April Lesson

Here is the April lesson from Dharma Days: Art, Musings and Meditations for the Spiritual Path by Dairyu Michael Wenger.

It got my attention -- "Disease and medicine are all in a life's work."

The beautiful medicine buddha is from Dharma Crafts.

We celebrate Easter in April.

The Buddha's Birthday on April 8.
Don't forget Earth Day April 22.
(Everyday should be Earth Day -- don't you think?!

Blessings to All.

March Lesson

It's been so busy around here that I almost forgot the March Lesson!

"A koan is a public case, almost like a legal precedent, in which some issue of understanding is raised beyond the meaning of the words. ... Be alert to an opportunity to be of service. Use whatever you have to be of help. You don't necessarily know in advance how. Do the best you can."



The beautiful eleven-headed bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, approx. 1300, Western Tibet, Ladakh. The Avery Brundage Collection at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.

(All from Dharma Days: Art, Musings and Meditations for the Spiritual Path by Dairyu Michael Wenger 2010 Calendar)

Mail Call!

I've told you that I have a *thing* for calendars.

When I saw this on my travels during OWOH, I knew it was meant for me!

And it was!

Today it arrived in the mail.

Patricia is a wonderful artist.

Her illustrations are great. They make me smile.

Please visit Patricia at My Cosmopolitan Diary. You'll be glad you did!

February Lesson

It's time to share the February Lesson from Dharma Days 2010 Calendar: Art, Musings, and Meditations for the Spiritual Path by Dairyu Michael Wenger. My homework for this month is to cultivate compassion without falling prey to its near enemies. For instance, feeling sorry for someone is far from feeling close to that person and may give you a sense of superiority. Getting depressed yourself when someone around you is feeling depressed is self-indulgence and helps no one.

I'm still working on January's don't be critical!

Here are a few important dates in the Buddhist calendar for February:

• February 8 (or in some calendars February 15) - Nirvana Day - is the final nirvana, which occurs upon the death of the body of someone who has attained complete awakening. This date celebrates the parinirvana of The Buddha.

• February 9 - Bodhidharma's Birthday - The historical Bodhidharma (known as Daruma 達磨 in Japan) was an Indian sage who lived sometime in the fifth or sixth century AD. He is the undisputed founder of Zen Buddhism 禅 (Ch. = Chan), and credited with Zen's introduction to China during his travels to the Middle Kingdom. (Note: Zen Buddhism is the term used in Japan, but Daruma’s philosophy arrived first in China, where it flowered and was called Chan Buddhism. Only centuries later does it bloom in Japan, where it is called Zen). (For more information on Daruma/Bodhidharma go here.)
  
  
• February 14 - Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year 4708) the year of the Tiger. It is also called Losar by the Tibetans (2137). Let's not forget Valentine's Day!

Happy February!

Candlemas/Imbolc

If Candlemas day be fair and bright, Winter will have another flight; But if Candlemas day be clouds and rain, Winter is gone, and will not come again. —Traditional English weather rhyme

The Catholic Church assimilated the pagan purification festival by linking it to the purification of the Virgin after the birth of Christ, "the light that brightens the darkness." Worshippers brought their year's supply of candles to the church to be blessed by the priest in a special Candle-Mass.

Candlemas continues the celebration of new beginnings. It was a day to prepare the fields for new plantings and to bless the fields to ensure a good harvest. In England, the holiday greens were taken out of the house, and if even a leaf was left behind, it was unlucky. "Out with the old, in with the new" is the theme for Candlemas. It's a good day to make commitments, renew pledges, and plant seeds for new growth.

In your herb garden, celebrate this day of new beginnings by turning over a piece of earth and repeating this ancient Anglo-Saxon plowing charm:

Whole be thou Earth Mother of men. In the lap of God, Be thou growing. Be filled full of fodder For fare-needs of men.

Or plant some seeds of annual herbs in pots on a sunny windowsill, for later transplanting into your garden or deck containers. Some good choices: chives, dill, basil, cilantro.

February 2 is also groundhog day. However you wait for the light and Spring to return, celebrate!

I Love Calendars

I love calendars. I seem to have one in every room. I guess I need lots of help knowing what day of the week it is! Most come from organizations I belong to -- a thank you for a donation and, of course, wanting another. Then there are the few that I am fascinated by in some way -- beautiful photos, wonderful words.



This is the one that has gotten my attention and seems to want to teach me something. It is an engagement calendar designed to bring the wisdom and vitality of the Buddha's teachings into everyday life. The theme of this year's calendar is kindness and compassion, which are fundamental expressions of a Buddhist way of life. Each month begins with a teaching, a poem, or a Zen story and suggests practices to manifest the teaching.

The teaching for the month of January was a celebration of the bodhisattva Never Despise, who appears in chapter 20 of the Lotus Sutra. This remarkable being does not criticize anyone. He/she realizes that everyone will be a Buddha one day. Well, easier said than done! I was warned by the calendar that I shouldn't be discouraged doing this practice. That it is difficult and if I could do it for a short time I might feel an incredible buoyancy and if I found myself judging, not to add a criticism on top of a criticism! Wow!

I found myself getting irritated with a checkout clerk at the grocery ... not paying attention to what she was doing with my stuff and talking to a customer in another line. I didn't say anything out loud, and finally, when I was outside the building, I started laughing and found myself saying over and over -- don't be critical!!!!!! And, I laughed out loud some more. I don't know if laughing and buoyancy are the same thing -- but it sure took the sting out of my irritation.

Another reason why I'm enjoying this calendar -- the beautiful art work!

I wonder what the lesson for February will be?

(I am posting this as my Thursday post. I'm sure I won't have time to post tomorrow morning. We will be at Anderson again. Mr. Dragon is having a stress test done as part of his workup for surgery. Keep those thoughts, prayers, wishes, white light, juju et al coming!)