CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE END OF LIFE

Every day I have conversations with folks about end of life. Some are concerned about loved ones or pets, some about themselves. I feel it such an honor to be part of such discussions. I think there will be an upcoming retreat about this subject in the New Year.

SCOOTER HAS BUDDHISM IN HAND

Today Annie Carroll and her friends came to Dae Yen Sa International Buddhist Temple to film a video for children that will teach them about Buddhism. The guest of honor was a sock puppet named Scooter, who came from Outer Space via his film buddies in New York. The video will be broadcast on the Internet in February. It was a great day with some great friends, and I'll be back to tell you when and where you can see how much fun we had! Meanwhile, though, there are three video clips of me and Scooter at work at the temple in the YouTube player at the top of this page.

COURSE ON SPIRITUALITY & MEDITATION STARTS OCTOBER 22

Starting Monday, October 22, and on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month, Brian Vaugh will lead an evening program of Spiritual Inquiry. We will meet from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at St. John's Parish on the Green in Waterbury. Along with a period of sitting meditation, each week we will look deeply into how we can lead a life in spiritual harmony with all of God's creation. The twice monthly group will use Wayne Dyer's latest book, Change Your Thoughts-Change Your Life as a guide. Do you have thoughts about this? Please drop me a line in the comment box to the right!

CELEBRATING ST. JOHN'S 275TH ANNIVERSARY


St. John's Parish on the Green in Waterbury, Connecticut , celebrated its 275th year of mission and ministry to the people of the Greater Waterbury Area on Sunday, October 14. The day began with a procession in Waterbury with stops at the Congregational and Roman Catholic churches, which are near St. John's.




STARTING A NEW SPIRITUAL AWARENESS GROUP IN WATERBURY

We'll be starting up a new spiritual awareness group on the second and fourth Mondays of every month from 6:30 to 8 p.m. starting October 22. We'll meet for in the library of St. John's Parish, 16 Church Street, Waterbury, Connecticut. All are welcome, so please feel free to stop by. We'll have tea, and there's plenty of parking in the church lot.

ON SPEAKING TERMS WITH EVERYTHING

The beauty of the trees, the softness of the air, the fragrance of the grass speak to me. The summit of the mountain the thunder of the sky, the rhythm of the sea speak to me. The faintness of the stars, the freshness of the morning dewdrop on the flower speak to me. The strength of fire...the trail of the sun, and the life that never goes away, they speak to me, and my heart soars....

You can walk the forest and do exactly the same thing. It may seem odd at first, but you get on speaking terms with everything. You do that with animals, and you do that with little bugs, and you do that with everything. It simply means you are aware, you are opening, you are noticing, you are standing with something. It is relationship. Community. (Fritz Hull, founder of the Whidbey Institute, from Issue 35 of Heron Dance)

DEATHLY HALLOWS: A LOVE STORY


MEDITATION: WAKING UP TO REALITY

"Meditation is not about creating any particular feeling. Meditation is about awareness, about waking up to Reality. Some people try to use meditation like a drug, as a way to escape from life or distract themselves from Reality. But anything that draws us away from Reality is deception." (Steve Hagen)

THE MIND AND BODY WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD HEALTH

For years now around the world there has been a growing understanding of the correlation of mind and body, and of the link between ill health and the way we cope with stress and our emotions. Just as distressing states of mind can cause disorders, so positive, uplifting states can promote good health: states such as peace of mind, optimism, confidence, humor, companionship, joy, love, kindness, compassion, and devotion. (The Spirit of Buddhism The Future of Dharma in the West by Sogyal Rinpoche)

AT CHUANG YEN MONASTERY


Click here for another video from Chuang Yen Monastery.
Check out my photo album on the right for even more images.

