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SEPTEMBER, 2011
 Greetings!
Patience is the finest adornment of the powerful, The best austerity to scourge the disturbing emotions.1 How does patience fit into our practice - our lives, as sentient beings in this "broken" realm of suffering? We need to develop patience, the highest austerity, to combat anger, one of our fiercest enemies. Master Shantideva offers us important advice: No evil is there similar to anger No austerity to be compared with patience. Steep yourself, therefore, in patience, In various ways, insistently.2 Welcome to the September issue of Exploring the Path. Our theme this month is "Not Getting Angry." Even if we don't think of ourselves as having a problem with overt anger, its small, constant, and subtle manifestations are almost always plaguing us. Here our contributors examine firsthand how we work to develop the Perfection of Patience, in various ways and with varying results, as we struggle with the vagaries of this realm. We would like to thank all of our authors, and encourage others to send in their insights and experiences(see "Send It In" below for details). Please note, this issue and the next include some wonderful material from The Summer Retreat (see "Reboot, Retreat"). Don't miss it!
With love,
Anne Meyer
Stacey Fisher
Roy Toulan
Barbara Simundza
Stephanie Hobart
- Je Tsongkhapa: Summary of the Stages of the Path, cited in The Six Perfections, Geshe Sonam Rinchen: Ithica, NY: Snow Lion Press, 1998, p. 62.
- The Way of t he Bodhidattva, translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Boston, MA: Shambhala Publications, Revised Edition 2008, page 128
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SPIRITUAL MATTERS
 | | Irma Gomez |
A single instance of anger
Destroys whatever good deeds
You may have amassed in thousands
Of eons spent in practices
Like giving, or making offerings
To Those Who Have
Gone to Bliss.
There is no kind of deed
As evil as the act of anger;
There is no spiritual hardship
Like patience. Practice it then,
Concentrate on patience,
In many different ways.
-Master Shantideva (687-763) Eliminating Anger from the Root I have the honor of sharing with you a few ideas on how to eliminate anger, which is much related to practicing the perfection of patience. However, anger comes in many flavours because its main cause is disliking things ignorantly. This triggers emotions such as irritation (making us think or say harsh words) malice (creating a sentiment of wanting to hurt someone), jealousy (not being able to rejoice in others' successes) or intolerance.
There are some people whose anger is very evident; they snap like Donald Duck in a cartoon. But there is a surprising array of anger combinations, some so subtle that most of us don't even notice or associate them with it. As we will see, anger is rooted in our very core, and as long as we are in a suffering life cycle where we create the causes and consequences of our ignorant actions. But it is not impossible to eliminate it; after all, the third and fourth Arya Truths confirm there is a "path" and a "way" to end anger permanently.
Knowing our Enemy
We normally feel angry when we sense that we have, or someone we care about has, been offended in some way. Anger can be explained as a result of "an event which has happened to us" and in most cases there is a provocation immediately preceding its experience. It seems that we experience an illusion that anger has a discrete, external cause. After we perceive an external event or person as causing a particular damage or offence that gives rise to our anger, we often respond by thinking the situation can be influenced or accepted.
For example, imagine that your car has been damaged. If another person crashed it, then you may feel angry at the person. If a tree fell on it, however, you may feel sadness or frustration. And if you had fallen asleep whilst driving, you might feel guilt or shame. Externalising these feelings into action intensifies our response. We respond with a hostile action (such as violence) or inaction (such as withdrawing or stonewalling) or we harbour resentment.
Passive and Aggressive Anger
Buddhist texts explain there are three basic kleshas or afflictions which are the source of all suffering in samsara and the vicious cycle of rebirth. They bring us confusion and misery rather than peace, happiness, and fulfilment. These "three poisons" are translated as greed, hatred, and delusion, or as attachment, anger, and ignorance. So, if anger made it to the list of top three things which make us suffer, it must come in more than one flavour. In fact the combination of the three kleshas results in tens of thousands of mental afflictions. Thus, before we can purify and transform anger, it is imperative to identify its most popular expressions. You can refer to the "Did You Know?" section of this newsletter for Wikipedia's descriptions of the most common forms of anger, passive and aggressive.
