dharmatalks

As a young man, one of my principal mentors, Jim Rohn, shared with a small group of us, some advice that would become the foundation for a lifetime of success.

Here is what he taught us, sitting in my friend Mark Hughes’ living room, that first weekend:

Keep a Journal. Take notes. It may be on paper, it may be on a micro-recorder.

Mr. Shoafff taught me not to trust my memory, but to write it down, to find one place to gather the information that affects change. And that advice has served me well all these years. Record the ideas and inspiration that will carry you from where you are to where you want to be.

Take notes on the ideas that impact you most. Put down your thoughts and ideas. Brainstorm with yourself on where you are going and what you want to do. Record your dreams and ambitions.

Your journals are a gathering place for all the valuable information that you will find. If you are serious about becoming wealthy, powerful, sophisticated, healthy, influential, cultured, unique, if you come across something important write it down.

Two people will listen to the same material and different ideas will come to each one. Use the information you gather and record it for further reflection, for future debate and for weighing the value that it is to you.

Reflect. Create time for reflection — a time to go back over, to study again the things you’ve learned and the things you’ve done each day. I call it “running the tapes again” so that the day locks firmly in your memory so that it serves as a tool. As you go through the material in this plan, you will want to spend time reflecting on its significance for you.

Regularly set aside time – here are some good guidelines for times to reflect:

At the end of the day. Take a few minutes at the end of each day and go back over the day – who’d you talk to, who’d you see, what did they say, what happened and how’d you feel, what went on. A day is the piece of the mosaic of your life.

Next, take a few hours at the end of the week to reflect on the week’s activities – I would suggest at least one half-hour. Also during that weekly time, take a few minutes to reflect on how this material should be applied to your life and circumstances.

Take a half day at the end of the month and a weekend at the end of the year so that you’ve got it so that it never disappears, to ensure that the past is even more valuable and will serve your future well.

It’s advice that has never failed me, and this week, still very mindful of the loss we experienced as Jim Rohn passed away earlier in the month, I found myself wanting to spend even more time doing as he mentored me to do, all those years ago.  It was for me an opportunity to show my gratitude for having worked personally with the man, who inspired millions through his books, tapes and seminars… sort of a tribute and acknowledgement of the privilege it was to count him among my trusted colleagues and entrepreneurial mentors.

In his groundbreaking book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, Marshall Rosenberg observes, “Violence in any form is a tragic expression of our unmet needs.”

As I contemplated the powerful meaning behind those words, I found myself inspired to take up a new challenge in the coming year… the challenge to master nonviolent communication.

Put simply, I realised, while reading Rosenberg’s book, that if we can learn to identify our needs and express them powerfully, while focusing compassionately on the recognition of the needs of others, we can stay connected to the very essence of life itself, without doing harm, causing injury or bringing about suffering.

It’s something that I have longed to become better at for more than a decade. Struggling to find a way to help others experience a greater and more expansive idea of the universe, and of life… and to discover the path to non-suffering… while trying to figure out how to help them discover the possibility that their own religious ideologies, superstitions and traditions may be creating more suffering than good… has been one of the most difficult tasks I’ve ever undertaken.

Learning to balance the responsibility to address superstitious or fundamentalist religious notions, social injustice and religious intolerance, without inflicting injury on the very persons who already suffer from delusional ideologies is something that truly matters to me.

Surely, I recognise the harm that fundamentalists and literalists have done to society. Yes, I recognise the vitriolic and destructive behaviours that fuel their agendas. But I am also keenly aware of the fact that these people are broken, steeped in paralysing fear, and entirely clueless — often to the brink of being brainwashed by institutional religions, superstitions and fearmongering. So they too deserve compassion — even if it must be a “tough love” at first — one which confronts their hatred, fear and intolerance.

I’ve long ago learned that reasoning is something that is frequently lost on those who are fearful, intolerant or deluded. So simply explaining to them why their way of thinking is causing suffering for themselves and others would not do. There had to be another way.

And so, as I wrapped up three days of evaluating the past year, and creating plans for the coming year, I resolved to develop and refine my communications skills so that I could better assist others in freeing themselves from self-deprecating ideas, superstitions and beliefs, including a reliance on external forces as a means of fostering spiritual growth, freedom from suffering and lasting peace.

For me, that means learning to resist the temptation to revisit well-trodden roads, where it was necessary to explain my non-theistic approach to spirituality. It means no longer finding it necessary to have to explain to those who simply want to argue, how it is that I have lived for the past 29 years as a Buddhist monk, and Franciscan contemplative, without conflicting ideologies. It means not having to defend the validity of my path as a progressive Eastern Catholic priest and bishop, who understands the Sacred in a way that no longer relies on the imagery, mythos or notions of a personal god or literal saviours… and no need to defend how I can still call myself a faithful Buddhist monk in the Tibetan tantric tradition, without finding it necessary to buy into a literal interpretation of the cultural mythos and imagery.

