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JUNE, 2011

Greetings!   

 

This month's issue, Friends and Family, is beautifully rich with letters from the heart. The letters reflect how some of us  balance practice with relationships. Rewarding and challenging, relationships change...sometimes in a single conversation. At times, afflictions rule and wisdom watches in silence. Other times, wisdom rules with patience and compassion, seizing the opportunity for spiritual growth.  

 

As Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche reportedly said, "The essence of compassion is to copy how you relate with your child (in your relationships with others). The problem is how much you want to be the head of the family or the ringleader of your friends.... (Optimally,) you are willing to be friends with everybody, but at the same time you are not particularly taking credit."

 

Relationships are enriched when we can experience every encounter as a gift, a teaching from a holy being, an opportunity to serve. Interact with generosity, kindness, patience, joy, attention and wisdom, and life will quickly take on a warmth and beauty beyond expectation.  

We dedicate this issue to our friends and family, our teachers.  

 

With love,

Anne Meyer
Stacey Fisher 

Roy Toulan
Barbara Simundza    

 

Note to our readers:

We would like you to know that our dear Elizabeth Toulan is retiring from the newsletter staff due to increased responsibilities as President of ACI Cape-Ann. Her new role with us is Editorial Advisor, and she continues as a friend and helper to our publication. Elizabeth, thank you from our hearts for giving us your extraordinary talents and dedication.  

 

Also, we are happy to announce that Roy Toulan is joining our committee as of the June issue. Welcome Roy!


Back to Contents
ContentsContents

Welcome

Spiritual Matters

Dharma Arts

Taking It to the Street

In the Loop

Quick Lnks

ACI-Cape Ann

LamaMarut.org

2011 Summer Retreat 
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SpiritualMattersSPIRITUAL MATTERS

Rick Blue
Rick Blue

There is a trap that I know I have fallen into and, maybe I'm not alone. Its about that thing I have called my "practice," its purview, and its boundaries.

 

This thing we call our practice, might well begin in the morning.  We arise, and before anyone or anything can engage us, we seek out that special area of our home, a sanctuary that we have created and designed according to our own aesthetic and comfort.

 

There, unfettered by external distractions, (the internal ones are another matter), our practice proceeds in a comfort zone where we can exert a sense of order and focus before the world "out there" can assert itself.  

 

We emerge renewed, armored, and ready to go out and face our life - that place where the phone rings, the calendar barks at us, and all those people out there with different agendas lie in wait, ready to rock the boat and throw our practice out of kilter.  We are using the expensive karma gained from our practice, as a psychic levee to keep the waters of samsara at bay.

 

I often mention to students in formal dharma studies that while we are in the bubble of our classroom we aren't practicing dharma really; rather we are getting the download.  It's when we walk out of the class and decide to put this precious material into play that our practice revs up and gets interesting. The same might be said for when you leave your meditation chamber in the morning.

 

After all what are we preparing for?  If it's just to slip through the machinery until we can get back home and hit the cushion, then we are missing the meat and potatoes of our practice.  Rather then segregating all those people and places that aren't part of  "dharma central" why not bring them in?  Just budgeting an hour or so each day to do our "practice" won't get us very far; the scale is tipped too far in the other direction. Just do the math.  We need time to sleep, and to eat.  Time at the office, to get some exercise, be with our family, do chores, and tuck in the kids at night.   If you subtract this from the time you have for a formal practice, there's not much left.

 

The trick is to bring all that into your practice, and make it a meal, rather than what you have been snacking on for only that hour each morning.  Here are some ways to set the table.

 

It's your serve - We are training to be bodhisattvas, and bodhisattvas serve, so start with breakfast.  Before you run out the door, get your wife a cup of coffee, or help get the kids breakfast - or both, and when you do, instead of focusing on how fast you can get out the door without any entanglements, take a moment to consciously meditate on the fact that by stopping to get someone else breakfast too, that you are creating the karma to see people getting sustenance in the world, and for you to receive it as well.  Now you are creating actions in service to your practice. 

 

Library on wheels. Use the morning commute to study.  Get a podcast, audio book or recording of a class and lecture, and luxuriate in the privacy of your car, or on the train.  It's a great place to get an hour or so to get inspired, get informed and arrive sharper for work - all without interruption, and without joining the crazed legions of those mobile text-ers whose motto is, "text and swerve first, drive second."

