Off to Spirit Rock

Today is a the big day!

It's 3:15am I'm awaiting the arrival of a friend to pick me up and drive me to airport. My flight departs at 6am. Heading for San Fransisco.

Thank you all for your support.

To my wonderful wife, children and family. I love you all dearly

Namasté

Time Flies

In seven days I will be at Spirit Rock Meditation Center.

I am filled with excitement and a bit of anxiety.

The Anxiety – My time at the retreat will be spent in silence. No phone calls or texts with my wonderful wife. I will not be able to sing to my girls or kiss there cheeks at night before bed. In stark contrast to my busy days at home and work I will have my days filled with concentration solely on myself – not an easy transition.

The Excitement – My time at the retreat will be spent in silence. No phone calls, emails, texts or work deadlines. I will have the time to be mindful of every moment of my day. I will have the time to be patient and slow my reactions. For many years I have contemplated such a retreat. I am finally doing it. I consider myself extremely privileged to have this opportunity. I have much to gain from this opportunity and I hope to share all that I can upon my return.

Namasté

A space for joy

I am a father to two beautiful girls and husband to a beautiful wife.

Much of my day is filled with work. What little time is left is held precious. So much wonder, amazement and joy my family brings. With everyday passing I find myself wanting more. Another snuggle and another kiss goodnight. One more story. One more nice day to go to the park. One more evening to laugh over dinner. I hold these as though they can be held.

Inevitably, this grasping to joy and happiness brings tension. When the joy is taken by work, bad weather, bad news, bad health, bad driving or bad planning and regret.

We all struggle. We all have suffering. With open heart and open mind I make the space for the inevitability of life and how precious our time is.

I slow my breath and open my heart. To allow for disagreement. To allow for tension. To allow for pain. To allow for grief. To allow for love. To allow for hope.

In the twinkle of a child's eye is the space to see all the beauty and joy of our world.

Namasté

Two birds with one stone

I found myself running low on patience recently. I have been very busy with work, very busy with 2 young girls, and disenchanted by a winter wonderland that is our spring in Calgary this year. It takes a great deal of strength and commitment to remain focused on the present when so much or our lives are wrapped up in deadlines and future engagements. We have calendars, memos, emails, Post-its, day timers, notebooks and phones reminding us of dentist appointments and business meetings and kids play dates. In all of the business we must find time for ourselves. Every day we have to ourselves can be taken away by illness, bad weather, overtime or countless other things we complicate our lives with. 

I was reminded of the importance of setting time aside when I caught myself squeezing my meditation in when it's convenient. Here is a Daily Dharma update from Tricyle.com

April 11, 2009
Tricycle's Daily Dharma

One Stone

Set aside a time for sitting practice that is especially allocated for that practice. Don’t say to yourself, “Well, I’m going to visit my girlfriend and I have to drive, so on my way to my girlfriend’s I’ll use driving as my meditation.” That approach to mindfulness becomes too utilitarian, too pragmatic—killing two birds with one stone. “That way I meditate and I get a chance to see my girlfriend at the end, too.” But something has to be given up somewhere. Some renunciation somewhere is necessary. One stone kills one bird.

–Chögyam Trungpa, Ocean of Dharma (Shambhala Publications)

Namasté

Sabbe sattaa sadaa hontu

Sabbe sattaa sadaa hontu, averaa sukha-jiivino. Translated from Pali to English: May all living beings always live happily, free from enmity

I came across this chant in Pali today on twitter thanks to onebrightpearl.
This is part of a chant but it serves as a beautiful reminder to always keep in mind that we all wish to be happy and free from suffering.

Namasté

Right Speech

I found this link regarding Right Speech which I believe translates well for our times. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/speech.html

One of my greatest struggles is getting caught up in wrong speech. It can happen quickly and easily.
I get caught up in joking with coworkers over the latest celebrity mishaps on youtube. I speek poorly of other commuters on my way to work. I get frustrated by the incompetence of some of those in the service industry. Nobody wants to suffer. We all want to be happy.

I can choose to join in with the crowd get a few laughs maybe even win favour with my peers but ultimately I have done myself no good by forgetting to be mindful of my words.