It’s about EMERGENCE…

I firmly believe that there is a grassroots movement, which is slowly gaining momentum in the world, particularly in the West… a spiritual movement that realises the potential for something greater than the limited notions of our ancestors.

I believe this emerging spiritual movement is one which will readily embrace interreligious and interspiritual dialogue, and which can celebrate the various cultures, traditions and ideas of one another, without feeling imposed upon and without feeling the need to defend one’s own path.

I believe that the foundation of this emerging spirituality is and always has been compassion and mindfulness, and that it is reaching a point now, where the “emergent dialogue” is entering mainstream. And I want to continue to be part of that conversation!

You see, I think the time has come for Western Buddhists to stop limiting their expression of spirituality to the adoption of Eastern cultural mythos, practices and rituals. Similarly, I believe it’s time for progressive followers of the Christ Dharma to free themselves from the restrictions and limitations of the institutional churches, to express a more vibrant, living and authentic spiritual apostolic tradition, without encumbering themselves with the ideas that any of the sacred literature — the scriptures of any of the world’s religious traditions — were ever meant to be interpreted literally, or taken to represent historic events.

Now, that doesn’t mean that I think it’s necessary for everyone to abandon their spiritual communities. Western Buddhists shouldn’t feel that I am suggesting that they abandon the Tibetan or Japanese, Chinese or Southeast Asian Buddhist groups with whom they are affiliated. Neither should progressive Catholics, Episcopalians, Quakers, Lutherans or Congregationalists feel that anyone is pressuring them to abandon their faith communities.

In fact, what I am suggesting is quite the opposite.

When we devote ourselves to the emergent dialogue, we free ourselves from the restrictions that we’ve imposed on ourselves and others, and as a result, our spiritual communities will become reinvigorated organically.

Part of what the new year will hold for me, as someone who no longer finds any value in religious affiliation, is a dedication to form something of an informal, intentional community here in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where people can come together to begin exploring spirituality, and talking about what it means to become a living expression of compassion, mindfulness and service to others — outside the scope of religious affiliations.

I believe that creating such a group will leave it open to members from all spiritual traditions, including those who have no religious affiliation. It would be a community where Buddhists, Quakers, Episcopalians, Catholics, Jews, Protestants, New Thought adherents, Wicca and Pagans, Hindus, Sikhs, Sufis, Muslims, Agnostics and Atheists could come together to explore ways in which the Dharma of Compassion, the Four Noble Truths, and the Noble Eightfold Path could contribute to an organic, vibrant and effective source of community service, healing and celebration of cultural, ethnic and religious diversity.

Personal Challenges

It can be noted that I have also come to terms with some of the bigger personal challenges that must be overcome in 2010 as well.

Following my accident, and the loss of the use of my right arm, for both the Buddhist order (the Contemplative Order of Compassion) and me personally, it has been very difficult financially. While we hoped to be able to move to a new, more spacious, healthy and less expensive home in nearby Harrisburg, the appraisal came in far under the selling price, and the deal died a week before closing. Since that time, we’ve discussed it, and agree that we would rather rent for the next year or two.

We continue to struggle with finding a stable means of paying the rent, keeping food in the house and the utilities on. These are things we hope to be able to address in the new year as well, and we remain open to ideas from our friends and students.

Amazon.com is now carrying all three of my books, including The Dharma of Compassion, and Awakening, so we do hope that will bring in some increased revenue as word gets out there; and of course, we still rely on business referrals for Daube-Do Enterprises (Painting, Interiors, Staging, Landscape and Pool/Lawn Maintenance) and PeoplesFinancialNetwork.com (a not-for-profit consumer credit and financial services consulting & assistance service).

Healthwise…

I fully expect the coming year to bring with it some closure with regard to the still uncertain matter of my apparent neurological dis-ease, and believe this will be the year to regain lost ground in the area of t-cell counts, immune response and so forth as well.

I recognise that the past couple months have taken a fairly significant toll on me personally, and am very grateful to have Craig’s constant support emotionally. His own courageous example, living with Parkinson’s Dis-ease, continues to be a source of awe and inspiration for me.

Dharmadude Unplugged

We’re pleased to be kicking off the Dharmadude Unplugged internet radio program in 2010 as well, on the Blogtalk Radio Network. The program will focus on everything we talked about earlier in this blog entry, and will feature guests from many diverse spiritual traditions, as well as folks I believe are  making a difference in this world. (If you would like to be our guest, or can recommend someone who might be interested, drop me a line!)

The Future…

Still in our plans is the hope that we will be able to permanently relocate to Washington, D.C. or South Florida by the end of 2010; and ultimately, we hope to be able to rebuild the monastic community in Costa Rica, within the next five years.

