chocolate
bar and then the exercise apparatus. The Karmapa (who is just out of his
teen years) was intrigued and wanted a demonstration that was swiftly
provided amidst a lot of joking and laughing on both sides. Afterward,
Adam and Roshi encouraged the Karmapa to suggest areas of research for
Mind & Life scientists who study the effects of meditation and
contemplative practice as it affects many faculties of mind including
memory, attention, and mind/body effects.

Next stop was Norbulingka, a kind of Tibetan cultural center. The grounds
are beautiful and were designed by a Japanese architect so they include
artistically arranged plantings, koi ponds, waterfalls and little rushing
streams, lots of beautiful stone work and of course wandering pathways
which open into both private and public areas. One is able to visit
several workshops where Tibetans can learn and refine the skills needed to
produce beautiful works of art. There is a painting studio where thangkas
are painted, a sewing studio where the appliquéd thangkas are crafted, a
woodworking shop, a metalworking shop where large bronze and copper
statues were being fabricated and a lovely gift shop which displays and
sells the products—In addition, a doll museum has recreated several
scenarios depicting Tibetan life with figures clothed in traditional dress
to signify various nomadic tribes as well as dioramas of religious
ceremonies with elaborate costumes depicting various deities of the more
esoteric Tibetan Buddhism and some depicting traditional opera and various
historical stories (such as a depiction of Milarepa in his hillside cave).

After Norbulingka, we went to Dolma Ling, a nunnery that is part of the
Tibetan Nuns Project. Two hundred young nuns live in this compound, most
between the ages of 14 and 24 years of age. They usually arrive here after
walking an arduous and frightening trek from Tibet across the Himalayas
under constant threat of discovery and possible death from Chinese army
patrols trying to seal the borders. Most often the nuns arrive illiterate,
infected with tuberculosis, malnourished, and cut off from their families
and relatives. We witnessed a simple but clean compound offering the nuns
shared rooms but with plenty of green space, a well-stocked library, solar
hot showers, dining room, their own temple, classrooms, and staff and
teacher housing. The nuns were out in the courtyard practicing debate
Buddhist style. This style is characterized by pairs, or small groups,
which take individual turns being either the “expounder” or the “refuter”
for want of better terms. The “expounder” is standing and vociferously
trying to make an argument tying together various pieces of Buddhist
philosophy learned in class and informed whenever possible by personal
experience/observation. The “refuter” is seated and can challenge the
suppositions of the “expounder” or ask them for more evidence to support
their position. The “expounder” is very dynamic and emphasizes key points
by pointing, speaking loudly, and stepping forward and making an
exaggerated slap with her hands. The vigor of both the physical expression
and the argument are equally important. It was a delightful noisy mayhem
of saffron and maroon robes amidst exuberant shouting. All of these nuns,
and there are several nunneries in the project, are sponsored,
predominantly by westerners who pay $30/mo to support a nun.

The next few days were spent a bit more leisurely; I accompanied Roshi on
walks either up and down the hilly streets and alleyways or we walked a
“kora” or circumambulation of the knoll upon which His Holiness resides. A
narrow mostly paved path winds down and around below the compound and is
completely decorated with streams of colorful prayer flags, mani stone
piles (carved with the mani mantra, om mani padme hum which invokes “the
jewel in the lotus”) and piles of stones covered in white lime for what
significance I have not yet learned. This path is walked at least once
daily by many and more times by some and one sees young up to very, very
old persons, Tibetan, Indian, Westerner, and of course the ubiquitous
cows. In addition both rhesus monkeys and black faced macaque monkeys in
habit the surrounding countryside and often seen munching some lunchtime
leftover in pretty much complete disregard of those strolling.

