Week One Essay Question
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Share as much or as little as you would like about your sense of lineage(s) AND/OR create a small shrine and explain why you created it as you did.
Please share your responses to one or two of your fellow IRL-ers.
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I really like the idea of having meditators, such as instructors or monks from a Buddhist lineage, sitting on the left side behind me for more accountability. On my right, I like to invite all my teachers and supporters.
What was shared about our offering surprised me! How beautiful it is to offer me, my thoughts, my worries, my condition in the moment I sit to meditate, my emotions, etc.? It reinforces the idea that WE ARE ENOUGH! Love it! I also add an incense to cleanse the area energetically and turn on the smelling sense.-
Thereza – much appreciate how you ‘locate’ your chosen lineage on either side of you. Usually it’s only a mental placement for me but I see how placing these chosen ones on my right and on my left could make them very present with me during meditation. Thank you!
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I at first thought I didn’t have anything I needed for a shrine, but it all came together so easily. I remembered a beautiful table runner of my mother’s that is white with light green edging and butterflies; I used a lamp with the 3 monkeys sculpted on the base (see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil); a small Tibetan singing bowl that I had been given; a print of a magnolia blossom; a small wooden sculpture of a boy who reminds me of the Buddha; a candle; and a lapel pin that belonged to my grandmother or great-grandmother. I am so glad that I created this and wished I had done it much earlier (but, obviously, this was the right moment).
The magnolia, the table runner, and the pin are a link to my matriarchal lineage which I love calling on for blessings, and the boy and bowl are my link to my evolving spirituality! I feel wonderful in this new space.-
Teresa, I also liked the idea of offering our emotional state when we sit down to meditate. I’d never thought of that before; in fact, I haven’t set up a shrine before. I’m excited to do it, but I also like the idea of coming with something strong in my body and putting that into the mix. Thanks for sharing.
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May, this is so lovely…I could picture the scene you painted. Your mention of matriarchal lineage resonates with me, since that is also what comes to my mind as I ask for blessings. My own shrine developed organically as I filled the space with things that keep the spirits and inspiration of the women in my life around me. Thank you for your thoughts: )
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I have been thinking about my sense of lineage and struggling to define what that means for me. It’s complicated, but I know it isn’t family (meaning ancestry, not my spouse or son) so I must draw on something else. Perhaps my lineage is represented by artists…musicians…writers…I don’t know. I’ll continue to contemplate that this week and see what emerges. Meanwhile, I spent time thoroughly cleaning my meditation space over the weekend (goodbye dog hair!), clearing my altar table, and then reconsidering which items to place there. I have a wood-carved Buddha elevated on a platform, sandalwood malas, a singing bowl, candles, an incense holder, and a small arrangement of clear quartz & amethyst crystals. It felt so good to sit in this refreshed space 🙂
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I set up a meditation sacred space awhile ago (like several years!) but frankly, mostly what I do is walk by it. It’s got some wonderful, special mementos that remind me of my lineage. Lineage – and yet, till wondering what that is for me – yes, ancestors with all their complicated histories, but what isn’t lineage if I consider all that ever was a part of what is whether I directly have known it or not. I’ve never met 98% of my ancestors so why would I need to meet anyone or anything that’s been in existence to consider it lineage. Susan referred to ‘the essential me’ that here – was here, will be here, when my physical existence is gone. There’s a great read, Caesar’s Last Breath which unfolded so much for me about existence – the reality that every atom and molecule that makes me was here before they formed me and will return to their natural states after me – maybe to be made into someone, something new? Ah, so much. In any case, I’ve now sat at my sacred meditation space twice!
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I have some wonderful thongs on my alter/ meditation space. I have some rocks that are very healing, a photo of Gurumayi, a Buddha statue. A prayer flag from Bhutan.
