All sound is the sound of mantra

Posted on May 24, 2013 by Yeshe Chödrön

These short, rudimentary videos are from Mapleknoll Marsh, a tiny pond in Bowdoin Park a mere five-minute walk from the end of the KTC driveway along Sheafe Road. Redwing blackbirds, a variety of frogs, Sheafe Road traffic, and even, faintly, the bells of Mount Alvernia (our Franciscan Monastery neighbor), along with various unidentified participants, join in the chorus of mani’s in honor of Saka Dawa, the most sacred month of our Buddhist calendar, during which Shakyamuni Buddha is said to have been born, attained enlightenment, and passed into nirvana many centuries ago.

Pond, bullfrog

Reeds, redwing

Redwing, Mount Alvernia (faint)

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Tai Situ Rinpoche’s streaming body of light

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Yeshe Chödrön

A few weekends ago, during a rebroadcast of Chamgon Tai Situ Rinpoche’s live-streamed seminars from India on The Jewel Ornament of Liberation, as I watched Rinpoche teach from the wide screen atop his throne, I was struck by two things: 1) how much it felt like being in the same room with him–in his warm, engaging, awe-inspiring presence–as many of us have been many times; and 2) that in this case, he was teaching in the KTC shrine room in a veritable body of light–directly from his seat in India, yet unmistakably with us in every way except the physical. I wonder if this is what it is like to see the Samboghakaya?

TSR OPL April 2013

 

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Weathering the rapids

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Yeshe Chödrön

People I meet almost invariably remark, sometimes with a hint of wistfulness, how quiet and peaceful it must be to live at a Buddhist monastery. Not at all, I assure them—on the contrary!

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In a Nutshell

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Yeshe Chödrön

Lama Norlha Rinpoche often reminds us that the best advice he got from his first root lama in Tibet was, “Always remember impermanence.”

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Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Posted on October 13, 2012 by Yeshe Chödrön

One way to measure how our study, contemplation and meditation are working for us is by checking in with the eight worldly concerns. When any of these rear up in our mindstream, we can feel the grip of samsara and–if we can bring awareness to our state of mind–maybe we can use it as an opportunity to remind ourselves to let go a little bit. Each time we do this, we wear away a little bit of our habitual pattern of attachment and aversion.

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Where Mahayana and Vajrayana Meet

Posted on September 21, 2012 by Yeshe Chödrön

KTC Monastery was graced with a visit last Saturday, September 15, from Master Hai Tao, a master of Mahayana Buddhism from Taiwan. He came to meet Lama Norlha Rinpoche and to see the Maitreya Center, our new monastery building currently under construction.

The Maitreya Center is unique in that it incorporates both a traditional Vajrayana and a traditional Mahayana shrine room. The construction of the building’s exterior is nearly complete, while the inside is framed out just enough that the dimensions of the respective shrine rooms are visible. A shrine had been set up in each of these spaces, overflowing with offerings and adorned with pictures of Buddhas. Master Hai Tao and his entourage toured the Maitreya Center with Rinpoche and paid homage at each of the shrines. It was a very touching moment of pure devotion shared across cultures and traditions.

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OM MANI PEME HUNG

Posted on September 12, 2012 by Yeshe Chödrön

This morning Pema Chödrön’s Facebook page shared a quote from her book, No Time to Lose: “The next time you go out in the world, you might try this practice: directing your attention to people—in their cars, on the sidewalk, talking on their cell phones—just wish for them all to be happy and well.“

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Another Aphorism

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Yeshe Chödrön

A reader inquired as to why there was only one aphorism, since the topic merited a tag. So I looked back through the list I kept in retreat and found a few more that might be of use in the world at large. Today’s featured aphorism, which I have thoroughly tested yet often forget:

~The best way to deal with any issue: write a note and tear it up the next day.~

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Return of The Blog

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Yeshe Chödrön

As explained in the introduction, I got permission at the beginning of my three-year Tibetan Buddhist retreat to keep in touch with the New Hampshire sangha by means of a monthly letter that would be posted on their website. When I was in retreat, I didn’t think of it as a “blog.” I just wrote a new “post” every once in a while (once a month for most of Year 1, much more sporadically as retreat progressed), mailed it to Arlo/Orlan, and never saw the result. I added my retreat graduation speech last spring and occasionally thought about continuing….but I wanted to reorganize the whole thing and it just seemed too complicated and amorphous, like a lot of things immediately following three years of one-thing-at-a-time. Plus life is very busy at the monastery!

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Your Way versus My Way

Posted on August 24, 2012 by Yeshe Chödrön

Over the course of three-year retreat, I compartmentalized some of the things I learned in the form of aphorisms. This is the one I refer to the most often; it seems to apply to many situations and helps me avoid (somewhat) engaging in criticism and arguments. Thanks to Jean Frostick for the expansion of category three:

~Your way works better 30% of the time, my way works better 30% of the time, either way works 90% of the time, and the other 10% is going to be a disaster no matter what.~

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