But first, I would like to have been able to establish, support and encourage a local core-community in Lancaster, while working on getting my medical issues taken care of, so that will be our focus as the New Year kicks off.

What about you?

If you haven’t already done so, why not take some time these next two days to reflect on the past year, and discover what goals, aspirations and challenges wait for you in the coming year?

And if you’re inclined to share them, we’d love to hear from you here!

Until “next year”, I wish each of you peace with every step, mindfulness in each breath, and awareness of the space between the breaths… for that is where compassion is born!

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

_____________________________________________

“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa –
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

I know a lot of folks are preparing for their families’ holiday gatherings, and the next few days will be hectic for them.

But if you’re feeling the need to dig a little deeper into the “reason for the season”…

The Tragedy Continues…

On Thursday evening, and Friday morning, in churches around the world, adherents to the religion started by Paul of Tarsus (more commonly known as Christians) will hear the retelling of the nativity story. Their preachers will often, with the best of intentions, interpret the details of the story as literal events, and the focus will be how this Holy Child, born without the “dirtiness” of human sexual intercourse, by His mere birth alone, “saved the world”.

It’s a story that began to emerge about a century into the history of the Early Church, based on the mythos of the Middle Eastern and Roman cultures, in which nearly identical tales were told of Horus, Mithras and Osiris, for thousands of years before. Into the mythic tale of Mithras and Horus was weaved the Jewish context of a meshiach — an anointed one, who would free them from (physical/political) captivity forever.

The original context was not one of redemption from the later innovation of “hell”, but one of being saved from one’s enemies and oppressors.

It’s a romantic story… a nostalgic account… and because not only whole churches, but other big businesses have been built on that account, it’s one few of us are willing to easily dismiss or rationally investigate. Yet amusingly, it’s one of the focal points for those of us who wish to point out that the bible cannot possibly be taken as an historic or inerrant, literally-interpreted document, because the accounts that tell of the so-called saviour’s birth contradict one another immensely.

What most people “think” the Bible says about the birth of Christ is actually an aggregation of what the synoptic texts say, with various conflicting details eliminated or muddled into new details — the trip from Nazareth, no room at the inn, three “kings” (Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar), the mythic flight into Egypt, Silent Night and angels singing the “Gloria”.

At about this time, on Christmas Eve, when I share these thoughts with my congregation, people generally grow uneasy and visibly uncomfortable. “What is he saying? He’s a bishop, for God’s sake! Is he saying that Christmas never happened?”

Yes, that is exactly what I am saying!

Fortunately, I have yet to be burned at the stake, but each year, the murmur of “heretic” gains momentum among those unwilling to consider what I believe is the true message of Christmas, and redemptive value of Christ’s Life and Teaching.

You see… I don’t think Paul even came close to getting it right. And so those who crafted the accounts attributed to Matthew, Mark and Luke barely gleaned the essence of the message either. I’m a Catholic priest and bishop, but I do not subscribe to the anti-gnostic, oppressive and grossly misogynist theology of Paul of Tarsus — and so I hesitate to use the label “Christian”, since most Christians are followers of Paul… not Christ, and most Christians are (rabidly) theistic, and I am not.

My “calling”, as I understand it, was to carry out the “mission statement” of Christ… not the agenda of Peter and Paul.

But since so much of the Advent and Christmas Season is focused around the beautiful story of Mary’s surrender and realisation of the (indwelling) divine will, as told in Luke, I think we can refer to another passage, in which Christ Himself states the mission and purpose of his ministry — with no reference to imaginary concepts like original sin, virgin birth, or escaping the mythic “murder of innocents”:

“The Breath of the Sacred is upon me,
because Spirit has anointed me
to bring Good News to the poor.
The Spirit compels me to proclaim
the way of liberation to the captives,
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the time of divine favour.”

(cf. Luke 4:18-19)

If we read that profound “mission statement” before attempting to reflect on any other passage of Scripture, we find that our interpretation of the meaning and message becomes much more sharply focused, and resembles the popular teaching of the institutional church less and less.

On this Holy Night, Christ reminds us, through mythos and tradition, that we are so loved that the Divine Principle assumed the form of humanity, so that we could awaken and realise our divine nature. If we are truly followers of His Way, we must accept that like Him, each of us are anointed by Love, and are “other-Christs,” called to care for the poor, to proclaim liberty to the captives, to become light for the blind, and to fight to end oppression.

A church that issues “instructions” that oppress and marginalise those who are called to serve at His Table is not faithful to Mission Statement of Christ. It is little more than a fascist representation of the mythical, judgmental and oppressive god introduced by Moses.

A church that threatens to divide itself over the ordination of a bishop, whose life-partner happens to be of the same gender, is not faithful to the Mission Statement of Christ. A church in which the preacher condemns all Muslims as terrorists, or refers to those who follow a different path of truth as “abominations”, is not faithful to the Mission Statement of Christ.