MEDITATION

Generally we waste our lives, distracted from our true selves, in endless activity; meditation, on the other hand, is the way to bring us back to ourselves, where we can really experience and taste our full being, beyond all habitual patterns. Our lives are lived in intense and anxious struggle, in a swirl of speed and aggression, in competing, grasping, possessing, and achieving, forever burdening ourselves with extraneous activities and preoccupations. Meditation is the exact opposite. (Sogyal Rinpoche, Meditation)

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

To lose yourself in another's arms, or in another's company, or in suffering for all men who suffer, including the ones who inflict suffering upon you--to lose yourself in such ways is to find yourself. Is what it's all about. Is what love is. (Frederick Buechner)

FROM AN ANGEL RIDER

Thanks to Nancy for sending along this poem. She says the Angel Ride made her think of this poem by Marge Piercy.


To be of use
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bouncing like half submerged balls.

I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.

I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who stand in the line and haul in their places,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.

The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.

SPEAKING OF FAITH: 'THE NEW MONASTICS'


I encourage you to tune into this Sunday's NPR program Speaking of Faith about a growing movement of people called the new monastics. These are ordinary people who nurture virtues like simplicity and imagination and who are engaging the great contradictions of our time— beginning with the gap between the churches they were raised in, the needs of the poor, and the "loneliness" they find in our culture's vision of adulthood. The program will feature author Shane Claiborne, who says on his website:

Each of us is created for community, and in the image of community. And yet everything in the world tried to rob us of this Divine gift. The life of the simple way is the story of that struggle to love and to be loved. The most radical thing we do is choose to love each other... again and again. If you are a seeker of the Way, may our story feed you hope... or at least keep you from making all the same mistakes.

Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett is public radio's conversation about religion, meaning, ethics, and ideas. Each week, Tippett probes the myriad ways in which religious impulses inform every aspect of life and culture, nationally and globally. Speaking of Faith fills an important and neglected need in American media by addressing the intellectual and spiritual content of religion head-on, illuminating the ideas and practices that form the headlines from the inside

Click here to find a channel near you.

MORE ABOUT ANGEL RIDE--PLEASE SUPPORT ME


Click here to sponsor me on the ride.

PLEASE MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO ANGEL RIDE

May 26 and 27 are the dates of the annual Angel Ride. This is a ride across Connecticut to raise money for kids with life threatening illnesses.

I have done alot of charity rides, and this is the most challenging of them all. Eighty-five miles the first day, all up hill. Please click here and learn more about it. On this site, you'll see pictures and a video of last year's ride.

We are looking for donations and bike riders.

Thanks, from me and all the kids, Brian.

GENEROSITY

Generosity, once you start, becomes its own habit. Ethics is the same. In my experience, the more generous and ethical we are, the more of both we become. These two ingredients lead us to the third one: tolerance. (The Chocolate Cake Sutra, Ingredients for a Sweet Life by Geri Larkin)

LOVINGKINDNESS

Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth.
(The Buddha )

DELICIOUS!

A man was out walking when he came face to face with a tiger. In terror, he started to run away only to find that he was racing toward a precipice. Having no alternative, he climbed over the edge and, as luck would have it, caught hold of the root of a vine. Then he heard growling and, looking down, he saw another tiger below waiting for him to fall. His troubles were still not over. Two mice, one white and one black, started to gnaw through the vine from which he hung. Just at that moment, he spotted a wild strawberry growing out of the side of the cliff. With one hand he grabbed it and put it in his mouth. It was delicious! (attributed to Buddha)

WHAT DOES A BUDDHIST HAVE TO SAY ABOUT LENT? THIS....

REMEMBER TO ENJOY LIVING

Richard Jeni, who recently committed suicide, was a stand-up comic. On a profound level, he "got life" and turned the pain of experience into humor for the rest of us. Laughter can help us keep things in perspective or get things back into perspective. Here are a few laughs for you today:

"I think I know how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, 'Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough. Let's go West.'"

On religion: "You're basically killing each other to see who's got the better imaginary friend."

"The way I see it, we're all on the Hindenberg. Why fight over the window seats?"

"It is a sad fact that 50 percent of marriages in this country end in divorce. But hey, the other half end in death. You could be one of the lucky ones."

"I always look for a woman with a tattoo. I see a woman with a tattoo, and I'm thinking, OK, here' a gal who's capable of making a decision she'll regret in the future."

