Occupy Movement (Guest Post by Sharon)

Hi folks i want to share with you an experience i had last evening while sitting with my Tibetan Buddhist teacher  Zasep Tulku Rinpoche who has just returned  from a four month retreat in remote Mongolia  i was telling him and a Mongolian friend of his about the  occupy movement which as you know i am impressed with and have become involved in  during our conversation i saw that the initials of occupy movement  create a sanskrit syllable OM which is often chanted by both Buddhists and Hindus this chanting is a form of prayer and communication with higher     beings

  so i asked Rinpoche how he would define this syllable in this       context

  his simple and straight forward words touched me deeply   this is what he said:  occupy movement = OM means awareness & attention, a desire to be    listened to  first one calls out  wanting to be heard  the occupy movement is calling out to others to listen and others listen   if they do not listen there is no freedom of speech  one makes the sound OM with awareness one makes the sound OM to call the gods/universal forces/energies one makes the sound OM to get the attention of others one makes the sound OM because one wants others to listen one makes the sound OM because one wants to be heard 

 that is what he said  i thought about this for a long time and wanted to share this with  you all so i asked him if i could quote him and he said  yes of course  i am delighted amazed by this "co incidence" and very interested to hear any thoughts and feeling you may have   about this  please share this with whoever you wish to share it with  eve this sounds like a mic check to me !!! hope you are enjoying the winter in the air hugs sharon

Dharma Film Night and Fundraiser!

If you’re fortunate enough to be in Thunder Bay, Ontario the weekend after next, don’t miss Potala’s film night and fundraiser!  Potala Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Centre, an affiliate of Gaden for the West, hosts bimonthly movies, screening Buddhist films and documentaries.  It’s a great chance to see interesting films from around the world and support the Dharma.  The next movie night is Saturday, September 24th at 7 pm.  The suggested donation is just $6.  They’ll be screening the Thai film “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” (click on the title for a link to the trailer).  This movie, like all of Potala’s film nights, will be at Lakehead Unitarian Fellowship, 129 S. Algoma Street.  For more information about the movie, check out Potala’s flyer about “Uncle Boonmee.

 

Isn’t a film screening a great way for a Dharma centre to fundraise?  Does your centre do this?  Are other Dharma centres, especially Gaden for the West affiliates, interested in setting this up?  If you want to coordinate your own Dharma movie night, please leave a comment here!  What’s your favorite Buddhist movie?  Your favorite, fun way to fundraise?  Let us know below!

What Does Dharma in the West Need?

What do you wish you saw when it comes to Buddhism in the West?  I ask all Buddhists, and especially those involved in Gaden for the West.  What’s missing?  If you had a magic wand and could change three things about Dharma in the West, what would they be?

Do you long for a stronger sense of community?  Do you stay away from retreats and teachings because they’re out of your price range?  Would childcare or a more accessible site or space increase your presence at Dharma events?  Is an online presence (or lack thereof) important to you?  Would you like to spend less time running a center and more time meditating, or do you wish it were easier to get involved and volunteer?  If a sangha had more people like you, would it be more like home?  Is diversity in age, race, gender, sexual orientation, class, ability, and everything else a priority?  Do you a social sangha?  What teachings and practices do you dream about having access to?  What sort of teachers do you work well with?  Do you need role models, peers, monastics, lay teachers?

What three things really get you to teachings, to retreats, or to the cushion?  What makes you want to give back to a Dharma group and help it thrive?

What do you feel is missing from your practice?  Where do you need support?

Basically, what’s your dream sangha and Dharma center?  How can we make Gaden for the West even better?

Opportunities for Generosity

Is the Dharma important in your life?  Do you think Gaden for the West is a valuable resource for spiritual study and practice?  Are you satisfied with how much you currently support GftW?

Practicing generosity by giving time, resources, and effort is essential.  It reminds us what we value, what we believe is necessary in our lives and in the world.  Often, though, we believe we don’t have enough to give.  It’s easy to get discouraged.  It can be confusing, especially if you want to volunteer and don’t know who to talk to or where to start.