Such “churches” and their theologies are illegitimate.

Two thousand years after that Mission Statement was said to have been proclaimed, we are reminded that there are still poor among us… still oppressed and captive peoples… still those blinded by hatred, ignorance, greed, and intolerance…

While we sit comfortably in our churches and homes, there will be millions around the world for whom no “year of the Lord’s favour” will have come to forgive the crushing burden of poverty, hunger and war.

There’s no harm in the retelling of the nostalgic, romanticised and traditional story of the manger, because its retelling stirs something within our hearts. The challenge, however, is to take that stirring in our hearts and put it into action.

This Christmas, as we ponder the wonder of the Holy Child, who would show us the Way to Liberation, let us resolve to recall what He said His mission was… to make it our own missions… and to remember, there is much work to be done.

May our prayers be enjoined with those of all people, so that our world may be free of violence; protected from intolerance and separatism; that an end to diseases such as cancer, neurological disorders and AIDS might become a reality; that children never have to suffer from hunger, disease, poverty or ignorance; and that peace, unity and understanding among all people one day be achieved.

And regardless of your personal beliefs or traditions, may this Season of Light and Love be a bright, holy and mindful one, filled with peace. YOU are a gift for me, woven into the fabric of my life, and for that, I am grateful.

With love -

Namasté
dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
(archbishop francis-maria of the immaculata, oc)

_____________________________________________
“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa –
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”
_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Tags: mythos, dharma, christ, spirituality, christmas

Zen master, Hsing Yin writes in Describing the Indescribable, “Generosity begins with our recognition of our debt to others.”

The winter holidays of the world’s spiritual traditions always seem to be a particularly good time to remind ourselves of this truth, and to inspire us to take action on that debt.

I’d like to thank each of you for the many rich and meaningful gifts you are to me, and for the immeasurable indebtedness I bear in gratitude for your kindness and love. You are my friends, my family, my teachers, and I thank you!

For those inclined toward the lovely act of sending out holiday cards, I would ask that in lieu of sending me cards, you would consider sending a dollar or two to your local homeless shelter, to ensure that someone hungry will be fed on whatever holiday night(s) your tradition observes. We will be doing the same thing in honour of each of you.

May your Winter Holiday season be filled with every good thing, much love and peace… and may those who are lonely, hungry, homeless or financially hurting, as well as those who are afflicted with depression, illness, and mental problems find consolation in the arms of a compassionate caregiver.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

_____________________________________________

“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa —
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Sometimes, it seems the best we can do is to make it through the day. To avoid suffering, we must push through the pain, the disappointment and the anger — not trying to avoid it. By bearing our burden through the day, when nightfall comes, we can let it die upon the embers of the cremation grounds.

We might be tempted to think of those we regard as our spiritual teachers as being “bigger” than the mundane problems we all face. Folks can “tune-in” to my Dharma blog, watch a few short videos, maybe follow an entertaining Twitter feed or two, and get a sense that the Dharmacharya has a handle on everything.

After all, for more than two decades, I was the primary financial support for a community of 54 monks – covering the expenses of running six monastic houses: five mortgages, food bills for all six houses, a homeless meals project in four cities, and utilities for all six communities. When a monk was sick, I was able to cover the cost of treatment. When a monk wanted to go to school, we supplemented their student loans, and when they got out of school, I paid the student loan bills each month.

In November of 2007, after a couple years of gradual decline in my health, the neurological problems that were manifesting became severe enough to cause a serious accident, resulting in the loss of use of my right arm for the most part. Extensive surgery helped to stabilise the arm, with a ten and a half inch metal plate and eighteen screws, but the bone, which the orthopedist hoped would mend, has not done so. And the pain remains a constant reminder of that.

Fast-forward to the present day and over the past twenty-four hours the plans that we’ve so enthusiastically been working on for the past two months – the relocation of our ladrang (hermitage of the lama and his household) from the cold, cramped and inadequate location in Lancaster, Pennsylvania to an inner city neighbourhood in the state’s capitol city, Harrisburg – and all of the plans for ramping up some of the projects that the Contemplative Order of Compassion has been involved with, have been dashed. The property failed to appraise high enough, possibly due to a racial bias on the part of the appraiser, and so we could not get the bank to agree to lending us the amount of the agreed selling price. And the owner, unwilling to budge on that price either, now has an unsellable house on her hands…

…and us? Well, we may very well be homeless in the coming week. We’d already given the landlady a month’s notice, during which she’s been working on replacing us as tenants. And finding affordable rents, especially at this time of year, has proven next to impossible.

Now add to that the fact that Friday, we will have the heartbreaking experience of seeing our puppy, Pugsley, who is staying with Craig’s family for now (since we’re not allowed pets in the apartment), but who will have to be given to someone else. Craig’s family cannot afford to keep the dog, since there are already twelve other animals living there. I’ll relish the few nights we enjoyed with him snuggling up under the covers, gently snoring, only to wake up and find him trying to sneak up to the pillow, but settling for sleeping in the crook of my arm.

