Monday, May 30, 2005

The Fourth Mindfulness Training

The Fourth Mindfulness Training
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am determined to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy and hope. I will not spread news that I do not know to be certain and will not criticise or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I am determined to make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

source: http://deerparkmonastery.org/five_trainings.html

The Great Path

Mahayana: "Great Vehicle." The spiritual path to great enlightenment. The Mahayana goal is to attain Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings by completely abandoning delusions and their imprints. The category created by a group of reformist sects of Indian Buddhism to distinguish themselves from the older preexisting sects. The Mahayana movement was characterized by a metaphysical theology which made extensive use of mythology and metaphorical supernatural events, the development of the Bodhisattva as a new model for the ideal practice of Buddhism, and a general impetus for the reformation of the monastic orders. The Mahayana is also noted for its advocacy of the laity and women as being capable of deep awakening, often depicting Bodhisattvas in the guise of lay people and women in scripture. The feminist aspect of this is particularly notable. It is probably the earliest example of a theological feminism in a major world religion.

source: http://www.naljorprisondharmaservice.org/pdf/GlossaryofBuddhistTerms.htm

Sunday, May 29, 2005

sunday sittings and breathings

today
really
own
my
breathings
and
my sittings
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a great deal
to process
powerful
three days
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felt tempted
to hurry it along
but here
i remember
to release
and continue
in pace
in peace
following my
breath
slow
following my
breath
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the summer is arriving
filled with great excitement
and adventures to begin
and complete
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roadtrippin'
to boulder
bay area days
ancestral tattoos
readingz
michoacan-inspired
lovers petition
with saint anthony
a book of her own
trainings
changings
retreatz
sangha
sangha
sangha
isanghamahal
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cool sunday morning
my breath accompanies me
stillness-gratitude

Pinay Benedictine Sister ~ Zen Praktisyoner

BENEDICTINE ~ BUDDHA ~ BABAYLAN
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BUDDHAFUL
BUDDHAFUL
BUDDHAFUL
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Feminism and spirituality like a breath of fresh air!
A Filipino Benedictine Sister speaks of ‘Total Liberation’
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Sr Mary John Mananzan was a guest speaker at the University of Western Sydney and at St Scholastica College in Glebe recently. Correspondent Deborah Wall caught up with her on May 11.

Filipino Benedictine sister, Sr Mary John Mananzan’s feminism and spirituality are like a breath of fresh air. Whether involved in organising political strategies or action or globe-trotting, inspiring African and Asian women to do their own theologising and discover their own spirituality, Sr Mary John, an energetic educator, writer and speaker seldom finds herself ‘at home’ these days.

At the peak of President Marcos’ martial law regime in the seventies, Mary John got involved in political rallies, either urging her fellow citizens not to pay the oil price increases or supporting 600 workers on strike against unfair management practices of La Tondeña, a wine factory. She thought then that her engagement in such rallies was a form of ‘contemplation’ (when she was just ‘present to the presence’). She now believes that there is something more to contemplation than she had originally thought.

"A contemplative attitude gives us a perspective. No one is indispensable. No cause should swallow us up," she argued. A Zen practitioner, Mary John now regards that ‘home’ is wherever she might be, whether in a plane or overseas, whenever she is in her meditative space.

‘Contemplative activism’ sprang to my mind, but Mary John herself described her stance in two words, "carefree commitment" – a far cry from the burdensome Christian imagery of ‘carrying your cross daily’. "Surely God wants us to be happy," she pointed out. The ‘Easter’ kind of spirituality is her preference or, as she put it, "the feast rather than the fast".

It’s a kind of spirituality that is liberating and ‘integral’ and this is not normally embodied in the institutional, hierarchical type of church familiar to many. Her idea of ‘church’ transcends institutional boundaries. For she believes that the typical perception of ‘church’ is a theological distortion. For her and others like her, ‘church’ essentially is ‘the people of God’.

