Rhondda Smiley – meditation & Dharma

Mondays from 7-9pm, June 10, 17, 24 and July 8

Whitby Central Public Library - 405 Dundas Street West, Whitby, ON

David Gluck will be leading a discussion group on a book by His Holiness the Dalai Lama this summer at the Whitby Public Library. Join us for four Monday nights as we explore together His Holiness’ book Illuminating the Path to Enlightenment. The text is available in its entirety for free from the incredible Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive, which says:

“About one thousand years ago, the great Indian pandit and yogi, Dipamkara Shrijnana (Atisha), was invited to Tibet to re-establish the Buddhadharma, which had been suppressed and corrupted for almost two centuries. One of Atisha’s main accomplishments in Tibet was his writing of the seminal text, A Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, in which he extracted the essence of all 84,000 teachings of the Buddha and organized them into a clear, step-like arrangement that makes it easy for any individual practitioner to understand and practice the Dharma. This genre of teachings is known as lam-rim, or steps of the path, and forms an essential part of every school of Tibetan Buddhism.

In this book, His Holiness the Dalai Lama gives a commentary to not only Atisha’s revolutionary work but also to Lines of Experience, a short text written by Lama Tsongkhapa, who was perhaps the greatest of all Tibetan lam-rim authors. In bringing together Atisha, Lama Tsongkhapa and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this book offers readers one of the clearest and most authoritative expositions of the Tibetan Buddhist path ever published, and it is recommended for those at the beginning of the path, the middle and the end. This is the first time a major teaching by the Dalai Lama has been published for free distribution.”

David Gluck began his study and practice of yoga and dharma in 2001. In 2003, he became a certified Jivamukti Yoga Teacher, studying directly under Sharon Gannon and David Life. He has worked professionally as a teacher of Yoga and Dharma since that time, and has taught and led retreats both nationally and abroad. His fortune of having been able to study with many gifted teachers worldwide brings richness to his classes surrounding the philosophy and tradition of yoga. The most inspirational of these teachers are Dharma Mittra, Ruth Lauer-Manenti, Jeannine Woodall, Ram Dass, author Douglas Veenhof and His Holiness, The Fourteenth Dalai Lama. In addition to teaching Asana, David has taught many courses in philosophy from both the Buddhist and Yoga traditions, including the Lamrim, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and much of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. He is also a gifted musician and experienced Kirtan artist.

For Thursday April 18, my daughter and I have taken a vow of silence, to stand up for children who have no voice and are denied their basic human rights.

• 215 million children are forced to work as child labourers and are denied the right to attend school.
• One in every three children in developing countries is malnourished.
• One billion children are deprived of essential services like food, water, education, or health care.
• 58% of deaths in children under 5 are caused by infectious disease.
• 300 million children under the age of 5 are living in areas of armed conflict.
• 1 in 3 children in developing countries is malnourished, suffering up to 160 days of illness in a year.

In this world of dependent arising, the existence of something in my world must logically mean that its absence is also possible. For every basic need, comfort, convenience and blessing I have in my life – food, water, safety, freedom, health care, education, play – there is the possibility, and the all-too-obvious reality, that there are those who are living without.

We are Silent is Free the Children’s annual fundraising and awareness campaign that began in 2004 and challenges participants to stand in silent solidarity for 24 hours with children whose voices are silenced by not having their rights upheld. Every year, tens of thousands of participants stand up for children who are being silenced by the denial of their basic human rights, collecting pledges as they take a vow of silence. All over the world, young people will go silent for 24 hours to raise awareness and funds for children without a voice. The campaign can be done as an individual, group, school, or even an entire silent city.

My daughter’s class and school have supported Free the Children over her time in elementary school. Activites have included read-a-thons, penny drives, bake sales and selling loot bags at Valentine’s Day. While Free the Children’s mandate is partly to help disadvantaged children, it is equally to help kids here discover that they have the power and responsibility to make a difference in their world right here, right now, no matter their age. It has provided our family with so many valuable opportunities for thought-provoking discussion, education and action around real, tangible problems in the world.

So, tomorrow, Thursday April 18, here is my vow for We Are Silent. Each commitment pertains to an article of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

• I will give up my voice for 10 continuous hours. From waking until I go into work at 4:30pm. My daughter has vowed to keep silence from waking til the end of her day at school at 6pm. (From Article 12 – Express views and Opinions: The right to freely express an opinion.)
• I will do some tedious working task to help me understand exploitation and child labour. I will spend one hour of my day in picking up trash at the beach and surrounding parks. (From Article 36 – Protection from exploitation: The right to protection from all forms of exploitation.)
• I will maintain a vegan diet for the day. I will limit myself to bathing from one basin of water for the day.  As Canadians, we’re among those who use more of the earth’s water than any other on a daily basis. Upon doing a little research, I found out that the biggest area of water consumption comes not from bathing or washing but from food production. Massive amounts of water are required to raise livestock. My dauther commits to a one minute (!) shower and to keep a vegetarian diet for the day.  (From Article 24 – Food and Water: You have the right to the best healthcare possible, safe water and nutritious food.)
• I will give up play for 10 hours. No Facebook, no playing music for me. Since drawing is her favourite activity, my daughter is giving this up for the day. She says she will run at recess. (From Article 26 – Play: The right to play and rest.)
• I will give up the right to education. I will not use Google or other search engines for 10 hours. (From Article 29 – Education: The right to education that prepares him/her for an active responsible life.)

