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I’m sitting in the center drinking some hot tea and listening to the wind blow - or is that the tea kettle - it sounds like Mt. Meru in here! It has been a wonderful experience to engage in retreat with my Sangha this month. I have gotten just a taste of what a ‘real’ retreat might be like and now I can cultivate the sincere wish to make that happen in the future. I say a taste because life was not put on hold or anything for this month and I have split my time between the center and home to take care of the children and work. I am officially on FMLA as of last Wednesday and that has improved my mood somewhat considerably. It was a wise decision to take time off before surgery this time to wrap-up loose ends and just plain relax. Evie and I are going to La Conner this weekend to spend some Q-time together and I am really looking forward to that. Mostly it has been really nice to get more comfortable at the center and feel a sense of ownership by taking part in the everyday activities such as cooking and cleaning around here. Many wonderful opportunities for giving, receiving, and stimulating conversations have presented themselves and as Gen Khedrub mentioned to me prior to my stay, when living at a Dharma center you sometimes learn just by osmosis. I definitely feel that both my practice and relationships with Sangha have been strengthened considerably - it has been a great opportunity to stretch.

A friend asked the other day what enlightenment was exactly and I had to consult with my Spiritual Guide who referred me to the back of Joyful Path To Good Fortune, where it is stated that enlightenment occurs when any being eliminates the two obstructions of delusion and the karmic imprints of delusion - saṃskāra. But how to remove them specifically?

These teachings form the basis of the Shurangama Sutra which gives the most detailed explanation of the Buddha’s teachings concerning the mind. It is said that once when Buddha was preaching the Dharma that Ananda arose halfway through and gave praise to Buddha because he understood clearly and Purnamaitreyaniputra - who was apparently a more advanced practitioner - asked why it was that a Ananda could understand while he could not, and so Buddha explained the two kinds of obstructions - based on affliction and doubt - that must be cleansed for full enlightenment. This is also taught as the selflessness of person and the selflessness of phenomena.

The Bodhisattva Nagarjuna is said to have preserved these teachings and they later made their way to China where they were translated in 705 by an unknown Indian bhiksu (some say his name was Shramana Paramiti) as “The Summit of the Great Buddha, The Final Meaning of Verification though Cultivation of the Secret Cause of the Tathagatas, and [Foremost] Shurangama of All Bodhisattvas’ Ten Thousand Practices Sutra.”

It is said by Venerable Master Hsuan Hua that;

The (many) obstructions are also discussed in greater detail in the Prajna Paramita Sutra and the Heart Sutra where the great Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara explains the emptiness of all things and phenomena quite eloquently.

See also: http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/Buddhism/Shurangama/Shurangama.htm

Seven days of Lamrim — twenty-one meditations, scheduled four per day, into one week — the essence of all 84,000 of Buddha Sakyamuni’s teachings. And thus, the wheel turns. Next week it repeats once more in silence according to our guru’s instruction, passed down one spiritual guide at a time, through Atisha, Je Tsongkhapa, and into the world of today via Geshe-la’s kindness. My meditations are gradually becoming less distracted as I intentionally recognize them arising, and set them aside. Re-occurring themes are surgery and job related. I am stretching and strengthening my ability to sit through things and contemplate clearly, this is the essence of lamrim, to contemplate the causes and conditions for enlightenment to occur, one at a time, over and over, until they become your nature.

I am also most fortunate to have found a partner who will walk, and sit, and contemplate this path with me, thank you sweetie :)

_/|\_

the alarm reminds;
rise and shine! — you’re late again!!
my fast continues…

so much potential this year!

where do YOU want to go?