I’ve never thought of lineage I would say my primary yoga teachers And their teachers, the Buddha, my ancestors from previous lifetimes, as well as this one. The Dalai Lama, Thich Nyat Hanh. I will add as I learn
I’m wondering if it’s ok if my lineage includes beings that are alive. -
When I think of lineage, I think of all the teachers I’ve had that have influenced me. I can sometimes be so overwhelmed when I sit at my weekly sangha here in Berkeley with the profound guidance offered by the Buddha and how it has come to me 2500+ years later and be moved to tears. I’m also thinking about my personal lineage … my grandparents, my parents, my school teachers. And I’ve also started to notice when I’ve been given a “fourth sight” by random people. I recently learned about the “fourth sight” which is from the story of the Buddha when he left the palace with his attendant for the first few times and encountered first someone sick, then someone old, and someone dying (not necessarily in that order). His fourth sight was of a beggar who was profoundly at peace and happy. I’m paraphrasing, but it really struck me. We learn from beings everywhere and all the time.
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In terms of my “shrine”. I’ve had it for a little over a year. The following items are placed on top of a 2-drawer Thread storage that used to be in my grandfather’s & then father’s store: carved hands holding the world (made in Ghana that I once visited); a beautiful vase that once belonged to my mom; 2 Femo carved children made by my oldest daughter; a Lotus candle holder given to me by a meditator who lives in Pittsburgh; Mala beads that belonged to a local Sangha member who died about 5 years ago; an incense holder; a woven small piece that I made about 20 years ago and lastly a photo of Pema Chodron.
I’m still pondering my lineage. I want to feel it out. Currently included is: (on right) Pema Chodron & Susan; (on left): my parents, grandparents (who I never knew), my daughters and 3 grandsons, Southern Jews, my yoga instructor, teachers, mothers, and folks with humor!!
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My shrine is pretty simple: it’s a small fountain on my balcony, to which I’ve added a clay statue of the Buddha, and a small stone that I collected when trying to sort through one of the worst parts of the process of writing a novel last year. (I declared that the stone belongs to my main character, so as long as it’s there, she’s guiding me forward.) I prefer to meditate in front of the shrine when it’s warm enough to do so; because I live in Canada, that means I meditate *near* the statue (i.e. inside) from about October to March. I contemplated bringing the whole thing inside during the winter but the flowing water keeps the fountain unfrozen and something about the idea of it flowing away, in spite of the elements, appeals to my sense of the world.
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Matt,
I love that you have an altar outside and that has given me thoughts about creating one myself this summer. Living in the Northeast, I understand looking at your altar from the inside! You also made me think that the altar can be used to support our creative inclinations, like your writing.
Thank you for sharing. -
I have a small altar which I rearranged this past weekend. There is a beautiful Buddha statue, a small Ganesh (that my yoga teacher gave me years ago from India), mala beads from Native American women in Arizona and candles. Its right where I practice yoga and meditation.
I have thought about the idea of lineage this week and realized I might have a rebel streak regarding lineage. First, I would say family is definitely the beginning of my idea of lineage, where we came from, our ancestors, grandparents and parents. I grew up in a very Catholic household and belonging to the Catholic church required that you believed and followed the path of the Catholic lineage. When I was a young adult, I did leave the Catholic church and really did not belong or follow another belief for many years. At 39, I found yoga and that became my lineage, my belief system and I guess my religion. I was deeply immersed in the Iyengar yoga system for many years until I started questioning the practices and beliefs. I decided to take time to study other yoga lineages and eventually gave up my Iyengar certification.
I have been interested in Buddhism for many years because I feel that the dharma, the teachings are open minded and realistic to encompass one’s daily life and all beings. -
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As per above, I am struggling with my lineage. And I feel more comfortable today to allow that struggle to be there.
I definitely feel this beautiful planet earth had always been the basis of my lineage.