Say tuned for Part Two: meetings with HHDL and western contemplatives and
neuroscientists—yes I got into the meetings --Adam Engle be praised!

love to all,
Peg

Tags: dalai lama, mind and life, neuroscience, dharamsala, roshi joan haifax

MIND AND LIFE: DALAI LAMA, NEUROSCIENCE, DHARAMSALA

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 16:20:38 GMT

Friends,

Link to the Mind and Life blog of the Dharamsala meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and scientists on attention and memory: http://www.mindandlife.org/blog/

Tags: dalai lama, mind and life, neuroscience, roshi joan halifax, richard gere

DALAI LAMA AND MIND AND LIFE

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 09:14:11 GMT

At this time, Roshi is in Dharamsala at the Mind and Life Meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama and neuroscientists and philosophers. The Mind and Life Board met for an hour with His Holiness at his request on Sunday morning. He expressed his profound gratitude for the long friendship with the Board, and particularly at a time when he is so deeply saddened by the events in Tibet. He spoke of the importance of the development of inter-religious dialogue in India at a time when the relationship between religions is so fraught with difficulties. He referenced the recent event in South Africa when his visa was refused. He told us that when her received the invitation to go to South Africa, he was overjoyed, particularly to spend time with Nelson Mandela, who is elderly and whom he deeply admires. He encouraged us in our work of bringing forward the scientific study of meditation and its application to well-being, peace, and compassion in today's imperilled world. He spoke of the need for politicians and corporations to remember principles and values. During the course of this intimate meeting, the Board was deeply touched by His Holiness' honesty as he faces his elder years with so much suffering in the Tibetan community. And though he himself is getting on in years, his health is excellent and his commitment to work directly for the well-being of others is profound. He remains for all of us as an example of the highest of human virtues and an inspiration to all whom he touches. The Board left the meeting deeply moved by this words, and with a sense of incredible good fortune that we have had the opportunity to serve His Holiness' vision over these past two decades.

Tags: mind and life, dalai lama, roshi joan halifax, dharamsala

ROSHI JOAN: FEATURE IN SHAMBHALA SUN

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:24:54 GMT

Feature article about Roshi Joan in Shambhala Sun
http://www.upaya.org/news/2009/03/26/shambhala-sun-may-2009-joan-halifax-fearless-and-fragile/

Tags: roshi joan halifax, buddhism, zen, love, strength, fearlessness

PTSD Treatment For Monks

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 18:31:58 GMT

Fresh Air from WHYY, March 26, 2009 · Dr. Michael Grodin discusses his experiences treating Tibetan monks who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Many of the monks were imprisoned or tortured because of their resistance to the Chinese presence in Tibet, and now some of them experience "flashbacks" while meditating.

Grodin hypothesizes that meditation may reduce the brain's ability to inhibit unpleasant thoughts and memories. His treatment combines elements of Western and Tibetan medicine and therapy. Grodin wrote about his findings in the March issue of Mental Health, Religion, and Culture.

A professor of health law, bioethics and human rights at Boston University School of Public Health, Grodin is the medical ethicist at Boston Medical Center and the co-director of the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights.http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102373662&sc=emaf

Tags: buddhism, ptsd

I Tell You: Susan Glassmeyer

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 04:40:50 GMT

I Tell You

I could not predict the fullness
of the day. How it was enough
to stand alone without help
in the green yard at dawn.

How two geese would spin out
of the ochre sun opening my spine,
curling my head up to the sky
in an arc I took for granted.

And the lilac bush by the red
brick wall flooding the air
with its purple weight of beauty?
How it made my body swoon,

brought my arms to reach for it
without even thinking.

*
In class today a Dutch woman split
in two by a stroke - one branch
of her body a petrified silence,
walked leaning on her husband

to the treatment table while we
the unimpaired looked on with envy.
How he dignified her wobble,
beheld her deformation, untied her

shoe, removed the brace that stakes
her weaknesses. How he cradled
her down in his arms to the table
smoothing her hair as if they were

alone in their bed. I tell you -
his smile would have made you weep.