In this blog, we’ll highlight ongoing opportunities to practice generosity, through giving, fundraising, and volunteering.  This month’s top five ways to support Gaden for the West and practice that first paramita:

1. Donate through Paypal.  We have just recently enabled online donations through Paypal and have complete instructions for donating this way.  Every little bit — even just $5 — helps keep the Gompa open and offering retreats and teachings.
2. Share your pictures and stories on this blog!  Currently, all content for the blog is written by one person with a full-time job, several other volunteer commitments, daily practice commitments, while taking two post-college classes!  If you can write once a month or just one story, or even send a great picture or two, it would make a HUGE difference.  If you are interested, leave a comment saying so, or send a message through a Facebook page, and I will follow up within a week with directions.  And if you aren’t interested but know someone who might be, let them know!
3. Help us use social media to stay connected.  We are looking for 1 to 3 volunteers who can commit about 30 minutes a week to helping us connect to Dharma friends on Facebook, Twitter, and publicizing this blog.  You don’t need any prior experience, only a half hour a week, internet access, and a willingness to learn.  Again, comment or message us via Facebook to get started.
4. Connect us to your Dharma Center.  If you attend a GftW center, or another Buddhist center that might like to stay in touch with us, link to us.  Send us your website info and we’ll link to you.  Ideally we would like this blog to appear on every Gaden for the West related website, so we can all stay in touch.  You can contact your webmaster, add the link yourself (if you can), or, if you need help, comment here or send a message through Facebook.  This would increase our visibility tremendously and be an important step toward having all GftW scheduling information available online and connected to all our centers.  In the past we have relied heavily on word of mouth to publicize retreats, teachings, and fundraising.  While this is still important, we are taking steps toward a more systematic approach.
5. Please comment.  What do you think needs to be done in your Dharma community?  How do you practice generosity in your life?  Are there other volunteer jobs, upcoming events, or anything else we’ve missed at the blog but that people need to know about?  Do you like this blog (new as it is)?  Hate it?  Anything?  Comments increase our ranking on search engines, can help guide this blog’s direction, and be a meaningful conversation in and of themselves.  If you read this, please, please comment, even if it’s just to say hello.  It takes less than five minutes and I would LOVE to read at least a “hello” next week when I sit down to post here.  Come on, Dharma friend, make my day.  :)

Retreat Reflections

I recently finished a five-day solo retreat at the Gompa in Nelson, B.C.  After a hectic year I’d been needing a little time to be still and quiet and focus on Dharma.  It was fantastic to do so in such a beautiful setting.  I did a lot of walking meditation and some outdoor sitting.  Look at the incredible views!

There was a lot of rain during my visit (as our Canadian friends already know!) but look at all the green!  While I staying in the top room of the Gompa I could see the mountains from the window.

 

 

 

It was lovely to practice in nature.  Immediately after my retreat a short shamanistic retreat called “Nature Speaks” was held on the grounds.  The set up was a bit of a challenge as I was keeping silence during my retreat, but ultimately staying silent when bustle was going on around me was a great thing to reflect on.

 

It was great to turn over the space to another retreat!

 

I also loved getting to see the temple that’s being built.  I hadn’t visited in over a year and a ton of progress has been made, thanks to so many volunteers.  Those work parties are certainly paying off!  Next time I’ll explore ways we can help complete this beautiful temple.

 

Until then: what was your last retreat?  When was your last visit to the Nelson Gompa or another place that is spiritually important for you?  Please respond in the comments.  Thanks for reading.

In the Dharma,

Natalie

Write for Gaden for the West!

Are you involved in Gaden for the West?  Do you have a story or picture to share?  We are compiling stories, pictures, video, and everything else for this blog!  We hope to share tales and images from GftW’s early days as we also build a foundation of Gelug Buddhism in the West.

 

We hope to help all GftW Centres stay connected.  We also would love to share announcements and centre calendars so those interested in practice will know what’s happening.  Please contact us in the comments or via Facebook.  Thank you!

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