Asides

Late in the Evening

VTH (that stands for Venerable “The Husband”) and I went to the small, arts colony of Idyllwild, CA last weekend. After dinner, we were sitting on the porch of our rented mountain cabin, sipping tea. He got out his iPad.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m going to play some Solitaire,” he replied. “What are you going to do?”

“Well, I could get out my Kindle, or I could watch the sky go from indigo to black.” I paused to consider the options. “The latter seems far more interesting.”

As it turned out, I made the right choice. Ah…  🙂

Spiritual Wealth

“I focus on spiritual wealth now, and I’m busier, more enthusiastic, and more joyful than I have ever been.”

—John Templeton

What does “spiritual wealth” mean? For me, it’s simply time to practice the Dharma by bringing it into my awareness throughout my days. It’s how I keep my mind, moment to moment. It’s remembering to be my best in any circumstance. It’s listening to my Buddha-Nature.

That’s wealth, indeed. And you have it, too.

Dukkha

“People know they are lacking something, they are constantly wanting some kind of spiritual guidance.”

—Douglas Hurd

When the Buddha said that life is dukkha – “unsatisfactoriness” – perhaps this is what he meant: that vague feeling that there’s something fundamental missing from our lives. For those of us who perceive that void, a spiritual practice is the most “satisfying” way to fill it.

A Fragment from My Morning Pages

The sun was shining when I first sat down, and how it’s already overcast. That’s okay. There’s a beauty in shadow just as there is in full sun. How I love life!

I was going to write, “How I love MY life,” but then I realized that “I” have nothing to do with this feeling. It’s not about me or mine. There’s no sense of possession here.

In fact, there’s no “I” to be experiencing it. It’s just the naked experience.

Life.

Love.

Ah…! Yes.