Nirodha and Marga or Cessation and Path
Anger ruins our happiness and our relationships. But its effects are more profound than that. If anger is targeted at a powerful object or person (our parents, an Arya, a bodhisattva or anybody who is trying selflessly to make others happy) the texts say that we lose the positive karma we've accumulated over hundreds of years. So, our progress on our path to enlightenment is set back by anger too. Master Shantideva concludes:
If you hold to the sharp pain of thoughts of anger,
your mind can know no peace;
You find no happiness, No pleasure.
Sleep stays away, And the mind remains unsettled.
ACI formal course XI describes at length the reasons not to be angry, and explains how to develop techniques of patience. Next, I will discuss the two tools that work for me when trying to deal with anger.
Compassion:
Compassion, which comes from a Latin root which means "to suffer together with (the other person or creature)," is a deep, loving empathy we generate towards others and is regarded as one of the highest virtues. It is very much related to the Sanskrit word Bodhicitta, translated as the wish to become enlightened for the sake of freeing others from suffering.
Compassion is a very useful tool because you can't experience compassion simultaneously with anger. I like to meditate often on compassion. Doing so stops angry thoughts from arising; my mind shifts and suddenly, instead of feeling angry at the person who scratched my car in the parking lot, I feel love and a wish for their happiness despite their having scratched my car. Furthermore, if we have taken bodhisattva vows, we become a powerful karmic object, so those who try to hurt us collect even more powerful bad karma. How could we not feel compassion towards them? They have just created the causes for further suffering. So we immediately love them and work harder to reach enlightenment soon.
Wisdom:
Regarding our anger with wisdom, we might ask: Why do we experience this feeling of anger? Where does it really come from? Does it exist as a solid entity? Can we point at it and say "anger"?
When we experience anger, we could swear it exists out there, solidly; we feel it deep in our bones. But even the most hurtful experiences pass. Buddhist teachings on emptiness tell us that things exist only as a perception of our mind, triggered by our past karmic seeds.
Studying and meditating on karma and emptiness is very important. Our own karma forces us to perceive and process objects and people that seem to cause our anger. Had we collected good karma instead of bad, we would perceive the same situation as pleasant.
I pointed out in the beginning that ignorance is at the center of all suffering. If we have no ignorance, we can't get angry because we cannot misunderstand the world. If we understand that things are our own projections forced upon us by our past karma, we cannot react negatively to a situation. If any anger arises, it is of the type where we get mad at ourselves for having reacted negatively because we understand this will bring us negative experiences in the future.
Master Shantideva suggests that we try his methods for developing patience, and that we should notice that we have fewer and fewer episodes, and that we will come one day to treasure people that annoy us, as they are a rare precious jewel that allows us to practice patience to reach enlightenment very soon.
