June the Thirteenth

MEDITATION

Now when the bardo of dying dawns upon me,
I will abandon all grasping, yearning and attachment,
Enter undistracted into a clear awareness of the teaching,
And eject my consciousness into the space of unborn awareness;
As I leave this compound body of flesh and blood
I will know it to be a transitory illusion.

tibetan book of the dead - padmasambhava

May Twenty-First

A meditation on caring:
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
Hear yourself telling that someone a secret.
What would the secret be?
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
Whisper to them a message - one message - to take to someone in the hereafter.
What would the message be and to whom would you send it?
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
What would you tell them to make their journey easier?
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
Are you eager to leave the room or will you wait until the very end?
Picture yourself with someone about to die.
Do you envy them or fear them?
Now picture yourself saying goodbye. Picture yourself wiping their face with a clean, wet, white cloth - getting them ready for their journey. They will soon be free.
Go to the window. Picture yourself opening it. Imagine the dying person contains all your fears and worries. Imagine the person letting go of life and all of your troubles that were kept inside this shell fly out the window and as soon as they are gone you slam the window shut and never see them again.
You feel calm inside and your mind is quiet.
You are ready for anything now - work or sleep, it doesn't matter. Your mind is quiet.
Your mind is quiet.

March Eighth

IF everyone had a father like mine
They would want for nothing.
He had a smile that could melt a cold heart,
He worked hard - too hard - so we could have a roof
Over our heads and clothes on our backs.
We had cow's milk he drained from the animal
Each morning and every evening too.
He took us to the beach and walked in the sand
With us, holding our hands.
He told us to behave ourselves
And we mostly did.
He told us to study hard in school
And we mostly did.
He told us to be honorable people ...
Well, didn't tell us: showed us.
That's what he did.
Today would have been his 97th birthday.
Can that be right? I don't know. I can't believe he's been gone so long.

- the blog author