I hope that giving up for a few hours the things that I so take for granted will help me to think more about those who are doing without these things and so much more. I hope that it will lead me to a greater appreciation and gratitude for what I have, and some small understanding of the lives of those without. That recognition is only really useful if I put it into action to change the situation though.

Please consider making your own vow in some way – for 24 hours, or even part of your day – or make a pledge to Free the Children. Consider what actions you and your family can take to increase your own understanding of other’s pain and problems, and in what ways you can take action to alleviate it.

Please download the course outline and reading from the attached link. Download Course Materials

If you need a ride from Toronto, please email me at smileymadsen@yahoo.ca. We have space for you!

And a reminder that drop-ins are most welcome for this course. Come to one or all of the classes.

Dharma Essentials 1: The Three Principal Paths

with Rhondda Smiley

NEW DATES!  Sundays from 11am – 1pm, from April 14 to May 5

Are you interested in Buddhism but overwhelmed by all those lists (The 4 of This, The 8 of That…) and don’t know where to start? Join us over four Saturday mornings for an overview of the complete Buddhist path. Find out how to follow the steps to enlightenment and blissful living.

Each class leads with an open discussion based on readings translated from original ancient Tibetan texts that are time tested and go back at least 2500 years. These include instructions on the steps to creating the good life and will include a short guided meditation designed to empower any spiritual practice and enhance your life.

Everything you need to know to begin, renew, or enhance your spiritual life! No previous background in Buddhism required.

at Bikram Yoga Toronto East – 111 Island Rd. Parking and entrance at rear. www.bikramyogatorontoeast.com

Offered by donation - what you can give happily.

Presented by Durham Dharma www.durhamdharma.org

Sat May 11 & Sun May 12, 2013 – 1:00-3:00pm and 4:00-6:00pm daily

At The Centering Space www.thecenteringspace.ca 59 Cambridge Ave (Broadview & Danforth)

We are extremely fortunate to have Douglas Veenhof returning to Toronto to share his insightful teachings on how to develop shamata, or single-pointed concentration. Friends in Vancouver have been raving about these classes, and now Lama Doug is bringing them here to Toronto! Come and learn how to sharpen up your focus in meditation, or any other pursuit in your life.

Whether your practice is Vipassana, Yoga, prayer, tennis, or enjoying your breakfast, your ability to concentrate your full attention on the present moment of experience is the key to attaining the results you hope for.  For 2500 years, Buddhist contemplatives have regarded single-pointed concentration to be as vital to health  as food and sleep, and generations of meditators have refined step-by-step techniques for training the mind.  In this experiential workshop you will learn proven methods drawn from three meditative traditions that can  reverse the fragmenting influence of our multi-tasking, virtual culture on your ability to stay focused on the  here and now. These skills can be used in a daily practice to explore the potential of human consciousness  as well as to relieve the stress and anxiety of everyday life.

Doug Veenhof is a former mountain guide, an award-winning journalist, and the author of White Lama,  the acclaimed biography of Yoga pioneer and Tibet explorer, Theos Bernard (Harmony Books, 2011).  He has studied and practiced Buddhism for more than twenty years and graduated with honors from  the seven-year program of advanced Buddhist studies at Diamond Mountain, the academy founded by  Geshe Michael Roach and Lama Christie McNally. Known for his broad knowledge of the intersection of Buddhist, Yoga, and scientific traditions, Doug is a frequent guest of radio and television interviewers  and a popular teacher at Yoga and Dharma centers throughout North America and Europe.

SESSION 1
• How the quality of your attention creates the world you experience
• Our default state: the uncontrollable infomercial of our ruminating mind
• Unplugging incessant memories of the past and fantasies of the future by training  attention to focus moment to moment on the physical sensations of the breath
• The first key to mindfulness: balancing relaxation and clarity.

SESSION 2
• The second key to mindfulness: adding stability and continuity to your attention without losing relaxation and clarity.
• How to notice distractions before you are kidnapped by them and how to infuse your attention with brightness.
• How to make your attention more acute by focusing on more subtle physical sensations.

SESSION 3
• Shifting balanced attention to the space of the mind and its contents.
• How to maintain stillness of awareness while observing the motion of the mind
• The liberating distinction of objective and subjective appearances in the mind
• How mindful attention can get you through the day with peace and grace

SESSION 4
• The space of the mind you discover between thoughts
• What can focused attention reveal about the potential of the human mind?
• Using finely tuned attention to focus on the nature of I and the world
• The keys to establishing a successful daily meditation practice

Full weekend $75, single session $25.

Drop-ins welcome, but registration for entire weekend strongly encouraged.

Email durhamdharma@gmail.com or call 647-692-2995 to register.

Scholarships available – contact doug@douglasveenhof.com  for information.
 

No matter what we aspire to, we need some real honest-to-goodness heroes to inspire us along the way. Our spiritual life is no different.