- Irma Gomes
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found in an English classroom at Governor's Academy during The Summer Retreat
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TAKING IT TO THE STREET
TAKE A DEEP BREATH Duncan and I went down to the beach as soon as we got home from the Retreat. It was a lovely, peaceful afternoon. There was no one else on the beach. I felt like we were still on retreat, still in silence, when a sports fishing boat came into view and earshot, passing the "slow - no wake" signs at a full throttle roar. I could feel the anger rise in my throat, but I remembered the vow I had made at the Retreat -- to mentally make the mudra of the warrior, and keep my anger only as long as it would take a beam of light to pass from one finger to another. I said something like, "he's coming in here awfully fast." And then I shut up. I didn't do my usual "what a jerk, who was his mother, hope he hits a rock." And then Duncan said, "he is going awfully fast. And look, the little boats are bounding around on his wake. He really shouldn't do that." Instead of "Beebe, shhh. It doesn't do any good to yell like that. You're really overreacting." It was an amazing feeling - to hear from my partner that he also would prefer if people would obey the speed limit, that he too saw the damage that was caused. Now it is my challenge to bring that same patience into the rest of my life. In particular, into my driving. Not exactly my driving, but being a passenger, and especially being a passenger when Duncan is driving. He is a good driver, really, but it is so hard not to constantly remind him of which lane he should be driving in, not to worry out loud that he's too close to the car in front, not to exclaim - very loudly - when another car leaps in front of us or swerves into another lane. I will remember my mudra. I will give myself the split second of anger, and then I will take a deep breath and let it go. And I will share this with Duncan so he can help to remind me of what I have promised to do. - Beebe Nelson
PATIENCE: THE THIRD PERFECTION (This piece is part of a longer article by Jennie Meyer about seeing six perfections teachings at her child's kindergarten.) Children enter the kindergarten with a limited skill-set in dealing with not getting what they want, and getting angry as a result. Hitting and other angry outbursts can occur. A large part of the teacher's job is helping each child find new ways to interact, eventually changing the knee-jerk reaction in a stressful situation. Lama Marut asks adult audiences, if someone hits you upside the head, what's your first reaction? It is perhaps similar to a child's! What I remember most clearly from my first few times at Lama Marut's talks was "the annoying person" at work or at home. Without a concerted practice of patience (and the wisdom to understand where the annoying quality is coming from) after your third time of just trying to be nice you lose it. Our teachers, both at the Vajramudra Center, and from the lineage, guide us through the many reasons why getting angry is harmful both to others and especially to ourselves. Master Shantideva , in the chapter on the perfection of patience from The Way of the Bodhisattva, teaches that one instant of anger directed at the wrong person can be enough to force one to project an entire life time in a lower rebirth (potentially a hell realm), since: All the good works gathered in a thousand ages, Such as deeds of generosity, And offerings to the Blissful Ones- A single flash of anger shatters them. (translation: The Padmakara Translation Group; Revised Edition 2008, Shambhala Publications) - Jennie Meyer
IS PATIENCE THE OPPOSITE OF ANGER? If patience is the opposite of anger, I see that I am afflicted with a low-level irritability borne of anger for at least 3/4 of any given day. This irritability is manifested by the habit of displacing my unhappiness onto all sorts of people and objects. The feeling of working backwards on a project creates this very tension. Literally ripping out stitches makes me want to pull my hair out too. Optimally, I am happier when I have a sense that I am in a "flow". Unfortunately, I too often allow that flow to be interrupted by my irritability and impatience. How do I convince myself that I am not my mistakes? This attachment to 'me' that Lama-Ji keeps asking us to relinquish creates such conflict as I identify with non-flow/stuckness and forget to jump right back in to the river's flowingness 'again and again and again. Ultimately, I am not patient with myself! Did I make this mistake because I was spacing out or impatient? There is a good chance the answer is yes. Crucial to my well being, however, is not to label the day based on one impatient moment - one moment of getting stuck. So, resuming my composure and dropping the story of non flow are vital to living, as our Lamas remind us. My mom, at age 73, likes to say to herself: at this age I need to get an A in driving and climbing stairs etc. She is ultra disciplined and knows that her body is super fragile. Even having her in my life as a Super Angel, I see myself be short or edgy in her midst. Again, that impatient disquieted self bubbles up. One of my favorite teachers has suggested that I use her as a beacon and take whatever sensitivity I have within, and sharpen/nurture it to the heightened discipline level on which my mother operates. This practice has generated an awareness and amazement that, for all of these years, I have been comparing/contrasting and feeling "guilty" that I am not as patient as she. What a relief it has been for me to emulate her rather than envy her! I can now vow to be more patient to remedy my anger, and to create not perfect seams, but s p a c e for Love. - Jill Demeri