 

It's not just a job, it's an adventure! - Personally, I think the work place, where we are spending a huge part of our lives, is some of the most rich and fertile soil in which to do our karmic gardening.  Many of the people and tasks we label as a problem at work are really an opportunity to make progress.  They can hold up a mirror for us to see how we can be impatient, perhaps judgmental, or gossipy. If we hadn't been that way in the past, we wouldn't be seeing people that way now.  So take your meditation into work, and be mindful of how these people are creations of our own past actions and decisions. Because our karma is coming to us as an echo courtesy of these past thoughts, words, and actions, we can change our future echoes by mindfully watching our words and actions in the here-and-now. 

 

Tend your garden.  You can work on someone or something you have a struggle with at work and skillfully perform an action that will plant a different seed.  Maybe it's something as simple as just listening fully to someone else's idea rather than biting your lip because you can't wait to give your opinion and have already tuned out to what they are saying. Think to grab them a cup of coffee when you are getting one for yourself, ask them if they need a hand carrying something, or give up a parking space to someone who is also just pulling in.  The key is to struggle with your idea that they really exist the way that you are seeing them.  Keep reminding yourself that you are actually perceiving them through your own special filter that colors them by the fact that you have been that way in the past.  So before you spiral into the idea that,  "No, My boss really is a jerk, all by himself and I need to set him straight!" stop and remember how that method hasn't worked in the past, and plant a different seed, a new behavior pattern, one that might begin by just not reacting the way you have in the past.  The other person will notice too.

 

Third Party's the Charm. Remember too, you don't have to perform these actions with the exact person with whom you want to do the karmic fix.  Sometimes it's too volatile, and can create worse conflict, causing you and them to become entrenched in defensive postures, and then you are off and running again.  You might instead find a third party and consciously perform a make-up action that correlates to the problem you are having with seeing that first party as behaving in a certain way. 

 

For instance, maybe you have a co-worker who doesn't seem to value what you say. We'll call him, Sam.  Rather than get into it with Sam by informing him of his shortcomings, (we all know how that goes), pick a third party or parties and consciously behave with them the way you would like to see Sam behave with you.  Lets call the third party, Sally.  So you be patient with Sally, listen to her carefully and ask for her opinion on things.  Then you can dedicate these conscious actions you have performed with Sally towards having a better situation with Sam.

 

How could it work?  As the risk of sounding like a broken record, here's how it works. If you are seeing a behavior you don't like in anyone else in the first place, it is because you have planted the seeds to see it by behaving that way in the past.  But because there is a gap between planting that seed and it's blossoming in a present experience, you have lost the link all together.  The third party idea is to plant a different seed in the present, and then toss it like a karmic dart towards your object.  You can say to yourself, "I dedicate this action with Sally, towards having a better situation with Sam."  And it's a 2-fer! Sally is happier, you feel better for having been nice to her, and eventually Sam comes up to you one day and says, "Hey there is a new project and I need some ideas, come in to my office and pitch me a few." 

 

It doesn't happen overnight, but you just keep plugging away and planting seeds for this sweet garden you are growing.  The added benefit is that along the way, your blood pressure goes down because you are less stressed out, people like you better, and you get that nice result from having put others first, and it comes back to you as a sweeter world.  You also arrive home happier and more available to your family.

 

Suffice it to say that now you have had a nice meditation all day on how karma and emptiness are working.  You moved beyond a purely analytical meditation you did on the cushion in the morning and actually put its mechanism to work, in your own karmic laboratory where you can chart over time the results of these labors.  I have, and it works.  Now go take Sam to lunch - and pick up the tab.

 

- Rick Blue 

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"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."                                                                               - Anais Nin 


DharmaArtsDHARMA ARTS

Manjushri mural, San Francisco
Manjushri mural, Balmy Alley, Mission District, San Francisco
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Star Family
Star Family by Delilah Meyer
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"When you love a person, you have to become a nothing.  When you love a person, you have to become a no-self.  That's why love is so difficult. . . . When you love, you have to become nobody.  If you remain a somebody then love never happens."

- Bhagavan Shree Rajneesh  


TakeToStreetTAKING IT TO THE STREET

Living with Enlightened Beings

Cliff Spencer FB photo
Cliff

 

I wake up early and listen to the quiet of the morning. This is the most peaceful time and I've always found my home here. Before the world is awake, I do some meditation and then a little yoga.

