Auction to benefit Jhamtse Gatsal

The exhibition and silent auction at the Gelb Gallery, Phillips Andover, has been extended until Friday, August 1!

More information

7/29 plan for August

Here's the developing plan for August sessions. Pat will graciously open the chapel for us.

• Aug. 5: Pema Chodron DVD on tonglen (giving and receiving) practice
• Aug. 12: Jacky's presentation on Thich Nhat Hanh & Plum Village
• Aug. 19: Don's presentation on Zen archery
• Aug. 26: something from Kathy, or Dreaming of Tibet (DVD)

Please also share your ideas!

Discussion 7/22

One of our members has just returned from seeing Thich Nhat Hanh at Plum Village in France. She will talking about her experience in August, when we set aside Shantideva until September.

The chapel will continue to be open in August and sangha members interested in meeting will engage in other activities, to be discussed at next week's session -- stay tuned!

This week's discussion brought up these books:

• How to See Yourself as You Really Are, by His Holiness the Dalai Lama (you can read it in Google Books).
• Light Comes Through, Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche (amazon).

Discussion 7/15

We talked about:

• Pema Chodron's recent talk at the Omega Institute called "All in the Same Boat."
• Jack Kornfield
• The Burmese Harp, film (entries from IMDB, wikipedia)
• Greg Mortenson, Three Cups of Tea
  

Pat is willing to open the building during the month of August, so anyone interested, please continue to join us on Tuesday at 7:30pm. We will not continue our study of Shantideva during this time; what we will do is up for discussion! Perhaps watch videos, read other books and discuss them, meditate, discuss our own challenges, etc. Up for discussion!

If you'd like to be an author on this blog, vs. just posting comments (which anyone can do), please email me and I'll be happy to add you.

And a thought from tonight's session (paraphrased):

Our thoughts are like a dog chasing a stick. We are off and running, chasing the stick unquestioningly. The lion, on the other hand, looks back at who is throwing the stick. We should be more like the lion.

Shantideva study resumes 7/15.

We all wish Lobsang our heartfelt prayers and best wishes as he departs for India, and we share in the joy of the children at Gatsal as they get to be with Lobsang for a meaningful period of time for teaching, companionship, and leadership.

Tuesday, July 15th, we will resume our book discussion/study of Shantideva's Way of the Bodhisattva. We left off at Chapter 7, verse 24. We have extra books, so no excuses for not dropping by!! See you then. Also, like the Wednesday group, we are planning on taking August off for a break.

Bruce

Discussion 7/2

While a storm cooked up outside, we had a lively discussion. As we worked on verses 7.15-7.25, the following came up:

Dr. Edward M. Hallowell, an expert on ADHD, and his talk at the Chautauqua Institution on worry leading to stress.

Roger Waters' album Amused to Death, specifically, the lyrics "This species has amused itself to death."

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind." --Henry James

And finally, a few member have read The Art of Racing in the Rain, by Garth Stein. ("The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it.")

Happy Independence Day in the midst of all these dependent arisings! :o)