Lisa
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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.
Hi All –
I live in Mancos, a small town in the SW corner of Colorado. I’ve been a member of the Open Heart Project since the beginning and find that the more I engage with what OHP has to offer, the more connected I am to my practice and greater sanity – at least on some days 🙂 I’m excited to learn more about how Buddhist teachings/wisdom can guide me in my daily life and to share this experience with others who are also curious. Looking forward to it!