 

After that, the sun is up, and so is our five year old son, Scout. I make breakfast for us and then lunches for the day. I ask him to get dressed for school and brush his teeth. I remind him of this about seven times. Once that's done, I ask him to setup for meditation. He makes his bed and cleans up his toys a bit, and then sets out a little altar with some little Tara tsa tsa's we made together. We make up a little prayer about who we want to see happy and what that would look like, and then we meditate for 3 or 4 minutes. Lately, we imagine that we are the ocean, and our breath is like a wave rolling up the beach, and then back down again. We try this and I tell him to sit up straight and not fidget, and bring the mind back to those waves. Lots of reminders not to fidget and focus on the waves. When we're done he seems proud. We dedicate to whatever he thinks is right, and then it's back to the races to eat breakfast and get ready to walk to school.

 

By this time, Leigh is downstairs with our baby girl, Velma, about 11 weeks old. I serve us breakfast and as I put down the plates, I try to see myself making an offering in thanks to each of these three enlightened beings who, out of their kindness, have come to live with me. They are the ones who push me, who pick me up, who give me reason to keep trying. They are the ones who are leading me along the path, every day.

 

- Cliff Spencer

Resident Teacher/Spiritual Advisor, ACI-LA 

 

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An Amazing Opportunity

Paul and Brenda

Paul and Brenda

 

In March of 2000 I traveled to Asia for the first time, spending over seven months in Tibet and Nepal that year.  The thing that struck me most about both cultures is that they have so little in the way of material goods, yet I experienced that the people possessed something inside that I did not see in my own culture in America. People had a sense of peace, a sense of acceptance. I heard over and over again that, because they believe in karma, the law of cause and effect, the lot in life they had now was something they and they alone created and only they could change it by their present actions.  They accept responsibility for what they have. In general they do not have the 'what about me' syndrome that runs rampant here.

 

Little did I know at that time that my future partner would be an American practicing Tibetan Buddhism.  Though much of what I learned early on about Buddhism resonates with my personal long held beliefs, it is indeed challenging at times to live with a practicing, diligent Buddhist. 

 

I have always believed that one gets what one gives, and that heaven and hell are right here on earth, not in an afterlife, and that life is what you make of it, how you choose to view what you have to deal with, and how you respond to it. I have also long believed that life is not about me.

 

That said, it is not easy to hear that karma has caused a currently bad situation.  I get frustrated and say things to my partner like, "karma is NOT 100% at play at all times," though in my heart and soul I know for a fact it is.  But it's the last thing I want to hear when things are not going right. I was brought up in a culture where blame runs rampant and personal responsibility is lacking.

 

There have been times when I get annoyed that my partner is willing to give 100% of himself to his Dharma Center, until I realize that I am being selfish, not unlike a child wanting her parents' attention.  It is then that I am given the opportunity to go within and explore what is causing these emotions, why I choose to look at the situation with negativity, and when I open my heart I realize I am indeed blessed to be with a man whose personal journey is at the forefront of his pursuit.  I know that the better a person he can be, the better off all of humanity will be.

 

Each of us must afford the other the freedom to pursue his journey. There is no greater aspiration than becoming the best person we can be; all loving, selfless, honest, open hearted, open minded, generous, and peaceful.  Though I am not a member of the Vajramudra Center, and I am not Buddhist, I feel an immense gratitude for the energy that the Center has brought to Cape Ann and the world in general.   It's an amazing opportunity.

 

- Brenda Malloy  

 

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My Mother, My Teacher

Stacey's baptism

Stacey's baptism

"So, I guess you don't believe in God," my Christian, well-meaning mother posits, looking at me with head slightly tilted, body rigid, defensive. "I guess that depends on what you mean by God," I answer. No reaction. "If you want Gods, we've got lots of them!" smiling, I quip, desperately trying to lighten the air. Bad tactic. I try to recover, "We believe in holy beings, angels, lots of them around us all the time. How great is that?"

 

Sometimes one person's "great" is another person's "not-so-great." And, so it goes. Many of us live in this modern world with friends and family unfamiliar with even the most basic tenets of Buddhism. When we introduce a seeming mishmash of foreign cultures and languages to the mix, we seem to be verging on weird. On top of that, my parents' 44-yr old daughter introduces them to her 37-yr old lama, who appears as normal as the next guy in his jeans and big smile, and Mom can't seem to sync her personal experience with religion with what's being presented at the moment. Major cognitive dissonance. Trouble.