When a plainclothes policeman asked her why a nun like her is involved in political rallies, she said that he would not have understood if she had told him about her practice of ‘total and complete salvation’. But when he asked if she saw souls running about, she thought that he might have vaguely understood her perspective.

She explained what she meant by integral spirituality: "Anyone who enters the religious life through, for example, teaching, nursing, or social work commits herself primarily to the preaching of the Gospel … in her life." And if the Gospel preaches against injustice, then she must have the readiness to promote justice by defending human rights and engaging in effective action.

She said that there is a struggle currently going on towards the ‘dehierarchisation’ of the institutional church. The ‘obey your husband’ dictum that the Catholic Church holds, the ban on divorce, and on birth control other than ‘natural family planning methods’, the over-emphasis on ‘sins of the flesh’ and the refusal to take the ordination of women seriously, she said, are not in line with ‘integral liberation’. "One cannot talk of total human transformation if half of society is oppressed," she stressed.

Mary John’s involvement in political militancy gradually evolved into a passion for the struggle of women against gender oppression, including oppression committed within the institutional church. She is now the chairperson of GABRIELA, a federation of women in the Philippines, which organises itself according to sectors, regions and areas of interest.

Her own social awakening emerged partly from her study of Philippine history and her realisation that women in the Philippines, prior to Spanish colonisation, had a high status in their society and indigenous women had a relatively equal status with men. The Spaniards colonised their minds and ‘domesticated’ rather than ‘educated’ them. "We must never forget the dangerous subversive memory of our equality," she said.

She pointed out that prior to Spanish rule indigenous women received equal inheritance, were given training on a par with men, enjoyed the same rights as in the right to divorce, had the same succession rights as men for political leadership, were involved in man-aging not just the domestic economy but also the agricultural domain, and played a key role in the religious sphere as priestess or babaylan. In addition, women enjoyed the same freedom of movement as men. And, it was fertility, not virginity, that was valued in that society.

When the colonial administration instilled the idea that virginity was ‘a pearl to be lost’, they eventually succeeded in domesticating and controlling the women. Ironically, Spanish priests themselves were known to have fathered children of indigenous women. To find out later that it was during the Spanish era when prostitution began in the Philippines no longer comes as a surprise.

"While the Philippine constitution today enshrines the equality of men and women before the law, this does not happen in practice," Mary John claimed. Women, especially the poor, still suffer not only from inequality and discrimination but also from a double standard of morality. Worse is the increasing trend of violence against women and the trafficking of women. To hear of rape, incest and prostitution, even of children, in the Philippines today is no longer perceived as incredible.

She cited the all too familiar cases of women victims ranging from domestic workers raped by employers overseas, to ‘mail order brides’ battered by their spouses, to pedophile and incest victims. She pointed out that such cases are not a woman’s issue nor a man’s issue, rather, it is a human issue that needs to be confronted.

So how do these issues relate to ‘integral salvation’? In the past, the idea of salvation meant nothing but the salvation of the soul – from death, sin and hell – and thus the task of ‘saving souls’ was linked to preaching the word of God and dispensing the sacraments. She said that the current understanding of salvation is "the liberation of the whole human being not only from ‘death, sin and hell’ but from everything that dehumanizes – exploitation, oppression, poverty."

And so Mary John’s task of evangelisation takes the form of what is normally seen as political activism. She sees ‘integral evangelisation’ as preaching the Gospel in the context of the total environment – economic, political and social – and all other factors that affect the human destiny.

To this end, she believes in using the key socialising agents that perpetuate the oppression of women – the mass media, education and religion – as ‘the main avenues of change’ through, for example, engaging in a critique of mass media or establishing alternative media.

In her view, there is no integral salvation if there is no social transformation and that social transformation is incomplete if the gender issue is not addressed. What needs to be done, she said is: "organisation, mobilisation, education and feminist scholarship."

"We need to transform the mainstream because it is largely malestream," she declared.