THERE IS NOTHING EASY ABOUT PATIENCE. I learned a hard lesson today. I went for an appointment and while in the waiting room somebody came in and asked if someone had a car parked behind his; he couldn't get out. I said it was probably mine, and accompanied him outside. My car was at least a half a car's length behind his and there was also another driveway to exit from on the other side of the parking lot. I told him he had enough room to back out. Why had he to asked me to move my car? He told me to move it, or he'd call the police. I said I wouldn't move it and pointed to the exit driveway in front of his car, refusing to move my vehicle. He got mad and proceeded to call me (2 dirty words). I was astounded and stood next to my car until he left. Immediately I was in great emotional pain...I had a 'klesha', a mental affliction. A few minutes later I was totally upset. Why didn't I think first and use patience and just hop into my auto and pull into another space and go back into the building for my appointment. Why did I let it get to that moment that turned this man into a 'rage'! Just this morning I listened to a podcast by Lama Marut about patience being the antidote to being angry. Why hadn't I used patience? I could have moved my car, but at the time of the incident I thought that telling him 'NO!" was the easier thing for me to do. But it wasn't. The man taught me something about doing something small, whether or not it brought me merit or Good Karma in the future. I thought i was taking the proper way out of the situation. Without my practice of patience, however, and the discipline of mind that is possible through that practice, it became a lose/lose situation. The questions remaining for me are clear: Will I use patience in the future, and think the matter out before acting on the problem so quickly? Has awareness of this experience allowed me to move in the direction of wisdom? - Elizabeth Enfield Back to Contents |
The greatest prayer is patience. - The Buddha |
DHARMA ARTS
ODE TO THE SILENT RETREAT (excerpt)
The Governor's Academy, August, 2011 (View Full Text)
Taking no pride - though I glory at My role as your Poet Laureate -- Let me say flat out that "No shit, man, Everyone here is a Walt Whitman!" For I'm tuning my lyre to promote a sense Of everybody's eloquence -- And not just humans, but birds, trees, rivers, Flowers and stones! This world delivers Such sights and sounds and smells symphonic That isn't it more than a bit ironic That in the midst of experience So rich we still bitch, that we've been so dense As to see only the surface Of the glory which this earth is! ...
As for two of our Lamas, Lindsay and Rick,
From both of them I got such a kick
That there's no way between them I could pick;
Nor should there be, for though certainly "varied,"
How beautifully we see them married!
As for Cindy Lee, her smile is so wide
And deep it leaves no place to sleep or to hide;
And when Lamaji speaks, I note how she dotes
On his words, deftly taking her left-handed notes,
And providing us all a sense we have talents,
Long hiding, to help us start riding "on balance"!
... And now, I'm thinking, it's time for me To sum up my sense of Lamaji, Aware I'll be having some troub-a-ble, He being unsum-uppable - Along the way having had many lives, A number of children, a number of wives (After, he says, being three times yoked, His license to marry again was revoked!), And rode, during his biker interlude, The waves and his Beamer -- a real surfer dude! And then for a long while got off On knowledge, became a college prof, Before being struck by an insight rare, That for all of his knowing he was "going nowhere"! Then, hooray! Through the working of some divine plan He came to align himself with Cape Ann, Where most recently he has helped us beat a Retreat, an advance towards a "Nova Vita": A new life, lived a la the Bhagavad Gita In the lotus pose of a Bhodicitta - Though not lived solely in that lotus Pose, for as we begin to notice The impermanence of everything, Gradually we cease to cling To all the unworkable, outdated Unrealities we've related To, becoming habituated To look even at "things in Glocca Morra" And have that fair nook mistook for Samsara! Now, our karmic wheel in reverse, we are on a Path, lit by his lamp, that can lead to Nirvana. (more follows) - Duncan Nelson
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Patience is the companion of wisdom.
