miller's crossing

While Buddhism has a very logical and philosophical side, it also has a faith-based side. In many ways, I find the latter more difficult to access. My empirical mind steps to the front, often blocking the metaphysical view. Sometimes that's okay. Other times, I think it's best if it stays on the sidelines. That's how I approached viewing the relics of Buddhist masters.

The Maitreya Projects Heart Shrine Relics Tour, which is at Maitripa College in Portland, OR, this weekend, can be a powerful experience for the faithful and even for those without. Beautifully displayed in Maitripa's Jokhong, I was surprise by how much they moved me.

From the Maitreya Project website:

The relics were found among the cremation ashes of Buddhist masters. They resemble beautiful pearl-like crystals. Buddhists believe the relics are produced as a result of the master's spiritual qualities of compassion and wisdom. Since we can all develop these qualities, the relics are a reminder of our own essential nature of purity and our inner potential to manifest that.

Here are my pictures of the relics at Maitripa.

image from maitripa website

Is it the religion that’s important or the things fostered by practicing that religion that really count? More specifically what is the importance of an esoteric Tibetan Buddhist practice to a 21st-century American female like myself? I’ve been pondering these things since having the opportunity recently to attend Chenrezig and Chöd Initiations given by Lama Zopa Rinpoche. To be clear, I have deep respect and love for the practices of Tibetan Buddhism and for the great work and teachings of Lama Zopa Rinpoche. Even so, I wonder how several hours of unintelligible chanting, incense and bell ringing are relevant and meaningful to a Western life — fair questions for someone who is still relatively new to the religion.

Three books I’ve read recently — The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama by Pico Iyer; Cave in the Snow: Tenzin Palmo’s Quest for Enlightenment by Vicki Mackenzie; and Ethics for the New Millennium by His Holiness the Dalai Lama — have provided much food for thought as I’ve turned the above questions over in my head. The intention of my summer reading is to look at how people write about Buddhists and the Buddhist experience, with a strong eye toward Tibetan Buddhism. I’m grateful to the Multnomah County Library for having so many of the titles that interest me. The timing of my library holds becoming available explains how these three books ended up being written about together. But as these things go, I think these readings compliment each other well.

birthday flowers

I just got done listening to Pico Iyer talking with Paul Holdengräber as part of the "Live at the New York Public Library” series on his book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Iyer is an insightful speaker and has a well informed mind. He’s fascinating to listen to about His Holiness, who was a friend of his father. Iyer’s book sounds like it could be a more literary look at His Holiness and what he represents than Chan’s book (see below). I’ve already put it on hold at the library. So, I’ll have more to say in a few weeks.

book review: dreaming me and the wisdom of forgiveness

There is a tradition in Tibetan Buddhist literature of the nam-thar, the sacred life story of a Buddhist saint. They are inspirational in nature, narrating how an ordinary human can accomplish great things. While nam-thar might not be an accurate description of Jan Willis's Dreaming Me: An African-American Woman's Spiritual Journey or Victor Chan’s The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Intimate Conversations and Journeys, it’s a model to keep in mind while reading them. Both Willis’s memoir and Chan’s account of the time he spent with His Holiness the Dalai Lama can serve as inspiration to all of us as we try to be good people on this troubled planet.

I've been doing some volunteer work for the Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition, an amazing international organization with centers spanning the globe. Anyway, I came across the website for Lawudo Gompa, a FPMT-affiliated retreat center high up in the Himalayas of Nepal. Check out the link. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be there.

Easter was never a favorite holiday of mine. As a kid it meant getting up before dawn to make breakfast at church: scrambled eggs, little sausage links, pancakes, juice, cinnamon rolls. If I was lucky, I could stay in the kitchen during the sunrise service and make juice from the shiny orange frozen concentrate.

Sticking with my New Year's resolution to read more poetry and fiction, I picked up Gary Snyder's Earth House Hold. The first part is called "Lookout's Journal." It's a collection of journal entries from 1952 when he was apparently a lookout in Mt. Baker National Forest. He's in the back country and it's mostly simple observations of nature and of other humans -- voices over the 2-way radio, in diners, etc.

Vine Deloria, Jr. passed away on November 13 at the age of 73. Deloria authored over 20 books, including his best seller ''Custer Died for your Sins'' (1969). He made important contributions to several Native American organizations and institutions over the years, including serving as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians. He also was a professor of history at the University of Colorado.