Here are some links to pictures that taken by Reva Damir of the Tibetan monks and the construction of the sand mandala in the Gallo Center lobby:

Day 1 (Tuesday)

Day 2 (Wednesday)

Day 3 (Thursday)

Day 4 (Friday)

Day 5 (Saturday) – finish of the mandala, dispersal and closing

A deep bow of thanks to the beautiful pictures taken by Reva to share with all of us!  What a blessing!

To learn more about mandalas and some interactive videos of how they represent 3-d structures, check out these links:

http://www.graphics.cornell.edu/online/mandala/

http://www.cs.cornell.edu/~kb/mandala/

http://kalachakranet.org/mandala_kalachakra.html

http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/online/mandala/mandala.htm

http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/george/mandala.html

http://www.paullevalley.com/school/03-buddhist.htm

Here’s a description of the program “the Mystical Arts of Tibet” that the monks presented at the Gallo Center.  The Yak Dance wasn’t performed and one of the five wisdoms was missing from the Dance of the Celestial Travellers due to a problem getting a visa to the US.

Here are a few quotes that might be worth considering:

Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh wrote,
“To practice Right Livelihood (samyag ajiva), you have to find a way to earn your living without transgressing your ideals of love and compassion. The way you support yourself can be an expression of your deepest self, or it can be a source of suffering for you and others. ” … Our vocation can nourish our understanding and compassion, or erode them. We should be awake to the consequences, far and near, of the way we earn our living.” (The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching [Parallax Press, 1998], p. 104)

“I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker.”
– Helen Keller

And here is an article worth reading about the attitude we bring to our occupations… “Everything is Practice.”

This is a talk worth watching by my teacher, Gil Fronsdal – very apropos after our daylong today with Jacques, Diane and Candace!

For those of you who want to learn more about Folsom Pathways Sangha, here is a link to their website.

Check out some new videos worth watching…

Here is a link to a series of talks given by John Peacock for the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies on “Buddhism Before the Theravada.”  I highly recommend listening to these talks!

If you find them inspiring and want to support more of these kinds of offerings, please consider making a donation to the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies.

Thoughts to ponder…

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm any hostility.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Here is an excellent article by Andrew Olendzki on “Where the Action Is.”

And a Chinese story:

Winning the Battle

One day, Zengzi 曾子(a philosopher and student of Confucius, 505-436 BCE) met Zixia 子夏, another student of Confucius, in the street and carefully looking him over, asked, “In the past you had many illnesses and were always thin and weak. You seem to have gained weight and look energetic too.” Zixia replied, “I have recently won a battle, so I feel very happy and have gained weight as a result.”

Not understanding him Zengzi asked, “What do you mean?”

Zixia replied, “One day I was reading about Yao (唐堯, 2353-2234 BCE.) , Yu (大禹, the legendary founder of the Xia Dynasty that began in 2205 BCE) and Tang (商湯, 1617 -1588 BCE). After reading their viewpoints on morality, friendship and loyalty, I found I appreciated their views and wanted to be a good person. However, when I walked down the street and saw so many tantalizing things, and observed other people living in luxury, my desire for material things was stimulated and I wanted to make more money. These two opposing thoughts constantly fought inside my mind and I could not find any peace. I was not able to eat or rest well, lost weight and incurred many illnesses.

“Who won the battle?” Zengzi inquired.

Zixia quickly answered, “Yao, Yu and Tang’s views on morality, friendship and loyalty won. As you can now see, I have gained weight.”

This is a quote from Dharma Master Cheng Yen:

“Always listen to Right Views. If our views are correct, out of many things we hear, we will identify what is right and what is wrong. “In a group of three, at least one is my teacher.” When we hear the right counsel, from a wise person, we will be grateful and will practice it in our daily living. When we hear something wrong, we must be vigilant and avoid led onto a deviant path. A person who can clearly discern right from wrong is a wise person. A good way to explain our wisdom and our mind is to use the analogy of mirror. If the mirror is wiped clean and clear, we can clearly distinguish between different colors and forms in its reflection. But if the mirror becomes blurry, we cannot clearly see the external conditions. This path should be level and straight, but if the mirror is off, we may follow the wrong path. The mind is like a mirror. If it is polished clean, it can clearly reflect external conditions so we will not be deluded. Thus we must constantly tidy up our minds. If we are free of defilements and deviance, we will not commit wrongs. Wrongdoings and misguided perspectives arise from ignorance and blindness.”

Here’s a wonderful clip of some of my CDL family at the Garrison retreat in NY chanting “namo kuan shr yin pu sa” at the end of the retreat.

Last week I spoke a little about Ven. Pannavati and the work she is doing in North Carolina.  You can read a Tricycle article about her:
An Interview with Venerable Pannavati Karuna and see a short video of her on YouTube. Her website is: http://www.embracingsimplicityhermitage.org/ – if you wisho donate to her organization for homeless teens, see: myplacewnc.org