- Saint Augustine
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IN THE LOOP
Meditation for Peace on the 10th Anniversary of September 11th With Special Guest Teacher Upasaka Culadasa (John Yates) September 9 - 11, 2011 at the Vajramudra Center In honor of the 10th anniversary of September 11th, we are hosting a very special weekend with master meditation teacher Culadasa - John Yates - from Southern Arizona. Culadasa is the meditation teacher for Camilo Cerro, Jesse Fallon, and other teachers in our lineage. This weekend of teachings will give people an opportunity to study and meditate with a great teacher who teaches peace, through meditation and through action. By our efforts now, we can heal the hurts of the past. The weekend will include free teachings on meditation, silent meditation sessions, and the jewel of being able to ask questions in Q and A style with an expert meditator. Upasaka Culadasa is ordained as a dedicated lay-practitioner. He has been practicing Buddhist meditation for 35 years and is the Director of Dharma Treasure Buddhist Sangha. dharmatreasure.com His intensive training in and integration of both Theravadin and Tibetan traditions provides students with a rich and rare opportunity for rapid progress and deep insight. As a Ph.D. he taught neuro-sciences until 1996 when he left to lead a contemplative life. He is now devoted to helping students master meditation skills. Upasaka Culadasa has a unique lineage in that he teaches a broad synthesis of Buddhist Dhamma derived from both the Mahayana and Theravada traditions. Please register to let us know you are coming. Email register@aci-capeann.org or call (978) 381-9224. Classes are free. Supported by donation. Everyone is welcome to attend any or all of the classes, even if you aren't registered. The classes will also be broadcast via live webcast using Ustream at: www.ustream.tv/channel/meditation-for-peace Please visit aci-capeann.org for schedule and additional details.
Culadasa (Master Yates) will also lead a 7-day retreat at Rolling Ridge Conference and Retreat Center in North Andover, MA February 29 - March 8, 2012. Stay tuned for more details.
ACI-Cape Ann Serving at the Open Door Food Pantry Gloucester, MA VOLUNTEERS NEEDED...SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 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 sangha@aci-capeann.org Back to Contents |
Let nothing disturb thee; Let nothing dismay thee; All things pass; God never changes. Patience attains all that it strives for. He who has God finds he lacks nothing. God alone suffices. - Saint Theresa of Avila |
EVENTS
Meditation for Peace on the 10th Anniversary of September 11th with Special Guest Teacher Upasaka Culadasa (John Yates) September: Fri 9th, 7-9:30pm; Sat 10th, 1-3:45pm & 6:30-9:30pm; Sun 11th, 1-3pm & 5-8pm ----------------------
Dharma Flick: Being There
Saturday, September 3, 6:30pm
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Bok Jinpa 4: Lighting Your Meditation on Fire with Julie Upton Wednesdays, Sept 7, 14, 21 & 28, 7:30-9:30pm; Fridays, Sept 16, 23 & 30, 7:30-9:30pm. Registration required. No drop-ins. ----------------------
Making Choices: Ethical Priorities with Jesse Fallon Saturday, September 24, 7-9pm ---------------------- Proof of Future Lives: Asian Classics Formal Course 4 with Larry Wolf Mondays, Aug 29-Oct 31, 7:30-9:30pm --------------------- SAVE THE DATE: Guest Teachers Camilo Cerro and Renee McNamara Return to the Vajramudra Center Columbus Day Weekend. October 7-9 details tba ----------------------
Weekly Meditation, Yoga, Discussion, Debate and Family Offerings with a variety of wonderful teachers at the Vajramudra Center, aci-capeann.org |
If you have found your inner peace, outside problems cannot make you lose your way. You remain content no matter what happens to you ~ His Holiness the 14th Dalia Lama |
REBOOT...RETREAT
2011 Summer Retreat Sometimes words are not enough...  
Summer Retreatants Speak Out Explore the Path interviewed some of the Summer Retreat Participants. Below are selected quotes from their insights, and links to transcripts and the full videos. More videos will appear in our October issue.