Equality, she said, could only be achieved if there is no more violence against women. She related the case of a victim of incest, a former St Scholastica College student who at 35 years of age finally came out, accepted that she needed healing and eventually became an effective counsellor for incest victims. There is nothing better than ‘a wounded healer’, it seems, where the ‘most negative’ (experience) gets transformed into the ‘most positive.’

She drew a different picture of what being a Christian today means: "To be a Christian today in a land where injustice and oppression abide is a challenge. To be a woman religious in such a situation is doubly so. It calls for radical re-thinking of the meaning of being a Christian and of the imperative of religious commitment … it demands a consequent revision of one’s way of life."

Indeed Filipino Benedictine sister, Mary John Mananzan’s feminism and spirituality are a breath of fresh air.

Women And The Australian Church (WATAC) commenced in 1984 as a national co-operative venture initiated by the Women and Men Religious of Australia. Its primary task is consciousness raising of women on Christian feminist issues. The WATAC website is at www.users.bigpond.com/watac/

Sr Mary John Mananzan is a prolific writer and educator. She is currently President of St Scholastica College in Manila; Director of the Institute of Women’s Studies; Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Ecumenical Association of Third World Theologians (EATWOT) and the Chairperson of GABRIELA, a feminist organisation in the Philippines. Among her many books are The Woman Question in the Philippines and she is the editor of and a contributor in Woman and Religion, a collection of essays, testimonies and rituals/liturgical services from a women’s perspective.

Deborah Ruiz Wall is a member of SPAN and a regular contributor to Kasama.

Source: KASAMA Vol. 12 No. 2 / April–May–June 1998 / Solidarity Philippines Australia Network
http://www.cpcabrisbane.org/Kasama/1998/V12n2/Maryjohn.htm

Monday, May 23, 2005

Young Adults Rereat at Deer Park

Bringing Meaning and Love into Our Lives
May 27 th to 30 th , 2005
Ages 18 to 35

How can the practice of meditation and contemplation help us re-examine and give meaning to our lives and help us in our inter-personal relationships with our family, friends and fellow workers? During the retreat, we will look deeply at our deepest aspiration and learn ways to nourish and protect it from wearing away. We will learn meditation as the art of mindful living in our daily life, that is � the practice of being fully present to what is happen in the present moment � being there truly for our love ones, to the wonders of life, and to the people and situations that presents itself in our lives. We will look at our current situation and explore ways to simplify our lives so we may have more time to enjoy being and living and not just doing . (Other activities may include: songs & performances, vegetarian cooking, writing letter to beloved)
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for more information, visit www.deerparkmonastery.org

Sunday, May 15, 2005

vesak celebration @ deer park monastery (5/22)

Nam Mo Shakyamunaye Buddhaya
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Dear Friends,

During the month of May, Buddhists throughout the world remember and celebrate the Manifestation Day (Vesak Day) of our Great Teacher, the Buddha Shakyamuni - the Enlightened One, the one who found the wonderful path of compassion and understanding.

The Four-fold Sangha of Deer Park Monastery will hold a special Day of Mindfulness on Sunday, 2 2 nd of May, 2005. It is also the full moon day of the month, so we invite you to come that Saturday evening to enjoy walking meditation under the full moon and stay for the night to participate on the Sunday. On Sunday, we will practice sitting meditation together, chanting, and touching the Earth. There will be a special ceremony which includes chanting, paying respect to our ancestors, and �bathing the Buddha', beginning at 9:00 am followed by a dharma talk. We will enjoy a silent lunch at noon and a tea meditation together afterwards.

Please bring your family and children. If you are staying over Saturday night, please inform Norman in the office (760)291-1003.

