Contemplative psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and groups in New York City.
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Who discovered tea?
Was it Bodhidharma (the Indians and Zen Buddhists think so) or Emperor Shen Nung (all of China thinks so) who discovered tea? The emperor found that it kept his soldiers alert, while Bodhidharma, marathon meditator that he was, discovered that it helped keep him awake in meditation (in his commitment to stay awake, Bodhidharma severed his eyelids, from which sprang forth the first tea plant). You decide whose uses are most noble. So who was it? It'll depend on where you are when you ask—in other words, there is no answer—but there are good and reliable tips for everything from choosing the right tea to brewing a cup to cleaning your teapot. More » -
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The World Without Us
I came across an Elephant Journal tweet that took me to this, by Jay Winston: Hell, pumping every kind of toxin into our ground, air, and water while carelessly wasting every natural resource we can find is perhaps the single most defining characteristic of human society. Nonetheless, in big-picture terms, our total effect on Mother Earth really hasn’t amounted to anything more serious than a bad case of planetary eczema or psoriasis. And, the way things are going, we won’t be bothering her for long. Take a look, it's a good, short read. More » -
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How the clouds of thinking clear & 6 Words of Sage Advice
Ken McLeod is currently leading a Tricycle Retreat (you can listen to his first talk to "The Way of Freedom" here). Included in his teaching is his translation of Tilopa's Pith Instructions on Mahamudra. More » -
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Surviving the dragon
Tsering Namgyal writes for phayul.com today that Arjia Rinpoche, former tutor to the last Panchen Lama, spoke to the Tibetan community in Minneapolis this week about his book Surviving the Dragon: A Tibetan Lama's Account of 40 Years under Chinese Rule, published earlier this year. Arjia Rinpoche fled Tibet when he was asked to tutor the Panchen Lama's Chinese-appointed successor (the successor the Dalai Lama selected disappeared into Chinese custody in 1995 and hasn't been heard from since). Arjia's story is interesting not just because, like many Tibetans, he endured harsh conditions during his imprisonment, but because after he was released he rose to the highest echelons of the Chinese government. More » -
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What will it take to establish a truly Western Dharma?
In Tricycle’s most recent issue there is a piece titled “It Takes a Saint.” In this piece, Tai Situpa Rinpoche shares his beliefs on what it will take for Buddhism to become truly established in the West. He writes, "I’ll make it simple: One Western person must attain full enlightenment in the same way as Marpa, Milarepa, or Padmasambhava. If one Westerner—man or woman, doesn’t matter—attains that level of realization, then pure dharma will be established in Western culture, Western language, and environment, and so forth. Until that time, dharma can be taught in the West, which is already happening; it can be practiced in the West, which is already happening; and it can be recited in Western languages. But it’s not yet one hundred percent complete." Read the whole piece here. More » -
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Buddhist Books at BEA
A few of us from Tricycle spent the morning traversing the endless aisles and stands at Book Expo America at the Javits Center. There isn’t much to report, but we were able to attend a book signing by Rafe Martin for his recent story The Banyan Deer at Wisdom Publications' booth. He gave us a little love. More »