BUDDHISM, AMERICAN STYLE

Recently, a visitor to this blog asked me about Buddhism. So I told her everything I know:

The first thing to remember is I am from America and might see Buddhism a bit differently from people from Asia.

The second thing thing to remember is that it is easy. I have a video on my blog talking about how religion should be EASY. Check out the Standing under the Sky Videos link in the toolbar on the right.

Third: everything in the world changes. Nothing stays the same. People get older; the weather changes; no matter how much we eat today, we get hungry again tomorrow....

So now what follows is 'ALL' I know about Buddhism:
A. Do good;
B. When you can't do good, at least don't do evil; and
C. Be kind to every person, place, and thing.

WALK THE WALK WHEN YOU WALK THE WALK

I came across this article in an Episcopalian newspaper and found it to be a helpful look at walking meditations. I hope you enjoy it.


Honestly, I didn’t mean for it to become a "spiritual" experience. I needed to vary my aerobic workout routine, so I began an arm-swinging, leg-strutting, high-speed walk in our housing tract. But my teenage daughter was embarrassed to have Mom turning nearby corners in workout shorts, so I took to a lonely canyon road, cluttered with garbage and swathes of mud.

Perhaps because practicing the presence of God has been my favorite spiritual discipline, God showed up in everything around me. The roadside tumbleweeds represented the stumbling blocks of my life—annoyances with those I loved, reluctance to do difficult things, yearnings for a problem-free life. So I scooped up those tumbleweeds and hurled them off the clifflike side of the road into the creek below.

Over the years, the mountains in the distance have become massive symbols of God’s presence. I’ve named the peaks for Bible phrases or life lessons God has taught me. During a painful church split, the sharply pointed peak became "Don’t forget to love" (the point of the gospel).

I’ve never thought very hard about these truths because I’ve been too busy panting, chugging water, and heading into the wind. I’ve simply gazed as I’ve walked, and days later I’ve found myself loving those I’ve disagreed with.

Much to my surprise, these minute-by-minute snatches have fed many other spiritual disciplines. They’ve brewed within me a desire to have long stretches of solitude with God. Connecting with God in leisurely Bible reading, prayer, and journaling are nothing like my rigid "quiet times" of old. I understand better how to bare my soul, asking God, "What do I need to know about my anger? What do I need to know, O God, about how to love the world you so love?"

A Sense of Majesty
Because I walk in sync with the worship music on a cassette tape, my sense of God’s majesty is expanding. During certain songs—please don’t laugh—I do a few twirls in the road, watching out for gravel trucks. Also while I’m practicing God’s presence, God reminds me of folks to love and people to pay more attention to. As a result, my service to Christ has become more a part of who I am rather than special moments of being super-Christian.

The walk doesn’t look like prayer, but it is. God speaks to me, giving me creative methods for dealing with my teenagers, new ideas for my work, and just the right words to say to my discouraged husband or friends. Because my job causes me to "live in my head" all day, I need this walk to force me "out of my head" into a rugged, physical effort that clears my circuits. Freed from my own clever ideas and agendas, I can more easily hear God’s unexpectedly practical ideas.

Many times, especially in the earliest years of this walking regimen, I discovered a "committee in my head" that wanted to take over for minutes at a time. One committee member, Ms. Anger, focused on someone I was mad at and what I’d tell him or her if I ever got the chance. Then I’d feel guilty that I’d stolen time from my God-filled reverie.

One day, I stopped, stomped my foot in disgust, and crossed my arms. I demanded that God jettison these negative thoughts from my mind.

Clinging to God
If you’ve ever put God on the spot this way, you know what happened. Nothing. A boulder didn’t fall from the nearby cliff. A lizard with a sign on his back didn’t cross the road in front of me. As I began to shuffle along, I wanted to kick myself.

I looked up at the cliff beside me and thought of my son, who taught rappelling. He could have shimmied up and down that cliff with skill, but I would have been stuck on a ledge somewhere, clinging for life and breath. The word clinging stuck in my head. I thought of that psalm: "My soul clings to you" (Psalm 63:8).