Introductory Words

Two thousand six hundred years ago in the town of Kapilavastu , a Buddha known as Shakyamuni was born. He was a human being just as we are, but in him understanding and love were developed to a very high degree, and he became a fully awakened being. He was a beautiful and precious flower in the garden of humanity, an udumbara flower that blooms only once every three thousand years. He practiced the Way for countless lives. He appeared on this Earth as a prince who left his royal palace to practice at the foot of the Bodhi Tree. He conquered illusion. When the morning star arose, he realized the great path of awakening and turned the wheel of the Dharma. With single-mindedness, all species aspire to experience the path free from birth. With single-mindedness, all species will experience a path free from birth.
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Praising the Buddha

The Buddha is like the fresh, full moon
that soars across the immense sky.
When the river of mind is truly calm,
the moon is reflected perfectly
upon the surface of the deep waters.
The countenance of the World-Honored One,
like the full moon or like the orb of the sun,
shines with the light of clarity,
a halo of wisdom spreading in every direction,
enveloping all with love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
The inexhaustible virtues of the World-Honored One
cannot be adequately praised.
We gather on this day as a fourfold Sangha,
come to the altar, meditate and chant,
praise the virtuous actions of the Buddha, and offer this prayer:
May the path of the Buddha grow brighter.
May the Dharma become clearer.
May wind and rain be favorable.
May this country be at peace in the cities and rural areas.
May all follow the way of right practice.
May nature be safe. May people in society be free and equal.
May the refreshing breeze of compassion enter into this world of heat,
allowing the sun of wisdom to shine clearly in the cloudy sky
so that the path of liberation is appreciated everywhere
and the Dharma rain falls, benefiting all species.
May the Sangha that is present here practice diligently,
showing concern and love for each other
as they would for their own family,
transforming their consciousness.
We aspire to follow the example
of the Bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Avalokiteshvara
and all other Bodhisattva Mahasattvas
and the Great Perfection of Wisdom.

Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Samma Sambuddhassa

source: www.deerparkmonastery.org

Friday, May 13, 2005

reflections from last september 2004

september 26, 2004
(an email to a friend, catching up on what's been going on with our lives. and as i post this, i think about next saturday, friends getting married and the reunion of old kaibigans, homies and homegirls from high school days. this is dedicated to my friend dfk who has taught me a great deal about faith, forgiving, giving and surrendering.)
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i'm finding myself very aware of age and time these days.  working with 14 year old doesn't help matters, knowing I am 12+ years older than these young ones, and knowing how much of LIFE is ahead of them.  That prospect brings joy and happiness at times knowing the world they will create and inherit, however at times feelings of fear and uncertainty arise as well---goodness, I hope their lives growing up won't be as difficult as mines..or so I hope.

i'm not sure where to begin with your question about the "spiritual" part of my life these days but i welcome this opportunity to share with you whatever clarity might come from me tonight.  this isn't uncomfortable...it's actually kind of an interesting exercise. 

the past two years or so have brought me to various places within myself and my understanding of my world which has led me to explore the more spiritual parts of this lifetime.  part of this was attending the retreat with you several years back and then afterwards encountering other opportunities which tugged at what i knew about prayer from catholicism and what i came to know and discover as meditation from a buddhist perspective on life and living. 

if you ask me what i "call" myself, i can say i'm a buddhist, i'm a catholic, or none of those.  i can say i grew up catholic.  i can say i praktis buddhist ways of relating to my world.  my teacher's name is thich nhat hanh and he is a poet and zen monk originally from vietnam.  there is a buddhist praktis center/monastery which i have been visiting these past couple of years (www.deerparkmonastery.org) which has provided me a lot of space and support as i was in school and all the other things that came with that, those things that became of me through that.  oooh, goodness, i'm so glad that is overrrrr. 

the short version old friend is i learn a Way of Being from this place, i learn a way of living that feels very close and familiar and warm to me and my heart.  it feels grounding and deep and real to me---unlike anything i've ever experienced before--- and i've continued to explore it in the times and opportunities i've had.  i don't think i've ever felt this affinity to something before and there was/actually is/are still moments when i question, man, what's up with you and all this buddhist stuff, and i get caught in my mind about it but when i am still enough, i know that i feel open to receiving this wisdom and i know i benefit greatly from it.  it helps me to  live my life fully and i follow these teachings and believe in this moreso than the thoughts of suspicion, uncertainty and separation  in my mind.  through my breathing and my meditations and my understanding of how to relate to others, a path is created for me to experience the more subtle parts of Life/God.  i've continued on with that kinda faith and wishfulness and riskiness.  if this kinda essence was what i felt i was missing when i "left" the church, then here it is albeit in a seemingly different form, and i willingly receive it for maybe this is the response, the grace, the gift, the path given to me from my prayers and struggles before.  how funny to think i'd be led to teachings outside of my own cultural tradition of catholicism, but really though, there is no real separation, just different ways paving the way back to our True Origins. 