So you see… the Punk Monk has difficult days just like everyone else. And it hurts, just like everyone else.

But one thing that sets my experience apart is that I consciously do nothing to avoid the pain. I embrace it and move toward it and through it, rather than trying to mask it, run away from it, or ignore it. And that alone is the reason I do not suffer. Yes, I hurt, but hurting is only suffering when we try to escape it.

There was a time when I adored Yuletide and Christmas time. All of the monastic houses were trimmed in festive Yule decor. There were menorahs, Christmas trees and Yule logs, and a beautiful hand carved creche in each monastic house.

The monks would celebrate Dongzhi, the Buddhist observance of the Solstice with delicious tangyuan (rice-balls) and ladhu. We offered special pujas in honour of Makara Sankranti, and hung wreathes upon the doors, after marking them with auspicious symbols.

But these days, when it’s not even possible to afford to light up a tree or purchase cards, we’ll simply hold each of you in our hearts during these festival nights, with gratitude for the light you bring our lives, and with the hope that we might bring that light to others.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

_____________________________________________

“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa —
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

It was a profoundly disappointing call. The appraiser we hired to come do the final appraisal for FHA on the new ladrang/hermitage appraised the house at $23K under the selling price. And because we’d already spent more than $700 in appraisals, inspections, and other associated expenses, we were unwilling and unable to pay for a challenging inspection.

Further attempts to reach an amenable agreement or leasing the space at a reasonable amount fell flat as well. So we lost the house.

This eleventh hour snafu couldn’t have happened at a more inopportune time, since we are less than a week away from when we are supposed to be out of our current apartment, so we’re trying to convince the landlady to allow us to stay on.

While we are truly disappointed, I cannot help but be grateful that apparently SO much karma has ripened upon us in this lifetime, which clears the way for us to further move along the road to realisation.

What will we do from here? I have no idea at the moment. And I am taking the day off to figure that out.

With the shifting of our perspective, all things appear differently. If one were to look at the sky during a clear night, one might perceive all things being basked in the light of the moon. Highlights reflecting on the water, the leaves of the trees, and the earth itself, would delight us with the interplay between shadow and light.

In our minds, we may see that experience as different from our view of the same landscape during the middle of the day, when everything seems to be illuminated by the sun’s bright light.

This is but one small example of our dualistic mind, and the way it distorts ultimate reality, shaping our mistaken perceptions.

What we see at night is not at all separate from the light we

see during the day. In fact, the moon has no light of its own, reflecting only the light from the same sun that shines during the day.

So it is with our perceptions about many things in life… including our spirituality.

One of my spiritual brothers, Jayanata Paquette observed this morning:

Devotion is a direct route to gratitude, the most healing of emotions. People forego the subjective experience of devotion in favor of fighting over the various objects of devotion (i.e., religions).

Only when we cultivate this realisation of unity (yoga in Sanskrit), bringing together the inward and outward, will we begin to see with a clarity of mind that frees us from all mistaken notions and delusions. This awakened state, which we find in the stories of the lives of Buddha Sakyamuni and Rabbi Jesus, in the lives of Kuan Yin and Mary the Christotokos, and in the stories of countless illuminated teachers, saints, mystics and guides, brings with it inward and a restful heart.

From this place of pure devotion… a devotion which celebrates, honours and bows in reverence to all that exists, all that has existed and all that will one day exist, recognising the common nature of all phenomena as outward expressions – mirror images of our interior state… we draw together the subtle body of unified spirit, the physical body and all its senses, culminating in a simple unity of inward and outward powers, enclosed in the envelope of compassion and wisdom.

The Catholic mystic, Teresa d’Avila observed, “The spiritual marriage may also be compared to water running from the sky into a river or stream, where the waters are united, and it would no longer be possible to divide them, or to separate the water of the river from that which has fallen from the heavens.”

Just as the Indian mythos of the water of the sacred Ganga flows from Siva’s hair, and goes out to become part of the waters of the world… and as the Buddhist story of the great Lama Tsongkhapa’s spiritual union with Vajrayogini made it possible to restore the expedient path of liberation, we each have our own stories.

As this week unfolds, bringing with it still more tales of light and unity, passed down and adapted from legends that have been part of the human story for thousands upon thousands of years, let us not focus on our differences – on the “objects of devotion” that Jayanta spoke of, but instead on the act of devotion itself.

Whether your personal story is about a child, born in humble obscurity, who was the incarnation of Sacred Love, or the story of the Miracle of Lights… whether you’re celebrating the lengthening of daylight and coming of Spring, or the increase of the divinity among us, which enables us each to realise our own divine potential… let your celebration be full!