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Andrew Laugel
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It's been heavenly. The things that have been going on are beyond a wonderful retreat. There's something else going that's very moving, and very inspiring. So I feel that we are being helped to move and inspire others, as well of course as ourselves. I think that we will be inspired if we do a good job with others and for others. Fortunately we can certainly do a lot of the moving and the learning by listening to those who teach us. So they will be inspiring us, and good things will happen. They have been happening already. And it's a real joy, it's a real joy. Link to video Open transcript.
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Leah Kreger
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I'm very happy to be here...A surprise was hearing Lama Rick and Lama Lindsay speak about relationships. I just was so happy to hear that practical application of the Dharma. I just loved being in the presence of Lama Marut, and it's my first time to hear Cindy Lee teach. I also have a lot of gratitude to the Cape Ann community that set this up. They set up a beautiful beautiful retreat. I mean down to the details of the flowers being in the rooms. And there was just so much... I felt I was the recipient of so much happy service. I was so well taken care of. And now I hope I'm prepared to go forth and take care of other people. But thank you for taking care of me. Link to video. Open transcript.
 | | Kevin Love |
My name is Kevin Love and I live in Rockport, MA. I came to the retreat by way of my wife Marjohn. I was in Iraq for a year. One of the challenges when you come back from a deployment, is... reconnecting with your family. And she felt that this might be a great way to do that. And I would say that she of course was absolutely correct!
I think that having in particular the 3 days of silence was really useful to me because I definitely needed that transitioning from a place that's dangerous to a place where I don't have to worry. And the retreat really allowed me that space to refocus and really change my frame of mind in terms of where I was and what I'm doing and who I am. Link to video. Open transcript.
 | | Atali and George |
A: I have found a sense of faith, finally. Questions being answered, five ten minutes after I am asking them in my head. Karmic brownie points, kind of occurring every step I take. It's just, this is a magical place. Magical things are happening, magical people....At the end of the day, it's not about me. It's really about the people around you that are a reflection of you, and between the pen and the cup and the one and the glasses and the many, it's just like, I get it...And it's just like Lama Lindsay says, "You know that thing you do? Don't do it!" G: And an interesting thing that I have found this week is that...there is enough practical information to change dramatically how you think about yourself, and the context that you exist in, and begin to take some form of positive step towards what you want to be... And I feel like even if no matter what you take away from it there is a fundamental investment in yourself in this, that will pay some dividend, period. You know what you're going to get from the week on the beach, or at Disneyworld. You don't know what you're going to get from this, and that in itself is reason enough. Open mind, and an open heart, without expectations, and you'll probably find what you've been looking for, or what you need. Link to video. Open transcript.
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Kerri McClain
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The biggest thing for me was sinking beneath the surface. I felt that I really touched the idea of not needing anything, like I didn't need anything. And there was a certain point in the silence where I felt so unbelievably happy that I could understand how I could help many living beings
The angels that we were surrounded by this week, that energy was palpable. And to be able to spend the four days in silence and receive these teachings. And for them, they were like arrows to the heart, it was like daggers that went straight in. There was nowhere to go because you were so open.
Link to video. Open transcript.
In our November issue, look for interviews with other participants and with our head chef, on the view from the kitchen!
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If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow. - Rainer Maria Rilke
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DID YOU KNOW?
In Buddhism, patience (Skt.: kshanti; Pali: khanti) is one of the "perfections" (paramitas) that a bodhisattva trains in and practices to realize perfect enlightenment (bodhi). The Buddhist concept of patience is distinct from the English definition of the word. In Buddhism, patience refers to not returning harm, rather than merely enduring a difficult situation. It is the ability to control one's emotions even when being criticized or attacked.[3] Patience is recognized within Hinduism in the Bhagavad Gita. In both Hinduism and Buddhism there is a particular emphasis on meditation, aspects of which lead to a natural state of mindfulness that is conducive to patient, effective and well-organised thought.