friend, i'm sure i can keep writing and writing and describing and remembering and recalling about this.  i'm not sure how clear my writing is tonight but i hope i've been able to communicate with you to a certain degree what the shape of my present life is...

you are sooo funny...thanks for being who you be, how you are and sharing that through time and distance with me old friend.  what a sweet gift to see you through the growth of your own family and to experience our lives mature and evolve together.  
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auspicious friend - u B D

there's a retreat beginning later today at the praktis center called manzanita village. the theme for this gathering is, "the art of making peace" and it is a retreat convened specifically to support praktisyonerz of color. i will not be able to attend unfortunately, but dharma sister auspicious cultivation of the heart will be reppin' for all of us at this color-culture-dharma-gathering. last year, sister auspicious attended the asian pacific islander american dharma retreat calling upon praktisyoners from all traditions of api heritage to share a weekend praktising as a community. again, i was not able to attend that retreat, but sister auspicious shared with me the stories of praktis from that weekend in order for me to benefit. nothing can take the place of actually attending, but as i imagine my friend assisting with setting up for this weekend's dharma gathering in the name of our communities-histories-ancestries, i want to pause here for a moment and send out my gratitude for her presence at "the art of making peace", i want to send out my thanks for her commitment reppin' for the dharma to bring back and share with us here, i want to send my thanks for her courage and commitment and faith to create and embody the conditions for praktis.
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in my mind, "i am too busy to go. i've got paperz to grade. i've got final assignments to consider. i've got end-of-year details to contemplate and begin to complete..." (and on and on and on). there's something from this place of buzyness that i want to know more intimately. i want to know more about my dis/ability to stop the routines of everyday life. there's something from this place of busyness that i want to know closer, an understanding with depth of knowing that my worth is not completely bound to my timelines and due dates and projects. yes, these material conditions of my life are very real yes. when i am not working on my responsibilities, all kindsa other things occur and ignorance and distraksyon and prokrastinasyon only lead to more suffering. but, there's something else here that i am not understanding for myself and the retreat this weekend, dharma sister reppin dharma actionz and my inability to sit outside of my own sense of busyness brings all this to bear this afternoon.
my praktis koan for the weekend.
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auspicious one keep reppin'
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art of making peace: a retreat for peoplez of color
manzanita village praktis center
may 13th to 15th 2005
warner springs, san diego, california
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may all beings benefit from the praktis and sharings at this weekend's retreat. may we realize the way of praktis in our everyday life and move our thoughts, actions and words in the direksyons where buzyness and okkupation DO NOT become the source of our livelihoods. rather, may we know and live the Way from a place of inner safety, stability and peace. the praktis that opens the path further. the true path that leads Home.
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u B D

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

u B D

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u B D
you be the
u B D
you be the
buddha
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the mirror of truth
reflects from your core
to have faith in this
is to have faith
in one's abilities and capacities
to bring about transformation
in self and society
to have faith in this
is to direct our intentions
and determinations towards the
peace that we seek
during these times of confusion
to have faith in our awakened
buddhanature is to offer ourselves
an alternative
to bring ourselves
to the safety of HOME
by holding the possibility
of completeness and wholeness
during these times of fragmentation
and confusion
we offer this as our resistance
preserving a way of life
that embraces me
and all of who i am
no judgment
no attainment
present moment
healing moment
this is the enlightenment
the buddhas share
to all who willingly
walk the path
knowing each step
each breathe
iB
buddha
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u B D
you be the
BUDDHA
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Sunday, May 08, 2005

contemplating the praktis of mindful speech

WORLD-WORD-TRANSFORMATIONS
"...to speak a true word is to transform the world."
--paulo freire