Suddenly the point of my canyon road walks (the aim of my life, even) became clear—to cling to God. Striving to do a spiritual discipline perfectly or even to live life perfectly was about me. I needed only to cling to God with everything I had. As I connected to God through disciplines such as Bible study, prayer, and service, God would change me. I invented my own little saying: "As I do the connecting, God does the perfecting."

Armed with this insight from God, I’ve learned to usher other committee members (Ms. Victim, Ms. Rescuer, Ms. Perfect Christian) to the door of my mind gently whenever they appear. Getting frustrated with them doesn’t help—it just gives the enemy more airplay.

The more I’ve practiced God’s presence, the more I’ve seen God "show up" in all kinds of settings—in the classic novels I read or in the brief remarks of my teenage son’s friend. This surprises me because the idea of "finding God in the mundane" sounds like it should happen on a sunny afternoon while watching geese swim in an idyllic pond. Sometimes it does, but I’ve had to remind myself that God often shows up in unexpected, gritty situations when I’m feeling edgy and sweaty.

Mundane Moments
Others have verified this by telling me of their close-to-the-bone conversations with God while mowing the lawn, shooting hoops, or creating a compost heap. Why does it surprise us that God’s presence becomes obvious in such vigorous and tactile situations?

If you’re a shepherd, God might show up in a bush that burns too long. If you’re a hardworking, water-toting Palestinian woman, God might show up as a thirsty out-of-towner at your well. If you’re a swindler and manipulator, God might show up as a wrestler who makes sure your hip socket is never the same. The lives of Moses, the Samaritan woman, and Jacob demonstrate to me how God appears in mundane moments and unexpected places, and that God wants me to respond.

Moses had to ponder the bush and walk over to it. The Samaritan woman had to keep herself from smarting off to the Jew who didn’t belong in her neighborhood but requested her help anyway. Jacob, desperately stuck between a rock (Laban) and a hard-hearted brother (Esau), had to wrestle his way into a blessing along the River Jabbok. God wants me to respond by participating in conversation with him.

Sometimes I worry that this approach is too outlandish—not concrete and rational enough. So I’m relieved that even the intellectual C. S. Lewis said that God "walks everywhere incognito."1 Lewis advised his readers to "remain awake" to God. That’s what I do when I walk.

Staying alert this way makes life much more exciting. I keep my eyes open for this incognito constant companion, anticipating his next move, looking for his invisible kingdom. God’s companionship becomes the most pervasive thing in life.

(Jan Johnson is the author of Enjoying the Presence of God and When the Soul Listens. Her Web site is www.janjohnson.org.)

TALK TO ME!

Down there on the right, in my navigation tool bar, is a comment box. It would be great if you would offer your feedback to the podcast so we can have a conversation among ourselves.

CAPTAIN AMERICA

This Sunday we will have a short commemoration service for Steve Rogers (Captian America). By now we all know of his demise. With his passing we mourn not only for him but for a part of each one of us. During this period of Lent it seems appropriate to start a discussion of reincarnation.

SUNDAY, MARCH 11

We will be meeting on this Sunday the 11th for tea and meditation. We will also meet on March 18 and 25. We hope to have a Day Long Meditation Retreat toward the end of April on a Saturday. Let Brian know if you are interested in the Saturday retreat.

HOW TO "CHILL" THE BUDDHIST WAY

In our fast-paced society, where there is so much pressure to perform and succeed, spending time each day meditating or "chilling" can be extremely important. The mind is amazingly powerful, but when it gets overwhelmed, it can do very little. Meditation helps us to relax and focus the mind. These qualities of relaxation and focus can help you in sports, in studying, and in dealing with your parents.

In meditation practice, we can access the great powers inside each of us. We need less to build or create these powers than discover them by looking inside our own mind, bodies, and hearts. No special experience or knowledge is needed to meditate, only the curiosity and willingness to look within.

