You have to do it yourself

"Others’ words can’t measure your practice, and you don’t realize the dharma because of what others say. I mean the real dharma. The teachings others can give you are to show you the path, but that isn’t real knowledge. When people genuinely meet the dharma, they realize it directly within themselves. So the Buddha said that he is merely the one who shows the way. In teaching us, he is not accomplishing the way for us. It is not so easy as that. It’s like someone who sells us a plow to till the fields. He isn’t going to do the plowing for us. We have to do that ourselves. Don’t wait for the salesman to do it. Once he’s made the sale, he takes the money and splits. That’s his part.That’s how it is in practice. The Buddha shows the way. He’s not the one who does it for us. Don’t expect the salesman to till your field. If we understand the path in this way, it’s a little more comfortable for us, and we will do it ourselves. Then there will be fruition."

- Ajahn Chah, "Meeting the Dharma Alone"

Good for Practice....

7 Tips for Giving up Gossip

1. Recognize that gossip doesn’t undo the situation you’re talking about. It only puts in motion another situation based on negative feelings.

2. Know that comparing yourself to others is useless. Everyone has his or her own talents. In this way, give up jealousy and the wish to put others down.

3. Be aware of and transform your own thoughts, words, and deeds rather than commenting on those of others.

4. Train your mind to see others’ positive qualities and discuss them. This will make you much happier than gossiping ever could.

5. Forgive, knowing that people do harmful things because they are unhappy. If you don’t make someone into an enemy, you won’t want to gossip about him.

6. Have a sense of humor about what you think, say, and do, and be able to laugh at all of the silly things we sentient beings carry out in our attempt to be happy. If you see the humor in our human predicament, you’ll be more patient.

7. Practice saying something kind to someone every day. Do this especially with people you don’t like. It gets easier with practice and bears surprisingly good results.

-Bhikshuni Thubten Chodron, "The Truth About Gossip"

Right Speech

"The pillar of skillful speech is to speak honestly, which means that we should even avoid telling little white lies. We need to be aware of dishonesty in the forms of exaggerating, minimizing, and self-aggrandizing. These forms of unskillful speech often arise from a fear that what we are is not good enough––and that is never true. Honesty begins at home, so the practice of skillful speech begins with being honest with ourselves."

- Allan Lokos, "Skillful Speech" (Winter 2008)

Experiential Education Web Resources

An old professor of mine, James Neill put this site together - I believe it had something to do with his PhD.  Here are his fabulous comments on the ELC.


This one is interesting and navigates experiential learning through different perspectives of teacher and learner.

Important Names: 
John Dewey and his groundbreaking educational philosophies striving to understand human interaction with their learning environment and how responsible, dependable, citizens are crafted through meeting with the rawness of the wilderness, and how civil society is shaped through that learning - rugged individualism at its best!

Jean Piaget on theories of cognitive development...

David A. Kolb on experiential learning...
Collection of links/sites, relating to Kolb's work, but also explanations of why they are relevant to the work (also many thoughtful critiques)

More Classroom-based experiential learning here, but lesson plans and resources seem adaptable to any setting.


Team Building "Camp stuff," Initiatives, Trust activities and Processing -
http://www.ultimatecampresource.com/
http://www.thecampwiki.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

Please feel free to add any educational resources that may be helpful to this type of learning!

Obstacle, Inspiration

“If being a woman is an inspiration, use it.  If it is an obstacle, try not to be bothered.” – Khandro Rinpoche. 

“If being a woman is an inspiration, use it.  If it is an obstacle, try not to be bothered.” – Khandro Rinpoche. 

"I would rather be ashes than dust!  I would rather my sparks should burn out in a blaze than it should be stifled by dry-rot.  I would rather be as a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than asleep and permanent as a planet.

The proper function of a person is to live, not to exist.  I shall not waste my days trying to prolong them.  I shall use my time."

-Jack London

Engaged Buddhism

Toward a definition of this, I'm collecting perspectives that I find. Thay talks about the term from a Vietnamese Theravadin perspective which, unsurprisingly calls for radical action in every moment to recognize one's true nature.

Other groups like the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and The Interdependence Project are looking at developing their own definitions from a social activist standpoint.

A professor of mine is working on a paper striving toward a Buddhist theory of conflict transformation. He is coming from a Japanese Buddhist perspective but makes the point that dependent origination is the glue that holds together the conditions to create conflict and peace, or merely interaction between two sentient beings. From that understanding, one can unpack that judgments and meanings that we, ourselves, place on the interaction creating the aversion or the attachment to each interaction.

This professor of mine calls for responsibility on the inner level as well as the outer level in order to be engaged.