On my altar I have candles, and a fossil from the Pacific ocean, a small branch with lichen from a local tree, and a crystal from the Olympic Mountains which I was given by one of my teachers, when I was working on a study in those mountains. -
I feel strongly connected to the strong female lineage of my family. My parents were quite young when I was born, and it gave me the good fortune of knowing not only my grandparents but four of my great grandparents. My grandmothers in particular were dear to me in their lifetimes, and I continue to feel their presence as guides and guardians. My mom is the anchor of our family. We become more alike as time passes (hello, Progressive ad), and that’s just fine with me: ) I am one of three sisters, and I have three daughters, so the strong female energy is everywhere! My meditation seat is flanked by a painting done by Norma, my maternal grandmother, and framed needlepoints given to me by Dorotha, my paternal grandmother. Pictures of my mother and daughters sit on the side table, along with my Enneagram 3 scented candle (yes, really, LOL). I am inspired by the strength and beauty of all women, and especially my wonderful line of ladies.
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Melanie, I love your joy in celebrating your feminine lineage and energy! Thanks to many experiences, the birth of my daughter, books, and a radically (in a great way!) feminist sister-in-law I began to truly embrace all that being female gives to the world. My mother was born too early to live in that joyful freedom. I ask her blessings along with my grandmother, great-grandmother, and other beautiful and world-changing women in history.
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Melanie~So great that you connect strongly to your sense of lineage and are able to lay it all out so clearly. It is truly fortunate to have those memories and connections with your grandparents & great-grandparent,very special! I am also very inspired by women and love to be able to recognize that. What a beautiful inspiration for your daughters.
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I really struggled with answering this. Not because my lineage was unclear to me but because I have sometimes felt I made both my Christian and my Buddhist friends uncomfortable. On my right is God who is my teacher and the one who sits with me in good and bad times. On the left are all the people I love. Somedays the whole world and other days just a dog :).
I definitely feel that I have a personal relationship with God. There are several experiences both on the cushion and off that have helped me develop my faith apart from traditional religious paths or non-theistic Buddhism. I long for fellowship. I have had too many difficult experiences in churches and sangha’s so I hope this path and these lessons will be a new way for me to develop a spiritual community. I am not religious but have absolute respect for anybody and everybody’s path.
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Wendy, I strongly identify with your sometimes struggle to live in Christianity and Buddhism. I once said I was a Native American Buddhist Episcopalian! I’ve been trying to sort out my spiritual nature for several years (make that many). I am comfortable with the Episcopal liturgy and service because I was raised in that tradition; I feel strongly connected to everything in nature and the universe; and I love all that Buddhism has to offer. Like you, I long for community. Organized religion is not where my soul thrives and we have no sanghas in my area. I’ve been working on living in the present and being open to my evolution as it comes!
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I loved ” On the left are all the people I love. Somedays the whole world and other days just a dog :).” This made me smile. As my thirteen year old daughter would say “Hashtag Relatable!”
I also deeply feel the desire for fellowship. And have known the sting of disappointment, sadness, betrayal in faith communities. I hope for you, and for me, and for all of us, that we find what need in our lives in the area of fellowship.
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I find it so interesting and synchronous that our first essay prompt is about our lineage, as I have recently found myself deeply reflecting on the mentors on my life who have been so impactful in my growth and learning–those special members of our growth who attract us and add a few bricks from their path to ours. Recently, I had the opportunity to see my guitar mentor of basically my entire childhood play music in a small home concert after not seeing her for five years. The reconnection gave me so much raw joy and I remembered how much I aspire to be a person and artist like her, while still becoming my own self. Slowly laying my own path with bricks I’ve made, found, or been given by people like her along the way.
I love the realization that we all are here because of others, because of a lineage. Another mentor of mine used to end many lessons by saying “you are here because somebody loved you”. What a beautiful sentiment. To remind ourselves as much as possible, that we are all here because actually a lot of people have loved us, in each their own way, for truly to teach is to love, to encourage and guide is to love.-
Jake, thank you for the “aha” of your quote “You are here because somebody loved you.” I have not been thinking of my teachers and mentors as my lineage, but I certainly do now. I have been so fortunate to have had wonderful mentor/teachers who made a big impact on the quality of life and friends who were also my teachers whether they meant to be or not! Thank you for this lovely reminder.