ONE-DAY RETREAT IN WATERBURY ON FEBRUARY 25

"Entering the River of Life"
One-day Retreat
Sunday, February 25 at
Hale House, Grandview Street, Waterbury, Connecticut

We will hold our regular meditation from 9:30 to 11 a.m. (Those who wish to participate in the morning meditation but cannot stay for the full retreat are welcome to come.)

Then we will break for a simple lunch followed by dharma talks, more meditations, and then a time time during which we will together process our day. We will finish around 4:30 p.m.

Let me know if you can make it!

BRIAN'S WEEKLY THOUGHTS ON BUDDHISM, LIFE, AND OTHER CATASTROPHES

I'll be updating my podcast every week. Stay tuned for my thoughts on Buddhism, life, and other catastrophes!

DON'T BE AFRAID THAT YOUR LIFE WILL END

My friend Ric Browne sent me this, and I thought I'd pass it along.

As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.

Don't be afraid that your life will end,
be afraid that it will never begin.

MEDITATION GROUP TO MEET JANUARY 28

We'll meet again at Hale House this Sunday, January 28, and next Sunday, February 4, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. or so. Please feel free to come early. These items are listed on the calendar, which you can reach by clicking on the link in the navigation toolbar on the right. Please also feel free to sign the guestbook and to sign up for regular updates by adding your email address to the Blogarithm box.
Please also comment on any of the posts here. Simply click on the word Comments below the post and add your two cents. If you're not a blogger, sign in as anyonymous and the click publish when you're done. You can always add your name to your message.

SUNDAY DHARMA TALK -- "PREVIOUSLY ON 24 -- JACK BAUER IS BODHISATTVA JIZO"

This Sunday, January 21, we will talk about the series '24' and how Jack Bauer lives the life of a Bodhisattva.

NEW BLOG AND NEW MEDITATION GROUP

We are in the process of creating a 'pretty good' blog. Please bear with us if it changes often. Thank you for checking out this page.

We welcome any comments or suggestions. And it looks like we have a 'pretty good' group of Meditators interested in being a part of it. Waterbury is ready for a really good Sunday Morning Meditation Center.

Join us Sunday, 21 January 07, at 9:30 AM. We are on Hale Street . Call if you need directions. 203 558 3641.

RETREAT IN THE WORKS

We are planning a one day retreat for February. More information soon.

Our first day back at the Hale House for a Sunday Morning meditation will be the 21st of January.

We will meet at 9:30 and have meditation and do planning for a Sunday Retreat in February.

The retreat will be less that a full day and will be held at Hale House.

Please continue to check in on this blog. Also sign in for automatic up dates to this page.

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ON BUDDHISM

The Buddha is a man who found peace. He found the 'secret' to living in difficult, confusing, contradicting times by maintaining his equilibrium. We live in such times and Buddha’s ’secret’ is still relevant and available to us today: Be good. Don’t do evil, and always be kind. Buddha gave us a formula to do this - The 5 Precepts. The time for spiritual health is now. The Buddha way is making harmony out of chaos now. Now is the only time we have.

MEDITATION

Many books are writtten on the subject. Jokes are made about sitting in the Lotus position. Even TV adds poke fun at Buddhist monks who are meditating. But what is meditation?

There are more than 10,000 definitions of meditation. We don't have space for all of them here. So, I will give you a short definition of my own:

Meditation is paying attention.

At the Meditation Center, we don’t talk about meditation too much. We try to practice it. We provide a space for people to practice what they have read about. To test the theories. To see if it really works.

Our principal practice is Zazen, but we practice other types and modalities, too. Zazen is a formal kind of meditation; sometimes it is called just sitting. Part of Zazen is Walking Meditation; we sometimes call this just walking.

For most other types of meditation:
There is no right or wrong way to meditate
Just be present
And Breathe
Be willing to watch what happens:
without judgement
without trying to change what is happening

YOU DON’T MEDITATE TO GET ENLIGHTENED –YOU MEDITATE BECAUSE YOU ARE ENLIGHTENED.

Brian Talks Some Basic Zen with Earle