I can't help but continue to be the cynic and say that even according to Buddhism, my understanding is that we are human and predisposed given our afflictions in this realm of existence to humanity and its constraints and opportunities. We can recommit to being 'engaged' on many levels but the real activism is what Thay says it is - reconfirming that commitment by recognizing every time we stray and coming back to the radical nature of the moment.

but who knows.

Life Lessons from Stargate: Atlantis

I've always been a fan of scifi novels, fantasy novels, and movies that push the boundaries of technological advancement including elements of apocalyptic themes.  Watching/reading this genre causes me to consider two things: 1. my own mortality and 2. the possibility of limitless human creativity, resourcefulness, and spirit.

Mortality shows itself as the viewer/reader follows the characters along their adventures - identifying with their struggles, challenges, victories, wrestling with trust, individuality, resourcefulness, and courage as they face unending threats on their lives.  I see myself in the stories - or at least, can put myself in the preverbial 'shoes' of the characters quite easily.  I ask myself questions as I'm reading/watching Would I make that decision? Would I have trusted that person?  Could I be that strong and vibrant?  Could I kick someone's ass so efficiently?  How long would it take me to recover from such an ass-kicking?  How are MY leadership skills?  I think this is the reason humans like movies, novels, tv shows.  They are (in their brilliant entertaining way) alternate realities we can identify with that help us cling less fiercely to the reality we identify as our own.

Considering, or believing in, limitless human potential is another point.  Maybe MY limitless human potential (Be all you can be - or how much science can one truly understand in one's lifetime) is on the table and considering it motivates me to be less lazy, but to think about the potential of humans to create protective force fields, teleportation devices, magical potions, medical miracles, identify and utilize psychic abilities, storytelling gifts, and (brace yourselves) create a functioning community of trusting individuals gives me a lot of hope.  Yes, these communities I watch/read are imaginary, but it does leave me with the feeling that even if we are idealizing how humans live and work together, it must be possible to do so on some level.  We wouldn't be imagining these scenarios if we didn't have it in us, right?  (See Future Post about my Will Smith Theory).

So with Death and Hope as my overarching themes, this post is just one big justification for spending time watching an entire tv series from first episode to the last one.  A good/new friend let me borrow the entire discography of the scifi drama Stargate: Atlantis.

I'm not a big tv fan - don't own one, never want to.  But laptops work for tv on my own time.  (I fumble with that justification from time to time - what is it I really *like* about the experience of watching movies and tv episodes... the ability to watch when I want, what I want commercial free? or is this just a big fat time waster.  Most probably, the second.)  But here goes, anyway!

Here are some themes from the show that I want to keep track of for future teaching purposes (like my Tuckman's stages of group development through Fellowship of the Ring):

• building trust - how, why, it takes time, how you benefit from it, teamwork and relying on your teammates.  Does everyone need to be in a life threatening situation to learn to trust people? Is it true that everyone has their special place in the team - like a comic book? 
  
• Specialization - being a doctor, fighter pilot, weapons master, diplomat.   It's the ideal that if a team of specialists are brought together, many parts make a whole.  Reinforces importance of specialization rather than being a jack-of-all-trades.
• drawing/maintaining lines - not being pushed around, not dating the people you work with
• making decisions and taking responsibility for them - leadership, ethics, guilt?
• commitment to ideals and to others you trust are working toward those ideals
• working hard - what exactly does this mean?  Not taking care of yourself?
  
• unachievable perfection = perfect humanity
• authority (John subverting it, Elizabeth holding on to it by her teeth, Sam being even, interested, clear, capable, and nondramatic - I don't question her like I questioned Elizabeth's confidence)
  
• diplomacy (Elizabeth) - negotiations vs. destruction - there's always an ideal for 'peace' and trade relations to exist between civilizations, but do not stand idly by while the other agresses.  Not sure I agree with this one... peace as in 'mutual benefit' on both sides, yes.  And the negotiators are responsible identify the needs of each society and have an agreed-upon treaty or limit to the exchange.  What if one or the other feels they are being taken advantage of?  What if they don't?  What if one needs help and the other has the means to help?  
• development (Explorer teams) - teams explore the galaxy looking for viable trade partners.  They have yet to set up a peaceful treaty in almost 60 episodes (end of season three).  When the teams arrive on a new planet, they always assume the people are 'underdeveloped' living in 'simpler times' with no technology. Their assumption is that technology + warfare capability = developed nation.  (#55 "The Game" where 'Sim City' goes horribly wrong)  
  
• speaking your mind vs. holding your tongue: TACT (Rodney vs. Carson) Making excuses - sometimes it's better just to do it rather than make excuses about things.  It can take too much time.  (Rodney)
  
• Never look away from your enemy - it shows weakness. 
• power/energy/resources are limited and need to be utilized efficiently
  
• Small acts of self-protection can be viewed as aggression toward others, even when it's not meant as that.  You might have a war on your hands in a few episodes.
  