Take time to consider what you can do to positively and powerfully impact the world around you at this time. What can you do to alleviate the suffering of someone less fortunate? What can you do to ensure that someone is no longer hurting, no longer alone, no longer afraid?

Seize the opportunity to write new stories! Take time to listen to the stories of others! Let the coming weeks unfold with the potential of all that you are… where the light of the sun and the light of the moon merge to become simply light… and where you recognise the truth about your Emergent Nature.

Let there be peace on earth… especially in your heart!

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

_____________________________________________

“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa —
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Five generations of their family have called the old historic log cabin “home”.  Built before the American Revolutionary War, with its original hand-crafted stone hearth, the home of Otto and Sharon Daube has surely seen better days.

During the Depression era, Sharon’s father added onto the home, digging out a basement, and as was the custom at that time, did all of the work with what pieces of scrap lumber, cement, and architectural elements he could find. The timbers of the second floor addition, for example, came from the original Queen Anne-style governor’s mansion, which was torn down in 1960, after 96 years of use.

Last year, when his brother Alfred died suddenly, Otto Daube and his brother Fritz immediately went to a then-trusted funeral home, to spare their aging, grief-stricken mother the burden of having to bury another son (she had already lost several of her sons over the years). Alfred’s son, philanthropist, Michael Daube (founder of the Citta Foundation, an organisation dedicated to boost the education, health care and economic prospects of people in India and Nepal), and his daughter Karen were unable to get to the funeral home, still in transit from their homes out-of-state,  so Alfred’s brothers did what anyone would do in such cases, and proceeded with the arrangements, assuming that once Alfred’s children arrived, they would be able to take over from there.

The funeral director appears now to have had questionable motives and business practices, because despite his claim that the military would be paying a large portion of Alfred’s funeral and burial expenses, and his other claims about keeping costs down for the family, he also asked Alfred’s brothers to sign the paperwork “just until Michael and Karen could get there”.

Both Otto and Sharon Daube are elderly, permanently and totally disabled, and living on a very fixed, limited income. At the time of Alfred’s death, they were having difficulty keeping up with their mortgage and utility bills, and had serious concerns about urgent repairs that were long needed on their home.

The wiring is outdated and could represent hazards, and the structure itself needs reinforcements, renovations and updates, totaling more than $55,000. And now, in the midst of the biggest winter snowstorm in decades, the family’s furnace blew.

To make matters worse, when Alfred’s children refused to assume the financial responsibility for their father’s funeral and burial costs, the funeral home went after Otto and Sharon. They now face a Sherriff’s Sale, and will lose their home, unless we find a way to save the home.

Before all of this happened, Otto and Sharon were talking to the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path about converting their property into a residence for the disabled, living on a fixed income. In addition to themselves, they identified four other permanently disabled individuals, living below the federal poverty level guidelines, who would be permitted to live in what would become “Karuna House”. Karuna is the Sanskrit word for compassion, and Karuna House would be a home where compassionate care for the elderly, the disabled and the poor was lived out in a community setting.

The total cost of renovations, additions and completely buying out the property would cost just $206,000.00 And the home could become a model for other communities across the country. But now, because of the circumstances of Otto and his brother being unfairly saddled with the funeral and burial expenses of their brother, Karuna House may never come to be.

My hope is that we will be able to spark renewed interest and awareness in the community, and find a way to raise the $17,000 needed to pay-off the funeral home and catch the family up on their mortgage, saving their home, as well as replacing the furnace, before it’s too late.

We would not only be helping to preserve an historic landmark in Dauphin County, which we could then work diligently to raise funds to acquire, renovate and allow these two kind souls to live with four other disabled persons as a “community of compassion”, but would also  be saving Otto and Sharon Daube, from being homeless in the middle of winter.

I’m asking everyone to consider passing this along to those you know. If you have friends, business associates or know of any compassionate and responsive philanthropists, perhaps they will find it in their hearts to make donations or even underwrite the project altogether.

To see their son and daughter (both of whom are likewise disabled and living on lower than poverty-level incomes), crying because they fear that their parents will lose their home in a few weeks, is something I hope none of you ever has to experience. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s simply unimaginable that we would sit by and do nothing to ensure that these two elderly folks, who’ve given so much to their families, as well as their local communities, can save their family home, and live in safe, affordable and warm conditions.

A corporate sponsorship could make this entire problem go away, while gaining for the sponsor a chance to “set the example” for Karuna House, and other projects like it.

As a Buddhist, it is my spiritual practice which drives the work that I do. In Buddhism, one learns to observe through one’s personal experience, penetrating the phenomenal world, and realising the True Nature that exists in everything… the true nature that allows us… no, compels us to recognise our essential unity with all others. By owning that existence, and recognising that everything that plays out in our experience is a reflection of our interior minds and hearts, we realise the need to do all we can, in every moment, to alleviate suffering wherever we find it.