 

The single saving grace is that Mom can see that my happiness level has risen.  I'm more reasonable and less bitchy.  And, she's proud of the way my (atheist) partner and I have raised her grandson. He's a 6-yr old filled with beauty and happiness.  He tells a boy at school whose leg is raised and ready to kick, "You can't make me sad. Only I can make me sad." The boy freezes, dumbfounded, disarmed by a simple concept. His foot returns to the ground and the children continue playing. That is why I'm practicing this path. Our lineage has given me the tools to teach my son how to be happy because it speaks a language I understand. I'm then able to give my only son the most precious gifts of all, the Dharma, The Three Jewels, freedom from pain, happiness, emptiness.  Someday I hope to give these gifts to all beings.

 

So, the next time a friend asks, "Do you still celebrate Christmas?" I'll say "Of course!" Why not celebrate the birthday of a holy being who continues to bring happiness to millions of people all over the world? My Christian beliefs don't get discarded because I'm on a different path. Both paths go to the same place.

 

Family and friends don't get discarded, either. The goal is to love them all as much as we love the one we currently love the most.  My Mother is my holy, crop-wielding teacher.  She demands that I question what I believe.  She's helping me. Through defending my beliefs I strengthen them.  Thanks, Mom.

 

- Stacey Fisher

 

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Nine-word Sentences

 

A few weeks ago I watched a teaching online called "Longing For Freedom" -  Class on the Lam Rim by Cindy Lee and Lama Marut.  It was a wonderful class loaded with information and great wisdom. I wasn't sure what I got out of it, but I remember how wonderful I felt afterwards.

 

Recently I reviewed the class again. In the video, Lama Marut gives a teaching on the definition of "Nirvana". The teaching lasts about 35 minutes. In the teaching Lama Marut brings up and refers to many different Buddhist subjects, such as the Arya Truths and others. He uses other languages. He breaks down all these different concepts and beliefs. As I was watching the teaching this time "a message" came through to me.  It was so simple, so pure, that I almost missed it. It was what I believe the whole teaching was about (for me.) It can be summed up in a mere nine-word sentence. (I'll get to it in a minute.)

 

So, why? Why did he teach for 35 minutes and bring up all these different subjects, ancient languages, concepts and beliefs, when he could have just summed it all up in one little nine-word sentence?

 

As I asked myself this question, the answer became quite clear to me. If he had sat down, said nine words, got up and left, I never would have gotten the teaching. I would have understood the words, but I wouldn't have gotten the Teaching. The words would have sat in my mind for about a minute and then left...like they always have.

 

Many times in my life I have heard sentences and quotes with similar content, but I never "got" them.  They never stuck, probably because I never understood what it meant to have a Teacher. (I was my own Teacher, and I wasn't very good at it.)

 

It wasn't until I found my Heart Teacher that I started to understand that these concepts and ideals aren't just words, but in fact, they are reality on how to lead a happy and useful life. And it is the genius of the teachers approach or style that enables us to get the message.  For a

rough around the edges knucklehead like me (my projection for now), that's pretty awesome.

Jack and Lama Marut

Jack with Lama Marut

 

I heard one message I'm sure the Teacher wasn't trying to convey, but it came through loud and clear to me. It  was that I was witnessing the proof of our Teacher's tireless, loving and joyful effort in trying to pull us out of our suffering. Why else would a teacher take thirty-five minutes of this precious life to explain something he could have said in a simple nine-word sentence? And by pulling us out of our suffering, I mean, He/She throws us the rope(the teaching), then we grab the rope (apply the teaching) and pull ourselves, up out of the pit of samsara with their help. This is why we bow to our Teachers, (and I mean all of them.) This is why we have feelings of great reverence, admiration, adoration, love and respect for them.  

They are bringing us to happiness and many of us don't even know how.

 

Oh, I almost forgot. What was the simple nine-word sentence that the thirty-five minute tireless teaching boiled down to? None other than this, " End your mental afflictions, and you'll be in Nirvana!" Saint Francis of Assisi said something similar, (also, a simple nine word sentence) "For it is by self forgetting that one finds." Or, if you're a rough around the edges knucklehead like me, you might say something to yourself like " Stop being a jerk and you will be happy! (Also a nine-word sentence)

 

- Jack G 

 

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"I Don't Mind What Happens"

Gary, Barbara and Eric
Gary, Barbara and their son Eric

That quote from a Buddhist monk has stuck with me since I heard it a couple of years ago from someone at the Vajramudra Center. It brings to mind the old saying "Go with the flow," but with a deeper meaning. I take the quote to mean that I may not  be able to control what happens to me, but I can control my reaction. A Buddhist would say that what happens is a ripening of my karma based on past events, but how I respond (or even how I consider responding) establishes my future karma.  I find that  "I don't mind what happens" as a guiding principle has brought a welcome sense of equanimity to my life.