*
At twilight I visit my garden
where the peonies are about to burst.

Some days there will be more
flowers than the vase can hold.

— Susan Glassmeyer

Tags:

Part 2: Servant Leadership< by halifax

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 03:32:34 GMT

2 I’ve often asked myself “Is there a Buddhist vision of leadership?” I’d like to share with you some thoughts in this regard. I feel that Buddhism has a tremendous amount to offer our politicians and to us at these times. The training that we engage in as practitioners is actually very well suited to this experience of compassionate servant-leadership. It requires discipline. I always liked the phrase by Carl Jung speaking about discipline because many of us have an aversion to discipline. It’s really hard for us to show up consistently. Carl Jung describes discipline as “an obedience to awareness.” Awareness is that process within the mental continuum that is characterized by non-judgmental luminosity. “An obedience to awareness.” Our practice also has many manifestations of confirmation of interconnectedness. I have used the example of the server and the one being served. We see what happens in the course of our Zen service in the morning-- This experience of interconnectedness manifested also as interdependence and interpenetration, that we are not separate from each other. Any being or thing whom we exclude from our heart, excludes our heart from ourself. It is such a deep practice to return again and again to the realization of non-duality, which is fundamental in this practice. In Zen, it is not a fancy mystical vision. It is the very simple actualization that we are not separate from any being or thing. Our work with koans, for example, is about this realization of non-separateness, non-duality. It is not a process where we conceptually unpack a koan or therapize ourselves to clarify our psychological problems through the medium of a koan. But we actually enter into something that cannot be solved, and we rest in mushin, beginner’s mind, the mind of inquiry through the medium of the story. An aspect of Buddhism that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, profoundly emphasizes is universal responsibility. This as well is expressed in this vision of interconnectedness which is fundamental in Buddhism. It is not that we are just interconnected. I think of what Barack Obama has done in terms of reconciling with McCain, inviting his team of rivals to join him in his cabinet. Of not just reaching across the aisle and racial divide, but the divide of religion and nationality. It is a fascinating gesture of reconciliation of the profoundest type that is happening on the global stage. It characterizes a quality of heart and mind that somehow, not just in the past eight years, but for decades, perhaps since Kennedy or King, we have not had access to globally. Universal responsibility implies a profound ethical base. I like the title of Reb Anderson’s book about the precepts, “Sitting Upright.” The feeling is of fundamental dignity. Obama is calling for, and we will call from him as well, fundamental transparency, shining light right into the center of the busiest of governments. Because if we are to understand deeply the business of government, we are to understand that it is holy business. It is about making a whole cloth of this world. Another aspect of Buddhism that is very important for us to look at is popularly and Buddhistically known as karma, often misunderstood but meaning to understand consequentiality or the nature of causality. We have seen how the attitude and action thus far of this remarkable human being has actually created a psychic wave not only in our country but globally which has lifted the human spirit in spite of a declining economy, a difficult thing to do in a world that is so materialistic. Now the Buddha himself did not set out to create a mass movement of followers. His work, like those who organize neighborhoods including our president, was about the development not simply of leadership but of servant-leadership. It was not about non-disclosure, according to the history of Buddhism; it was about training individuals in clear discernment and to open up, through direct experience, the fundamental quality of generosity that makes for a good leader. It is interesting to look at the word sangha. We think that it means just a group of practicing Buddhists. But actually it meant council or parliament. It refers to a collection of individuals who are practitioners, servant-leaders, practitioner-servant-leaders. How do we cultivate true practice, the quality of mind that is not out for one’s self but is completely dedicated to the common good. Its really interesting to look at our business practices which are so competitive, so selfish and self-directed and to see the consequence of that ethos on our free market and its effect on creating poverty, not only nationally, but globally. Servant-leaders are holders of the vision. They are not necessarily the ones that create the vision. They learn to wait and to discern what really wants to happen here. Merle Lefkoff and Lynn Twist, women involved in visionary systems transformation, recognize clearly that one watches and waits for the way and has the quality of presence to actually catch and gather all into the way. This is a very different perspective than we have in western culture where the locus of power is in the so-called visionary who has the great idea. The visionary knows how to bear witness. To bear witness to, as Basho said, ‘what will serve?’ I feel that our current president has this sensibility. Maybe he too has heard this Christian joke . “What makes God laugh?” The answer is “Plans.” But the visionary is not the only one that discerns; also the sangha, the council, the parliament, the servant-leaders, us. we’re being invited to share our opinions with our government today and for this past month so powerfully, through the medium of the internet and all sorts of other media. Sending our voice. Our servant-leaders need not only to discern what is the vision by bearing witness to the people, but also how to be part of the excitation of the collective. And so the support and the cultivation of leadership capacities in others is essential, as Barack Obama knows as a community organizer. It will be fascinating to watch him in this upcoming period, apply the strategies that he used in his Chicago neighborhood, not just to the national issues, but to global issues. One of the most critical things in servant leadership has to do with initiative. How do we actually feel that we can take the initiative and get something done, or let something go when it is time to let go. Certainly I can say as a Buddhist practitioner, who is oriented towards the truth of change, our practice is about this. How do we see what wants to happen, help it happen when it wants to happen and let it go when the cycle is complete? So the virtues that we enjoy as spiritual people whether Christian or Buddhist, Muslim or Jew, includes the virtues that are manifesting powerfully at this time in the person of Barack Obama and are reflecting back and resonating within our own psychological structures. These include the spirit of inclusiveness. How do we bring everybody to the table? How do we manifest patience? How do we actualize not just tolerance but appreciation for differences? How do we take responsibility for our actions? Instead of saying ‘Oh, I think it was a pretty good eight years!” but we really take responsibility in a very fundamental way. This worked, this didn’t work. How do we learn from our mistakes?