This is one place, I am deeply and profoundly compelled to reach out and ask you to find it in your hearts to help us help Otto and Sharon Daube.

For more information, please get in touch with me or my staff immediately, at 717.517.9141, or email me at: Lojong Ladrang.

May your holiday season be warm, filled with compassion and awareness, and may every step be illuminated along the path of right action.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda
DharmadudeUnplugged.com 

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

It ultimately makes no difference whether or not any of us believes any of the biblical narratives were literal events. It doesn’t matter that some of us recognise that most of the text was adapted from earlier mythology and legends, and have nothing to do with the historical person of the Nazarene Rav Yeshua (Rabbi Jesus).

I’d make these points because I do not wish to debate pointless issues. Don’t waste your time or yours with your arguments concerning whether or not there ever was an historic person named Yeshua ben Yusef. (I personally believe there is reason to assume there was.)

Don’t waste my time or yours telling me why you believe the absurd myths and legends of virgin births, stars in the east, and such things. (I personally do not accept any of that as credible, rational, reasonable or intended to be literally accepted as historical fact.)

And please, do not insult my intelligence with claims of how 24, 66, or 73 separate texts, written by dozens of different authors; filled with contradictions, errors, plagiarised mythos, superstitions, violent and malicious intent, imaginary events and questionable interpretation of historic events, were somehow “inspired by”, “written by” or “authorised by” the Semitic God, Yahweh (Shema in Aramaic; and the gross mispronunciation, Jehovah). Such superstitions are best reserved for your personal blogs, correspondences and beliefs, and are frankly inappropriate for and unwelcomed in this forum.

Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way, you’re probably asking yourself, “Why?”

Simply because what does matter is that we open our hearts and minds to understand more fully the intended message (Dharma) within the sacred myths, legends and narratives.

At this time of year, it is part of the tradition of the Contemplative Monks of the Eightfold Path, and many members of the Spiritus Project, to reflect on the meaning behind the nativity narrative and particularly to look to Our Lady of Compassion, the Christotokos, as an example of the perfectly lived life.

Mary has been called “Seat of Wisdom”, and is referred to as the First Tabernacle. The Christian story of the Nativity is a tale of Sacred Love becoming Incarnate, and the vessel which held the Incarnation of this Sacred Love is called the Christotokos or Christ-bearer, the Blessed Mother Mary.

In the early Church, images painted of the Trinity always depicted the Ruach (Holy Spirit) as Shekinah – the feminine consort of Yahweh – who was considered to be the Bearer of Wisdom. So it is reasonable to see the link between the Hebrew tradition, in which Shekinah is represented as giving birth the wisdom, and the Christian adaptation in which Mary becomes the Seat of Wisdom (giving birth to the Wisdom and Love, represented by the person of the Enlightened Yeshua).

As students of the Dharma, we strive to find the seeds of this wisdom and love in all things. Mindfulness brings us to a place where we, like Mary, surrender to allow ourselves to become charitoo – filled with grace.

The Hebrew word that is often translated as “grace” in the Christian texts, chesed, actually means loving-kindness. This illuminated understanding of the original text now presents Mary in a context that makes more sense, and which inspires us to want to follow Her example.

“Hail Mary, filled with loving-kindness! Love dwells within you, and you dwell within Love. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the your Son, Yeshua. Holy Mary, Mother of Incarnate Love, remember us now and at the hour of our death. Let it be so!”

A dear friend, Carey Landry, wrote in the words to a song dedicated to the Blessed Mother, entitled Hail Mary, Gentle Woman:

Gentle woman, quiet Light, Morning star, so strong and bright,
Gentle Mother, peaceful dove,
Teach us wisdom, teach us love.

In the ancient East, the symbol of a dove was always used to represent the Divine Feminine (and was never used to represent the Divine Masculine). Therefore, as we recall the story of the Ruach (Holy Spirit) descending upon Jesus in the form of a dove, we must realise that this was a moment of the Divine Mother (Sophia/Shekinah) descending upon Him. Many progressive and enlightened theologians have come to realise that the Mystery of the Incarnation and indeed the whole biblical mythos surrounding Christ is one in which there is a masculine and feminine aspect co-existing, much like the androgyny of Chenrezig (the Buddha of Compassion) in Tibetan mythos. Viewed another way, along with the masculine aspect of Jesus (Love Incarnate), we have Mary (Wisdom Incarnate) acting as co-redeemers.

We recognise that the symbolism, descriptions and metaphor of the Divine Mother has existed throughout the aeons, with parallels in Egyptian, Persian, Sumeria, Syrian, Greek and Roman myths, from which much of the biblical legends draw their descriptions. Again, it’s not about the history of the mythos, but about the message it bears.

But all of this sacred legend and mythos is meaningless, unless we can make it applicable to our journey into mindful awakening.