I am not a Buddhist, but the preceding paragraph is an example of how my tangential involvement with the Vajramudra Center has affected me. My wife Barbara has been a Buddhist and a member of the sangha for several years, and I've attended numerous events with her, including talks and classes given by Lama Marut, Lama Christie, Jesse, Lindsay, and others. Sharing these experiences, as well as portions of Windhover retreats, ecumenical services at the Lutheran church, and Barbara's two vows ceremonies, have helped to deepen our relationship in important ways. When dealing with the inevitable conflicts that occur in any relationship, it helps us both to remember that nothing is fixed, and it is always our choice how we respond to any situation. We recently moved to Gloucester from Salem, in part due to its proximity to the Center, and that in itself has turned out to be good for our marriage. 

It's been inspirational to see the commitment of the people in the sangha, not to mention the incredible and rich legacy of the tradition passed down from the Buddha through people like Nagarjuna, Je Tsongkapa, and the Dalai Lama. I find it amazingly comforting to be in the presence of a group of people who have vowed to "become enlightened for the benefit of all sentient beings."

On a somewhat less lofty level, we've gained some new close friends as a result of Barbara's involvement with the Center. And we've also enjoyed exploring our newfound appreciation for Buddhist art, in fact Asian art in general, at places like the Rubin Museum in New York, which we had never heard of before.

I'm proud to be married to an aspiring Bodhisattva. And even though I know I'll miss her, I always feel good about driving her to the airport as she leaves for one of her Arizona retreats with Geshe Michael, knowing that the spiritual rewards of her trip, for both of us, will be worth it.

- Gary Simundza

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 The Importance of Friends   

MItch Aase
Mitch Aase

 

When we are on the path it's very important that we find the support we need.  We need support to stay focused and accomplish our spiritual goals.  Friends play an important role in that.

 

This world is full of pitfalls, and sometimes these pitfalls can appear in how we interact with our friends.  Sometimes the activities we engage in can lead us astray and impact our practice. We need to recognize that, and take appropriate action based on that awareness. "Don't meditate, come out with us!  You meditated yesterday. You can miss one day.  There's a great band to see at The Paradise tonight!" Or, "I don't see why you would rather go to that yoga class, don't you want to be our guest at our dinner party?"

 

Sometimes, a friend may not see the value of the spiritual activity we are engaged in.  In the worst scenario, they may actually make fun of the Dharma. This can be especially harmful, as we can let it distress us. If we give in to temptation, and we do things that lead us down the wrong path, certain poisonous emotions can arise in us.

 

In "Thirty-seven Bodhisattva Practices," Gyals� Tokm� Zangpo (1297-1371), discusses poisonous emotions that arise from improper activities. They are: 1) an increase in desire or attachment; 2) development of anger; and 3) becoming na�ve.  

 

Let's look at these more closely, in the context of modern life today.

1) Some actions can lead our desire and attachment to increase.  Maybe it's drinking at a nightclub, where misconduct becomes a risk.  2) Certain things may increase the chance that we will become angry.  If a friend is angry about the government, and is constantly criticizing a political party or a policy, there is a risk we will become angry too.  Or we can get frustrated or impatient with them because of their views. 3) We can become naive.  We may forget what the effect of our occasional wrong behavior could be.  Certain aspects of our practice, like studying and meditating, can start to decrease. And when any of these poisonous emotions begin to arise, it can negatively impact our compassion, or our efforts towards generating equanimity.

 

Things can get complicated when your challenge is with a spouse or a relative.  Maybe you and your spouse used to go out to clubs a lot, and now, one of you is on the path. In situations like this it helps to explain that your decision to go to a teaching or to yoga isn't meant as an insult, or a rejection of them. Help them understand that they will benefit from your efforts, in part because they will see a happier, healthier you.