Understanding the many ways anger manifests itself in our thought, speech and behavior is imperative if we hope to destroy anger at its root, once and for all. Here, from Wikipedia[1], are descriptions of passive and aggressive anger:
Passive anger can be expressed in the following ways:
- Dispassion such as giving the cold shoulder or phony smiles, looking unconcerned, sitting on the fence while others sort things out, dampening feelings with substance abuse, overeating, oversleeping, not responding to another's anger, frigidity, indulging in sexual practices that depress spontaneity and make objects of participants, giving inordinate amounts of time to machines, objects or intellectual pursuits, talking of frustrations but showing no feeling.
- Evasiveness such as turning your back in a crisis, avoiding conflict, not arguing back, becoming phobic.
- Ineffectualness such as setting yourself and others up for failure, choosing unreliable people to depend on, being accident prone, underachieving, sexual impotence, expressing frustration at insignificant things but ignoring serious ones.
- Obsessive behavior such as needing to be inordinately clean and tidy, making a habit of constantly checking things, over-dieting or overeating, demanding that all jobs be done perfectly.
- Psychological manipulation such as provoking people to aggression and then patronizing them, provoking aggression but staying on the sidelines, emotional blackmail, false tearfulness, feigning illness, sabotaging relationships, using sexual provocation, using a third party to convey negative feelings, withholding money or resources.
- Secretive behavior such as stockpiling resentments that are expressed behind people's backs, giving the silent treatment or under the breath mutterings, avoiding eye contact, putting people down, gossiping, anonymous complaints, poison pen letters, stealing, and conning.
- Self-blame such as apologizing too often, being overly critical, inviting criticism.
- Self-sacrifice such as being overly helpful, making do with second best, quietly making long-suffering signs but refusing help, or lapping up gratefulness.
The symptoms of aggressive anger are:
- Bullying such as threatening people directly, persecuting, pushing or shoving, using power to oppress, shouting, using a car to force someone off the road, playing on people's weaknesses.
- Destructiveness such as destroying objects, harming animals, destroying a relationship between two people, reckless driving, substance abuse.
- Grandiosity such as showing off, expressing mistrust, not delegating, being a sore loser, wanting center stage all the time, not listening, talking over people's heads, expecting kiss and make-up sessions to solve problems.
- Hurtfulness such as physical violence, verbal abuse, biased or vulgar jokes, breaking a confidence, using foul language, ignoring people's feelings, wilfully discriminating, blaming, punishing people for unwarranted deeds, labeling others.
- Manic behavior such as speaking too fast, walking too fast, working too much and expecting others to fit in, driving too fast, reckless spending.
- Selfishness such as ignoring other's needs, not responding to requests for help, queue jumping.
- Threats such as frightening people by saying how you could harm them, their property or their prospects, finger pointing, fist shaking, wearing clothes or symbols associated with violent behaviour, tailgating, excessively blowing a car horn, slamming doors.
- Unjust blaming such as accusing other people for your own mistakes, blaming people for your own feelings, making general accusations.
- Unpredictability such as explosive rages over minor frustrations, attacking indiscriminately, dispensing unjust punishment, inflicting harm on others for the sake of it, using alcohol and drugs, illogical arguments.
- Vengeance such as being over-punitive, refusing to forgive and forget, bringing up hurtful memories from the past.
- Irma Gomes
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anger
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The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it. - Arnold H. Glasgow |
SEND 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: October: Joyful Effort
November: Perception/Projection
December: Mandala's/Holiday Icons
Please send your submissions for the October issue to: explorethepath@aci-capeann.org
by September 15, 2011. Please try to limit your submissions to 300 words.
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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THANK YOU FOR VIEWING OUR NEWSLETTER!
Questions or comments on our newsletter? Send them to explorethepath@aci-capeann.org
For more information about activities at the Vajramudra Center, please visit aci-capeann.orgIf you have questions of a spiritual nature or want to request a meeting with our Spiritual Advisor, Jesse Fallon, please email him at spiritualquestions@aci-capeann.org |
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 !
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