Where you might have plastered your bedroom walls with posters of Michael Jordan or Jimi Hendrix (or in my case Mikhail Baryshnikov) to fuel your pursuit of greatness in your youth, you need to know who your bodhisattva heroes are on your spiritual path. A bodhisattva is a warrior saint, one who is fixed on achieving the ultimate spiritual goals of this life, for the benefit of others. Look for their stories, find the ones that come to life for you, and return to them when your practice needs some juice to keep going. Go ahead and put up their posters!  I can think of a certain someone I know whom I like to think has a picture of Arya Nagarjuna - undefeated heavyweight champion of Buddhist emptiness - up in his locker at work. Perhaps this will be a continuing series here, and I’ll issue Bodhisattva trading cards – mix ‘em, swap ‘em, trade ‘em, and collect ‘em all!

If its Eastertide, I know it must be time for me to revisit one of my most loved bodhisattva heroes – Little Cottontail Mother, from “The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes”, by DuBose Heyward (illustrations by Marjorie Flack). I was drawn to this book when I was a kid. As I raise my own daughter, I find the Dharma in so many children’s books, and this one is no exception. Little Cottontail’s story has some intriguing parallel’s to that of the Buddhist deity Green Tara. Neither heroine is swayed from their virtuous aspirations despite being discouraged from attaining these goals as women. In fact, they both reach the goals through a uniquely feminine expression. And both have twenty-one helpers.

Did you know that there is not one, but five Easter Bunnies? They must be the kindest, the swiftest and the wisest of all the bunnies. When one gets too old for the job, Grandfather Rabbit chooses a successor. Every little bunny dreams of growing up to be an Easter Bunny. Little Cottontail shares this dream, though she is ridiculed by the fancy white and big, strong jack rabbits. Then one day, much to her surprise there were twenty-one Cottontail babies to take care of. She turns her attentions to raising her babies (did I mention she’s a single mother?). But when they are grown she tells them, “now we are going to have some fun”. Each of her twenty-one offspring is given a job in taking care of their home and family - cooking, cleaning, mending, gardening, making music or pictures.

When the time comes for the newest Easter Bunny to be selected, she is chosen as the wisest, kindest, swiftest and also cleverest bunny, as demonstrated in her ability to care for her family and home. She spends the night before Easter travelling the world to deliver eggs to little children. As the night wears on, Grandfather Bunny calls her, and presents her with the very loveliest egg of all (“it glittered like a diamond”). He tells her, “Because you have such a loving heart for children, I am going to give you the best but hardest trip of all, but if you get there you will give more happiness than any other Easter Bunny.”

She is to carry this egg to a sick boy at the top of an icy peak, over two rivers and past three mountains. She makes the arduous journey, but just before reaching the summit, slips, tumbles and injures her leg. Still she tries to get up to complete her task, as the sun is rising and she knows how sad the little boy would be without his egg. Grandfather Bunny appears to help her, proclaiming her not only the wisest, kindest, and swiftest, but also the bravest bunny, and gives her a pair of magical gold shoes. With these she alights and delivers her treasure.

You know those days when, if everything works like you’ve planned it, if every traffic light cooperates, you just might get everything you need to done and make it to the daycare on time for pickup? Those are the times my friend April quips, “where’s my cape?” I take my inspiration from Little Cottontail. She is a shining example of virya, or the Perfection of Joyful Effort. She models this goodness for her children, too. Household chores are fun, and everyone has a contribution to make -  the ones who paint pictures to pretty the place up are as important as those who make the beds. In the colourful retro illustrations, you can fairly see their home gleam, and hear the music and laughter that must fill the air of their country cottage, where they “never have a tear or cross word”. When her path becomes rough, and almost too much to bear, she rises up, powered by her consideration for another, by her bodhicitta. In that moment, she experiences the grace that allows her to attain her goal.

So…. who are your spiritual heroes? How can you see their goodness reflected in your own heroic story?

But if you’ll please excuse me now – the hour is growing late, and I have some Easter eggs to deliver….

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ASIAN CLASSICS INSTITUTE! Tonight in New York City, ACI celebrates 20 years of sharing the Dharma, in freely offered courses, with modern translations of ancient texts that make wisdom accessible and relevant to our lives today. Over 300 teachers worlwide have continued what Geshe Michael Roach started. Immense gratitude to Geshehla, for this priceless gift. Special thanks to Lama Cliff Spencer for his kindness in teaching all 18 courses of the ACI curriculum. Thank you to all the precious teachers who have taught ACI curriculum here in Toronto – David Gluck, Jeannine Woodall, Kimberley Theresa Lafferty, Ted Lafferty, Venerable Alistair Holmes, Anita Soutendam and Shadi Mogadime.

“Here in the age

Of degeneration

You made every effort

To gain great learning;

You threw away

The eight worldly thoughts

And so made use

Of Your leisure and fortune.

Savior, we rejoice

We are glad, happy deep inside,

For what you have done,

So good and powerful.”

~ from the Ganden Hlagyama, A Thousand Angels in the Heaven of Bliss

For more information, visit http://www.acidharma.org.