THE FOURTH MINDFULNESS TRAINING
Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and relieve others of their suffering. Knowing that words can create happiness or suffering, I am determined to speak truthfully, with words that inspire self-confidence, joy and hope. I will not spread news that I do not know to be certain and will not criticise or condemn things of which I am not sure. I will refrain from uttering words that can cause division or discord, or that can cause the family or the community to break. I am determined to make all efforts to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

FLOWER WATERINGS AND OFFERINGS
by Brother Phap Dung (Deer Park Monastery | Escondido, CA)
'Flower watering' is just an expression of taking care of the ones we care for and love so they do not become garbage. This can be done in many forms all of which include loving speech and deep listen, and just truly being there with them. Formal practice of this can help generate peace and an open atmosphere for sharings from the heart to happen more easily; an atmosphere of trust.

Expression our appreciation for another is a deep practice because we have a tendency to forget the wonderful things about another person and to more often see their weaknesses and what is going wrong rather than what is going right. When we tell someone of their good qualities, we 'water' their good seeds and encourage them to blossom more in them and also in us and everyone else present. It is a wonderful practice.

Saturday, May 07, 2005

the dharma and peoplez of color

“Siddharta Gautama, who became Shakyamuni Buddha, was a person of color living in the north of India. In the centuries after his death, the seeds of the Buddhadharma took root in the hearts of many people of color as it migrated to Sri Lanka, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, and Vietnam. The dharma is coming full circle. It is coming back to the ears, hearts, and hands of people of color, where it began many centuries and generations ago…”

--written by Kamala Masters in the foreword of DHARMA, COLOR and CULTURE: New Voices in Western Buddhism (edited by Hilda G. Baldoquin from Parallax Press).

angel kyodo williams - new dharma - urban peace

Spiritual Warriorship and the Way of Teaching
source: http://newdharma.com/
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ANGEL KYODO WILLIAMS - Dharma Teacher
Dubbed "the most vocal and most intriguing African-American Buddhist in America," by Library Journal, Angel Kyodo Williams is a spiritual teacher, activist, artist and founder of urbanPEACE. She is the author of Being Black: Zen and the Art of Living with Fearlessness and Grace, which has been hailed as "a classic" by Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield, and "an act of love" by Alice Walker. Kyodoshi, as she is affectionately known, serves as guiding teacher of New Dharma Community and spiritual director of the Meditation Center for Urban Peace in Oakland, CA, a training center for engaging individual, community and social transformation as spiritual practice.

A visionary thinker, Rev. Angel believes that "Faith is the Antidote to Fear" and advocates the building of a spirit-centered social change movement from the ground up as the foundation for personal freedom and healing our divisions of race, class, faith and politic. She sets forth the challenge of why authentic being, abiding love and transformation of the spirit is the only possible catalyst for lasting, revolutionary social and political change. "It is an inclusive, pluralistic, multiracial, transfaith, life-affirming decentralized coalition of people that value people that will lay claim to the values-based progressive politic that will re-capture the imagination and spirit of America. All that is required," she says, "...is faith in Fairness."

She develops accessible tools for increasing self-awareness and cultivating wholeness and integration, including Truth-Centered Coaching®, Third Self Programs® and Warrior-Spirit Trainings®. An alloy of the world's wisdom traditions, the Trainings strengthen what Williams calls the Third Self: our balance of soul and spirit, body and breath, heart and mind, and wisdom and compassion, so that we can live, love and lead from the heart.

Using awareness practices to unleash the awakened nature that is within each of us, she believes we have a better chance at "abolishing prisoners rather than prisons." She has been of service to at-risk and incarcerated youth, adults and the people that serve them as Senior Teacher for New York-based Lineage Project and as a current board member of Vision Youthz as well as board member and acting Executive Directory of Mind Body Awareness Project (MBA), both located in San Francisco.

