MARCH 11 HAIKU

Shaved leg, plastic cone
End to end,
No less Joshu, no less Buddha

THE FOUR VIHARAS

One of the participants in the recent Everyday Mindfulness day-long suggests this great resource on the four viharas - compassion, loving-kindness, empathy and even-mindedness.

 

http://cultivatingwisdomandcompassion.org/

Thanks to Julie W.

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ps to all - we're pleased to get your reflections and ideas for this Blog. Keep 'em coming

DHARMA HUMOUR

Thanks to Julie W.

PEMBROKE SITE NAME

Hi Sangha and Friends,

The name of the site of a sangha group's practice is  location-specific. Thus, our Renfrew meeting site is called Akasha-loka, the Realm of Infinite Possibility. When we began in Carleton Place we named our site Dana-loka, The Realm of Generosity.

We are about to start practice in a new site, the Marguerite Centre in Pembroke, and we are invited to name that site. When we met there a few years ago, we used the wink-wink name of Anicca-loka, The Realm of Impermanence, partly because we set up/took down every time. It was kind of a floating location.

What are your thoughts? Should we resume Anicca-loka or have you another suggestions?

We have used "loka" (place, realm, abode) but its equally common to use geography names like 'such and such' mountain or river.

in the Dharma,

 Innen, doshu

PS to Kanzan - what about your site? Has it a name yet?

MARCH 4 HAIKU

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How safe we feel,
As the four-legged security team launches into action.
Blue Jay at the window.
                        
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HAIKU- FEBRUARY 25

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Interfaith Dialogue

Spring melt overflows untended West-wall eavestroughs
dribbles down and through the walls.
The foundation rots.
                       
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LETTER TO THE CITIZEN - FEB 25

Editor,

As acts of inequality and brutality trade for front page space, I notice an increase in the laying of blame for all this at the foot of “religion”. Apart from having no clue what “religion” means anymore - is it leaders, ideas, rituals, customs, buildings, hierarchies? - I am sad that we continue to seek social justice and peace through banishments, cleansings and exclusion of various aspects of the rich panorama of human experience. My reading of history is that the very politics and movements we revile and will go to war to oppose are usually the ones who try to erect such blunt restrictions and exclusions based on race, colour, religion, gender or ethnic origin.

For my part, the last scrap of hope I cling to is the possibility that we will elevate our capacity to listen and understand, that compassion will find some way to guide our thoughts, politics and actions. The last thing we need is one more vain and mean-spirited attempt to social engineer our way through our predicaments. As in our natural world, so in our social world, accommodation and diversity hold more promise than engineered and exclusionary monoculture.

Rev. Innen Parchelo,
Director, Tendai Buddhism Canada
Renfrew, ON