Brenda Santora
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Well after submitting my essay, I see that my photo did make it…changed my profile photo…there it is the morning sun.
I believe from the discussions about the 5 Buddha families that I am Vajra/Karma. The personality characteristics for both were really ringing bells but the photos really helped narrow it down. Vajra is associated with the East, the dawn and the sun rising. Every day unless its pouring rain, I go out for a walk by 5:30 am for an hour. I love the solitude and quietness of this time of day but what I love most is dawn! I had a photo of Sunday morning’s sunrise but could not figure out a way to post it. Anyways, it is a photo taken from the end of a pier I walk to, looking east to the ocean with pink and orangey sky. Most of winter, the walk is in the darkness so early spring is always a special treat because now the sun comes up earlier.
I have found it so interesting between studying the enneagram and this course to find out who I really am at 69! No wonder I am the way I am…being a #1 on the enneagram scale and now Vajra/Karma. I like who I am but this information is very helpful in understanding my reactions during my daily life.During last week’s webinar someone said (Lisa?) that when she read the Heart Sutra she felt the Sutra although she did not understand it. Her comment really resonated with me. I do not understand it either but I feel it. I think why I feel it’s power now is from taking this course and having a better understanding of the Buddhist dharma. I am also less irritated when feeling uncomfortable with something I don’t completely understand. I have decided to incorporate the Sutra more in my daily life by reading through the Heart Sutra 1-2 times a day, slowly. I do not know if I would be able to memorize the complete Sutra as Susan has but at least it will become more and more familiar. I have added the mantra to my morning prayers and chants so that has become part of my daily routine.
I have been thinking about “discipline” this week. Actually, I am very disciplined with my walking, yoga practice and a meditation practice even if it is shorter than I would like to be doing. But what I have been thinking about is my attitude towards these practices. Someone last week (sorry I don’t remember her name) equated discipline to devotion, being devote. So for the last few days, I have been starting my yoga and meditation practices with more devotion and using the three steps Susan talked about for keeping the practice sacred. I have started with an offering and remembering all the teachers I have had for the last 20+ years who have been so generous in sharing their knowledge with me. I have ended with dedicating the practice to others. This week I have dedicated my practice to the families who lost loved ones in Baltimore. After practicing for years, these three steps have given my practices new meaning.
Hi David,
I completely understand the “coffee first” issue! I don’t have a dog anymore but I do walk for an hour each morning (not before coffee) but before any other activity. Like you, I do all the other stuff before I do my practice because it seems I won’t wonder what is out there to address while sitting. But you have encouraged me to have coffee first and then do my sitting practice before the rest of the stuff! Have a good vacation.My husband and I have been wrestling with a big concern for a couple of years. We both have recently retired (which is a thing in itself) and find that at some point we are going to have to change our living situation for financial reasons. When I think about it or we discuss it, I feel anxious, angry and hopeless. Thinking about this issue in regards to the first 4 Noble Truths wakes me up in a big way. Life is suffering and this decision is not suppose to be easy. Situations change no matter what stage of life you are presently living. We cannot make the circumstances different than they are at this moment. The cause of suffering during these conversations is that we don’t want to be in this situation and we are trying to make the circumstances different than what they really are at this moment. It seems if we let go of grasping and trying to make it different that the answer to this big question might eventually appear.
It seems like Right View could assist in supporting me in this situation. To see things clearly without being confused by unrealistic scenarios would help in making clear cut decisions. The other way that Right View can help me is when we are in one of these tense discussions to notice my reactions so that I can hear what is being said and not just seeing it though my own point of view. I believe I am a #1 on the enneagram scale. I see issues as black and white so I need to listen better, be in the present NOW, and create some space so that these discussions can be more fruitful.Penn,
Siddhartha is one of my favorite stories but I had forgotten about the beggar outside the palace gate. I have read the story many times by Hermann Hesse and you have encouraged me to go back and read it again. Thank you.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.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.Hello from Rockport, MA which is a small seaside town about 50 miles northeast of Boston, MA. My first introduction to Buddhism began with being a yoga student and teacher for 20+ years. Some of my yoga teachers were practicing Buddhists and supplemented their teachings with the Buddhist dharma. I have continued to have an interest in Buddhism and believe it would be more constructive if I have a teacher to help me understand more of the teachings. I would like to have more understanding of these teachings so that I can bring more into my everyday life. I feel that Susan is down to earth and her teachings can be easily understood. I am looking forward to this course.