• Canadians say "sorry" and "out" differently than US Americans
• If you find a person-sized slimy cocoon/pod/egg thing, don't go looking for the thing that used to be in it.

Things that don't make sense:
everyone speaking english - even the 'alien' human races.  only the 'bad guys' don't speak english.  The ancients used to speak ancient, but they speak english now. 

Good Quotes: 
"Draw from your past, but do not let your past draw from you."

Words to Support by - Obama's moral war

"Our actions matter and can bend history in the direction of justice." - President Obama

War came with the first man - what is a 'just war' - last result? Self defense? Civilians spared from violence? Use of 'little force'?  WWII saw more civilians killed than army. What does that say? Was it a 'just' war?

Woodrow Wilson received the NPP for architecting the League of Nations which was voted down. But America did lead the world into figuring out how to prevent wars... Marshall Plan, UN.

Wars between countries have given away to wars within countries - ethnic conflicts, failed states, secessionist movements (but what is this really an indication of? - citizens jockeying for their individual rights - the right to self governance? isn't this a good thing?) - trapped civilians in unending chaos. Refugees, children scarred, civilians lives torn asunder.

'Just' War vs. 'Just' Peace - is it possible to eradicate armed conflict in our lifetimes? If not, then what are we doing?

"Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem, it only brings new and more complicated ones." - MLK Jr. in his NPP acceptance speech.

NV not as passive or naive. Cannot stand idle "evil does exist," There are limits to reason. There is a deep ambivalence to military action.

(has democracy taken hold in the Balkans?)

"No matter how justified, war promises human tragedy."
"War is an expression of human folley. War is never itself glorious, we much never trumpet it as such."

All nations much adhere to standards governing use of force.

Three ways that we can build a 'just' and 'lasting' peace:

1. Develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to actually change behavior.  The words of the international community must mean something.  Those that break the rules must be held accountable.  Accountability only when the world stands together as one.  Example - seeking a world without nuclear weapons.

2. Nature of the peace we seek: Peace is not nearly the absence of visible conflict, only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual that can truly be lasting.  Human rights need to be protected or peace is a hollow promise.  (are these foreign to local cultures? or stages of development?)  Is this just a campaign to impose our values on cultures from around the world?  The suppression of identity can lead to violence.  We've never fought a war with another democracy.  Hm.  They are our closest friends.  This must be coupled with painstaking diplomacy.  Condemnation without discussion will only move forward with the status quo.  Example - Nixon and Mao.  But taking the long view, look at how China is doing today.  maybe it worked.  Human rights and dignity advanced over time.

3.  Economic security and opportunity - true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.  (can we do away with want?)  Addressing climate change - more conflict will come if we can't balance this issue.  It's not just environmental activists and scientists.

None of this will work without understanding basic human needs and similarities of those.  Fear of loss of identity leads to conflict.  No holy war can be a just war.

Okay, so powerful speech.  I particularly like that, as a leader, Obama is moving away from morally justified nonviolence and toward justification of human rights for all at any cost.  This is a messy situation. I think there is particular possibility in his first point - standards of alternatives to violence.  Putting something like that together on an international scale, and then actually holding folks accountable for that sounds great.  Practical application?  We shall see.  I would have also liked to hear more about his plan for economic stability and opportunity - I immediately think of competition.  I think the US may suffer from a superiority complex and as competition in the global economy increases (rather than being controlled by the US) freak-outs are going to happen.

Seems to me that Obama is committed to the "long view" of diplomacy, policy, and procedure.  "Long view" meaning not just 30 or 40 years, but generations.  I think it is difficult for the citizens of the world to look beyond the next three years and whether they like Obama or not better than Bush.  I think THAT's the paradigm shift that needs to be ushered along... 'long view' does not mean this decade.  Is there any hope in shifting that perspective?  Even in our own lives?  

How are the different levels of conflict connected? - International, national, ethnic, state, interpersonal, intrapersonal, moral dilemmas...  where's the root?  How do we sort this out?    

The Most Important Ten Minutes of TV this Decade.

Swayambhunath Renovations

Swayambhunath Stupa in Kathmandu is being renovated. Ms. Tsering Gelek, daughter of Tarthang Tulku Rinpoche, is overseeing the project. It's the first time in 90 years, so says this article.  One astute reader already pointed out a flaw in the article where the photo caption says Swayambhunath is the oldest stupa in the world.  Not so.  It was built in the 5th Century CE according to the commenter and wikipedia.