 

Friends who support us in our Dharma practice are a welcome blessing. "Hey, I'm glad you dropped by.  I was just about to meditate, so your timing is great!" These friends that can help us avoid the pitfalls of the very poisonous emotions that Gyals� Tokm� Zangpo articulated in the 1300's.  Practitioners in his day faced similar challenges.   The sound system at the nightclubs may not have been as high tech, but there were plenty of rowdy buddies around. Pick the right activities with your friends and the risk of poisonous emotions are greatly reduced.

 

Ultimately, we will be happier for it and at the end of the day, this path is about being happy.  Our happiness depends on our ability to meditate, study, attend teachings, engage in sacred movement, and enter into retreats.

 

Friends play an important role in that.

 

-Mitch Aase

 

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"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them to become what they are capable of being."                                                                       -Goethe  


InTheLoopIN THE LOOP

You are invited!

To ACI-Cape Ann's First Annual Community Gathering

Friday, June 17, 2011 at 7 PM

Vajramudra Center, 154 Granite Street, Rockport 

 

Come hear your fellow sangha members share updates on their committees' work for the sangha, including plans for the future.  Everyone will be invited to ask questions, share their thoughts, and to learn more about how we operate as a sangha, delivering all of the amazing offerings we do.   

 

We will have pizza and other light refreshments, and gather as a community to learn more about our sangha today and where we hope to be in the year ahead.   

 

Please join us, and RSVP to [email protected] so that we know how much food to have on hand for everyone.

 

With love,

Elizabeth Toulan

President, ACI-Cape Ann  

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ACI-Cape Ann Serving at the Open Door Food Pantry, Gloucester

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED 

Thursday, June 23, 2-7pm 

Each month we need:

- Money to buy food $200-$300 (donations appreciated) 

- 4-8 meal servers 

- Head Cook: meal planner/organizer

Optional:  Dessert Cook, Salad Bar Preparer, Grocery Shopper and Bread Baker/Buyer 


Children are welcome to serve the meal and are appreciated as long as they have parental supervision. To volunteer, please contact Sharon Muddiman at [email protected]

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Pledge an Act of Kindness In Honor of His Holiness The Dalai Lama 

The committee organizing the Kalachakra for World Peace in Washington, DC, is asking

that we pledge an act of kindness in honor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 76th birthday.  

To pledge online, please visit: http://kalachakra2011.com/actsofKindness.html   

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Generosity:  The Gateway to Compassion and Wisdom

Why do we give?

One of ACI-Cape Ann's regular donors shares her inspiration for supporting our sangha's non-profit mission:

 

"The center is a mainstay of my life.  I just wish for it (the teachers, the teachings and the community) to be available always to others as it has been to me, a constant source of wisdom, guidance, and strength for the way.  I wish i could give more."    -Anonymous

 

ACI-Cape Ann joyfully offers the dharma freely to all who wish to receive it. Our website calendar is filled to capacity with ACI classes, yoga, tai chi, meditation, debate, happiness hour, movies, and more, all offered free of charge.

 

ACI-Cape Ann depends on consistent pledges to keep our doors open. If you have already pledged your support to ACI-Cape Ann, we thank you and urge you to dedicate all that good karma.  If you have not started pledging, you will reap great rewards by beginning this important practice of the first Perfection. Pledging joyfully is the cause for good karma. Even if you don't feel you can pledge much, pledging a little on a regular basis is good for you and the sangha.

 

Plant the seeds for compassion and wisdom by giving joyfully to ACI-Cape Ann 

Thank you.

ACI-Cape Ann   

   

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"The most I can do for my friend is simply to be his friend. I have no wealth to bestow on him. If he knows that I am happy in loving him, he will want no other reward. Is not friendship divine in this?"                                                                     - Henry David Thoreau

 

UpcomingEventsEVENTS

ACI-Cape Ann's First Annual Community Meeting

Friday, June 17, 7pm

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Applied Meditation: ACI 3 with Phil Salzman

Mondays, 7 - 9pm: April 11 - June 13 

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Bok Jinpa 3 with Julie Upton

Wednesdays, 7:30 - 9:30pm, May 25 - July 13.  No drop-ins.

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Lama Chupa Ceremony

Saturday, 7 - 10pm, June 4

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Death and the Realms of Existence: Dharma Essentials 8 with Mary Kay Dyer

Sundays, 7 - 9pm, June 5, 12, 19, 26  

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Lam Rim Intensive - Part 1 with Mary Kay Dyer

Saturdays, 1:30 - 5pm, June 18 & 25

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New Weekly Classes: Tibetan Heart Yoga and Lady Niguma's Yoga with Julie Upton Mondays and Wednesdays, 8 - 9:30am 

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No Problems, No Worries, No Dramas: How to Live a Happy Life Through Thick and Thin

Teaching by Lama Marut, Cindy Lee leading a guided meditation.