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Jake, I love imagining the “raw joy” that was conjured when you saw your mentor playing after an absence–I’m smiling. I also love your quote “you are here because someone loved you” and how for me that idea spreads out to encompass all the moments and people and magic that allows me to be this me right now. The bad the good the ugly–all of it–plus sunlight, darkness and the possibility of love.
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When I think of my lineage I think of members of my family, both by birth and chosen family, who have made a profound impact on my life. I also think of teachers who have inspired me by their, words, thoughts, ideas, and creations. All of these people, and a few sacred animals, have informed how I see the world and how I try to move through it on a daily basis. Regarding a shrine, I have not had a consistent place to sit for meditation in a long time. My home is relatively small and many spaces are now full of my son’s books and toys. However, in preparation for this class my partner cleared a space for me in a shared room and I have been uplifting it with items that hold meaning to me. I have a plan in a pot decorated by my mom, a photograph of the Buddha in the stupa at the Drala Mountain Center, a card that holds a letter written by my brother, a piece of art that signifies love, and a candle with a lovely smell.
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Melanie – I appreciated what you shared about your connection to your family lineage full of feminine energy, specifically your grandmothers, mother and daughters. I can relate and I’m grateful to be close to my mom and several aunts. I also feel like I’m becoming more and more like my mom as I get older. I also love that you have a candle that aligns with your enneagram number… so good! – Lilly
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Melanie – I appreciated what you shared about your connection to your family lineage full of feminine energy, specifically your grandmothers, mother and daughters. I can relate and I’m grateful to be close to my mom and several aunts. I also feel like I’m becoming more and more like my mom as I get older. I also love that you have a candle that aligns with your enneagram number… so good! – Lilly
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Tracy and Lynne — I too struggle with the idea of lineage. I can feel my resistance to the idea. I do believe that we stand on the shoulders of those that came before us and so I am choosing to consider lineage in that way. Even my ancestors who have committed atrocities seem to have a place, and so it can be so complicated and troubling! And then there are amazing teachers (both formal and informal) and people for whom I have the deepest regard and from whom I have gotten inspiration, joy, and love. I struggle with the choosing — whom do I name and whom do I not? I am so grateful to them all.
Penn — I also love the book Siddhartha and first read it at about age 12. Even then I felt impacted by it, although I couldn’t tell you how. I love that you are still using it for inspiration. I have not thought about it for a long time and will have to re-read! Thank you!
Thank you.
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I’ve thought about lineage often but never experienced what felt like a real connection to mine but rather like I was trying to make a connection where there wasn’t one. But after class this week as I sat watching the world outside my window and pondering, I realized I have a lineage made up of teachers and guides who taught me to experience freedom as part of my being and empowerment as something I carried instead of something I found outside of me. My first lineage was In my teens and 20’s and sprang from the feminist & queer theorists & activists I studied and followed who pointed out I could find freedom from oppressive cultural norms and empowerment within who I was just as I was. Then I became a teacher in my 30’s and my lineage became that of the educators who taught me about freedom from conventional ideas – liberatory education – and who taught me that learning was centered in the body & spirit, an understanding that leads to empowerment that can’t be taken away. Then as I entered my 50’s, my lineage became my Buddhist teachers who had been with me through all my decades but who I hadn’t recognized as teaching me something I could actually feel and be (because I thought they were above me, beyond me, out of reach as a way of life for myself). Through Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and others, I began to experience the truth of being free from the tyranny of my thoughts simply by seeing them and letting them be; to feel the empowerment that comes in seeing clearly and with humor how life rolls. I remind myself of this daily and each day I can do this for even a few moments, I know I’m living life out of the gifts of my lineages. I’m so glad to have had this realization and feel connected when I call on my lineage.
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I have not thought of myself as someone connected to a lineage previously. It’s a really challenging concept, but once I sit with my feelings of disconnection to my family of origin, I realize that I do have deep connections to certain writers, musicians, activists, and teachers. This is a concept I will sit with for a while. Reading other people’s posts is helping me to expand my understanding. Thank you all.