Angel Kyodo Williams is a Spiritual Activism Fellow and graduate of the yearlong Rockwood Leading From the Inside Out training program. She diligently studies communication, ritual and the efficacy of awareness practices from a science-based perspective. In past lives, she's been a founding board member of Third Wave, opened the first black-owned, women-owned internet cafe and sat on the board of the Institute for Women, Spirituality and Justice.

Her critically-acclaimed book continues to make Universal teachings accessible to thousands of people of color and white folks equally and has inspired a conscious hiphop CD of the same name. Her work has been covered in the New York Times, Ms., Essence, Village Voice and on the Oxygen Channel. She leads retreats, workshops and trainings, virtually and nationwide. www.urbanpeace.org

Angel Kyodo currently lives in intentional community at the Center in Oakland as resident teacher with 3 other New Dharma tribe members of widely varied backgrounds.

Thursday, May 05, 2005

i am in you, and you are in me...

namaste
en la kech
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because i am in you
and you are in me
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remembering this woman who i met briefly at a retreat several years back. she had this beautiful tattoo on her arm which looked like the tibetan goddess tara from afar, but as i stared closer, i saw it was beginning to look kinda like the buddha too, and then from another gaze something like la virgen. i ask her about the tattoo, a bit confused, but moreso, just curious, colorful and decorative and flowing as it was on her upper arm, and she smiled to say, "it's buddhalupe!" i paused for a moment, then laughed, realizing the fusion of images that had created her buddha-la virgen de guadalupe tattoo on her arm. gotta love that.
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the dharma is us
the dharma is fearless in confront suffering and contradiction
just as we have been fearless and courageous in claiming ourselves, our artfulness, our histories, our bodies, our memories
through displacement, colonization, racism, patriarchy, war...
the spirit we carry as third-world peoples on this land
is the same spirit of the dharma
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i am in you
and you are in me
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the praktisyoners of the dharma have always been peoplez of color
from india, to china, vietnam, thailand, tibet and now
with the awakening of the teachings in the west
kamala masters in the book dharma, color and culture reminds us
the dharma has always resided within peoplez of color
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iSANGHAmahal
we are remembering this
coming full circle
with ourselves
we are remembering the
way back home
and the way home
is this inward journey
we are taking to enter
the depth and spaciousness
of our lives-histories-memories-ancestries
r((((E)))volutionary are these movements within
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Wednesday, May 04, 2005

kamala masters - dharma teacher - momma buddha

momma buddha
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Kamala  is an Asian-American woman living on Maui where she has raised four children. She is active in her community and leads a local sitting group weekly. Her dhamma practice began with Munindra about 30 years ago and in recent years she has continued to do intensive retreats with Sayadaw U Pandita. Much of Kamala's practice has been within her home and community and with that experience she offers effective and insightful guidance for householders' as parent, spouse and community member.

Kamala has practiced both insight and loving kindness meditations intensively under the guidance of Sayadaw U Pandita. She has recently been assisting and leading retreats including the annual three month retreat at IMS.