Tags: roshi joan halifax, obama, upaya zen center, dalai lama

A New Democracy: The Koan of Servant Leadership, Obama Buddhism

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 15:00:02 GMT

Joan Halifax, January 21, 2009, Upaya Zen Center

About a thousand years ago in China, the interactions between Zen teachers and students began to be collected. These interactions were called koans which means ‘public case.’ As koans were being collected in China, Chaco Canyon was being constructed. It is interesting to be in a place where the structure of the buildings and the orientation of the buildings were an endeavor to create clarity and coherence in a universe that was perceived as being fundamentally indeterminate. Koans are very much in that same spirit. They are a means wherein people can contemplate an interaction from a thousand years ago that points to a quality within the human psyche, which has the capacity for deep discernment, for clarity. We’re in an indeterminate time when discernment and clarity are useful.

I think many of us yesterday morning sat in front of our television sets and our computers watching the historical inauguration, and here at Upaya were many people in the zendo sitting in front of a huge screen watching the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama. I was reminded that many of my friends on Facebook gave themselves the middle name of Hussein as a way of using an identity marker to peel away the associations with an identity that turns us against half of the world and thus ourselves. I thought it a wonderful joke and a skillful means.

The koan that I’d like to present this afternoon as we touch into this exploration of Buddhism, democracy and Obama is a simple one. It is from Basho, a 17th century monk-poet and teacher who ended up eschewing the so-called social life. He walked around the countryside in Northern Japan and composed many wonderful haiku that we continue to appreciate many years later.

A Monk once asked Basho: “What is the essence of your practice?”
Basho replied: “Whatever is needed.”

I live with that koan inside of me, not that I always actualize it. But it’s absolute plain-riceness, which is typical of Basho, is something that I have come to deeply appreciate. What is the essence of this practice, our practice, whatever our practice might be, and the response by Basho, “Whatever is needed.” Because the practice is not about Basho, we understand. It is not even about the practice, it is not about Zen, it is not about Buddhism. It is about just one thing and one thing only and that is what is needed.