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I remember the first time I heard Susan talk about lineage, and it made so much sense to me.
I love being able to recognize my teachers & inspirations in my everyday practice. I have always considered my connection to the earth as part of my lineage and even when my kids were young, we would always collect treasures from nature on walks and bring things into the house to place on a special table. Feathers, stones, and leaves would all be normal visitors. Since I created a shrine over a year ago, a lot of this still holds a place for me visually and seasonally. Also present is a small white Buddha, candles, bells, incense and shells as well as a beloved book. It all sits under a window where I can gaze out at my garden, hear the wind chimes and watch the leaves.I found it more disturbing than I imagined this week when my husband wanted it all moved and packed up because we are moving (!!!!). He needed to paint the windowsills etc. which was understandable! I complied with his request, but afterwards felt so incredibly sad that I never took a photo of it and now it was gone!! This shrine represented the beginning of my journey into Buddhism and now it is completely disassembled, I have felt displaced all week! It has shown me how special and important all of this is to me though, so I am very thankful for that!
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I have really enjoyed the process of creating a shrine. I have a candle warmer creating soft light and melting a candle called “The Heroine.” I have a set of small statues representing the Four Noble Truths. There is also a pair of Offering Hands carved from a beautiful wood. What I love about the position of the offering hands is that they are in the same position as if they were receiving. Given our guidance of beginning each meditation with our offerings and asking for blessing, I feel really connected to this object and where my mind/heart goes when I look at it. Lastly, there is a small metal statue of a mother sitting on a park bench reading a book to two children.
Confession: I really enjoyed making this shrine and look forward to documenting how it evolves over my lifetime. The other thing I enjoyed about making the shrine was that it got me out of having to answer the question about lineage. This is currently a vulnerable spot for me. This week, I asked for the blessing/guidance from the trees and the birds, the spirit of the Mother of All Living Things (I don’t have a name for this spirit, I am open to conversation about what to call this spirit. Tara? I need to learn more…), and from Susan. I have so much to learn, and I do not yet know if my path includes Shambhala . My understanding is still so limited; I must be patient. I have so many questions, am seeking clarity. -
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I felt some heaviness and sadness in thinking about lineage, but when I read other people’s posts I was so heartened by the common theme of “we get to choose who we invite into our lineage.” With this in mind, I think of theatre artists (writers, directors, designers, perfomers, crew members) as being my first/original lineage. It was by participating in theatre from childhood through high school, college, and graduate school, and even beyond, that I first really felt like I had “family” that felt like family. Even though many of these families were transient and only lasted as long as the show did. And the teachers I studied with, both in school and just by going to see other plays and musicals, these feel part of my lineage. I also include other writers, poets, musicians, dancers, visual artists — those who have helped me to make sense of this world and of myself. And some beloved animals, dear friends, my beloved husband Dave, and also teachers and fellow travelers on the paths of Buddhism, meditation, personal growth, the enneagram, conscious leadership, and light workers.
My altar/shrine is a table covered with an Indian scarf given to me by a coworker. I have a picture of me and my best friend, some mala beads, a small heart given to me by another friend, a small Buddha statue, a candle, a picture of Pema Chodron, and a rock from the Pacific ocean beach a few miles from my home.
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Compassion turned out to be my lineage, as my sacred space and altar evolved this week. Statues of the Buddha, Kuan Yin, Frere Andre and pictures of Khandro Tsering Chodron, Guru Rinpoche, with other pictures of the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hahn, Roshi Joan Halifax, and the prayer cards that I create for those in desperate need. Offering with lighting a scented candle helped to anchor the intention, as well as to ensure the dedication, which is done before the candle is put out.
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I have not entirely created a meditation space as I’ve moved houses just before starting this course and am adjusting to getting two cats tl live together and also live with a step son for the first time, so I’ve had to be flexible with when and where I do my meditation.