In his book, Emblems of a Season of Fury, Thomas Merton writes this of “Sophia/Wisdom”:

There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden wholeness. This mysterious Unity and Integrity is Wisdom, the Mother of all, Natura naturans. There is in all things and inexhaustible sweetness and purity, a silence that is a fount of action and joy. It rises up in wordless gentleness and flows out to me from the unseen roots of all created being, welcoming me tenderly, saluting me with indescribable humility. This is at once my own being, my own nature, and the Gift of my Creator’s Thought and Art within me… speaking as my sister, Wisdom.

I am awakened, I am born again at the voice of this my Sister, sent to me from the depths of the divine fecundity.

Emblems of a Season of Fury, p. 61

Ultimately, it makes no difference whether your tradition celebrates the Christian Incarnation, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, the Enlightenment of the Buddha, the Solstice or Festivus. What matters is the mindfulness you bring to the observance, and to your celebration of life.

Intentionality is an important key. What is your intention during these days of celebration? Is it to strive to better emulate the surrender and awareness that the young Mary demonstrates in the Christmas mythos? Is it to embody the rebirth and awakening of the Sun in the Solstice? Is it to become Light for others?

Remember, we cannot affect how others react or act during the holidays, but we have total control over ourselves. Instead of asking yourself how you would like others to act, ask how you can act and think and feel, so that it puts others at ease to be in your presence.

Take time to reinforce the bonds of community, by reaching out to those in need. Remember that this is a time of wonder and awe. Allow youself to simply “be” in the moment, to experience that wonder for yourself!

Taking time to be intentional about preparing for and experiencing the holidays is a great way to create the conditions which make cultivating compassion easier, and will surely result in your in having a much better experience.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

_____________________________________________

“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa —
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Adverse circumstances

There is nothing extraordinary about practicing the Dharma, when things are going well for you. The true test comes when we perceive the circumstances, experiences and events around us as being negative, difficult or painful. Such adverse circumstances not only test our resolve, challenge our courage, and measure our endurance; they more importantly provide us with an irrefutable benchmark of our conviction in the Dharma.

“I have given them the Word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world,” the Palestinian Dharma teacher, Jesus the Nazarene, tells his disciples, “They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” (cf: John 17. 14, 16)

Similarly, in the Samyutta Nikaya, the Enlightened One tells his disciples, “Just as a dark blue or white lotus, born in the water, comes to full growth in the water, rises to the surface, and stands unspotted by the water, so too does the Buddha, having come to full growth in the world, passing beyond the world, abides unspotted by the world.” (cf: Samyutta Nikaya, 22.94)

It is to be expected that difficult circumstances will arise. They are a part of life. The Dharma practice enables us to notice these adverse circumstances and our response to them without judgment. We learn to cultivate a peace of mind which does not seek to separate ourselves from the world, but learns to let go of the need to control and manipulate that same world for hopes of some kind of transient happiness; because we recognise our happiness comes not from doing or having, but from simply being.

Namasté

dharmacharya gurudas sunyatananda

_____________________________________________

“Chenrezig, Treasure of Objectless Compassion;
Manjushri, Lord of Stainless Wisdom;
Vajrapani, Destroyer of all adversarial forces;
O Je Tsong Khapa – Losang Drakpa —
Crown Jewel of the Sages of the Land of Snows,
Humbly at Your Lotus Feet I ask your blessing.”

_____________________________________________

Drawing on the essential teachings of the great spiritual teachers, philosophers and freethinkers throughout time, Dharmacharya Gurudas Śunyatananda (retired Archbishop Francis-Maria Salvato, O.C.) has been regarded as a provocative, revolutionary “voice of reason” within the field of religion and spirituality, since 1983. Having the distinction of being one of the few openly non-theistic, openly-gay and post-denominational thinkers ever to serve as Bishop-Exarch and spiritual leader of the autocephalic Eastern Catholic Franciscans in North America, Gurudas is the author of more than 600 articles, eight books and currently serves as the spiritual advisor for a non-theistic, intentional spiritual community, The Spiritus Project. He can be reached at: http://dharmadudeunplugged.com

Copyright ©2008, His Eminence Dharmacharya Gurudas Sunyatananda (The Most Reverend Dr. F. Francis-Maria G. Salvato, M.Sc., O.C.). All rights reserved. This material may be reproduced, blogged, quoted or distributed, provided the entire copyright including contact information remain intact. It may NOT be altered in any way, without express written permission.

Many times on this blog, we’ve talked about sacred myth and legend. And while I am certain that most of those who have followed my reflections and teachings for any length of time are more inclined to see all of the sacred stories in this light, I do realise a tendency, especially among those new to Emergent Spirituality, to imagine that all sacred texts are myths except for their own. And there is great inherent danger in such a delusional perspective.

In the video below, Devdutt Pattanaik shares a wonderfully insightful look at sacred mythos and logos.

Click here to watch.