Monday, August 15th, 7:30pm

The Auditorium at the Performing Arts Center of Governor's Academy, Byfield, MA  

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The Summer Retreat - Freedom from what - to what

with Lama Marut, Cindy Lee, Rick Blue and Lindsay Crouse

August 16-21.  Info: thesummerretreat.com

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Kalachakra for World Peace with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama 

July 6 - 16, 2011, Washington, DC

kalachakra2011.com 

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Weekly Meditation, Yoga, Discussion, Debate and family offerings with a variety of wonderful resident and guest teachers at the Vajramudra Center.   

 
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"Anybody can sympathise with the sufferings of a friend, but it requires a very fine nature to sympathise with a friend's success."                                                                               - Oscar Wilde


RebootRetreatREBOOT...RETREAT

 

THE SUMMER RETREAT ... August 16-21  

Governor's Academy, Byfield, MA   

Lama Marut

 

The annual Summer Retreat in Massachusetts has become an event that many look forward to all year.

This year's retreat, led by Lama Marut will be focusing on freedom. What do we truly wish to be free from, what do we expect this freedom to be like, and how can we achieve our liberation?

Lama Marut will be teaching from his new translation of Atisha's sacred text on the steps on the path to freedom. He and Cindy Lee will also be teaching together on freedom in all its dimensions, offering stories of liberated people of the past and present.

 

Michael and Stephanie Johnson of Clearlight Yoga, Julie Upton, David Thorntonn and Dr. Pat O'Brien make up our exquisite yoga team, teaching at all levels various kinds of yoga. Bob Arnold will offer Tai Chi, the Chinese art that brings balance to the body and harmony to the mind.

 

Rick Blue and and Lindsay Crouse will be talking to you about Buddhism at ground level, sharing how to be successful financially and in your relationships. There will be meditation, open play time, and some silence in the middle of the week in order to deeply absorb the teachings. We sincerely hope you'll join us to relax, refresh yourself, and return home with the means to be happier than you ever imagined.

 

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     "The real function of a spiritual friend is to insult you."

-Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche      


DharmaArtsDID YOU KNOW?

Friends
The Buddha has described two types of friends, Kalyana Mitta (the good friend) and Papa Mitta (the evil friend). A famous stanza in the
Dhammapada says, "Do not keep company with evil friends or those who are mean. Associate with the good and bold friends." (dharmamemphis.com)

 

Family 

Also, according to Buddha, "A family is a place where minds come in contact with one another. If these minds love one another the home will be as beautiful as a flower garden. But if these minds get out of harmony with one another it is like a storm that plays havoc with the garden." (Buddha Heart Parenting, Dr. C. L. Claridge, Snow Lion Publications)    

 

      "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." 

- Mother Teresa         


senditinSEND IT IN!

This newsletter is by and for our community. We welcome submissions - art work, movie or book reviews, dharma quotes, experiences on the cushion and on the street, dharma in the media, insights and ideas.  We encounter teachers and opportunities to practice in the most unlikely places! So share it!

Upcoming Exploring the Path Themes!

To encourage all of you to create content for our upcoming newsletters, we are letting you in on the secret! Here are the themes for the next few months:
    July:              Freedom/Nirvana
    August:        Meditation
    September: Not Getting Angry

Please send your submissions for the July issue to: [email protected]
by June 15, 2011.


Please provide full citations if submitting any copyrighted material (including the URL for graphics licensed under Creative Commons) and obtain permissions if using anything requiring permissions.

By submitting your work and your ideas you are giving EXPLORING THE PATH permission to publish them in this newsletter.  


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 "I can trust my friends. These people force me to examine, encourage me to grow."

-Cher   

THANK YOU FOR VIEWING OUR NEWSLETTER!

Questions or comments on our newsletter? Send them to [email protected]

For more information about activities at the Vajramudra Center, please visit aci-capeann.org

If you have questions of a spiritual nature or want to request a meeting with our Spiritual Advisor, Jesse Fallon, please email him at [email protected]


n o   s t o p p i n g   u n t i l   e v e r y o n e   i s   h a p p y !