In Buddhism, we speak about dependent co-arising. When the meal servers stand in front of me with a pot full of food during oriyoki, I put my hands together and bow. That sense of connection between me and the server, the food, the cook, the field and the farmer is so immediate in that gesture of raising my hands and putting them together and holding myself upright and then lowering myself. Whatever is needed.

In a week and a day, three people in this zendo will be ordained. When people ask me about what it means to be a priest, I say it means only one thing and that is, being a servant to all. It has nothing to do with Zen, religion, Buddhism but it has to do with an inner attitude. What is the essence of your practice—whatever, what ever is needed. That sensibility is characterized by the archetype of the Bodhisattva in Buddhism. Someone who has stepped away like Basho did, from social requirements and entertainment and has chosen to be born every day in the spirit of ‘What ever is needed.” Whatever is needed.

The basis for the bodhisattva’s path is characterized by theThree Tenets that were discovered by my teacher, Glassman Roshi. These three tenets are important for us to consider in the light of what it means not only to be a priest, a leader, a president, a practitioner, but what it means to be a human being.

The first tenet is so simple; it is the tenet of Not Knowing. In our koan seminar, I heard someone ask “What does it mean cutting off this stuff?” I thought, that’s the essence of Zen. Cutting off your opinions, letting go of your impulses, letting go of any gaining idea of merit or worth or expectation, and being in what Suzuki Roshi called “Beginner’s Mind,” mushin.

How can you be a president, for example, and be in beginner’s mind, having a completely fresh approach to each thing, moment by moment, sometimes requiring tough love, sometimes requiring gentleness. This mind of Not Knowing is a mind that actually drops beneath the personality and allows for the quality of freshness to arise as each situation is encountered.

The second tenet is Bearing Witness. How do we actually bear witness to joy and suffering in a way that allows us to unify completely, to really feel the joy in the world, to really feel the suffering. As I sat in this room yesterday morning, in the back of the zendo, in my father’s chair, thinking about his Southern roots, being from Savannah, Georgia, I wished that he were alive because I feel that his own conditioning would be absolved in the light of the current sanity.

How to bear witness without prejudice, without judgment, presencing things just as they are, in a completely undivided way? Yes, there was a little murmur when the then vice-president came out in his wheelchair; you could feel the old cynicism in the room. I think that many know that feeling, that moment yesterday when the eight years of no sunshine, no transparency, giving rise to a divided heart where bearing witness was not possible because we felt the double thinking. How do we come into this quality of presence which is really fresh, based in trust, that allows us to genuinely bear witness, not just to the good things but to the things in our world that are characterized by deep suffering, deep alienation.

The third tenet that Glassman Roshi spoke about is that of Compassionate Action. How do we develop the qualities that allow us to respond. Sometimes, as Paul Krugman said in a very powerful article, that we have to hold beings accountable in the spirit of truth and reconciliation, where the No is firm and we share it as a nation, as a world, to acts that are despicable. Or a response of compassion that takes the form of joy on the path of service as we meet suffering in small intimate gestures: toothpaste and socks for the homeless (bring these to the front desk please. The shelter needs what you have.)
Obama with a paint roller in his hand the day before his inauguration putting teal paint on the wall of the homeless shelter. Those small, perfect and humble gestures that make the world right.

Tags: obama, buddhism, zen, roshi joan halifax, three tenets

REPEAL new mexico death penalty: NOW!!!!!!

http://jhalifax.gaia.com — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 19:57:39 GMT

Please e-mail or phone Governor Richardson of New Mexico today urging him to sign the bill abolishing the Death Penalty in New Mexico. Ask your friends and family to do the same. THIS HAS TO BE DONE TODAY!
Phone: 505-476-2225
E-mail:http://www.governor.state.nm.us/email.php?mm=6&type=opinion

Tags: DEATH PENALTY