However my partner almost intuitively has set up little shrines all around the house with beautiful trinkets, stones and statues we’ve both collected over the years. He is not a meditator but has a reverence for creating little peaceful spaces of beauty like cascading fairy lights and candles. That’s helped me feel like my meditation space is all throughout my new home.My lineage feels like the people I most connect with. They are artists, the queer community, the First Nations community, activists, the empaths and compassionates and sincere, genuine, deep and light people. I dont have a religious lineage and my biological lineage is fraught and fragmented. But as I find out more about my biological family tree i find there are peoole I am related to who are in the groups I mentioned above, queer, activist, teachers and artists.
i think Susan Piver is a part of my lineage as the way she communicates and examples she uses always connects, makes sense and has allowed me to broaden my mine and open my heart.
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Years ago I was really struck by the Gratitude Hut at Spirit Rock in northern California. I sat inside of it, a little rough single small room set off by itself. Framed photos of teachers cover the walls. It was beautiful to sit there and feel all the wisdom and love that informs that place and the people there.
I would love to have a hut like that one day.
I love that through Susan my idea of “lineage” has expanded to include artists and pets, beaches and trees, and so can include so many beings and places that have held and inspired me. I have already begun collecting the photos that will cover its walls.
The first framed photos would include Thich Nhat Hanh, Pema Chödrön, HHDL, Lanikai Beach, my parents and grandparents, my children, certain friends, Julia Cameron, Monette, Carl Jung, Donna Orange, Toni Morrison, Lynne Jacobs, Gary Yontef… I would like to sit in my little hut with these honored teachers and the door flung open wide so we could all admire the world and sky together. -
I meditate in many different places so I attempt to have a window view or an outside view as my shrine….that way no matter where I am I can practice. As an addition my offering needs to be portable so I have been offering my full presence. That works very well. My lineage is for me my mandala, my circle of support and direction, my guides. This includes my family, my chosen family, my teachers of all times and now my Secret Teachers. This practice has enriched my meditation the last 2 weeks, infusing it with expansion, space!
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I have two small alters One upstairs and one downstairs both have a candle and picture of open heart project and statues of Buddha and pieces of wood and sea shells. Nature is part of lineage along with Buddha Susan and Tibetan prayer flags and pictures of sunrise.
One of the Buddhist statues is Yakushi Nyorai… work in process I tend to enjoy “little” alters in each main room and change it up as I learn more🙏 -
I’m a bit behind with the essays but I wanted to tell all of you have reinforced some of my thoughts on lineage and offerings, as well as blessings. I have a very short in height table…. Kinda reminds me of TV trays (showing my age). It’s made a beautiful wood upon which I have placed many things akin to those mentioned. Among them is a small jar of flat sandalwood smooth stones that I picked up from a beach in Ortigia Sicily a few years ago. My ancestry is Sicilian and I recently became an Italian citizen. I remember my great grandparents, barely speaking English, quite well. I am eventually moving to Italy with my Swiss born husband. I am trying to connect not only with that historical lineage, but also with what I envision my daily life will be like in Italy in a few years. That doesn’t mean I am not being present, right? 🪷
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I am doing some summer holidays Cours e catching up of things I didn’t do at that time!
Michelle, I really liked what you said about the Gratitude Hut. Visiting Spirit Rock would be a dream come true, so it was very exciting to read about your experience there.
Melissa, I felt a click when you said Nature was part of your lineage, a true source of protection, beauty and blessings. I think I’ll borrow that!
My altar is comprised mainly of little very meaningful ítems I have collected overtime, with christian, buddhist and hinduist
symbology mainly. I also have some flowers, drawings and pictures of family. I feel settled and proud when I am next to it.
Although I still haven’t arrived to a definitive answer about who my lineage is, lately I am connecting specially with the lineage of lonely hunters, of spiritual seekers, of worldbackpackers, of people searching for connection and meaning sometimes following the road less travelled by. I gives me a sense of guard and community.
David
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