Namasté

An optimistic view

My longtime friend just sent me this link via FORA.tv a couple of weeks ago. Interviews with Robert Thurman.
An interesting interview which has rekindled my interest in Tibet and the cultural view of Buddhism.

This cultural view brings me to my subject for this post. The view of Buddhism.

I have called myself Buddhist for about 6 or more years now. I feel I have always been Buddhist. Until recently I have not openly discussed this with everyone. My friends and family may have heard me discuss books I had read or my admiration of the Dalai Lama or Thich Nhat Hahn. But, many have never heard me say I am Buddhist. For some reason I have always been a little hesitant to discuss this part of my life. It was something I felt very private about.

This has begun to change as of late. It started when people asked me about why I was a vegetarian. I was always conflicted on what to say before. There so many reasons I don't know where to start. . . "Do you want to put that burger down first?" Now my explanation is a little simplified. I now say I am Buddhist. The rest just comes along in the conversation with ease. I am also noticing people do not have the reaction I was thinking they would when I say I am Buddhist. I always thought I would get some kind of immediate deflection followed by a swift change in topic. I am finding the opposite is true. People seem to want to discuss it at great length. I find this very encouraging. Even in Calgary "cowtown" Alberta many people seem to be open to the Buddhist view.

The Dalai Lama is now one of the most well known people world wide. He is also probably one of the most liked and admired. You may not agree with all he says but you can't really dislike someone so kind and charismatic. His laugh often makes me well up a little. His loving kindness is truly a beautiful gift to the world. More than ever our world needs love.

Some much needed inspiration:
Dalai Lama
Thich Nhat Hanh
Aung San Suu Kyi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Namasté

Another long day

The day has been long. What does this mean the day has been long? I have spent my entire day trying to grasp and cling to what is the normal routine. But, all I did was miss it.

Morning: I wake up, brush teeth, make my coffee, kiss the girls goodbye, get in car and drive to work. All of these things seem to play out as they always do. The toothpaste is right where I left it. The morning coffee tastes the same as always. I kiss my girls with the same love and affection as always. The morning drive is just as it always is. Some drive slow, some fast, some cut me off and some ride too close. I arrive at work park my car and cross the street of death to my building. I arrive safely across the street and walk to the building where I spend my work day like any other. Check my email. I put my coat away sit at my desk browse the usual sites for news and status updates. I begin my work day as usual tying off loose ends, beginning new projects and finishing the ones that somehow come back from the dead to haunt myself and my colleagues.

Lunch: It's a staff meeting day. We discuss the economy, company goals, new employees old employees, lay offs and recognize our accomplishments. Then its over. Pizza time. As usual I grab a few slices of the veggie variety. And grab some fruit and veggies & dip. We all chit chat for a bit and I head back to my desk to get back to work.

Evening: It's the end of the work day. And as I drive home I realize. . . I was never there. Right from the start I was never truly present. I wasn't present when I brushed my teeth. I wasn't present while driving my car to work. I wasn't present while I avoided speeding motorists walking across the street to work. It all just played out as it always does. So I did not feel the need to truly be present.

I then spent my evening at home feeling foolish for not being present. Which believe it or not is not being present. I spent my day with my ego and listening to myself talk.

Letting go of grasping. It is time to sit and be present.

Namasté

Why Blog

I am a lay Buddhist born and raised in Calgary "cowtown" Alberta where I still live today. I am not a teacher nor am I an expert on the topic of Buddhist studies or spiritual practice. I have created this blog in order to connect and respond to the many friends, family and acquaintances who have asked me why I am a vegetarian and why I am Buddhist. I hope that this blog will answer some of those questions and more importantly create a conversation place to ask more. Eventually I hope to add many conversations, links and resources discussing Buddhism, vegetarianism and related topics to this blog.

I follow the oldest tradition Theravada Buddhism. This year I will be attending a retreat at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California. I go there to bring more focus and energy to my practice. Going to this retreat has been made possible by the generosity and love of my family.

Why am I a vegetarian? I believe in non-harming. A vegetarian diet is healthy and beneficial to me physically and spiritually. My tradition does not require me to be a vegetarian it only states that harming is one of the causes of suffering.

Why am I Buddhist? The teachings of the Buddha have shown me solid stable ground for my life. The core teachings of Buddhist practice are the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. These teachings along with many others will continue to enrich my life.

Namasté