http://www.vipassanametta.org/teachers.html

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

Healing Racism in Our Sanghas

Making the Invisible Visible—Healing Racism in Our Buddhist Communities
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Introduction to the first edition
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For many years there has been a movement to shine the light of awareness on the difficulties encountered by people of color as they try to participate in our Western Buddhist Sanghas. In many ways and with varying degrees of success People of Color and their European American allies have been trying to get the attention of the teachers and sangha members in order to face the underlying racism in our society at large and its manifestation within our Sanghas. This booklet, being offered to the "Buddhist Teachers in the West" conference from June 20- 24, 2000, is another step in that ongoing process.
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This booklet is a compilation of stories, thoughts, resources, and articles that are meant to be a glimpse into the personal experiences of some Buddhist practitioners of color and their allies. The voices you will read come from a wide range of cultural and ethnic origins, practicing in a great many of the lineages being represented at this conference. These voices come from your sanghas. You may be surprised by them; you may not agree with everything you read. But, please, understand that these voices and stories come from people who are already practicing in our sanghas.
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The title of this booklet refers to the ongoing suffering which exists in our sanghas for many People of Color. The oppressive racial and economic conditioning of our greater society, whether intentional or not, manifests in our sanghas. Practitioners of color face many obstacles of access, as well as of attitude, when attempting to join Western Sanghas in order to develop and sustain their practice. It is extremely difficult and painful for people who are already marginalized in society to then be marginalized again in their spiritual community.
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In American society it is very difficult for the European American middle-class mainstream to recognize and accept their participation in racial marginalization. White privilege is a fact of life in our society. Study after study shows that People of Color face institutional discrimination in economics, employment and housing; in the criminal justice system and in medical care. This institutional discrimination gives European Americans a "leg up" in society. For most white Americans this "leg up" is invisible; they aren’t even aware that they have it. Most European Americans seem to feel that there is a level playing field. Intuitively though, we all know that this is not true. There was a survey which asked White Americans how much money it would take for them to be willing to live life as an African American. For most the sum was in the millions of dollars.
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What we, who are compiling this booklet, would like the teachers of the Dharma to understand is that these problems are faced by many people of color who are already practitioners of the Dharma. It is not enough to rely on good will. We ask that affirmative steps be made within all sanghas to address underlying racial attitudes and the lack of racial and ethnic diversity. California will very soon be a state with no racial majority, and the rest of America is following this demographic trend. If we don’t take these steps, we run the risk of making the Dharma irrelevant to vast parts of our society. Section Three of this booklet will offer some suggestions to get the process started in your sangha.
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The compilers of this booklet are all longtime, deeply committed Buddhist practitioners. We are racially very diverse, and the majority of us are people of color. Included in our committee are practitioners of Theravadan, Tibetan, and Zen Buddhism. We present this booklet to the Mahasangha with the confidence that if the problem of racial diversity in our sanghas is accepted and addressed in our practice, the sangha will be strengthened and the deep practice of Dharma will be available to all.
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Before you begin reading the following personal statements we ask that you take a moment of reflection. Take some breaths and allow your mind to relax. Now imagine your Sangha, gathered in full, sitting and listening to a Dharma Talk. You are in the front looking out at a sea of faces. Who is there? What color are those faces? Do you see many faces of color? Do the color of these faces reflect the greater community in which your sangha lives? How do you feel about this? And how do you feel generally about people of color? Do you hold stereotypical ideas about some people of color? Do those stereotypes affect the way you deal with people of color? Please be honest with yourself. We do not ask these questions to encourage blame. We are all struggling with deep racial conditioning. By bringing light to this problem we hope to deepen the practice of Dharma for all beings.
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Submitted with great respect and gratitude,Sheridan Adams, Mushim Ikeda-Nash, Jeff Kitzes, Margarita Loinaz, Choyin Rangdrol, Jessica Tan, Larry Yang

SOURCE: http://www.spiritrock.org/html/diversity_2invisible.html

Art of Making Peace - a retreat for peoplez of color

A note from Michele from Manzanita Village
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Hello Everyone,

It is only a few days until our People of Color Retreat "The Art of
Making Peace" May 13th-15th at Manzanita Village.

If you are thinking of coming, please take the time to register now. We
are having two guest teachers from the Bay area that are dedicated to the
path of Peacemaking and Truthtelling and who are both unique in their
expressions of the Dharma. They are wonderful Dharma Teachers. Don't miss
this opportunity !

Also, for those of you who have never been to Manzanita Village, the
Springtime is a wonderful time to come. The abundance that this
particularly rainy winter has produced must be seen to be believed!

To register, send a $100 check payable to Ordinary Dharma at the address
below. Please put POC Retreat on the check.

Feel free to call (310) 470-8443 voice mail with any questions. Please
leave me the best time to return your call.

Partial Scholarships are still available.

Thank You,

Michele Benzamin-Miki
www.manzanitavillage.org